THE GRIP 73 



There is one more point upon which there seems 

 to be a good deal of dubiety, and that is, what 

 portion of our bodies produces the grip, and how 

 is the grip effected. It is customary to hear " the 

 grip of the thighs " mentioned. A man with flat 

 thighs is supposed to be better fitted for riding 

 than a man with round thighs. I must say I find 

 this difficult to understand. Firstly, we don't grip 

 with our thighs. We grip with our knees. The 

 thighs are off the saddle as often as not, except 

 when standing still or walking. The thighs are 

 only the channel through which, or by means of 

 which, the knees are able to grip. What is meant 

 by round thighs I have no idea. If you take the 

 shape of the leg in reference to the saddle, it will 

 be seen that the flat part of the thigh is nowhere 

 near the saddle at all. That portion is actually 

 uppermost, and the portion that meets the saddle 

 is the part almost directly in rear — nearly the 

 same portion, in fact, that one sits upon when in a 

 chair. 



I have discussed this matter with the riding- 

 school staff on many occasions, who have a great 

 deal of experience in this matter, owing to the 

 number of recruits that pass through their hands 

 in the course of a year, and the idea prevalent 

 with them is that there are many men with short, 

 round legs who seem to have some difficulty in 

 getting their knees in close to the saddle, and these 

 are the men that they call " round-thighed." Well, 

 as a matter of fact, it has nothing whatever to do 

 with round thighs (otherwise women would have 



