146 THE QUORN HUNT 



attracted the King's attention, for he was no stranger to 

 a scarlet coat, so he inquired who the youthful wearer 

 might be, and on being told his name remarked that he 

 was a sporting bred one. 



As a rider to hounds Sir Harry Gopdricke was quite 

 first-rate, for not only could he ride a perfect horse over 

 a difficult country, but it is said that he could also get 

 along on a rough one. At any rate he figured as a pro- 

 minent performer in several long and severe runs. 



In 1824, when Mr. Osbaldeston was master of the 

 Quorn for the first time, the hounds met at Widmerpool 

 and found in Walton Thorns a good fox— the best fox 

 they came upon during the season — which stood before 

 them for an hour and fifty-five minutes, there being a 

 good scent all the time. Towards the close of the first 

 thirty minutes many horses were standing still, but " the 

 Squire," Sir Harry, and Mr. Holyoake continued in their 

 places near the pack ; Sir Harry's horse, however, lasted 

 the longest. No more than a few days later the hounds 

 met at Owsthorpe and had an exceedingly fast run of an 

 hour and a quarter, and at the end of it Sir Harry, the 

 only one up, took the fox from the hounds ; but on that 

 occasion he owed his position to the fact of having met 

 his second horse near Six Hills ; while about a couple of 

 years later he was a conspicuous figure in Lord Lons- 

 dale's famous run from Launde Wood, in the bi^eest 

 part of the Harborough country ; and when he became 

 master of the Quorn he rode harder than ever. Then, 

 on another day, when the Longford Brook came in the 

 line — it had far overflowed its banks — he rode into the 

 water, tumbled into the brook, and scrambled out on 

 the other side. 



In the hands of Sir Harry Goodricke the Hunt was 

 kept up in first-rate style. There were upwards of fifty 

 hunters in the stables and about one hundred couples of 

 hounds, and the maintenance of these, together with the 



