336 HUNTING. 



jump at the Richmond Show is placed in such a posi- 

 tion that a horse cannot be given a long run at it, and 

 yet many horses clear it easily. It measures, I believe, 

 about 14 feet, and is so narrow that a horse I once 

 rode over it showed his sense by clearing the width 

 instead of the length, and landing near the stand. I 

 do not think that out hunting it is usual to expect a 

 horse to negotiate a water jump of say over 12 feet 

 in width. Some horses, like some men, possess a 

 special aptitude for jumping width, although they 

 would doubtless be poor performers at height, the 

 style of jumping being entirely different. The hunter 

 who is equally proficient at both styles of fencing, is as 

 rare as he is valuable. Captain Elmhirst records an 

 instance of " a whole Leicestershire field pounded by 

 12 feet of water," and how the difficulty was at last 

 overcome by a shallow spot being discovered, a rail 

 broken down and the field '' slink pitifully through. 

 How we hug ourselves as we gallop under 

 a railway arch, to find we have bridged a bit of water 

 that would frighten no one outside the vaunted Mid- 

 lands." I believe the reason why the majority of 

 hunting people dislike water is that they do not care 

 to ride fast at it, for fear of being crumpled in a fall. 

 I do not aPTee with the statement that a hard funker 



o 



rushes at his fences. Ignorance and enthusiasm may 

 lead people into doing that, but funk oftener than 

 not either pilots them away from fences entirely, or 

 incites them to pull their horses off them, and then 

 abuse the animals for refusing ! When the funky 



