266 STEEPLECHASING 



In 1854 the Grand Military meeting was held at 

 Warwick, and by this time a great number of officers 

 had left England for the East, yet a sufficient number 

 were left at home to brinor the meetinof to a sue- 

 cessful issue. Nothinof more need be said about the 

 race for the Gold Cup than that the winner was 

 Mr. P. Cook's (iith Hussars) Torrent, ridden by 

 Mr. Wilkins, who won by three lengths from eleven 

 others. 



Wherever soldiers go they take sport with them. 

 Polo, cricket, racing, and other amusements have been 

 indulged in to pass away time at Ladysmith and other 

 beleaguered places in South Africa ; the Duke of Wel- 

 lington had a pack of hounds in the Peninsula; and when 

 our officers found themselves in the Crimea in 1855 

 they promptly organised some steeplechases, which took 

 place on the 3rd of December. The course was a few 

 miles from the English camp, being laid out in a valley 

 between the Monastery of St. George and Kamilsch. 

 The course was naturally made up of artificial fences, 

 with the single exception of the brook. Through the 

 valley there flowed a stream of about a foot wide ; but 

 it was fairly deep, and being dammed up and dug out 

 quite a respectable water-jump was made. The course 

 was a mile in circumference, and there were six fences 

 in each mile. The jumps were big enough to test the 

 powers of a hunter. The going was as good as it 

 could be. 



The meeting began with a match on the flat between 

 Mr. Dixon's (7th Fusiliers) Little Kate, ridden by 

 Major Wombwell, and Mr. Wilkins's Dinah, with owner 

 up, the former winning by three lengths. 



Then came the Grand International Steeplechase, 

 a sweepstakes of 5 sovs. each, with 60 added for horses 

 the property of and to be ridden by officers of the 

 allied armies. The second received ^10. Each horse 



