THE LATE FRED HEDGE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1196, 1 February 1895, Page 25

THE LATE FRED HEDGE.

Fred Hedge, the well known crosscountry rider of a few years back, lately seen about Dunedin as a rather broken down-looking toit of man, was found drowned at Tima u the other day. Poor fellow ; what a sad ending ! He had the reputation in his day of being a daring and skill*.l rider, actually afraid of nothing, ready to ride the worst horse over the ugliest fence, if such a j'>b came in the way of bu-iness. 1 remember him as far back as 1880 riding a grey gelding named Tam o’ Shanter and winning a steeplechase with him at Ashburton. It was the season aftor that that Hedge performed his champion feat of riding first and second in the Grand National. That was Clarence’s year. There were six starters: The Agent 13st. (Lunn), Sailor Boy 12st. 61b. (Poole), Clarence 12at. 21b. (Hedge), Winfield list. 51b (T. Lyford), Mousetrap lOst. 121b(Cullen), and Shark lOst. (Sheenan). All but The Agent baulkedalthedouble. On gettingover, the race was left to The Agent, Clarence, and Sailor Boy. The latter clouted everything very hard, and eventually ran round the second jump of the last double, keeping going, however. At the last fence but one The Agent came a cropper. Sailor Boy then had the lead, but Hedge raced him home and beat him on Clarence by about a length. Sailor Boy was of course disqualified for not going back and taking the obstacle he had missed. As soon as JJedge had weighed in ho buckled on a

bit of extra weight, went out and picked up The Agent, and rode him in over the fences, thereby securing second money for Mr Butler. This was a feat which hid never been paralleled, and it still remains a record, so far as I know, for a Grand National, though a similar thing has happened in other steeplechases in England —(‘‘ Mazeppa.' 1 )