MISS BELLE W 



hurt, though, whenever there happened to be ' a good 

 thing,' they were always to be seen going in the front 

 rank. One of them, a great friend of mine, was never 

 defeated, but was always up at the ' death.' The 

 Hon. Miss Bellew, of Barmeath, who had learned to 

 ride in the way I have described, was, I consider, the 

 very finest horsewoman in Ireland. No matter wiiat 

 country she was in, she picked her own line and went 

 to the front, and invariably remained at the head 

 of affairs throughout. When hounds were really 

 'going,' but very few could live with her. She 

 not only required no assistance in the way of a 

 pilot, but was herself as efficient a pilot as could 

 be followed, for her judgment was never at fault in 

 selecting the best line with hounds. Season after 

 season told the same tale. Her name, however, is too 

 well known to require any eulogy from me, further than 

 to give her the place of honour amongst our Irish lady 

 riders — at all events, in my estimation. 



The Empress of Austria and her sister, the Queen of 

 Naples, both learnt to ride in the same way, over 

 hurdles without stirrups, and on saddles with the 

 pommels made so as to be interchangeable, and thus 

 allow of the horse being ridden on either side. The 

 great difficulty in thus riding consists in bringing the 

 shoulders as square to the horse on the one side as on 

 the other. Such riding very much lessens the fatigue 

 consequent upon riding over fences all day on the one 

 leg. The change of sides also prevents a lady con- 

 tracting a twist over in her figure to either side. This 

 alone is an advantage, to say nothing of the rest to the 

 rider, and the relief it must be to a tired horse to have 

 the weight shifted to the other side. 



