28 sportsmen Parsons in Peace and War 



Mr. Legard's father, before his marriage, was in the 9th 

 Lancers, one of the hardest riding regiments in the Service ; from 

 him no doubt, Mr. Cecil Legard inherited his love for riding, 

 racing, hunting, and all things appertaining to them. 



In 1863 Cecil Legard went to Magdalene College, Cambridge. 

 Here he quickly found a place amongst kindred spirits who loved 

 horses and sport as well as he did. 



In 1865 we find him in the midst of racing and hunting. It 

 was in that year the two Universities wished to establish an 

 annual steeplechase, a sort of sister to the boat-race, but the Dons 

 did not take kindly to the idea, so it had to be dropped in its orig- 

 inal form ; but it was not entirely fnistrated, for it appeared as 

 " The Grand Steeplechase Match — Oxford versus Cambridge," 

 no owners' names being on the race-card, and the jockeys rode 

 under fictitious ones. Only those in the secret knew who the 

 owners were or who was going to ride. 



Amongst these sporting undergraduates they arranged that 

 each University should have four representatives, all to ride 

 twelve stone and over three miles of the Aylesbury Course, the 

 value of the race being £150. 



It being no longer a secret who took part in that Stee]:5le- 

 chase, I may give the correct names of the owners and riders 

 and the numbers as they finished : 



OXFORD. 



Mr. Grissell's " Marchioness " Owner 1 



Duke of Hamilton's " Pantaloon" Mr. Frederick 2 



Mr. a. Smith-Barry's " Loyalty " Owner 4 



Earl of Harrington's " Kate " Lord Willoughby 



DE Broke o 



CAMBRIDGE. 



Hon. H.Fitzwilliam's "Proposition" Mr. Cecil Legard 3 



Mr. Candy's " Colleen Bawn " Hon. T. Fitzwilliam 5 



Lord Aberdour's " The Good Lady " Viscount Melgund o 



Hon. T. Fitzwilliam 's " Heimitage " . . . .Lord Aberdour o 



by which it will be seen that Oxford won, and Mr. Legard, rid- 

 ing for Cambridge, came in third. " Proposition," the horse 

 he was riding, belonged to the still living Hon. H. Fitz- 

 william, at one time a steward of the Jockey Club and founder 



