Report of the Stewards of Stoch at the. Newcastle Show. 433 
Report of the Stewards of Stoch at the Newcastle Show. 
Houses. 
This part of the Show fell 37 short in its numbers as com- 
pared with last year, and, in spite of the inducements which 
were held out to owners of Clydesdales, only ( J entries were sent 
from over the Border. The whole of the entries reached 164, 
which were distributed into 33 classes, with three silver medals 
and 835/. of prize money. There was a very clean bill of health, 
as only 5 — to wit, a thoroughbred sire, 2 hunters, and 2 dray- 
horses — were disqualified, 4 of them for roaring and the fifth 
for whistling. 
The hunters were saddled, and ridden in the very spacious 
horse-ring — a novelty which gave great satisfaction. We should, 
however, mention that the mode adopted in the Catalogue, of 
keeping the Society's and the Local Committee's classes separate, 
was productive of a good deal of confusion to the spectators 
and of difficulty to the acting Steward. For the future we 
beg to recommend that the Thoroughbreds, Hunters, Roadsters, 
Ponies, and Agricultural Horses should follow each other in 
that order both in the Catalogue and into the ring for whatever 
prize they may be entered. It might also be well, after the 
successful experiment of this year, for the Society to permanently 
embody in their programme the prize for Agricultural pairs, 
and to have a class for Three- Year Fillies and Geldings calcu- 
lated to make carriage-horses. The Pony Classes were very 
weak. The present standard, "not exceeding 14 hands," just 
excludes many of the best, but the difficulty might be met by 
raising it half a hand, and establishing another class for those 
not exceeding 13. 
For the Thoroughbred Stud-Horse prize (Class LII.) there 
were only 10 entries, and " Buccaneer " did not come, in conse- 
quence of* his owner, Mr. James Cookson, accepting the office of 
Judge, Cumberland furnished the winner in "Laughingstock," 
whose owners, the Messrs. MofTatt, were second to " Royal 
Ravenhill " for the Society's prize with "British Yeoman " at 
Carlisle, and won it with him the following year at Chelmsford. 
The winner, of whom one of the Judges says he is " as beautiful 
ahorse as I ever saw, but not fully let down yet," is closely allied 
in blood to " Asteroid " and " The Marquis." He is by " Stock- 
well " from a " Touchstone " mare, the dam of " Gamester," and 
both of these horses were bred by Sir Charles Monck, of Belsay 
Castle, in Northumberland. But for " Gamester's " lack of 
knee-action, it would have been a very near point between 
them ; but eventually the St. Leger winner was placed third, as 
