12 STEEPLECHASING 



that occasionally people made matches which were very 

 foolish, and in this category must be classed that which 

 on Twelfth Day, 1818, took place for 100 guineas 

 between Mr. R. Melprop, and Mr. Arnold of Stamford 

 Hill, near London. Coleshill was the starting-point, 

 the finish being at a house belonging to Mr. Arnold, at 

 Wade Mill, Hertfordshire. The distance between these 

 two points was estimated, but certainly over-estimated, 

 at twenty-six miles in a straight line, seeing that the 

 winner came in under two hours from the start. Mr. 

 Arnold probably knew the country better than his oppo- 

 nent, but he swam a river in order not to lose distance, 

 and perhaps not to lose touch with the country, for the 

 day was very foggy. Mr. Melprop did not attempt to 

 swim the river, and so was thrown out ; but he, too, 

 completed this long course in less than a couple of hours. 

 ''This," says the record, "was considered a masterpiece 

 of performance of the sort, and neither ever touched a 

 road but to cross it." 



Going on to the year 18 19, steeplechasing in Ireland 

 is described as "a sort of racing- for which the Paddies 

 are particularly famous, and in which, unless the rider 

 has pluck and his horse stamina, they cannot expect to 

 get well home." One would think not indeed, seeing 

 that at Lismore was held "a comjjlete tumble-down 

 race," of which, however, the precise conditions are not 

 given, though some of the competitors appear to 

 have acted quite up to the spirit of the affair. Mr. 

 Foley's Brown Bess, for example, fell no fewer than 

 four times, and she won ; but if tumbling was a sign 

 of merit, the third horse should have won, as he 

 came down half-a-dozen times. The report of the 

 race says that there were " six falls, but nobody 

 killed. Betting at starting was that there would be 

 six falls." It is permissible to assume that horses fell 

 in these tumble-down races because men rode at 



