RACE-DRAWING. 295 



safe. A good driver must be a crood judge of pace and 

 of distance, cool-headed, with presence of mind, and 

 able to take in a situation at a glance and act upon it 

 instantly. He must be ready to see an advantage the 

 moment it presents itself, and seize it the moment he 

 sees it. All this, as I have said, cannot be learned — 

 there are certain qualities of the brain and the hand 

 that must in a degree be natural to the man, though 

 they may be perfected by acquirement. A driver may 

 be good when going at a 2:40 gait, but the same man 

 may be all at sea when going at a 2:16 gait. The dif- 

 ference in results that will follow a move at a 2:40 gait 

 and that which may follow a move at a 2:20 gait is 

 marvelous. 



Judgment of pace is very essential in a good driver ; 

 without that he is always liable to misjudge what he 



• is really doing. He may go a quarter or a half at a 

 terrific gait, and thus take more out of his horse in 

 going a moderate mile than another driver would take 

 out of him in going a fast mile by even rating. I 

 teach my horses to rate evenly— that is, to have them 

 carry any desired rate of speed steadily. Driving 

 with the watch will, as I have said, improve judgment 

 of pace, but so many drivers indulge in trying to beat 

 the watch that I am diffident about recommending it. 

 However, if a man uses it with discretion, and by its 

 help accustoms himself to gauge the pace he goes, 

 and to rate evenly, it is an invaluable aid. Moving in 

 a jerky, spasmodic manner— making a sudden rush 

 here, and easing up there— is bad policy. Many a 

 horse is thus beaten in slower time than he is capable 



of trotting if properly rated. 



