DRIVING, RIDING, HUNTING, RACE-RIDING 399 



means of letting the huntsman know, give but one holloa, 

 and then wait and see if attention has been drawn to it. 

 When you are able to tell the huntsman where the fox has 

 gone, tell him in few words where you last saw it, in which 

 direction it was going, and how long a time has elapsed since 

 it passed by. Never jump an unnecessary fence, for you 

 know not what calls you may have to make on the endu- 

 rance of your steed before the end of the run ; and always 

 keep some wind in your horse, and be careful of what you 

 ride him at when getting blown. If hounds can jump a 

 brook, so too can a horse ; and as a rule the fox crosses at the 

 narrowest place. Choose a spot where the banks look sound 

 for taking off, and if possible near a tree, for the ground is 

 generally soundest there. Always wait for a man to mount 

 who has jumped off to open a gate ; and if you have opened 

 a gate yourself, and some one is close behind, hold it a 

 moment and give it a swing back that he may get through 

 as well. Often the two or three seconds you lose in doing 

 so are of gain to your horse if he is getting blown in a sharp 

 gallop. Cross ridge and furrow at a slight angle, according 

 to the stride of your horse ; you will feel directly the 

 difference in his going when he finds the dips and ridges 

 agree with his action. It is better to select a big fence if 

 the take-off is good, than a smaller one where it is bad. 

 Always turn your horse's head towards hounds when the 

 pack is passing you in the lane, and then you minimise the 

 chance of one getting kicked. Hold your horse well by 

 the head in deep ground, for with a slack rein he will soon 

 be blown. 



Race-eiding. 



"Parce Puer stimulis et fortius utere loris " is advice as 

 true to-day as when first uttered by Virgil. The words 

 constitute the most ancient orders given to a jockey on 

 record, and indeed are entitled to rank amongst the very 

 best — especially in these days of "butcher-boy" jockeys, 

 when race-riding is at a very low ebb indeed. Probably at no 

 period of the history of the Turf have the riders been more 

 utterly destitute of control over their steeds, and Virgil no 



