Fox Hunting in Ireland 249 



good as to break a colt with such a bit, he is not far from being 

 an artist of the pigskin, and a horseman complete. 



The story of the development of the Irish hunter accounts 

 for his coolness, boldness, light-heartedness, native wit, and 

 wisdom. It accounts also for liis great will power, high temper 

 and judgment. 



To these extraordinary combinations we may generally 

 add, if Irish schooled he will have a light mouth with the best 

 of manners. 



While it must not be imagined this is a description of every 

 Irish horse that is sold as such, they are the general character- 

 istics that have won for the race the distinction, as above 

 stated, of being the best of their kind. Still, after all has 

 been said, the great Dublin Horse Show is quite a disappoint- 

 ment so far as high class animals are concerned, at least the 

 show of 1904 was decidedly so to the writer. Several reasons 

 are assigned for tliis: — First, the war in South Africa is said 

 to have taken away too many hunter-bred mares; second, 

 English dealers have men scouring the country, picking up the 

 plums as fast as they are ready for market; again, the princi- 

 pal entries for the show are made from what is left and the 

 cheaper grade of horses, entered with the object of selling them. 

 The fair is, therefore, a sale fair quite as much as, if not more 

 than, an exhibition. There were, in 1904, eleven hundred and 

 fifty-six entries, most of them exhibited in the saddle classes, 

 and at least fiftj^ per cent of this great number were not 

 hunters at all in conformation, but simply hacks and most of 

 them harness types, pure and simple. So much of this sort 

 lends suspicion as to their being Irish-bred. Many of them 

 looked decidedly Yankee. At least, one could chop off the 

 tails and pull the manes of five hundred grade trotting bred 

 horses in the States, and make the same inconsistent show of 

 saddle horses that was seen in about one third of the animals 

 at the Dublin Horse Show. The truth is, the Irish breeders 



