232 THE HORSE IN HISTORY 



lowed would not be tolerated now. Among 

 the more important of the fairs were those held 

 at Ripon, Melton, Pankridge and Northampton, 

 but many of the others were almost equally 

 fashionable. 



It was in the reign of Charles I. that Sir 

 Edward Harwood presented the famous petition, 

 or memorial, in which he explained in forcible 

 language that "good and stout horses for the 

 defence of the kingdom " would soon be to all 

 intents at a premium owing to the scant attention 

 that was then being paid to the breeding of such 

 animals, adding that he doubted whether, if some 

 2000 great horses should be wanted at short 

 notice, it would be possible to find so many in a 

 fit condition to do battle. 



The French horses of the same stamp, he went 

 on to say, were in almost every way superior to 

 ours, and so emphatic was he upon this last point 

 that he openly declared that if some 2000 of 

 the best of our great horses were to be set face 

 to face in battle with an equal number of the 

 Frenchmen's horses, our troops would to a 

 certainty be routed with heavy loss. 



Seeing how earnestly Harwood spoke, the 

 king, as we are told, expressed sorrow and great 

 amazement at what he heard, and at once inquired 

 the reason of the English horses' alleged in- 

 feriority. 



Then it was that Sir Edward made his point. 



