62 GOOD SPORT 



hunt servants at this period were well-chosen hunters, 

 all pretty much of a stamp, with good backs and 

 shoulders, up to more weight than they were asked 

 to carry. The type of horse Mr. Baird favoured 

 was the model short-tailed, weight-carrying hunter, 

 with capital hocks and quarters to lift out of the 

 deep over a fence. Amongst those the master rode 

 himself were good-looking big horses, the two greys 

 being especial favourites, from which he hunted 

 hounds on occasions when Gillson was laid up by 

 accident. Mr. Baird had a wonderful eye for a 

 country and the line of a fox, his grey horse fre- 

 quently appearing in the distant landscape ahead at 

 the right moment, when many thought the master 

 was miles behind. Those who attempted to make 

 a short cut by following him were often pounded 

 at the finish by being asked to jump some formidable 

 obstacle over which the master disappeared, possibly 

 his first and last fence during the day's sport. One 

 of these big grey horses was immortalised in a life- 

 size picture, which was exhibited at the Royal 

 Academy, and presented by members of the Cottes- 

 more Hunt to Mr. Baird, when he retired after 

 twenty seasons of successful mastership. 



'^ Old " Gillson, as he is called — to distinguish him 

 from his two sons, both huntsmen, one at Cottes- 

 more, the other at Meynell — was a man in touch 

 with the country-side and very popular with the 

 farmers. He was rightly regarded as a sound 

 huntsman, and would stick to the hunted fox like 

 a leech — a good exponent of the more leisurely era 

 of the chase. In those days no one seemed to be 

 in such a desperate hurry as they are now ; there was 

 plenty of time to enjoy sport, without being hurried 

 from pillar to post. A hunting community, taking 

 it all through, was certainly more sociable, because 



