DRIVING, RIDING, HUNTING, RACE-RIDING 401 



and he, it may be mentioned, proved the ultimate winner. 

 The rest of the riders are in the queerest of positions, most 

 of them with dayhght showing underneath them for the full 

 length of their thighs, and one and all are holding so tight 

 by the reins that the horses' jaws are wide open with the 

 necks bent, while the laid-back ears betray the discomfort 

 the animals are feeling. What would not any of the great 

 jockeys of old have accomplished amongst such a crew ! 



It should always be kept in mind that a horse starts with 

 only a given amount of energy in his frame, just as an 

 accumulator is stored with electricity ; and that any call 

 made upon this energy, such as having to hold its rider in 

 position by the mouth, is so much the less available for the 

 struggle of the race. Also every inch lost in the fight for 

 freedom when the rider is hanging on by the reins, which 

 would otherwise have been gained with the same expendi- 

 ture of force, is equal to carrying so much extra weight. 

 A yard of ground is soon lost in this way, and that is the 

 equivalent of about 1^ lbs. in weight. It is easy thus to 

 lose many yards before the rider has got balanced, and the 

 amount of weight so lost is often quite incalculable. 



Tod Sloan introduced this present fashion, but then he 

 was one of those talented, exceptional jockeys, who would 

 have been certain to win races in whatever style he rode. 

 Moreover, he had the luck to arrive in England at a time 

 when our jockeys were very moderate ; though if he had 

 only visited our shores some twenty years before he would 

 soon have had to alter his style, or Fred Archer and George 

 Fordham would have given him no chance whatever of 

 holding his own with them. 



Sloan formed a theory on what suited a bicycle, and sought 

 thus to escape the pressure of the wind ; and this is just the 

 sort of catch-phrase the public delights in getting hold of, 

 without following the matter up. Jockeys can crouch quite 

 as low with the old seat, if they have a mind to, and there is 

 any necessity for it, but this is only one single item in the 

 delicate matter of riding a race. Balance, so adjusted that 

 the weight is distributed to the greatest advantage, is equally 

 important, and the burthen especially should not be all put 



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