RIDING ACROSS COUNTRY.
"Made" fences--Practice over natural fences.
"MADE" FENCES.
It is necessary for a lady who intends to hunt, to obtain as much
practice as possible over the various kinds of fences which she may have
to negotiate when hunting, before she appears in the field. Although
ladies living in the country may have an opportunity of obtaining
practice over natural fences of gradually increasing size, it is
generally more convenient, and perhaps safer, to utilise "made" fences
in a field or paddock. These obstacles need not be very high to commence
with, but they should assume various forms, due prominence being given
to the most common kind of fence encountered in the country in which the
rider desires to hunt. Two or more specimens of this particular obstacle
may be included in the artificial collection. To imitate Leicestershire
fences we may make, for the first jump, the nearest approach we can to
an ordinary hedge; the second, a hedge with a ditch on the taking-off
side; the third, a post and rail fence; and the fourth, another hedge,
with a ditch on both sides. We may follow that with a "cut-and-laid"
fence with a ditch on the take-off side; and a stone wall, made up of
loose stones or bricks. In the middle of the field, where the rider can
obtain a good run at it, we may construct a water jump. The other fences
should be built by the side of the boundary fence of the paddock or
field, which may have to be artificially heightened for the purpose, but
not supplied with wings; for in hunting, fences are not protected for us
in that way. The pupil should first learn to jump them riding from left
to right, as horses generally refuse to the left, and that side being
blocked by the boundary fence, the horse will be more liable to go
straight. The animal should, of course, first be ridden over them by the
teacher in the presence of the pupil, who will see exactly at which jump
her mount may be likely to give trouble. She should also observe the
pace at which the animal is ridden, especially at the water jump. If he
is sluggish, it would be wise for the lady to give him a touch with the
whip when riding at timber, which he must not chance, and at
cut-and-laid fences, which must also be jumped cleanly; for if a horse
gets a foot in the top binder, the chances are that he will fall.
Besides, he must exert himself to clear the ditch on one or both sides.
He should be ridden over the course at a canter, and allowed to jump the
fences without interference from his rider, for he will try his best to
avoid falling. He should be ridden fast at water, as a certain amount of
speed is necessary for jumping length; but he should not be taken at
full gallop, as he would then be too much extended to raise himself in
his spring. If the correct pace could be gauged to a nicety, I should
say it is just a shade faster than a hand gallop. Horses, as a rule,
jump water badly, perhaps for the very good reason that they seldom get
schooled at this kind of obstacle.
A line of "made" fences in a field or paddock would have to be
comparatively close together, say, with intervals of not less than 30
yards between them; although double that distance would be much better.
A lady riding over these obstacles could hardly help going at the same
speed, and, therefore, there would be but little opportunity for
teaching her how she ought to regulate her pace for each of them, which
would not be the case if they were a quarter of a mile or so apart. One
advantage of riding over a line of "made" jumps is, that it strengthens
a rider's seat, for no sooner has she landed over one fence, than she
must be ready to negotiate the next one. She should remember to keep her
hands low down and as steady as possible, carefully avoiding shifting in
the saddle, flourishing her whip, checking her mount with the reins,
shouting to him, or committing any other act which is likely to distract
his attention from the fence in front of him. The horse given to the
pupil to ride should be an experienced hunter, and, in that case, she
may safely trust him to carry her over the various leaps without any
interference whatever. If he takes them a shade faster than did the
animal on which she rode over her first fence, she should not try to
check him. As it is impossible for her to know the exact moment he is
going to take off, she should give him his head, when he is coming up to
the obstacle, and be ready to lean well back as he is landing over it.
If a lady is riding with her reins too short, and the horse, in jumping,
makes a sudden snatch to get more rein, she should at once let them slip
through her fingers, and learn, from that experience, to ride with the
reins sufficiently long to enable her to have an easy feel of her
horse's mouth, without in any way hanging on to his head. Some
inexperienced ladies get alarmed when a horse is about to take off, and
check him with the reins, which is a most dangerous proceeding. I have
known the safest of jumpers pulled into their fences and caused to fall
by the adoption of such tactics. A lady should remember that when her
mount is going straight for a fence, with the intention of getting
safely to the other side, any interference on her part will cause him to
either blunder badly, or, if the jump is a fixture, to fall. If a horse
slackens speed when near a fence, and suddenly runs out, his rider
should let him refuse and take him at it again. I once got a very bad
fall through turning a horse quickly at a fence which he was in the act
of refusing. We were close to the jump, he had no time to take off
properly, so he breasted the obstacle, a stiff timber jump, and
blundered on to his head. That taught me a salutary lesson, and
therefore I would warn all ladies to let their horses run out when the
animals have taken the first step in the wrong direction, as it is then
too late to keep them straight with safety, and a sudden turn, with the
object of trying to do so, is very apt to make a horse blunder.
When a touch with the whip is given to remind a horse that he has to
clear a big ditch on the landing side, or when riding at timber, it
should be used on the off flank by a turn of the wrist, but without
jerking the reins. The whip, as I have before remarked, should be
employed as an aid and not as a means of inflicting pain. A lady should
not bustle her horse at his fences, except perhaps at water, for every
horse has his own pace at which he prefers to jump, and the clever sort
will always manage to put in a short stride, or take a longer one at the
last moment, if they find that the strides they are using will not bring
them up to the correct spot from which to take off. In hunting, the
fences are generally taken at a canter, and the pace is increased in
galloping over the open ground. Horses are thus what is called
"steadied" at their fences, but the pull should not be made nearer the
fence than 30 yards. When a lady has made up her mind to ride at a
fence, she should think of nothing else but getting over it. Some women
go at their fences in such a half-hearted, irresolute manner that their
horses learn to refuse. Too much practice over "made" fences is
monotonous to the rider and hateful to her horse, who is only too apt to
become "reluctant" in such cases. Hence, if the lady has ridden over
the fences nicely, from left to right and from right to left, and taken
her artificial brook at a good pace, she should not be required to do
any more jumping on that occasion. The ground near the fences should be
laid down with tan, stable litter, or anything else which will make the
falling soft, in the event of the pupil having a tumble. It would be
better for a lady not to be given a lead in riding over these "made"
obstacles, because it is necessary for her to have as much practice as
possible, at first, in controlling her mount without assistance.
PRACTICE OVER NATURAL FENCES.
A lady who has gone through the hard drudgery of learning to sit well,
will be repaid for her efforts on finding herself able to ride with ease
over natural fences. Her companion should select the obstacles, and give
a lead, but the pupil should not send her horse at a fence until she has
seen her pilot safely landed and going away from it. She should
occasionally assume the lead, in order that she may not always rely on
the guidance of others. Unless there is a paucity of obstacles, no fence
should be jumped twice, and the companion or attendant should be a man
who knows the country, so that he may direct his pupil to obstacles
without going out of the way to meet them. The more these fences are
treated as adventitious circumstances, and not the main object of the
ride, the steadier and more safely will a horse jump them. A lady
should ride as many different horses as she can, and in company, for
when four or five horses are cantering together, the lady's mount will,
doubtless, be sufficiently excited to require steadying in approaching
his fences, and she may then learn to gauge the distance at which to
take a pull at him. Those who are riding with her should require her to
wait her turn at the only practicable place in a fence, as she would
have to do when hunting, to pull her horse up to a halt, and to send him
at his fence with a run of only a few strides. She should also practise
trotting her horse up to a fence to see what is on the other side of it,
and, if it is negotiable, she should turn him away from it, give him a
short run at it, and jump it. After she has obtained as much practice as
possible, on different horses, over various kinds of natural fences, and
has shown ability to control her mount at a gallop, and when excited by
the presence of other horses galloping in front of him, she should be
considered competent to commence her hunting career, and take her place
in the field at the beginning of the cub-hunting season. She should
remember on all occasions of difficulty and danger to keep a cool head
and trust to the honour of her mount. A good horsewoman, even if she has
had no experience in hunting, will not be likely to incur disgrace by
wild and incompetent riding, for, having been accustomed to keep her
mount under thorough control, she will carefully avoid spoiling the
sport of others, while seeing as much of it as she can in a quiet,
unobtrusive manner. A lady should remember that strangers are not hailed
with delight in any English hunting field; but when they are found to be
competent to take care of themselves and their horses, they are far more
kindly received, than if they go there as recruits in the great slipshod
brigade.