THE FIELD 119 



can learn to ride, even if he or she has not begun as a 

 boy or girl on a pony. 



Those who have ridden from childhood have, of 

 course, an immense advantage over those who have 

 taken to riding later in life, but real hunting enthu- 

 siasm will surmount a variety of obstacles, and people 

 who find the desire to hunt absolutely imperative (per- 

 haps there are not many of this class) will not let the 

 fact that they have not learnt to ride be an obstacle in 

 their path. It must then be fully understood that no 

 one should attempt hunting until the rudiments of 

 horsemanship have been mastered. So many books have 

 been written on this subject that we shall not go at any 

 length into the matter, but we have a rather strong 

 opinion to the effect that grown-up people who wish to 

 hunt, but have not been in the habit of riding, can 

 attain proficiency more quickly in the open air of the 

 country than they can in a riding school. The school 

 is all very well in its way, but school-educated riders 

 learn a lot of tricks which are out of place in the 

 hunting field, and in many schools are taught to ride 

 with far too long a stirrup. 



The best and simplest plan for a man or woman who 

 has actually never been on a horse is to go and live in 

 some quiet country spot during the summer, a farm- 

 house for choice, and to go there provided with a good- 

 mannered, easy-mouthed horse, who is unlikely to give 

 any trouble. But it is also necessary that the services 

 of some instructor should be available for the earliest 

 lessons. The beginner wants to be shown how to 

 mount, how to sit, how to hold his reins, and to grip 

 with his knees — and indeed with the whole leg — but not 

 how to ride by balance. What riding by balance may 

 amount to where it is practised we do not know, and 



