in classes for Riding and Driving Horses, and 

 Thoroughbred Stallions forgetting Hunters; that the 

 Thoroughbreds were not good, and goes on further 

 to say that some of the Anglo-Norman stallions 

 from France mig-ht well be left in England to 

 improve our carriage horses. 



At the Royal Agricultural Show at Derby, in 

 1881, _;^ 1,000 was offered in prizes, but the Judges' 

 Report was that " Thoroughbreds, never strong at 

 the Royal Shows, were a very bad lot, the stallions 

 for o-ettincf hunters bein^ few in number and inferior 

 in quality." 



The foregoing remarks seem clearly to indicate 

 a general falling off in high-class horses. 



In the case of half-bred horses it is to my 

 mind easy to explain why these have been bred in 

 less numbers of late years than formerly. There may, 

 perhaps, be other causes besides those which I shall 

 assign, but the most important one is that we have 

 failed to follow up the system adopted by our 

 forefathers: 



W(t have, I fear, been taken off the true and 

 direct line by reason of the often expressed belief 

 " that our best mares have left the country."* There 

 is no foundation for such constantly repeated, and, as 

 I believe, wrong assertions. We possess two " races" 

 distinct in lineage which, if properly mated, will 



* We have not been breeding ; hence in great measure the want of 

 mares ; foreigners have always bought the best we would sell. 



