FIG. 47.—ITALIAN OFFICERS
FIG. 48.—AN ITALIAN OFFICER
In America there has been, until very recently, but little interest in horsemanship except in some of the Southern states, and among soldiers and the few devoted to polo and hunting; but the horse shows, now so general throughout the country, have excited great interest in the horse; the riding-schools offer intelligent instruction, and between them there will be fostered, let us hope, a taste and inclination for good horses and riding. This subject will be treated at greater length in the following chapter.
The German foot-soldier is very stiff in his movements, at least on parade, and there is a certain stiffness about the trooper that detracts from his appearance in the eyes of the critic, but his seat is firm, and he handles his horse with precision. His officer is usually a very fine horseman, riding boldly and easily and with a knowledge of the niceties of the art. Steeplechasing and racing are practised largely throughout the German Empire; they are encouraged by the authorities and are participated in by nearly all of the younger army men. Every one who has there witnessed these sports has seen some magnificent examples of ready and skilful horsemanship. I must confess to sharing the favorable opinion of the late emperor regarding the German lieutenant. How he finds time with such conscientious devotion to his manifold duties to make his frequent and splendid appearances in public is marvellous. He is, perhaps, a little haughty with strangers, and undoubtedly more than a little arrogant with civilians, failings due to his education, but he is devoted to his profession, a high-minded gentleman, and brave cavalier. No cavalry ever made a better record than did that of Germany in the last war with France.
In France, from a very early period, a widespread interest was taken in systematic horsemanship that has not abated, and both the military and civil life furnish many excellent horsemen. In the Bois, in the exhibitions on the Champs-Élysées, at the races and steeplechases about Paris, and elsewhere, one may see good riding under the most favorable circumstances. The troopers of the French army are less rigid in their saddles than are the Germans, and they move with a rapidity and precision that must make them a formidable force in the attack. The French are now disposed to disavow their obligations to Baucher, but the fact is that all that is good in their systems was invented or formulated by that master, although they did not follow him through the useless refinements of his later years, and all modern methods, military or civil, are founded upon Baucher's method. No country has furnished such instructors in the art of horsemanship as did France in Pluvinel, La Broue, Sollisel, Guerinière, Baucher, Raabe, and D'Aure, or the equal of any one of them.