Steeplechase Riding 2 1 9 



When riding a horse that you have reason- 

 able grounds for supposing will fall with you, 

 it is a good plan to leave your spurs behind. 

 They are apt to get crosswise in the stirrup- 

 irons, and hang you up in the event of an 

 upset. Always try to fall away from your 

 horse ; that is, if he falls to the left, do you 

 try and fall to the right, and vice versa. 

 Although I have no affection for a whip, it 

 is not without its uses : as when a horse is 

 fencing carelessly ; and again, when he seems 

 doubtful in his mind whether to jump or 

 refuse. In Casse Tete's Grand National, Page 

 had to use his whip heavily at the final 

 hurdles to keep the little mare on her legs 

 at all. And if a horse lies too far out of 

 his ground, a judicious "one" may be of 

 service in getting him to go up and join 

 his horses. Again, one or two strokes may 

 be invaluable just at the finish of a race. 

 But to keep on whipping a horse, merely 

 proclaims to everybody that his rider is 

 both a butcher and an ass. These remarks, 

 of course, do not apply to men who regularly 



