JUMPING A MOTOR-CAR.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17030, 2 May 1923, Page 1

JUMPING A MOTOR-CAR.

CANADIAN GIRL’S FEAT. Miss Dorothy Wood whose feat in jumping a motor-car at Edmonton, Canada, is illustrated on this page, is aged seventeen. She was born in Birmingham, England, but is now resident m Alberta. • Previously she had jumped a car on her horse “ Edmonton Lad.” She writes as follows: — “ Having jumped the car sixty or seventy times, out of doors, I decided to jump in the arena. All was set for me to jump on the Saturday as the Horse Show started on the Monday. I reached the arena on time, but had to wait two hours and a-half for the lights to be fixed (something had gone wrong.) It seemed to me as though I was not to jump. My lior.se became restless (for he was never kept waiting), and the ground was very, very slippy. They had only cleared the ice out of the arena two days before, so you can imagine just how things stood, but as I had promised to jump, I jumped. “ I showed my horse the car and then walked around to the other side of the car, and then started towards the end of the run-in. My horse kept slipping every now and then, but lie came to the car with such speed (I don’t believe he knew he was slipping) that he cleared two feet to spare. Next time (I always jumped twice) the passengers stepped into the car and again I took him down. I and my horse had the same feeling—l didn’t think we would make it, for he seemed to dance and snort as much as to say ‘ it’s too slippy, don’t try again.’ Anyway we came to the car, travelling just as fast, •and’’ then, two feet in front of the car he slipped, hi* head striking the foot board on the car. The speed we were coming, and the sudden fall hurled him completely over the car. “ ‘ Edmonton Lad ’ was lame for five weeks, but he never jumped the car but once more, and that was on June 6, 1922, and since then he doesn t like cars, and not until just lately is lie jumping timber good. Poor old fellow, he was just afraid, but I still love him, and money could not buy him“My father bought me another horse six years old, a green jumpei, but just a natural born jumper, called < Sir Aran.’ I would never have bought him, only the gentleman that owned him could not secure n. lady rider to ride him in a ladies’ hunter class, because everybody had horses of their own. I rode him, beating my own and all comers, and so that’s how l came by my new horse. I bought him from tlie Commissioner of the Alberta Provincial Police, Mr W. C. Bryan, hi 6 own private saddle horse. A

month after that, I had him jumping the car. When on September 23, 1922, my chance came. I was to jump for his Excellency Baron Byng of Vimy, Canada’s Governor-General “The day was simply grand, and over twelve thousand people witnessed my jump. Oh. how happy I was. My horse jumped three feet to spare, ancl a distance of thirty-two feet. Before I jumped everything was dead quiet, and after one could not hear one’s own ears ring. “ I was taken on the grandstand and Governor Brett, Premier Greenfield and the Mayor greeted me very warmly, and then Mayor Duggan introduced me to Lord Byng. Lord Byng was just lovely, he spoke so nicely and told me how pleased he was to have the honour of seeing such a wonderful and clever performance, and a great deal more, and then he presented me with a beautiful gold medal with a lovely diamond in the centre from the City of Edmonton. “My beautiful black beauty ‘ Sir Aran ’ improves every time he jumps, and I’m very proud of him, but I love my ‘ Laddie ’ just the same.”