Captain S. F. Lee-Barber 



born in 1853, and educated at Haileybury, being in due time 

 appointed to a commission in the 3rd Dragoon Guards. 



Previously to this, however, when only sixteen years of 

 age, he successfully inaugurated what was destined to be a 

 brilliant career in the saddle by riding and winning two races 

 off the reel on the fiat, and being just beaten in a hurdle 

 race at a private meeting at Rackheath Park, near Norwich. 

 He was winning this last in a canter, but there were no wings 

 to the hurdles, and at the very last obstacle, the mare he was 

 riding swerved, and lost him the race. 



Though previously to joining the Army in 1874, he had 

 ridden in plenty of Hunt Steeplechases at local meetings near 

 his home, Captain Lee-Barber did not commence playing the 

 game in earnest until the regiment went to Ireland in 1875. 

 There he got some horses together and trained them with 

 Captain Joy, late of 7th Hussars, at Conyngham Lodge, 

 Curragh, Kildare, and, what with his own and brother officers* 

 horses, had a fairly successful time ; amongst his winning 

 mounts being three Irish Grand Militaries, one of which was 

 for his Colonel, another for the vet. of the regiment, Mr. M. I. 

 Hartigan (father of the present trainer of that name), and the 

 third for himself on that good horse Jupiter Tonans. 



He also won the Conyngham Cup and the Wexford 

 Handicap Steeplechase on Yellow Gown and the Irish Grand 

 National and Gal way Plate on Jupiter Tonans, the Inter- 

 national Hurdle race at the Curragh on Botanist, and the 

 Military Hunters at Punchestown on Midhut — a horse which 

 he had bought for ^^36 — besides other events of minor 

 importance. In fact he went ahead at such a pace that 

 in either 1877 or 1878 we find him heading the list of 

 winning steeplechase jockeys in Ireland, both amateur and 

 professional. 



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