NATIONAL HUNT STEEPLECHASE 201 



Harborough ; but the whole affair seems to have been 

 in a very confused state ; and neither race was anything 

 more than a quaHfied success. Mr. Fothergill Rowlands 

 would appear to have taken part in promoting the race 

 at Cheltenham, because in a letter he wrote to the Press 

 in December i860, " after noting the fact that local horses 

 had at Market Harborough enjoyed a great advantage 

 over the ridge and furrow," he said that in selecting 

 Cheltenham he had, "thanks to a most popular noble- 

 man resident in the neighbourhood," not only secured 

 a good line of country, but also a contribution of ^100 

 from Mr. Colemore's Hunt (the Cotswold) ; he again 

 invited subscriptions which were to be sent to the Secre- 

 tary, G. N. H. Steeplechase, Cheltenham. The original 

 course was on the land in the occupation of a Mr. John 

 Newman, but, when it came to settling terms, that 

 gentleman asked ^100 as the price of running over 

 his ground, and as the stewards deemed the charge 

 exorbitant, the line was changed. Lord Ellenborough's 

 tenants, Mr. Gaskins, Mr. Reed, and Mr. Roberts, having 

 agreed to grant the use of their fields upon the condi- 

 tions that, after the steeplechases were over, they should 

 be paid a sum which should just suffice to cover any 

 damage they might have sustained, Mr. James Villar 

 beings the assessor. This course was about two miles 

 and a half from Cheltenham, and under the lee of 

 Cleve Hill. 



On this occasion the Grand National Hunt Steeple- 

 chase was run in conjunction with the Grand Military 

 meeting.^ The stewards were the Duke of Beaufort, 

 Lord Stamford, Lord Tredegar, Colonel F. G. F. 

 Berkeley, Captain W. H. (afterwards Earl) Poulett, and 

 Mr. Cregoe Colemore, master of the Cotswold Hounds ; 

 the ground was kept by the Cotswold Hunt staff, but the 

 whole affair was in great contrast to the race of i860. 



^ See separate Chapter for Military Steeplechases. 



