THE RIDING PROBLEM,

Otago Witness, Issue 2427, 19 September 1900, Page 39

THE RIDING PROBLEM,

After so much science it is a relief to reao, the plain, biutal, matter-of-fact- arguments that one "F. C." advances in favour of tha Yankees in a letter to the editor of rhe London Sportsman. He gives 10 reasons, and ill' sixth reason is the most powerful of all. Following are the reasons: — " (1) Because the Americans avoid wind pressure ; (2) Btc^use they get off well; (3) Because they let their horses* run their own races : (4-) Because tLoy &it still ; (5) Because their weight is in the right place ; (6) Because they try ( !) ; (7) Because their horses try for them ; (8) Because they don't sit on top of horses, but always slightly On either side, their backbone thus being never vertical above the horse's bacKbone, or in the same j>lane with it. so that they get the play of the hip-joint; (9) Because they are judges of pace ; (10) Because they don't try to ride flash races. ' The idea-tbat a horse carries a weight bettei on his shoulders than he does on his spine is as eld a--, the hills, observes "M'lroy." and, no doubt, rising in the sthrups was first practised by jockeys of the Chiffney school with the idea of keeping the weight as much forward as possible, though nowadays it is generally accepted that rising in the stirrups is done to break the jar and give buoyancy to the body. It is generally allowed that a live weight is easier to carry than a dead weight, at least the majority of horse trainers and hoise owners dis like putting up lead to make wuiglit. But an old practitioner like Mr .James Wilson, sen., always favoured small light-handed lads to lide big weights when he couldn't get Tom Hales. The sage of Queen&clifi has brought off many a good thing- with a small boy and a lead saddle, and it looks as it lie believes :i horso can carry 9.0 better if three of it i* firm, dead weight than if he had a full-weight jockey up. I know a man in Queensland who tried a couple of good hordes over and over again with good heavy weight jockeys vp — say 9.0 apiece — against each other and against the watch, and he al=o tried them all wr.ys with small boys up on "Xordenfeldt" saddles, and he is convinced that a free, lightmouthed goer can do better when the weight is firmly fixed on his bac't than he can with it all in a big lockej'. This man won many races wi f h bad horses by making his small boy jockeys let them run their races thrpugh without pulling and hauling them about as boys are apt to do when overloaded with orders by tlie trainer, who cannot possibly tell how a race is going to be run. No doubt ths "Tod Sloan" style relieves the horse of great pressure, and every trainer should encourage his small boys to ride that way. S. Callinan, Cleal, and F. Kuhn ore good examples for them to copy. By the way, Sloan's style is not new by any means ; in fact, there is nothing new under the sun. Thirty years ago "Squeaker" Thompson used to ride that way, and when he wab on a short-necked horse his epp was generally close to the horse's ears, but in spite of the derisive comments of 1 is contemporaries Thompson won as many races as any of them. There is no doubt at all about the avoidance of air pressure being an advantage, especially when the rider has a light hand and a firm grip. Being light of: hand lie does not interfere with the progress of his horse, and having a firm grip of the saddle enables the horse to carry the weight easier than it the load wobbles. With regard tc the deadweight theory, any ordinary, man can satisfy himself by handling two fiftysixes ; then take on the same weight of baggedi wheat. The late Fred Archer may be used! as an argument against the deadweight theory,' He was the tallest jockey in England, and yeis the best that ever lived — at least there never; was a better ; but as a set-off against his size! he used to ride very long and very forwarc^ on hie liorse. Custan.ce, who was very pre>

judiced in favour of .his firm friend and compsnion, George Fordlxam, tells us in his "Riding Recollections"' that Archer rode with a long length and invariably got up on his horse's neck. He was opvo j eJ to this style, and thought it frequently caused a horse to change his legs. This ojunion notwithstanding, Archer won more races than any other jeckey Iliac ever lived, and I suspect he well "knew the value of keeping well forward on his horse, and by co doing missed much of the air pressure on bis long body, and often rode lighter than his much shorter though straightbacked rival-.