ORGANISED STEEPLECHASING 27 



father bought, and in due time reached the summit of 

 his ambition — a mount in a steeplechase. At home he 

 had any number of horses through his hands before 

 he came across anything with a decent mouth and a 

 capability for jumping ; but, riding so many rough ones, 

 taught him invaluable lessons. His horsemanship, 

 while young Becher was still a youth, was of such a 

 finished nature that some friend who had seen him ride 

 was so taken with his skill that with the wish to further 

 his advancement, he procured for him an appointment 

 in the Store-keeper General's department, and for 

 about two or three years he was abroad with the army 

 of occupation. Peace, however, and Tommy Coleman 

 of St. Albans, combined to carry him well into the 

 steeplechasing world. Becher's occupation underwent 

 a change, and all at once the Captain found himself 

 famous, and his name familiar to everybody. Coleman 

 always declared that he gave Captain Becher his first 

 mount at Hounslow on a horse called Reuben Butler. 

 The Captain used to ride most of Coleman's horses, and 

 lived at his house on and off for twenty years. 



For steeplechase riding, as it then was. Captain 

 Becher had every qualification — fine hands, iron nerves, 

 an even temper, and a remarkably quick eye for a 

 country. So many mounts were offered him that people 

 often wondered how it was that he was able to ride 

 within a comparatively few hours at places so far distant 

 from each other, but with the possible exception of old 

 John Day, whose energy knew no bounds. Captain 

 Becher was one of the hardest travellers of his day, 

 and often and often, as soon as he had ridden his last 

 race for the day, he would mount his hack or jump into 

 a "bounder," as the yellow post-chaises were called, and 

 be off to some new sphere of action, frequently travelling 

 all night. With the general public Captain Becher 

 was a prime favourite ; he always rode to win, never 



