RACE AND SHOWYARD RIDING 249 



' heavy ' as he called it. He got rather nasty 

 about it and went on to such a length that the 

 Clerk of the Scales gave him a mild hint that he 

 was there to be weighed and not to weigh. He 

 went out grumbling and he certainly nearly drew 

 the extra pound. It so happened that his horse 

 ran second and I believe he thought he would 

 have won had he been weighed what he called 

 ' fairly ' as he was weighing out. But when he 

 got into the scale he found to his dismay that he 

 did not draw the weight, nor would he have done 

 so with the pound allowance for the bridle. 

 Luckily he had a heavy bridle and with that he 

 just managed to turn the scale. Being a gentle- 

 man he afterwards expressed his regret to the 

 Clerk of the Scales for what he had said and stated 

 that he would not have believed a man could 

 waste so much in so short a time when he was 

 in fairly good condition to begin with. But a 

 jockey in the early part of the season has been 

 known to waste nearly a pound between the first 

 race and the last when he has been riding in 

 several races on a hot day. 



With respect to riding in the race it is im- 

 possible to give any directions that will be of 

 benefit. So much depends on the horse and on 

 the man. Perhaps the best advice that can be 

 given is to keep cool, not to lay too far out of 

 your horses and to be careful not to let a superior 

 * finisher ' snatch the race out of your hands on 

 the post after you have fairly won it. 



The Point-to-Point Meeting has developed into 



