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the country now, I often meet some of the old ones 

 left, who are never tired of talking and praising the 

 doings of Squire Heathcote. I was only sixteen 

 years old at that time, and had won the Cesarewitch 

 on 'Rocket' in 1858. Mr. "Ned" Smith, with 

 whom I lived at the time, said he would keep me 

 a hunter if I won the big Newmarket handicap. 

 Fortunately, I was soon able to buy a horse, and, 

 although it was only three years old, it had to take 

 its turn, or, rather, come out when I wanted it. 



My first hunter was a little brown mare I called 

 'Sarah.' She was just 15 hands high, a natural 

 jumper, and very willing. It is a very trappy 

 country in the Guildford Vale, and she knew nothing 

 whatever about banks, and consequently used to try 

 to fly them. However, we managed, after fifteen or 

 sixteen falls, to get through the season — as I only 

 weighed 5 st. 7 lb. I didn't fall very heavy — when, 

 having partly broke her down, I had her turned 

 out and fired. The next year I brought her to 

 Leicestershire, where I used to stay with a farmer, a 

 great friend of mine, named Sam Stokes, at Calde- 

 cott, for whom I had won six pony races before I 

 went away to the racing stables, as I have mentioned 

 in the racing part of my book. As Mr. Stokes 

 always had two or three horses, sometimes more, 



