It is strange women should not have a sufficiently clear idea of the fitness of things to realize that elaborate toilets of silks, laces, and flowers, and large hats, although appropriate in a victoria, are inconvenient and totally out of place when driving a sporting-trap, such as a dog-cart.
A plain, neatly fitting, but not tight cloth suit, with a small hat, which will not catch the wind, is far more serviceable and in better taste. However, she should avoid the other extreme affected by the woman who desires to appear masculine and "sporty," and who, showing a large expanse of shirt front, wears a conspicuous plaid suggestive of a horse-blanket.
This specimen of feminine "horsy-ness" invariably drives with her hands held almost under her chin, and her whip in as vertical a position as herself. She is as powerless to control her animal as is the one who leans over the dash-board.
Cockade
This is the sort of woman who compels her groom, if she have one, to wear a cockade in his hat, in ignorance of the fact that we in this country have no claim to its use. In Great Britain it is the distinguishing mark of either the royal family or the military, naval, or civil officers of the government; but used here it is only a meaningless affectation.
Confidence
To achieve success, and to obtain a business-like appearance in driving, a woman must possess confidence in her power to control her horses, and it must be the confidence derived from knowledge and skill, and not that born of ignorance or fool-hardiness.
She must know what to do, and how to do it promptly, under all circumstances, and this necessitates a thorough comprehension of the sport she is pursuing.
It is to be hoped she will gain this from competent instruction, and that she will embrace every opportunity of adding to her information on the subject.
The "Family-Horse" Fallacy