26 A'WJAX;, DRIVING AND KINDRED SPORTS 



was a bit blown. There was a check in that 

 small wood near the Ogilvie's place, and when 

 the hounds got on the line they could only 

 hunt. So I jumped into the lane and trotted 

 along the road, till hounds started to run again. 

 This gave my horse a puff and he was quite as 

 strong as ever. The fox must have waited for 

 us in Caselby Spinnies, for after clearing these, 

 hounds ran desperately hard for ten minutes. 

 There was no chance of choosino- ground then, 

 the only thing was to sit down and ride. But 

 this was the only time in the run I had to ask 

 my horse really to go fast. Near the end there 

 was a longish check, so I slipped off and shifted 

 the saddle an inch or so. This o'ave us a new 

 start. I hate ridge and furrow, and above all 

 at such an advanced period of the run, so as 

 hounds weren't going so very fast I galloped up 

 under the hedge one side and down the other 

 of the three hundred acre field. I lost some 

 distance, but I consider I saved time by avoid- 

 ino- 'the curse of Leicestershire.' 



''It was a good run, and I may say that I 

 hardly ever had my eyes off the hounds. 

 Watching hounds carefully is the best w^ay to 

 save the horse. But I consider that where I 

 gained most was in the start. I had not to 

 bucket the horse at first, and I was positively 

 sitting still while you fellows were tearing 



