Major F. Herbert 



took to the saddle as naturally as a duckling does to water, 

 his riding education, which began at the age of seven, being 

 conducted, as he says, in "the best of all schools" — the 

 hunting field, when Major Stretton was master of the 

 Monmouthshire Hounds. His race-riding career may be said 

 to have commenced when he joined that sporting regiment 

 the 9th Lancers, then quartered at Island Bridge Barracks, 

 Dublin. 



From 1866 to 1870 his riding was almost entirely confined 

 to Irish meetings, and by the time the regiment had moved to 

 England there were few courses in that " distressful counthry " 

 over which the subject of our memoir had not ridden more 

 or less successfully. With reference to these he writes : — 



" There were many amusing incidents connected with the 

 small Irish meetings in those days, but at this distance of 

 time it is impossible to remember them with any clearness. 

 One of the best animals I owned in those days was a little 

 grey mare, barely 14.2, by Arthur, named Little Wonder, 

 with which I won many races. I claimed her out of a selling 

 race at Cork, much to the disgust of the owner, as the general 

 habit was for the Irish owners to enter in selling races, but 

 to allow no one to claim their animal. Had any one the 

 courage to do so, it invariably ended in a free fight, in the 

 midst of which the animal was whisked away, and possession 

 afterwards could not be obtained. In this case, luckily, while 

 the fight was proceeding, I had taken the precaution to depute 

 some stalwart friends of mine to secure the mare, and thus 

 scored. Those accustomed to the orderly manner in which 

 racing is now conducted, would hardly believe the scenes 

 that always characterized the small country meetings in Ireland 

 in the sixties. A few stray flags were stuck here and there 

 on the banks, with the result that few races were run without 



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