FEATS OF EQUINE ENDURANCE 139 



in speed. In 175 1 a noted pedestrian named Pinwire, 

 for a bet of 50 guineas, walked against a horse for 12 

 hours and beat it easily. This was not the only time his 

 two legs came off victorious against four : in several suc- 

 cessive years he beat some of the best roadsters in England. 



The late Mr Edward Hayward Budd, one of the finest 

 all-round athletes of his day, and an especially good sprint- 

 runner, tells the following story of how he was once matched 

 to run against a horse. " One day, after dinner, a son of 

 General Archdale offered to back his horse to do 100 

 yards against me for ^10. I entirely forgot to make it 

 50 yards out and back. As I expected, I was beaten ; 

 but, notwithstanding my mistake, he did not get away from 

 me till we had run 80 yards, and then he splashed the 

 mud in my face, as the ground was very soft. It was 

 in Hyde Park, and, not much to my credit, on a Sunday 

 morning." 



Races between pedestrians and equestrians have, of 

 course, been a familiar spectacle in the great circus-shows ; 

 but then, these are probably " arranged affairs," and the 

 horses are not flyers. 



A singular story of equine sagacity and emulation, 

 perhaps almost without parallel in sporting annals, is the 

 following : — 



In September 1793, at a race at Ennis in Ireland, 

 Atalanta, a mare belonging to Mr Eyre, took the lead of 

 three other horses running in the race. She had, however, 

 scarcely gone half a mile when she fell and threw her 

 rider. Recovering herself immediately, she dashed forward 

 riderless, and preserved the lead to the end of the heat, 

 during which she passed her stable and the winning-post 

 twice; nor did she stop till the flag was dropped to the 

 winner ; then, after trotting a few paces, she wheeled round 

 and came up to the scales to weigh. During the race she 

 frequently looked behind and quickened her pace as she 

 saw the other horses gaining on her ! ! ! 



To hark back for a moment to the East, here is a re- 

 markable story of the power of controlling intractable 

 horses possessed by Orientals, though the scene of the 

 exploit is laid in England. In 1803 a grand entertain- 



