34 LADIES ON HORSEBACK. 



Tour attendant waits until your horse is 

 •cantering pretty briskly in a circle from left 

 to right, when he suddenly cracks his whip 

 close to the animal's heels, who immediately 

 swerves and turns the other way. You have 

 had no warning of the movement, and con- 

 sequently you tumble off, and are put up 

 again, feehng a Httle shaken and a good deal 

 crestfallen. Most likely you will fall again 

 and again, until you have thoroughly mastered 

 the art of riding from balance. 



This is a method I have seen adopted, 

 especially in schools, with considerable suc- 

 cess, but it is certainly attended with incon- 

 venience to the learner, and with a goodly 

 portion of the risk from falls which all who 

 ride must of necessity run. To ride well from 

 balance is not a thing which can be accom- 

 plished in a day, nor a month, nor perhaps a 

 year. Many pass a life-time without prac- 

 tically comprehending the meaning of the 

 term. They ride every day, hold on to the 

 bridle, guide their horses, and trust to chance 

 for the rest ; but this is not true horsemanship. 

 It could no more be called riding than could a 



