Some Steeplechase Horses loi 



heavily, and his tail was still towards the fence, I had no 

 chance of letting him go. At last I was able to put his 

 head straight for the jump, and such a lesson had he had 

 that he went as straight as an arrow and soon caught up 

 the others. In fact it was all I could do to hold him, and 

 in the end he won in a canter. I rode him twice after- 

 wards on the flat and won both times, but on the first 

 occasion we never got the race. The judge had just had 

 an excellent luncheon and somehow mistook the colours. 

 I won easily, and was chatting to the rider of the second as 

 we were going back to scale, when I caught sight of the 

 numbers, and said to him, " Is not that your number 

 they've put up as the winner." We naturally concluded 

 it was a mistake, but the judge maintained he was right, 

 in spite of the testimony of both of us and of several 

 people stationed near his box. On being questioned he 

 described the race in exactly the reverse way to which it 

 was run, saying that I had made the running and that 

 my opponent had caught me inside the distance and 

 beaten me, which was just contrary to the actual fact. 

 Anyhow we lost the stakes and our bets, and felt very 

 angry. 



