RIDING RECOLLECTIONS 



caprice of a rider, struggles gallantly on till it 

 drops ! 



There used to be a saying in the prize ring, 

 that " Seven pounds will lick the best man in 

 England." This is but a technical mode of 

 stating that, ccrteris paribzts, weight means 

 strength. Thirty years ago, it was a common 

 practice at Melton to weigh hunters after they 

 were put in condition, and sportsmen often 

 wondered to find how the eye had deceived 

 them, in the comparative tonnage, so to speak, 

 and consequently the horse - power of these 

 different conveyances ; the thorough-bred, with- 

 out exception, proving far heavier than was 

 supposed. 



An athlete, we all know, whether boxer, 

 wrestler, pedestrian, cricketer, or gymnast, looks 

 smaller in his clothes, and larger when he is 

 stripped. Similarly, on examining in the stable, 

 "the nice little horse" we admired in the field, 

 it surprises us to find nearly sixteen hands of 

 height, and six feet of girth, with power to 

 correspond, in an animal of which we thought the 

 only defect was want of size. A thorough-bred 

 one is invariably a little bigger and a great deal 

 stronger than he looks. Of his power to carry 

 weight, those tall, fine men who usually ride so 

 judiciously and so straight, are not yet sufficiently 

 convinced, although if you ask any celebrated 



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