RIDING RECOLLECTIONS 



the clip of your thighs, and the sway of your 

 body, exactly where he should take off. On this 

 important point depends, almost entirely, the 

 success of your leap. Half a stride means some 

 six or seven feet ; to leave the ground that much 

 too soon adds the width of a fair-sized ditch to his 

 task, and if the sum total prove too much for him 

 you cannot be surprised at the result. This is, I 

 think, one of the most important points in horse- 

 manship as applied to riding across a country. 

 It is a detail in which Lord Wilton particularly 

 excels, and although so good a huntsman must 

 despise a compliment to his mere riding, I cannot 

 refrain from mentioning Tom Firr, as another 

 proficient who possesses this enviable knack in 

 an extraordinary degree. 



Many of us can remember " Cap " Tomline, a 

 professional '' rough rider," living at or near 

 Billesdon, within the last twenty years, as fine a 

 horseman as his namesake, whom I have already 

 mentioned, and a somewhat lighter weight. For 

 one sovereign, "Cap," as we used to call him, 

 was delighted to ride anybody's horse under any 

 circumstances, over, or into any kind of fence the 

 owner chose to point out. After going brilliantly 

 through a run, 1 have seen him, to my mind most 

 injudiciously, desired to lark home alongside, 

 while we watched his performance from the 

 road. He was particularly fond of timber, and 



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