SOME OLD SUPPORTERS. 263 



nominator of Voltigeur, and he was so annoyed that he 

 refused to pay them, and there was talk of scratching the 

 horse. Sir William Milner, however, slipped away to 

 Weatherby's and paid the forfeits, with the result that there 

 was nothing to prevent the horse running, and his victory 

 set all Yorkshire wild with delight. 



Racing men, especially Yorkshire racing men, have often 

 been very keen foxhunters, and a trio ot names which made 

 a great mark on Turf history also occupy a conspicuous place 

 in the annals of hunting. These are Ridsdale, Bill Scott 

 and John Jackson. Ridsdale was born at Skelton-in-Cleve- 

 land, and entered gentleman's service. The late Alec Taylor, 

 who lived with him when he was in the height ot his 

 prosperity, and when he kept such a brilliant establishment 

 at Merton, used to say that he got his start in life by 

 ' borrowing ' seven and sixpence from a fellow servant and 

 putting it on a horse that won at a good price. He soon 

 became a leading bettor in the ring, and when in partnership 

 with Gully made an immense fortune. Gully and Ridsdale 

 were the leviathans of the ring in their day, and each of 

 them had some good horses. Ridsdale's star, however, 

 began to set when he quarrelled with the ex-prize-fighting 

 member for Pontefract, and though he won immense sums 

 at times he was also a heavy loser. He was also a very 

 expensive man, and his establishment at Merton, where he 

 at one time had a hundred horses, took some keeping up. 

 The money which he won over St. Giles' Derby soon went, 

 and he happened to incur the enmity of Lord George 

 Bentinck as well as that of his old partner Gully. Things 

 grew from bad to worse, and with the victory of Queen of 

 Trumps in the St. Leger the beginning of the end came. 

 The Merton establishment was sold, the horses went to the 

 hammer, and after paying a substantial dividend Ridsdale 

 retired to London, where he lived obscurely, never coming 



