I70 RIDING FOR LADIES. 



should demonstration of any sort ever be made over them. 

 I saw a lady get two falls one day with Sir Bache Cunard's 

 pack at Holt Wood, and although her face was a sorry 

 sight when turning homewards after the last one, she 

 made infinitely less fuss about it than did an irrepressible 

 damsel who had merely scraped her cheek against a 

 thorn-bush. 



You should never jump off at once when a horse bungles, 

 but keep steady in the middle of your saddle and give 

 him plenty of rein. Time enough for a man to show his 

 quickness when his knee touches the ground, and for a 

 lady in a similar predicament the best course will be to 

 sit still, deal him out unlimited rope, grip his mane firmly 

 — leaving his mouth alone — and ten to one he will recover 

 himself Of course I am speaking now of the plan to be 

 pursued in case of a slow fall : one that is preceded by a 

 scramble — in fact, a " bungle " as I have chosen to call it. 

 When an animal comes down a weighty cropper, there is 

 seldom much time for reflection, or choice of action either ; 

 the great point then is to come off as best you can. 



To roll clear of the horse is the secret in most heavy 

 falls, and this can only be done where the foot is absolutely 

 free from the stirrup, and the habit from the pommels of the 

 saddle. For this reason I again most strongly advocate the 

 use of a plain racing-stirrup for ladies in the hunting-field, 

 as it has not any sort of machinery that can possibly get out 

 of order, and is therefore independent of the variable atten- 

 tions bestowed upon such matters by unthinking grooms. 

 A good plain stirrup, made large enough to release the 



