SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 163 



If only more hunting men and women would join 

 the game solely for the pleasure of competition, much 

 of the present "wire pulling" and taint of profes- 

 sionalism would disappear from the show ring and 

 horse showing would become more of a " sport" in- 

 stead of merely a means of advertisement, shared by 

 social climbers and horse dealers. 



Nor do I mean, when I speak of eliminating "pro- 

 fessionalism" from the show ring, that amateurs are 

 in general any more sportsmanlike than professionals. 

 On the contrary, I have found in my experience that 

 many of the latter are far more graceful winners, and 

 gamer losers, than the former. "Dick" Donnelly was, 

 for example, one of those professionals against whom 

 it was a pleasure to ride. He was as enthusiastic over 

 the good performance of a competitor as over his own. 

 He was a modest winner, a cheerful loser, and always 

 ready to lend a helping hand to any one who needed 

 it. He was one of the most skilled riders this country 

 has ever seen, a "sportsman" and a "gentleman" in 

 the truest sense of the word, and one whom any ama- 

 teur might do well to imitate. 



Now, as we have already stated, "showing" is a 

 game unto itself, and it requires almost as much time 

 and care and preparation as racing. Many beginners, 

 passably good riders themselves, who have perhaps 

 even ridden from childhood, think it is quite easy to 

 go into a ring and win. In the case of a saddle horse, 

 they hack the animal about any old way until a day 

 or so before the show and enter him haphazard. They 

 either ride him themselves, and find to their astonish- 

 ment, that having ridden all their lives doesn't help 

 much at this game, or they select some amateur or 

 professional at the eleventh hour, and expect the horse 

 to do his best under such adverse circumstances. 



