HISTORY OF THE KILDARE HUNT 



bridge. Their country was not so difficult as Meath. 

 There were fewer double hedged ditches. The 

 fences were firm, and consequently more easily 

 dealt with, while the great extent of splendid pas- 

 ture lands was everything that could be desired 

 both by steed and rider for a gallop over. At that 

 time Sir John Kennedy was the master, a good 

 sportsman who when on a favourite grey, Game- 

 cock, always kept his place at the tail of the pack. 

 He well understood his duties, and always afforded 

 good sport to his supporters. 



There were some dashing riders to be found in 

 the Kildares who performed daring feats of horse- 

 manship which were appalling. Robin Aylmer of 

 Painstown, a then celebrated sportsman, was 

 generally well mounted on a thoroughbred brown 

 stallion called Ranunculus, a marvellous fencer, 

 whose good qualities, however, were marred by a 

 most diabolical temper. He was always led out 

 twitched to enable his master to mount, who when 

 once in the saddle was obliged to remain there at 

 the peril of his life until similar precautions were 

 taken on his return home to enable him to alight, 

 for so great was the antipathy of the brute towards 

 his master, that he invariably attempted to attack 

 him with the most savage ferocity whenever he had 

 a chance. 



It was then the custom of the members of the hunt 



to test the quality of the officers of every newly 



arrived regiment, and as a matter of course one of 



the — th had to go through this ordeal. The fields 



ii6 



