92 GOOD SPORT 



weight-carrier of commanding presence, named 

 Grey Friar. This horse when he belonged to Sir 

 Gilbert Greenall carried Frank Freeman, the first 

 whipper-in, and Mr. Griffith rode him eleven seasons, 

 accomplishing just over three hmidred days' hmiting 

 in that time — a good record for any hunter ! Grey 

 Friar is now succeeded by a long-tailed grey, named 

 Gander, a Leicestershire type of hunter up to 

 weight. 



Amongst the eighty hunters stabled at Badminton 

 we remember seeing in 1905 two powerful weight- 

 carrying greys, which were the favourite mounts 

 for the Duke of Beaufort when hunting his hounds. 

 Grey Skin, bought from Mr. Muntz, stood 17 hands 

 2 inches, was a model of power and symmetry, and 

 Will Strap, an Irish horse, was quite the biggest 

 hunter we have ever seen, standing 18 hands. 



Turning to personal experiences of twenty-one 

 seasons riding with the Belvoir and Cottesmore, 

 grey has been a lucky colour when replenishing a 

 two-day-a-week stable. Seven of that colour have 

 occupied the stalls of our stable at one time or 

 another, showing no end of sport, and leaving 

 pleasant memories behind them. The one horse of 

 a lifetime was a grey, purchased as a four-year-old 

 for twenty-four sovereigns out of an Irish drove 

 at Corby fair. Coming into our possession at the 

 halcyon period of a hunting career, when every 

 fence is a friend, little Grey John, who stood 15 hands 

 2 inches, gave us many a long day's hunting and 

 many a crashing fall. For fourteen seasons, from 

 1888 to 1902, he was the mainstay of the stable, 

 hunted or driven by Mrs. Bradley, game as a pebble, 

 with a constitution of iron, and a dash of Irish 

 waywardness in his composition. During one par- 

 ticular season, when suffering from a rider's strain, 



