172 HACKS AND HUNTERS 



pion of Olympia, and "Turquoise," the unbeaten 

 Champion of England, France, Belgium, and Holland, 

 on long rides through Windsor forest, and their trainer, 

 Mr. Vivian Gooch, that past master of the art, would 

 think one had gone clean crazy to wrap a show horse 

 up in pink cotton wool, figuratively speaking, as one 

 does here in America, and never allow even the owner 

 to see the animal except in hoods and blankets. Per- 

 haps, however, in all justice to our American system, 

 one is bound to admit that it is easier for English people 

 to hack their show animals than it is for us; for over 

 there, as already stated, the judges set more store by 

 a good canter than by a good trot, and the canter 

 naturally suffers far less from promiscuous hacking 

 about than does the trot. 



In hacking a show animal, the rider must in any 

 case always remember during every moment that his 

 horse is a show horse, and that he must always be rid- 

 den just as carefully and exactly as if he were in the 

 ring. He must never for a moment be allowed to loaf, 

 to break into a canter without the signal, or canter 

 on the wrong leg. In this way only can a show horse 

 be hacked about and still retain his brilliance. If you 

 are not painstaking enough to do this, if you are not 

 a good-enough rider to show him yourself, I would 

 not advise your hacking him, for the man or woman 

 who is to show him for you, will go through the heart- 

 breaking job of seeing him lose all that he has learned. 

 For the same reason lending show horses to a friend 

 is a perilous business. 



It is best to avoid clipping the horse just prior to 

 a show, unless the coat looks rough or unkempt, or 

 the horse sweats enough to make him lose weight. 

 If he must be clipped, do it only a day or two before 



