CHAPTER XI 

 SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 



"The peacock shows himself around, 

 The turkey struts upon the ground; 

 But apart from his feathers, the sporting bird 

 Is rarely the one that is ever heard." 



John Van Ness. 



Public competition is one of the best means of ascer- 

 taining the qualities of a horse. Accurate impressions 

 can, owing to personal bias, scarcely ever be formed 

 from private judgment, for records of achievement, 

 when gleaned from private competitions, are apt to 

 be exaggerated until the original data has grown into 

 an unrecognizable and fabulous tale. 



Racing, point-to-points, tournaments, and horse 

 shows, etc., are therefore more than merely a pleasant 

 diversion for horse lovers. They are not only of in- 

 finite value in educating public opinion, but are also 

 of even greater importance in setting up a high stand- 

 ard for breeders and teaching those in out-of-the-way 

 localities at what they should aim. By maintaining 

 a superlatively high standard, all such competitions 

 have helped to place an increased money value on 

 good make, shape, and manners, and thus make it 

 worth while for breeders to raise first-class stock. 



If we sometimes feel discouraged and think that 

 horse shows are after all a farce, that unsound and 

 poor specimens often win unjustly, and that shows 

 do not therefore benefit the breeding industry as much 

 as they should, it is because we forget that progress, 

 in any line, is always slow. "The world moves along 



159 



