XTbe Best H^orsc in Xeiccstersbire 287 



ditch which at any other time he would have 

 hopped over without the least exertion ; but he 

 was so upset at us trying to race him again that 

 it took him quite a week to get over it. In conse- 

 quence of this, I need hardly tell you I paid forfeit 

 for his engagement at Doncaster, and kept him 

 durino- the rest of his life as a hunter. As such he 

 was quite a champion in himself. It was not only 

 myself who looked on him as the best horse over 

 Leicestershire, but hundreds of other people, includ- 

 ing the late Captain Coventry, Captain Smith, 

 Captain Boyce, Mr. Cecil Chaplin, Mr. E. C. 

 Clayton, and several others that I could mention, 

 all of whom are good authorities. ' The Doctor ' 

 was the boldest, biggest jumper I ever rode, and 

 had the quickest eye for a fence. Owing- to such 

 excellence, together with his great amount of confi- 

 dence, I attribute his superiority over other horses, 

 and as he was only cantering when the other half- 

 bred hunters were galloping their hardest, he always 

 had a good bit in hand. 



With all his ailments, which were not a few, as he 

 was a roarer, crib-biter, weaver, and had a club-foot, 

 he could not be beaten for six years over Leicester- 

 shire, although many have had a good try. As Sir 

 Frederick Johnstone said several times : 



