Early Days i 2 3 



not unfrequeiitly introduces us to a useful 

 horse or two whose merit was before un- 

 suspected. So popular have these events 

 become, that almost every well-known hunt 

 has its "Point to Point" as regularly as the 

 season comes round. 



But I am getting on too far ahead, and 

 dealing with our own times instead of with 

 those of our fathers and grandfathers before 

 us. 



A match, or a sweepstake between three, 

 was the form usually taken by steeplechasing 

 in its infancy. And what a healthy, robust 

 sort of infant it was ! With men like the 

 Marquis of Waterford, Mr. Osbaldeston, 

 Captain Ross, Captain Becher, Sir David 

 Baird, Lord Clanricarde, Sir Harry Good- 

 ricke, cum multis aliis, to ride, and horses 

 such as Moonraker, Gaylad, Peter Simple, 

 Grimaldi, Lottery, and Vivian running, how 

 could steeplechasing fail to become a success ? 



Gaylad was bought as a three-year-old by 

 Mr. Davy, a tenant farmer in the Brocklesby 

 country, a rare old-fashioned sportsman. He 



