A GUIDE TO SIDE-SADDLE RIDING.* WERE it possible for the
art of equitation to be learned from written directions, every lady reader of Mrs. Hayes's " Prac- tical Guide to Side-Saddle Riding" might acquire a firm, graceful seat, and the perfect management of every descrip- tion of steed, for this book does all that a book can possibly do ; it is written in a clear, simple style, and the advice given on every point is the result of thorough practical knowledge and experience. The writer, who is well known to our readers by her book, My Leper Friends, is the wife of the successful horse-breaker, Captain Hayes, and herself an accomplished horsewoman. Under the surveillance of her husband, she " The Horsewoman. By Alice M. Hayes. Edited by M. Horace Hayes, P.R.O.V,S, Loudon Thacker and 00, has performed a number of most daring feats—principally in India and other Colonies—which feats, however, she by no means proposes for imitation to ordinary members of her own sex. When we find her mounting an animal who has been "a terror to mafoos and riders alike," and only broken for a lady ten minutes before, riding him without reins over stiff jumps, we cannot but admire, not merely her perfect balance, but her courage. This latter quality is conspicuous in Mrs. Hayes, because she always knows her danger, being perfectly aware of what a horse can do and may do, though she relies with good reason on her husband's wonderful powers of subjuga- tion and her own presence of mind and thorough capability, so that buck-jumpers and other vicious beasts have no terrors for her; and it would appear that she has only once fallen from a horse, although she has many times done so with one. A great point is made in her instructions to riders of their learning " to seize the generally brief moment which exists between the formation of the thought, in the animal's mind, to commit evil, and its execution."
"Those," she says, " who have lived much among horses, must have frequently noticed this preparatory period before the animal kicked, bit, reared, jibbed, shied, bolted, or otherwise played up,' and no doubt have profited by the warning their experienced eyes gave them. If we see what is about to come and know how to avert it, we shall often be able to save ourselves from disaster ; the beet means usually being, to divert the horse's attention into some other groove, to frighten him (for which a threatening tone of voice will often be efficacious), and to remind him that if be acts ill, he will be punished."
Of course, this advice is for horsewomen who already know their business pretty well, and if taught on Mrs. Hayes's system, they will not be long in learning it. Moreover, those who have not had this advantage may improve themselves much by the study of her book, even should they not be able to begin by equipping themselves as perfectly as she recom- mends. After describing very fully the ideal "lady's horse," Mrs. Hayes devotes three chapters to the side-saddle, its girths and stirrup ; the bridle ; and every item of a workman- like riding-dress. It may be noticed that while acknowledging that the side-saddle has certain disadvantages, this writer says that any one who could seriously advocate " cross- saddle " riding for women, must be either mad or wholly ignorant, and insists that a lady's seat, by means of the grip she can take on the crutches, is decidedly firmer than that of a man. In the days of the off-crutch and no leaping-head, the contrary opinion might be sustained with reason; but Mrs. Hayes, of course, maintains that there should never be a useless third crutch, that a safety stirrup—either the " Scott " or the " Latchford "—should be used, and that the skirt should be so made as to be carried away by the right leg when the latter is re- moved from the upper crutch, so as to obviate danger in a mis- hap. The plan she recommends for effecting this is extremely simple. There is also a good deal of sensible advice about the reins, "the pernicious habit of holding them in one hand" being strongly denounced. But Mrs. Hayes considers that the best and quickest way to teach a lady to ride, after a little circling in the manege on a horse that knows his business, is to put her in the saddle without any reins to hold, the horse being driven with " long reins " by the teacher, or by some one who has mastered this difficult art. Mrs. Hayes claims to be the first person to teach in this way, and tells us how she came to adopt the system :— " Although I had previously ridden for some years in the ordinary way people do, my first introduction to difficult' horses was in the year 1885, when I went out to India to join my hus- band, who had gone there a couple of months before me on a horsebreaking tour. His procedure at the various stations to which he went, was to get up classes of instruction in the art of giving horses good manners and snaffle-bridle mouths. There were at that time in India numbers of buck-jumpers which nobody could ride ; some that would let no one get on their backs ; others that would strike out, with the certainty of a champion-boxer, at any person rash enough to go up to them t savages that pined for nothing except to dine of whoever hap- pened to be in reach ; and so on My husband liked, for ' show,' a bad buck-jumper, to mount which he used to get some brave man, who was promptly catapulted off. Having thus proved that the pupil' was refractory, he would take him in hand, and after, say, an hour, he would have him so quiet, that any one could ride him. It struck him, if I got up on such occasions (after the gentling '), that the effect would be enhanced. I need hardly say that I was only too glad to help in making the perform- ance a success. I ran no danger in doing this, for my partner knew the ' game' (as he called it) so well, that out of the hundreds of horses I rode in India after he had handled them, there was not one that played-up' with me. To obviate any risk of an acci- dent, he always took care to have the 'long reins' on any animal that he broke-in, and to turn and twist it about in order to test its staunchness before allowing me sole control. While this was being done, it was imperative on me not to ` touch' the animal's mouth, so he used to give me no reins to hold. This style of riding without reins proved so `taking' with our spectators that be extended it to jumping, and thus had a really smart show. We were both quick to perceive that this was also the best way by which to teach a lady to acquire a firm seat on horseback, as she had to trust to the saddle and not to the reins for security."
The writer complains that it is by no means the wont of riding-masters to teach ladies the fast gallop, and with great reason maintains that no one can be a good horsewoman who is not accustomed to this pace. It is evident that she who is well accustomed to it would not be liable to lose her nerve in the unfortunate event of being run away with. As a rule, however, Mrs. Hayes would have no lady, however well she may ride, knowingly mount a " rearer " or a "runaway," nor should she attempt to jump a "rusher " that is likely to "chance" his fences. " These," she says, "are faults against which she has little or no remedy, with the imminent risk staring her in the face of being killed or crippled for life. With these exceptions," she adds, "I have nothing to say against her riding, if she `fancies' herself, kickers, shyers, refusers, or even Australian buck-jumpers."
Of course, Mrs. Hayes has much to say about notable horses that were broken-in or possessed by her husband, whose methods are wholly humane. As she loves horses and makes companions of them, she is a great observer of their peculiarities, and a firm believer in their intelligence. Her stories of the Arab pony, Freddie,' are very pretty. As he did not wear blinkers, he could see what was being put into her little carriage, and she avers that if he saw books, flowers, tinned meat, &c., he would, without any guidance, go towards the Leper Asylum ; but if towels were placed in the vehicle, he would trot off of his own accord to the swimming-bath in quite an opposite direction. This Freddie had many funny little tricks, and would imitate his mistress if she coughed or sneezed. Mrs. Hayes believes that a horse objects to a joke at his expense. Why should he not P We all know that a pet dog cannot bear to be laughed at. At Shanghai, the lady had much experience of Mongolian ponies ; it seems that racers of this hardy little breed fetch as much as £500. Some of them, however, cannot be exactly pleasant customers, as one of them, not broken by Captain Hayes, reared with her, fell over, kicked her badly, and stamped on one of her fingers. This happened at Tientsin. We may mention that Mrs.
Hayes, like many others, was quite delighted with the residents of Shanghai, going so far as to say she preferred them to any people she ever met. One of her last achievements in India was the riding of a pure zebra, which was broken-in by Captain Hayes after about an hour of very hard work. Even then he did not prove a very delightful mount, but though he had been so wild that he could not be handled by his keepers, he allowed himself to be led away after Mrs. Hayes's per- formance by a native groom, though he did not stand very quietly to be photographed with his rider. The photographs, of which there are several, are by Captain Hayes, who edits his wife's book ; the other illustrations are by the late Mr. J. H. Oswald Brown.
Previous page
