active 1866-1874 Robert Henderson

“ The riding master, in all probability, has promoted himself from the office of pad groom. He knows how to saddle and turn out a lady's horse, and how to put the lady into the saddle; he knows, also, the cheapest market in which to go for fashionable-looking screws upon which to mount his customers. There his qualifications as a riding master end. The inductive steps by which a lady should be taught, the reason for everything she is asked to do, the "aids" by which she should control her horse and establish a good understanding with him, are all sealed mysteries to the stamp of man I speak of. ”

“ Youth, health, wealth, a capital seat, and fine hands upon his horse, any quantity of pluck, a thorough knowledge of hunting, and plenty of the best horses to carry him—who could desire more? Alas that it should be so! even the brightest sunshine may become overcast—the fairest prospect be marred—by causes never dreamt of by the keenest and most far seeing among us. ”

“ The horse is a first-class hack, as good a performer over the great Leicestershire pastures and formidable oxers which so often bar the way in that sporting county, as he has already proved himself in the manége; and, as he possesses, in addition to true and most elastic action, fine temper and indomitable courage, I venture to present his likeness as my type of the sort of animal adapted either for Rotten-row or to hold his own in the "first flight" over a country. ”

“ If summoned even at the dead of night to attend the bedside of a sick or dying person, as frequently happens, she will dress herself quickly in rough habiliments suitable to it—maybe in tempestuous weather—saddle and bridle a horse herself if her people are not quick enough for her, and, provided with cordials, a prayer book, and a long hunting crop, she will gallop off the nearest way to her destination, taking the fences, if they lie in the road, as they come; and one bright moonlight night I saw her do two or three places that would stop half the men that ride to hounds hereabouts. ”

“ Let me, then, close my humble efforts at carefully tracing out the readiest way for a lady to become a thorough horsewoman by again recommending them all to begin early, and to pay implicit attention to the tuition of a first-class instructor; always to throw their whole heart into their riding, fixing their minds rigidly on it while learning, and never, however proficient or confident they may be, venture, unless upon a life-and-death emergency, upon half-broken horses. ”

“ But I have found in teaching ladies to jump their horses that, particularly with a quick jumping one, any such attempt would result in the horse hitting the lady in the face with his head, and thereby thoroughly disgusting her with leaping lessons, to say nothing of possible disfigurement or injury. The instructor cannot be too quiet, simply keeping well hold of his horse, making him walk close to the boards, and cautioning his pupil to sit back—not away from the crutches of the saddle, but to throw the upper part of her figure back the instant the horse drops his head. ”

“ Many authorities on riding tell us that a horse's jump is simply a higher stride of his gallop; from this notion I beg entirely to dissent. In leaping, a horse first raises his forehand upwards with a half rear, both feet quitting the ground at the same instant, the height he rises corresponding to the angle at which he takes off. Secondly, from his hind legs he propels himself forwards, both hind legs moving together, and, if he is a good jumper, well under him. If leaping, therefore, is to be compared to any other action of a horse, it must resemble a plunge gaining ground to the front. ”

“ I have frequently heard the remark that it is of no consequence how a man or woman gets upon a horse, provided they can ride when once up. I maintain that graceful riding is true riding, and that if it is worth while to ride gracefully, it is equally worth while to mount gracefully.
Let us then suppose the lady to be dressed and ready for her ride in school or manége. She should take the skirt of her habit in the full of both hands, holding her whip in the right; the skirt should be raised sufficiently to admit of the wearer walking freely. ”

“ I remember once seeing a man, really a capital rider in his own way, giving a lady a lesson on a horse of her own which he had broken for her. Both master and pupil were sorely puzzled—the former because the horse would not obey the hand and leg of the rider, as directed by the master, and the pupil, by finding that all she was doing produced an effect diametrically opposite to that which was intended. ”

“ Before venturing to take our aspirant for the honours of the chase to a regular meet of foxhounds—where she is apt to become excited, and possibly unnerved by the imposing array of "pink," gallant horsemen, and aristocratic ladies riding steeds of fabulous price, dashing equipages, and thrusting foot people, always ready to embarrass a beginner—it is best to seek out a quiet line nearly all arable land, where the fences will be small, where there are few ditches to be met with, and where the going on the stubble or fallow will be good enough when the crops are off the ground. ”

“ In whatever part, however, the fair lover of hunting seeks her sport, she should bear in mind that when she is once away with hounds she cannot be too particular as to riding her horse with the utmost care and precision, and to avoid taking liberties with him by jumping big places for the sake of display. It cannot be too strenuously impressed upon her mentor that, as long as the true line to the hounds can be maintained, the less jumping that is done, the longer the horse will last; that one big jump takes as much out of him as galloping over three big fields ”

“ Manner in riding the horse at this stage of his breaking is of vital importance. The hands, while kept well back, should be light and lively; the whip and spur (never to be unnecessarily applied) should be used so as to let the horse know that they are always ready if he hangs back from his work; and the rider, sitting easily and flexibly in the saddle, should ride with spirit and vivacity, making much of the horse from time to time as he answers with alacrity to the light and lively aids applied. ”

“ Galloping, however, like walking, is a perfectly natural pace, although it is a mistake to say that in the gallop the horse moves both fore and hind legs together, in what is frequently termed "a succession of jumps." That he does this in his top speed, and especially in making a supreme effort, as in a desperate finish of a race, is perfectly true: but it is equally certain that at half or three quarter speed he is leading with either near or off fore leg, and that anything but a full speed gallop is simply a very extended canter. ”

“ I believe the best definition to be this: when a horse is "light in hand," according to the technical meaning, it should by no means be understood that he has so delicate a mouth that he fears the action of the bit in it. On the contrary, having in his breaking been fairly balanced, the greater part of the weight on his haunches, and ridden well up to his bridle, he should admit of a steady appui between his mouth and the rider's hand, while he bends in the poll of the neck. ”

“ It must be clearly understood, however, that for a lady to attempt to execute the "bending lesson" by written directions alone, and unaided by the vigilant superintendence and oral instruction of a first-rate master would be a mistake. Clear and concise as the language of the "Aid Book" is, it is impossible for any man writing such directions to indicate the precise moment at which each movement of hand and leg is to be made, any more than the man who writes the score in music can regulate the hand of the instrumental executant of it. ”

“ In the first lessons given to a lady on horseback it is well to insist upon her keeping the arm steady, because otherwise she is ready not only to yield her hand to every movement of the horse, be that yielding right or wrong, but gradually and imperceptibly to herself her hands will steal forward until they are eight or ten inches in front of her, the consequence being that the muscles of the waist become rigid, and the flexibility of her figure at its most important point, as regards riding, is lost, while the hands remain in the awkward and ungainly position I allude to. ”

“ It must be manifest to every man who has the most remote notion of what manner of people our aristocracy and gentry are, that they will only know at the covert side precisely the same stamp of person they meet elsewhere in society. In that society there are dinner parties, flower shows, balls, the opera, all affording equal or better opportunities for flirtation than the hunting field. As to hunting being unfeminine, it is difficult, I submit, to pronounce it any more so than riding in Rotten-row. ”

“ Hounds were running with a breast-high scent, the pace very fast, when the leading division had their extended front diminished to single file by a big bullfincher, practicable only in one place. Among those waiting their turn to jump was a lady who always rides very forward. She was mounted on a rare-shaped, blood-like animal, that looked all over like seeing the end of a long day, but exhibited considerable impatience at the check. In some cases, as all hunting people know, the difficulty is always increased to those who are compelled to wait by a ruck of riders crowding up from the rear. ”

“ Anything like hurry, while it is calculated to render the horse unsteady, is at the same time ungraceful, and the beginning of a bad habit always to be avoided.
Everything in the way of mounting or dismounting a horse, either by a lady or gentleman, should be done with well-defined and deliberate, although smart motions. This precision once acquired is the good habit which becomes second nature to the rider, and is so highly indicative of good manners in equitation. ”

“ In most of our fashionable watering-places one sees very neatly got-up horsey-looking men, duly booted, spurred, and moustached, tittuping along with a small troop of young ladies, who, with their skirts ballooned out with the fresh breeze from the "briny," and "sitting all over the saddle," are making themselves very uncomfortable, when they could have enjoyed the bracing air just as well, for less money, in an open fly. ”

“ But I do not, from experience, believe in putting the bar or other obstacle on the ground, because the effort a well-broken horse makes to clear it is so slight, that it puts the rider off her guard; and when afterwards he rises higher in his jump, he is very apt to shift her in the saddle. There is a very natural inclination on the part of a tyro in riding, lady or gentleman (having seen a horse jump under another person) , to suppose that some effort of the hand is necessary to lift the horse over the obstacle. ”

“ In no department of the charming art of dressing well is a lady so much shackled by conventional usages as in her "get up" for riding. In all other kinds of dress, from the full Court costume to simple morning wrapper, such is the almost endless variety of style that there is something to suit every woman, from the lady of high degree to "Dolly Varden," and the "Molly Duster;" and the selection made is conclusive as to the good or bad taste of the wearer. In riding dress it is altogether different. ”

“ Before closing this article, I cannot refrain from citing an instance of the great value of a lady learning to cross the country well, irrespective of the sport of foxhunting and its health-giving and exhilarating effects. Within ten miles of where I write this resides a lady, young, wealthy, and beautiful, who, although not a religious recluse, is as thorough and sincere a devotee of religion as any cloistered nun. Her whole time is spent in acts of charity, and ministering to the spiritual and bodily welfare of the poor for miles round her residence. ”

“ Nothing connected with riding stamps the style and tournure of a lady more than the fashion in which she mounts her horse and arranges her habit; it ought, in fact, to be a matter as carefully looked to by the instructor as her mode of entering a room would be to a master of deportment. ”

“ The pupil, when the spur is first fitted on, should be cautioned to keep her left toe as near the horse's side as the heel, in order to avoid hitting him when he does not require it; and, indeed, the wearing of the steel aid is in itself a good exercise as to the true position of the left leg, while the blunt head of a Latchford (when not pressed hard to the horse's side) does away with any danger.
The use of the spur in a lady's riding is objected to by some; but I cannot consider any rider (man or woman) worthy of the name who cannot use one and be safe enough in the saddle at the same time. ”

“ At all events, I recommend any man taking a young lady into the Park in the height of the London season "to have his eyes about him" in every direction, lest some "dashing equestrian," male or female, should come bucketing a horse in rear of his charge, and to keep a close watch also upon the latter—to see that she rides her horse all the time she is in the place, keeping him well into his bridle, which reduces to a minimum the chances of his suddenly flirting. ”

“ The reason is that the military trot is taught upon the principle of balance. The man sits fair down on his seat, and, keeping his knee forward and his heel well down, does not cling to the horse by muscular grasp; consequently the bumping, so terrific to the eye of the civilian, is scarcely felt by the soldier, and in continental armies, where rough trotting horses are exceptional, the motion or jolt is scarcely perceptible. There are a great many popular fallacies about military riding—as, for instance, that a dragoon rides with a very long stirrup ”

“ Some say that in leaping it is by muscular grasp only that a lady can retain her true equilibrium in the saddle; others adhere to the notion that it is all done by balance. Now the truth lies midway between these two theories. It is quite possible for a man to ride over a fence by balance only. Witness what one sees frequently in a circus, where some talented equestrian maintains his footing on a bare-backed steed, while the latter jumps a succession of bars. Here there is nothing to keep the rider on the horse but sheer balance ”

“ Turning, however, from the delicate and timid to those whose health and physique enable them to hold their own in the front rank, I venture to point out a possible casualty that may happen in hunting, which, although not of frequent occurrence, may easily be attended with dangerous results if the fair rider with hounds is unacquainted with the means of counteracting it. I allude to the possibility of a horse in crossing a ford, where the stream is rapid and the bottom uneven, losing his footing. ”

“ A point of vital importance to be looked to by the master is that his pupil at her first attempt at cantering her horse is perfectly cool and self-possessed, and that she applies her aids smoothly, without hurry or excitement, for so great is the sympathy of the horse in this respect, that flurry on the part of the rider is sure to cause passionate, excited action in the horse. ”

“ Riding comes as naturally to her as it does to her brothers. Both clamber up on their ponies, or are lifted on, almost as soon as they can walk, and consequently "grow" into their riding, and become at fifteen or sixteen years of age as much at home in the saddle as they are on a sofa. In the hunting field they see the best types of riding extant, male and female, and learn to copy their style and mode of handling their horses, while oral instruction of the highest order is always at hand to supplement daily practice. ”

“ The fact of a horse losing his footing in deep water is at once apparent by his making a half plunge, and commencing to swim, which instinct teaches him to do directly he feels that he is out of his depth. ”

“ A lady, the widow of a wealthy civil servant in India, having returned to her native land laden with the riches of the East, being still young and excessively fond of riding, purchased a stud of first-class hunters, took a nice little hunting box in Leicestershire for the season, and engaged the services of a very good man to pilot her. As a rule every lady rides in India—some of them ride very well; but a rattling gallop at gun fire, in the morning, over the racecourse at Ghindee or Bangalore, is quite a different matter to a gallop with the Pytchley hounds. ”

“ In my humble opinion, every lady going to India and the colonies should have one or two such bits among her outfit of saddlery, and if properly fitted in the horse's mouth, all risk of rearing or even violent flirting is done away with. Such tackle, however, does not prevent a horse from kicking, and although no lady should ever attempt to ride one that is possessed habitually of this vice, a sudden accession of kicking may arise in an otherwise good-meaning horse from some ill-fitting of the saddle, or similar casualty, causing tender back or otherwise upsetting him. ”

“ With a good man by her side, she will run no risk from thrusting neighbours, and although she cannot too soon begin to have "one eye for the hounds and another for the horse," it is the latter which demands all her energies. The whole business is exciting. The genuine dash, the vigour, the reality, that is so striking to a novice when hounds come crashing out of covert, through an old wattle, or bounding over a strong fence ”

“ Unlike the professional riding master, a first-rate pilot—such, I mean, as is paid for his services—though well behaved and respectful, is likely enough to lack much education, except such as he has received in the saddle or on practical farming matters; and his awe of a lady, properly so called, is so considerable as to preclude his exercise of the fortiter in re altogether, no matter how much his charge is unwittingly infringing the rules of sport. ”

“ For be it known to the uninitiated that even an old horse, that requires kicking and hammering along a road when ridden alone, is quite a different animal and mover the instant he sees the hounds, and will show an amount of vivacity perhaps very little expected by his rider; while a well-bred young one requires a great deal of riding on such occasions.
The short bursts sometimes obtained in "cub hunting" are capital practice for a lady; while occasionally a veteran fox, some wily old purloiner of poultry, affords a good twenty or five-and-twenty minutes, even when the fences are blind. ”