CHAPTER XV 



INCIDENTS AND REMEDIES 



In pig-sticking, as in hunting, a certain amount of 

 grief is to be expected. I know of nothing so amus- 

 ing as a real crumphng fall to another, nor of any- 

 thing so good for a man's own nerve as a similar 

 fall to himself without damage — a regular galloping 

 fall for choice, horse and man, six legs in the air, 

 and then a puff of dust rising from where they 

 have hit the ground as if a shell had burst. It is 

 the slow falls that cause the grief, not the galloping 

 ones. 



If a man is to keep young and active he must 

 fall. And I suggest, with all due deference to the 

 authorities, that there should be an entry in each 

 senior officer's report as to how many falls he has 

 taken in the past twelve months. 



Not that in pig-sticking I regard falls as a sign 

 of either bravery or horsemanship. Some of the 

 best men I know seldom fall, and I can only ascribe 

 this to their good hands and leaving their horses 

 alone. There is undoubtedly an art in falling. One 

 friend of mine never hurts himself. He stands 6 feet 

 4 inches, and only hits the ground in sections at a 

 time. I find I get damaged more often than I used 

 to. I always fall on my left shoulder and tuck 

 my head in, leave go of the reins and roll. To 



239 



