Steeplechase Riding 185 



very generally overlooked too — is strength. 

 A man who has never ridden in steeplechases 

 can have no idea of the immense expenditure 

 of muscular and nervous force by a jockey 

 ridino; a hard race. To be in hard condition 

 is a prime necessity for a steeplechase jockey, 

 and even then the wear and tear is such that 

 only a sound constitution will enable a man 

 to support these constant demands upon his 

 strength. The power of calling up these 

 forces instantly and constantly is, perhaps, 

 the best definition I can mve of beinsf 

 '* strong on a horse." 



Fred Archer was a very delicate man, and, 

 generally speaking, unable to stand even the 

 exertion of a long walk, but very few have 

 ever shown more power on a horse than he. 

 Of all his contemporaries, I should be inclined 

 to think that only Custance and Fred Webb 

 were as strong horsemen as the shadowy, 

 frail-looking jockey, whose mighty "finishes" 

 delighted the racing world for over a decade. 

 Custance and Webb, by the way, are both 

 splendid men across country. 



