Itcport on ike Horses 'Exhihiied at Windsor. 559 
master " (her foal by " Canadian "), were canvassed as soon as 
she was led into the ring. When she belonged to Mr. John 
Goodwin, of Cheltenham, she seldom, if ever, missed a first 
prize ; but now that she has passed into the possession of H.R.H. 
the Prince of Wales, by singular ill-luck " Marion " obtained 
merely the barren honours of high commendation. This, how- 
ever, was not due to caprice on the part of the Judges, for 
" Marion " has a suspicious-looking hock, which beyond doubt 
kept her out of the first three. Had no such defect existed 
there would have been a very close fight between " Marion " 
and Mr. Cooper's beautiful chestnut mare " Florimel," by " Tom 
Ball." " Marion " would in all probability breed the more 
weight-carrying stock, but " Florimel " has not a bad point in 
her. She is apparently as nearly thoroughbred as possible, and, 
with her fine shoulders, strong loins, and excellent back, gives 
the spectator the idea that in her day she could have made the 
journey " from Crick to Misterton " — her home is in North- 
amptonshire — without putting a foot wrong. As a two-year- 
old Mr. Blenkin's " Princess Beatrice," by " Bay President," 
carried all before her in 1885; but in her more mature yeai's 
she has not been so successful as of yore ; indeed, one cannot 
help remarking that horses devoted to show life in their youth 
rarely continue to hold their own in what should be their i3rime. 
I have seen "Princess Beatrice" since she first came out, and 
should say that she has never done a day's work in her life; but 
horses are, no doubt, like human beings — generous keep with- 
out corresponding work tends to spoil the figure. " Florimel," it 
should be added, besides being placed first in her class, gained 
the Champion prize of 2bl. given by the Hunters' Improvement 
Society for the best mare in the first two classes. 
In the second class, for Hunter Mares not having had a foal 
in 1889, but served in 1889, the First Prize went into the 
hands of Captain Fife, who, as the head of the Compton Stud, 
has worked hard in the cause of horse-breeding, and has almost 
popularised it in a quarter of England — Dorsetshire, to wit 
— wherein it had never before deeply taken root. His mare 
"Mermaid," by "Baron Cavendish," well merited her honours; 
and mention may be made of the second because it was none 
other than " Old Quibble," the once well-known steeplechaser, 
now shown by the Hon. Mrs. Cecil Howard. 
After having seen all the brood mares, however, one was 
constrained to ask, " How are fifteen- and sixteen-stone hunters 
bred ? " What kind of mares were the dams of the horses the 
late Mr. Fenwick Bissett used to ride when he was master of 
the Devon and Somerset ? How were the horses bred which the 
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