196 THE TURF 



Hunters' Flat Races was the great desire of many 

 owners, for then the speed of the thoroughbred would 

 inevitably tell. A hunter was qualified by a certificate 

 from a Master of Hounds saying that the horse had 

 been hunted ; and it was the custom to send race- 

 horses to meets in order to qualify. Some Masters 

 appreciated the responsibility ; others, and the ma- 

 jority, were more lax. A fractious, excitable race- 

 horse, totally unused to the surroundings of the 

 hunting field, was apt to be a most unpleasant 

 neighbour. If the boy rode him near the hounds 

 — and the boy on the would-be hunter perfectly 

 understood his mission — danger to them was im- 

 minent. The Master's great object usually was to 

 get rid of the creature as soon as he possibly could. 

 Sometimes a mere appearance at the meet was 

 enough ; sometimes the horse would be cantered 

 across a few fields, through gates, along roads, and 

 so would turn up at a check, where his rider would 

 take care that he was seen. Then application for 

 the certificate would be made, and the racehorse that 

 had never jumped a fence became a " qualified 

 hunter." How remote a chance legitimate bearers 

 of the title had against these racecourse hunters 

 need not be said. The best of the qualified animals 

 had the business to themselves, to the exclusion of 

 those for whom the stakes were supposed to be in- 

 stituted ; and, when an ex-racehorse appeared at a 

 country hunt meeting where there had been hopes of 



