STEEPLECHASE HORSES IN THE HUNTING FIELD.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VI, Issue 310, 2 July 1896, Page 7

STEEPLECHASE HORSES IN THE HUNTING FIELD.

AN ENGLISH OPINION.

With regard to the performances of steeplechase horses in the hunting field, a friend recently told me of a peculiar experience of his own, -which will bear narration. This gentleman, I -may explain, is a well-known qualified rider, and a good man, not only between the flags, but also over a natural country with hounds. All horses seem to go well with him, either as ’chasers or hunters, whatever their previous record may have been. In his stud he had an animal that had been running in small selling steeplechases and winning in his turn. When the horse was not racing he was occasionally hunted by his owner, .and needless to say, in such hands went really well. One day a young ofiicer, who desired to go a little faster, noted this plater’s performance as a hunter, and became smitten with the desire of possession. The only doubt he had was as to the price. He knew nothing of racing, and had no idea how cheap is the ancient plater when he begins to show signs of losing his form. With certain slight flutterings of heart , our youthful warrior asked the price. of the animal he coveted, and was agreeably surprised to learn that the owner only estimated him to be worth £7O. The purchase was immediately effected ; no sort of warranty was given; a cheque was transmitted; and the horse was duly delivered. A few days afterwards the vendor received a letter from the purchaser, asking whether he would give £6O for the horse and take him back again. My friend agreed to do so. On my asking him what was the matter with the horse, he replied : “ Nothing at all; he’s one of the finest hunters in this country. The man can t ride, that was all. No doubt he was frightened by the unusual pace. All the horse does is to pull a little, and he is slightly “ hot,” but I can put my hands down and let him canter along after hounds quite comfortably. He can get the coarse bred ones stone-beat, he can jump anything, and go all day.” That little experience, which I know to be true in every particular, seemed to me instructive in relation to the question of steeplechasers in the hunting-field, and it proves what I have always contended, that “ it’s the riding that does it.” Some men go well on almost anything; others can only potter about on a patent safety. For a really good man, not too heavy, there is nothing like a blood ’un. One of the best hunters I ever saw in a crack grass-country was a horse of that- type —a grandson of Hermit out of a Stockwell mare. Such a lepper! Yet he was cot worth a fiver in the open market, having been fired twice in front, and no ordinary hunting man would have cared to ride him across a field. But in the hands of his owner, a well-known cross cauntry jockey, nothing could beat him ; he raced hard at high timber and never made a mistake. He had been tried good enough to win a big steeplechase before he broke down, and was •only cantering with hounds when the others were galloping in a. more or less beaten condition. Yet such a horse as that described cannot truthfully be called a “ goo 1 hunter.” He is only good in certain hands, but there are plenty of his stamp to be seen at almost every meet of hounds, and in connection with them one fact may always be noted, they have a good man on their back. That, in many cases, makes j ust the difference between a good hunter and a bad one. The majority of hunting men get so much into the habit of riding one particular type of horse —-the quiet half-bred animal that 'does not pull or buck and kick, and jumps his fences with deliberation and cleverly —that they cannot ride any other, just as a man who is constantly riding one horse only, and gets no change, is likely to degenerate into an inferior equestrian. There are many hard men with hounds who, if they were put on a pulling, big-jumping chaser to ride a three-mile schooling gallop over country, would be helpless. And one of our very best steeplechase riders told me the other day that he had never jumped a gate in his life 1 All this raises the question as to which, after all, is the best and finest type of horseman. That is, so far as this country is concerned, leaving the continental and similar styles out of consideration ; they may be good, but we don’t profess to know much about them. Some people contend that a crack professional steeplechase jockey represents the highest form of equestrian art. I do not altogether agree with them. I have seen some jockeys of the class mentioned -with hounds, and the only one I have seen go really well, riding his own line in front, was the late John Jones, who rode and trained for the Prince of Wales. The professional cross-country performer becomes so accustomed to the stereotyped “ regulation” fences of the steeplechase course that he has not much taste or aptitude for any other; he has no eye for natural country, and is only, so to speak, a one-part performer. But I like the good all-round man. Men who are equally good with hounds in a fast run over all sorts of fences, and also “ between the flags” on a ’chaser, who know how a hack should be made to carry himself, and who like to ride even a little “ show-jumping” now and then. Here the severe racing critic, who backs horses and borrows money, will exclaim, “Oh, yes, but put your champion between Arthur Nightingall and G-eorge Williamson to finish on the flat, and •see what a looby he will appear.” Perhaps not. Both the eminent jockeys named, good as they are, seem to be beaten by the gentlemen as often as they win, and no doubt when they win it is because they are on the best horse. The mere •circus-like capacity to “ finish on the flat,” ns it is termed, is not the be-all and end-all of riding. •Many little jockey-boys possess it more or less, and it is their only accomplishment. The subject of riding, however, is a very large one, and in these Notes, of course, one can only treat it in a "brief and somewhat discursive manner. But it is a matter of perennial interest to horsemen and

sportsmen the world over, and at the end of the hunting season it is especially worthy of consideration. —“ Ranger,” in The Sporting and Dramatic News.