218 THE HORSE IN HISTORY 



" As for hunting, the most honourable and 

 noblest Sport thereof is with running Hounds ; 

 for it is a thievish sport of hunting to shoot with 

 Guns and Bows. . . . 



" However, in using either of these Sports 

 observe such Moderation that you slip not there- 

 with Hours appointed for your Affairs, which you 

 ought ever precisely to keep ; remembering that 

 these Pastimes are but ordain'd for you to enable 

 you for your Office, to which you are call'd by 

 your Birth." 



Before the close of James's reign the Turf bore 

 every sign of having been granted a fresh lease 

 of life. Private riding matches among men of 

 rank and wealth had become popular again, and 

 though some of these were u 'cross - country 

 matches," plenty were ridden on the flat, upon 

 which occasions vast sums of money were run 

 for almost always. 



Of these races one that seems to have attracted 

 much attention was run in the year 1622, for a 

 cup valued at twelve pounds, when the crowd that 

 assembled was one of the biggest at that time on 

 record. 



The wagers that were made were mostly in 

 large sums, and we are told that, to the surprise 

 of the majority of the betting men "and their 

 subsequent discomfiture," the race, in which there 

 were six "tryers," was won by an outsider, the 

 property of a popular sportsman, Sir George Bowes. 



