Riding Orders 



He also added that he did not object to wait- 

 ing for the hurdles to be knocked down when his 

 " flyer " was too flippant to take care of himself, 

 and jumped as if his wings had been awkwardly 

 greased for the job. Still, it is not very agreeable 

 to have to do something " extra " at each corner. 



The riding orders usually given by an elderly 

 North-country trainer took this form : " Do not be 

 afraid of winning too far." A close finish caused 

 him immense excitement. When he had more 

 than five pounds on his candidate — a consider- 

 able wager for him unless he were "a bit above 

 himself," as the saying is — he did not like to see 

 all that money trembling in the balance. 



" Arthur," he told me once, " get home as soon 

 as you can, my lad, and don't draw it fine unless 

 you desire to find me blubbering, when you come 

 back, near the blessed buffet." 



He was a most astute man, and encouraged 

 me to use my own judgment as the race was run. 

 Lying too far out of one's ground incited him to 

 a fine flow of objurgation. He loved to see a 

 gallop, not a crawl. " Be within effective striking 

 distance," he admonished me, " when you arrange 

 to let your blow fall, or you might as well be 

 beating the air as your horse." Many of his 

 sporting aphorisms have now an air of antiquity. 



137 



