192 FOX-HUNTING IN THE SHIRES 



But on this matter it is vain to preach, because 

 most people, and particularly those who hunt in 

 Leicestershire, have an unceasing round of occupa- 

 tions and no time even to think of one sport when 

 the next is pressing on their attention. Fortunately 

 for the horsemanship of the country the game of 

 polo has become fashionable ; not only so, but the 

 game, as played nowadays, requires trained ponies, 

 and this has forced men to give more attention to 

 schooling. People can scarcely fail to ask them- 

 selves why it is that polo ponies are for the most 

 part so pleasant to ride, and to apply the reflections 

 that follow to the training of hunters. Polo, more- 

 over, I believe to be an excellent school of horseman- 

 ship. Practice at the game gives strength of grip and 

 an easy balance and teaches the rider not to hold on 

 by the reins. 



To return, however, to the subject of riding over 

 Leicestershire, from which the above is a not irrele- 

 vant digression. The better hack a horse is on the 

 road, the pleasanter hunter he will be ; and most of 

 the qualities of a hack can be taught to a true-shaped 

 horse, such as a Leicestershire hunter must be. In 

 the same way, the better horseman the rider is, the 

 more he will enjoy his hunting. So far, however, 

 what has been written would apply to any hunting 

 country. Now, supposing the rider to have pro- 

 gressed so far as to be a fair horseman and a good 

 performer over other countries, he may ask what is 

 the difference between riding over grass countries 

 and provincial. The first and most important quality 

 necessary in the former is quickness both of decision 

 and of action. The man who hesitates in Leicester- 

 shire is out of the run. If I may be permitted a 

 bull, hounds travel so much faster over the grass 



