Gentlemen Riders 



Ker, all of whom had made their mark as gentlemen riders of 

 no ordinary ability. Soon after this he bought a mare from 

 Mr. Maunsell Richardson for the express purpose of winning 

 the Household Brigade Cup — run at that time over the old 

 course at the back of the Cavalry Barracks at Old Windsor, 

 and since built over — but could only get second to Lord 

 Charles Innes Ker's Souple Sandy, the mount of Colonel 

 *' Lummy " Harford. 



By this time Lord Minto was fairly bitten with steeple- 

 chasing, so much so, indeed, that he left the Guards and took 

 up his abode with his friend Mr. Richardson at Limber Magna 

 in Lincolnshire, with the sole object of perfecting himself in the 

 art of riding over a country. If he failed, it certainly was not 

 for want of practice, for what with riding gallops over a 

 country in the early morning and hunting all day, he may be 

 said to have lived in the saddle. As results proved, however, 

 never was the old saying, " Industry has its own reward," made 

 familiar to us in the copy-books of our youth, better exemplified 

 than in this particular instance, and Mr. John Corlett might 

 well remark in the rosy columns of his popular paper that 

 " Mr. Roily" had taken to riding like the devil. 



Lord Minto was altogether five years at Limber Magna, 

 hunting regularly all the time when not riding races. Very 

 often he and his host would train to Lincoln and have a day 

 with the Burton, which pack Mr. Henry Chaplin had just 

 taken over from Lord Henry Bentinck, and it was on one of 

 these occasions that a droll incident occurred. Lord Minto 

 happened to be in mufti for once in a way, and going through 

 a ford, old Lord Henry who was just behind, and did not 

 recognise who it was, hit him with his whip and told him to 

 get on. His host mentioned the matter to Mr. Chaplin, and 

 he in turn spoke to Lord Henry, who merely remarked that if 



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