CHAPTER XI 



RIDING TO HOUNDS, AND SOME ADVICE TO 

 THE FIELD 



In the presence of so many fine horsemen and 

 horsewomen as we see to-day, the subject of this 

 chapter must be approached with some diffidence. 

 At most Meets of Foxhounds in the Midlands there 

 are generally at least twenty-five ladies and gentle- 

 men, each of whom not only means to be at the top 

 of the Hunt, but also has the courage, the skill, the 

 experience, and the horse with which to get there. 

 The horses, within limits, are perhaps the least of 

 these factors. If these same twenty-five people 

 were to change horses with the second flight, they 

 would still be first when Hounds run. So that 

 any advice contained in this chapter is offered with 

 profound respect. 



The right beginning to a day's hunting is to 

 come to the place where the Hounds meet, and 

 to come there in good time. This sounds like a 

 platitude ; but both these rules are occasionally 

 broken with disastrous results. It is a very grave 



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