September, 1905 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



183 



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Not as Quiet as He Seems 



The Horse Trained to Rear 



A Playful Mount 



He is then put through a course of " stunts " which seldom 

 fails to dismount the rider, who is unaccustomed to these 

 movements, no matter how proficient he may be in trotting, 

 loping or even going over hurdles. While he may be thrown 

 sidewise from the saddle or backward, quite frequently he is 

 thrown over the animal's head and into the arms of the men 

 waiting to break his fall. 



A few months of this sort of work so perfects the cavalry- 

 man that he can keep his seat on an animal which would be 

 beyond control with an ordinary 

 rider. As the accompanying 

 illustrations show, he can ad- 

 just himself to a remarkable 

 variety of movements, and con- 

 sequently is enabled to per- 

 form jumps which would do 

 credit to the most expert cross 

 country rider. Leaping a fence 

 six feet high is considered an 

 easy performance at Saumur, 

 while to show their efficiency the 

 cadets sometimes jump their 

 horses over dinner tables spread 

 with dishes without touching a 

 dish, as well as taking flying leaps 

 across carriages and wagons. 



The command of cadets at the 

 school give performances from 

 time to time during the year to illustrate their skill in horse- 

 manship. These are held in the riding-hall or upon the 

 practice ground facing the school, and include the manage- 

 ment of fractious horses, leaping contests, charging with 

 lances, as well as evolutions by companies and battalions, in- 

 tended to show their perfect control of their mounts. For 

 practice in inclement weather a very large hall is connected 

 with the cadet barracks, but most of the exercises are 

 carried on in the open air on the drill 

 field, which has been prepared espe- 

 cially for this purpose. 



The illustrations which accompany 

 this article are characteristic both of 

 some of the ordinary exercises practised 

 at Saumur, as well as some of the tricks 

 indulged in by some of the expert 

 riders. They show what splendid sport 

 these exercises are, as well as the great 

 skill that is developed by them. 



The French as a people view out- 

 door sport and life in a somewhat dif- 

 ferent manner than the English and 

 Americans. Sport to them is not the 

 whole-hearted affair it is with the Eng- 

 lish and as it is rapidly becoming with 



Kicking at Command of Instructor 



us; but outdoor life has made many advances in France in 

 the last few years, and, in one form or another, it is becom- 

 ing more and more popular every day. 



The training of cavalry officers in horseback riding, while 

 having many of the apparent qualities of outdoor sport, is 

 really a very serious affair, viewed from the French stand- 

 point. If their riders practise high jumps, teach their horses 

 to stand erect on their hind legs and vault over a dinner 

 table or an open carriage, these exercises are indulged in not 



for the pleasure they give the 

 riders, but to accustom them to 

 unusual conditions and to train 

 their horses to unusual acts. The 

 Frenchman is keenly alive to the 

 improbable; he is constantly ex- 

 pecting the unexpected, albeit 

 always surprised when it hap- 

 pens. His military experiences 

 in foreign lands, toward which 

 much of French military training 

 is directed, has taught him that 

 it is the unexpected and the un- 

 usual that counts in the long run, 

 and his severest defeats have 

 been sustained when he has not 

 been so prepared. For many 

 years, certainly since the Franco- 

 Prussian war, French military 

 training has been looking toward foreign possibilities. 

 Their soldiers have been trained in most difficult tasks and 

 subjected to many hardships, that their training may be 

 the more perfect. The varied typography of France readily 

 lends itself to such exercises, and perhaps makes them neces- 

 sary for matters of internal defense. The equestrian training 

 at Saumur is but one phase of French soldier life, illustrating 

 the extreme care with which its officers and men are trained. 



Jumping Over a Victoria 



