The teacher should choose out of his class the four most skillful pupils, whose horses are free and regular in their gaits, to serve as leaders, one at the head and one at the end of the two columns, which should be drawn up on the long sides of the school, each rider having a space of at least three feet between the head of her horse and the tail of the one in front of her, the heads of the leaders' horses being about six feet from the corner of the school. While the columns are standing still, the teacher should explain distinctly the difference between distance and interval, and he had better be on foot at the end of the school, facing the columns.
By "distance" is meant the space between the tail of one horse and the head of the next in the column.
"Interval" is the space between two horses who are standing or going forward on parallel lines.
All movements are executed singly or in file: in the first case each pupil goes through the movement, without regard to the others; in the second, the pupils execute the movement in turn after the leaders of the column.
A movement in file, once known, may be repeated individually, but only at a walk in the beginning, in order to insure attention. The columns should both be on the right hand; consequently the head of one will be opposite the end of the other as they are drawn up on their respective sides. First order:
1. Prepare to go forward.—2. Go forward.
When the final word of command is given, the pupils will advance simultaneously, each one using the same effects as if she were alone, and being careful to preserve the correct distance.
The two leaders should so regulate the gait of their horses as to pass the opposite corners of the school at the same moment, and this gait should be uniform. If a pupil loses her distance, she should regain it by making her horse walk faster; but she should try to keep her place, as the whole column must quicken its pace when she does, and all suffer from the carelessness of one.
When the columns are on the short sides of the school, the teacher should give the order: