Colonel Fisher-Child 



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Grand National, in which he fell, though he finished second in 

 the actual race. 



On giving up riding on his own account, Mr. Cunningham 

 invited Captain Fisher to ride all his horses for him in future — 

 a compliment which would undoubtedly have been accepted 

 con amore, but for the Colonel of the Tenth when appealed to, 

 not seeing his way, however willing he might be, to giving the 

 necessary leave — a difficulty the other was the first to recognise 

 when, later on, he succeeded to the command of the regiment. 

 On Chancery, a rare good horse in his day, Captain Fisher won 

 several steeplechases at Liverpool, Manchester, and Kempton, 

 and on the hard-pulling Meerschaum he won no less than 

 fourteen steeplechases — a fact which was probably attributable 

 to horse and rider being thoroughly acquainted with each 

 other. Meerschaum, who was a splendid jumper, only fell 

 with his rider once, and that was in a memorable steeplechase 

 at Sandown, when the late Major ** Roddy " Owen got on a 

 policeman's horse to catch his own, which had got away after 

 putting him down. 



As well as in Ireland, there are few courses in England over 

 which the subject of this sketch has not been seen to advan- 

 tage at one time or another ; Liverpool, Sandown, Kempton, 

 Wye, Plumpton, Leicester, Gatwick, Croydon, Lewes, Crew- 

 kerne, Bibury, Folkestone, Long Oaks, and Doncaster being 

 favourite battle-grounds of his; 1876, when he topped the list 

 of gentlemen riders, was his best year. 



But for his Inability to get down to the required weight, 

 Colonel Fisher-Chllde would have, of course, ridden his wife's 

 horse Skedaddle, a four- year-old, carrying 9 st. 12 lbs., when 

 he won the Grand Paris Steeplechase thirteen years ago — the 

 first English horse to do so. As it was, Mr. G. B. Milne 

 proved a capable substitute. 



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