PREFACE 



Just before the commencement of the war, 

 I started, through the courtesy of the editor 

 of the Field, publishing a series of articles on 

 horsemanship. This series was rudely interrupted 

 by the outbreak of war, and my military duties 

 precluded my taking any further steps for a con- 

 siderable period. But after fighting in France 

 continuously for nearly four years, it was my 

 fate, through the fortune of war, to be taken 

 prisoner. Taking advantage of the enforced leisure 

 at my disposal, I have passed many an otherwise 

 weary hour in compiling this little volume. If 

 it gives any of my readers as much pleasure to 

 read as it has given me to write, I shall be fully 

 rewarded; but it is more than I can hope that 

 they will finish the last page with as much regret 

 as I felt on the conclusion of my task. 



Now that peace has been declared and we can, 

 once more, resume the pleasures of the hunting 

 field, of racing, polo, and the show-ring, I am at 

 last able to place my ]\ISS. into the hands of the 

 publishers. 



The Author. 



vu 



