AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



77 



the body must take, would loosen them, and then you 

 have no hold." Now, I am inclined to think, that the situ- 

 ation of the leg should not be exactly "perpendicular 

 from the knee," but gently inclining backwards, such a 

 position of the leg enabling the rider to make use of more 

 compressive or adhesive power, and consequently ena- 

 bling him to sit more closely and more firmly on the sad- 

 dle ; nor have I the least doubt, that, if the reader will 

 take the trouble to try the experiment, he will find I am 

 borne out in such a conclusion. It is true, in a small or 

 ordinary leap, there is no necessity for any excess of ad- 

 hesive power, but when a rasper is to be got over, the ne- 

 cessary violence in the action of the horse is so great that 

 the firmest hold with the legs and thighs becomes indis- 

 pensable; and the position (of the legs) which I have 

 pointed out will be found to be that which is the best cal- 

 culated to accomplish the object with ease and safety both 

 to the horse and rider. 



Young riders can scarcely be induced to lean the body 

 backward enough when the horse has taken his spring, 

 and for this very reason they cannot preserve a motion in 

 consonance or correspondence with that of the horse, and 

 the consequence is, that their seat becomes disordered or 

 disturbed ; they are thrown forward and sometimes com- 

 pletely unhorsed. They should lean freely and fearlessly 

 backward ; since they may rest assured, it is not possible 

 for them to overshoot the mark or lean too much back- 

 ward. 



Experienced sportsmen, in leaping, frequently elevate 

 the whip hand as the horse is descending, a practice which 

 the professed riding master will by no means tolerate. Ac- 

 cording to the doctrine of the riding master, the body 

 should be kept square and the whip hand low, as (says he) 

 if the whip hand be raised, the body of the rider must be 

 pulled out of the square, and the balance destroyed. So 

 far it may be said to be all very well ; but yet it will scarce- 

 ly, I think, bear the test of examination. When the horse 

 has taken his spring, and is descending or coming to the 

 ground, the left or bridle hand is necessarily drawn for- 

 ward ; and if, at the same moment, the whip hand be ele- 

 vated and thrown back, the balance at least of the body is 

 preserved, however it may be drawn out of the square. 

 And here it may be very justly observed, that some horses, 

 when descending, bring their noses lower than others, and 

 these consequently require the accommodation of the bri- 

 dle hand to a greater extent. In the season of 1824-5, I 

 rode a fine grey mare, that in descending brought her nose 

 very low indeed, and consequently was apt to pull a strange 

 rider out of his seat. Some months before she came into 

 my possession, a gentleman's huntsman (a youth) mounted 

 her for the purpose of following his harriers, but she, in 



U 



leaping, pulled him over her head ; and though this lad at- 

 tempted to ride her several times, he never completely 

 succeeded in accommodating her peculiar mode of bring- 

 ing down her nose. Nevertheless, she was not difficult to 

 ride, and, as a hunter, never perhaps had a superior. 



If, however, I feel no disposition to censure the practice 

 of elevating and throwing back the whip hand in the leap, 

 there is another purpose to which I have sometimes seen 

 the same hand applied, in the same operation of the horse, 

 which cannot be too severely censured : I allude to taking 

 hold of the cantle of the saddle, a method which some few 

 sportsmen adopt, either from ignorance, fear, awkward- 

 ness, or from some other motive equally reprehensible. — 

 To say nothing of the unsightly appearance which such a 

 position presents, the object of the rider is frustrated by 

 the very means which he puts in practice to accomplish it. 

 Taking hold of the cantle of the saddle with the whip hand, 

 renders it impossible for the rider to make use of his bri- 

 dle hand in a proper manner ; consequently he endangers 

 the safety of the horse, and renders his own seat as inse- 

 cure as possible. A person who adopts this highly injudi- 

 cious method of riding, is constantly exposed to serious 

 accidents. 



A good sportsman will, as often as possible, ride parallel 

 with the pack ; not after them, unless, by short turns, he 

 is obliged to do otherwise ; by which means he can see 

 every thing that is going on, and anticipate the probable 

 cause of hounds coming to a fault : and I believe a good 

 huntsman and a minute observer, will, twice out of three 

 times, discover the object in the line of the hounds that 

 caused it, and, as soon as he suspects it, pull up his horse : 

 for instance, a church, a village, a farm-house, a team at 

 plough, men at work, sheep, and, above all, cattle, are the 

 things most likely to impede the scent : (be it remember- 

 ed, that the breath of one cow will distract hounds more 

 than a hundred sheep :) when any of these objects present 

 themselves in the face of the hounds, you may then anti- 

 cipate a stop ; and by pulling up your horse, and observing 

 which way the pack inclined before the check, you will 

 be able (without casting) to hold them to the right or left 

 accordingly. 



Every person should, if possible, take his place and keep 

 it; and after the bustle of the first five minutes every thing 

 assumes a degree of regularity, of which before it was not 

 susceptible. 



In a fair country, and hounds in condition, it is my 

 opinion, that if the above observations could be carried 

 into effect, few foxes would escape. Patience is the best 

 performer in the chase ! All hounds in these times are 

 well enough bred, and all hounds have power enough to 

 kill their fox. 



