MOUNTING. 23 



her saddle, her left hand on the right shoulder of 

 her assistant, who is stooping in front of her, and her 

 left foot, the knee being bent, into his left hand. 

 She should then count three aloud : at one, she 

 should prepare to spring, by assuring herself that she 

 is standing squarely on her right foot ; at two, she 

 should bend her right knee, keeping the body straight ; 

 and at three, she should spring strongly from her 

 right leg, straightening also her left as she rises, and 

 steadying herself by a slight pressure on the shoulder 

 of her assistant, who rises as she springs. She must 

 be careful not to push his hand away with her left 

 foot, as this weakens his power to help her, and as 

 she rises she should turn her body slightly to the 

 left, so that she will find herself, if she has calculated 

 her spring rightly, sitting on the saddle sideways, 

 facing to the left. She will then shift her right hand 

 from the second to the first pommel, turn her body 

 from left to right, lift her right leg over the second 

 pommel, and put her left foot into the stirrup. 

 Afterward she will arrange her skirt smoothly under 

 her with her left hand. 



Two elastic straps are usually sewn on the inside 

 of a riding-skirt to prevent it from wrinkling. The 

 right foot is intended to be slipped into the upper 

 one, the left into the lower, and, if possible, the 

 pupil should do this just before she mounts, as it 

 will save her and her assistant time and trouble after 

 she is in the saddle. As soon as she can mount 

 with ease, she should also learn to hold her whip in 



