Horseback Riding in the City of Chicago 



Reprinted from Circular Issued by the Horse Association of America 



FROM Central Park in New York to the Golden Gate 

 in San Francisco, — they are riding. All talk of a 

 motorized age notwithstanding, the saddle horse has 

 come into more general use and popular favor during the 

 last four or five years, with especial acceleration in the 

 year just past, than has been true for a score of years pre- 

 ceding. 



And why? Because down underneath its crusty surface, 

 the world always has loved, and still loves, the horse. He 

 appeals to a certain romantic strain of the imagination 

 and calls out great resources from the rider. From the 

 viewpoint of physical exercise, horseback riding provides 

 not only muscular tone but internal massage and stimula- 

 tion of the vital organs. It is entirely reasonable to 

 attribute much of its returning popularity to the common 

 use of passenger automobiles, which has added greatly to 

 the habits of sedentary living in cities. 



Whatever the stimulus in back of the revival, the sport 

 is a worthy one and adaptable to many classes of riders. 

 As a part of the education of children, it stresses the 

 wholesome qualities of consideration, instant obedience, 

 decision and fearlessness. The lessons of horsemanship 

 include many more principles than simply how to keep 

 balanced on a horse. 



With the youth of the country full of exuberance, for 

 whom wholesome outlet of this abundant vitality must 

 be provided, it is a sport that satisfies. The open road 

 and a horse that can go, — yet tempered with the necessity 

 for utmost consideration, — develop certain traits of the 

 gentleman, along with supple muscles. The young eques- 

 trienne turns of herself against the atrocious "debutante 



slouch" and can substitute genuine glow of health for the 

 camouflage of rouge. 



And yet the one who benefits most is the physically 

 inactive business or professional man or woman, whose 

 peak of mentality is constantly dulled by the handicap 

 of functional sluggishness. As mentioned previously, rid- 

 ing gives activity, not only to the muscles, but to all 

 internal organs, and is therefore an ideal counteractant to 

 the evils of sedentary existence. 



At a banquet held recently in Kansas City, the toast- 

 master said, "One of my treasured memories is to recall 

 my grandfather, erect and alert, riding a spirited horse 

 in his ninety-ninth year, and he justly attributed his vigor 

 at great age to his daily horseback rides, continued the 

 year around." 



Equestrianism is a democratic sport, for it is within the 

 reach of students and young business men and women, 

 for whom it is particularly beneficial. There is no better 

 way to enjoy the parks than to go riding in them. Those 

 who want to eventually own their own horses can do so, 

 but for beginners, the cost of a horse per hour is no more 

 than that of a theatre ticket, and if equipment is not 

 possessed, it, too, can be rented at a small additional 

 charge. 



On the other hand, at summer or winter resorts, or on 

 week end visits to country homes, riding parties are one 

 of the most popular diversions, and the young man or 

 woman who is not proficient in the saddle on a spirited 

 horse, suff"er8 by comparison, for it is rightly held that 

 dancing, swimming, skating and horseback riding are 

 social accomplishments which are integral parts of a well 

 rounded education. 



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