It will probably be a long time before such a variety of contingencies as I have mentioned will happen to any one rider. A well-mounted woman may jump a great deal and escape with only a few tumbles. If she perseveres, there will be so many delightful experiences to counterbalance each mishap that she will gladly risk the consequences of indulging in a sport which, to so great an extent as leaping, develops her nerve, skill, and self-possession.
X
RIDING TO HOUNDS
Whether hounds are running on the scent of a fox or a drag, a woman who is following them should always remember certain points to guide her in her conduct and in the management of her horse while in the field.
Courtesy
Many a beginner renders herself objectionable by striving to take a place among the hard riders of the first flight.
It is not to be expected that a woman without experience in the hunting-field can keep up with those who have followed hounds for several seasons; and should she attempt it, the probable result would be a fall not only endangering herself and her horse, but compelling some man to come to her assistance, and thereby perhaps lose the remainder of the run. Even though too well mounted to have this occur, there are countless ways in which a novice, in endeavoring to keep on even terms with the leaders, may unwittingly call down anything but blessings on her head from those for whose good opinion she most cares. It is a mistake for her to suppose that people are watching her, ready to admire her pluck and dash, when she crashes through fences because her horse was not collected, or rides so close to the hounds as to risk hitting them. If she flatters herself that she is cutting out the work, it is pretty certain she has no business to be so far forward, and that she will add to the number of men who consider the hunting-field no place for women.
The Novice