40 RfDfNG, DRIVING AND KINDRED SPORTS 



possible. If a girl, or for that matter a boy, is 

 timid or has no nerve it is a mistake to force 

 them to learn. Have patience, for many very 

 nervous beginners have turned out capital horse- 

 men and horsewomen after all. Let them 

 take their own time in learning. If you intend 

 your pupils to go out hunting they must be 

 taught to sit a horse over a leap. This, of 

 course, is no difficult matter, but it should be 

 insisted on that from the first every jump 

 should be taken in good form — sitting firmly 

 in the saddle, leaning slightly back with the 

 hands low and a rein in each hand, and a fair- 

 sized hunting crop in the right hand with the 

 hook end down. Most pupils will stick out 

 their chins, crouch ungracefully in the saddle, 

 and all will raise the hands. These faults 

 should be corrected at once. The bolder 

 spirits will, however, try to rush, but this, too, 

 should be checked. For many reasons a 

 woman should ride slowly at her fences, and 

 Mrs. Burn's advice on the point should be 

 learned by heart : "A horse will jump a place 

 more slowly and more cleverly if you give him 

 time to see what he is going at. ... If you 

 take a pull to steady your horse when you are 

 a little distance from your fence, you will 

 probably arrive at the other side far more 

 collectedly, and be striding away again over 



