EASTERN STOCK 209 



Anyway a galloping ass is a deal better ride 

 than a bullock. I was winning the race when 

 my moke, being of the Moslem faith, knelt 

 down to say his prayers, and I went on alone. 



From watching Moors, Cossacks, Jockeys 

 and other bent-leg horsemen I have an im- 

 pression that a similar halt of the steed for a 

 moments' prayer would have the same effect ; 

 but that the Spanish Picador, meanest of the 

 straight-leg riders, would manage to stay in the 

 saddle. 



In the days of armour the gentleman-at- 

 arms wore doublet and trunk hose, riding 

 light horses for hunting, hawking, or even 

 travel. Ladies rode also, and there was 

 cantering where the ground permitted. But 

 I cannot recall any mention of jumping in 

 England until the time of the Civil War. Prince 

 Rupert escaped a pursuit of heavy cavalry 

 by jumping. A fugitive cavalier pursued by 

 Roundheads, leapt from Wenlock Edge. 



By this time a few Barbs, and Eastern 

 horses alleged to be Arabian, had added a 

 new strain to the English stock. Oliver 

 Cromwell, for instance, a notable breeder 

 before he went into politics, had an imported 

 sire. The thoroughbred, who is 7/8 Arabian 

 by blood, made jumping possible. 



