The Express.
London, England, 1864-07-02 00:00:00

THE HORSE SHOW AT THE AGRICUL-
TURAL-HALL.

The floor was so well filled yesterday after-
noon that it was difficult to get near the ring
within which the horses went through their
paces and exhibited their good qualities, and the
galleries and orchestra were crowded with ladies.
The fine collection of racehorses appeared to great
advantage when stripped of their housings, so
that the whole of their magnificent forms could be
seen to the best advantage, and placed in the most
favourable positions. With the majority of them
riding was, of course, out of the question. They
had too long led lives of ease and luxury
to be easily resigned to saddle and bridle,
and had become large and fleshy also since
the days when they WOO Derbys or Ascot Cups,
but to the undisceruing public, who love fat, they
looked all the better and far nobler animals in their
sourewhac over-fed maturity than they had been
in their more slender youth. Taking them in
the order of the catalogue, we may say that Blen-
heim, the property of the Duke of Marlborough,
was much admired, and got a round of cheering
as he cantered round the ring or pawed up the tan
before the judges—the latter, however, not recipro-
cating the compliment by giving him a good place.
With Great Eastern, his size was his great recom-
mendation as regarded the public, but it made no
impression whatever on the critics. Nutbourne,
a beautiful chesout, was, after long examination,
awarded the second prize ; whilst, to the general
surpriae,Caractacus, the winner of a Derby, was only
placed third, the judges not considering him
so well up to their criterion as Citadel, a fine
home, but certainly not so well known to the
world, and who took the first prize. The
action and appearance of both the prize winners
and their unsuccessful competitors were beautiful,
and elicited repeated rounds of applause ; but the
general verdict outside the ring was in favour of
Newcaster, a singularly attractive animal.
The inspection of the rating stallions, which
was probably the most important portion of
the day's proceedings, occupied a good portion of
the morning, and was followed by the show of
Barbs and Arabs, respecting which we have little
to add to what we stated in yesterday evening's
paper. They have a wild eager sort of look
about the head, and are deficient in many of
the points which we look fur in a good Euglisii
horse, but still there is a great natural fire and
vitality about them, and they are said only
to exhibit their best qualities in their native
climate. The Barbs are the coarser of the two
breeds, but, it is said, are remarkably useful; and
of the Arabs the general opinion was, that a fresh
introduction of the race into our breeding
studs would give strength and stamina :
their own stamina is proved by their longevity,
some of the horses exhibited being twenty years
old, and still as lively as colts. We should cer-
tainly recommend a careful examination of this
class to all visitors of the show who take more
than a passing interest in horse flesh.
The hacks, hackneys, hunters, and cobs, were
too numerous to permit of separate notice. It will
be sufficient to say that they underwent a most
careful inspection, and were pruuounced to be a
splendid collection. They did not look to advan-
tage after the stately and symmetrical thorough-
breds, or the picturesque Barbs and Arabs • but as
they were ridden by the grooms, they afforded
considerable amusement to the company, espe-
cially when a more than ordinarily ambitious
rider got a harmless tumble ou the tan.
The weight-carrying cobs struck us as being
especially Britannic and useful looking animals.
They went through their paces in a sober, self-
possessed manner, without being iu the slightest
degree excited by the laughing or cheering of the
spectators, and looked as if they could carry any
weight, at their leisure, to soy reasonable distance.
The inspection of the chargers, although the spe-
cimens exhibited were few in number, was exceed-
ingly interesting. The judges hesitated long
between two, both of which were ridden by non-
commissioned otboers in the Life Guards. One of
them, a black gelding, the property of the Hon. M.
Wingfield, Ist Life Guards, was a beautiful crea-
ture, and his rider exhibited some first-rate
horsemanship in showing oft his qualities to the
judges. It was the general opinion that this horse
ought to have had the first prize, but as usual the
judges differed from the public, and the palm was
given to a much coarser and worse broken horse,
solely on the ground that he was the younger of
i the two. The great interest of the inspection, how-
-1 ever, lay in the zeal and splendid horsemanship
'of the two Life Guardsmen, whose ruling would
have astonished some of our professed equestrians.
In the evening the carriage horses iu pairs were
driven round the ring, harnessed to large firm
horse breaks, and there was plenty of room for an
animated chariot race. After these came the
ponies, and as many of these miniature chargers
were ridden right round the interior, it is to be
regretted that their inspection took place at an
hour when the company had begun to deop away.
The whole of the proceedings were entirely success-
ful, and evidently delighted a numerous and distin-
guished audience.
The following is a correct list of the judges in
the variousdepartineuts ;—For thorough-bred stock
and half-bred stallions, the Earl of Portsmouth,
Mr. John White, Mr. William Williamson,
Colonel the Hon. Wellington Cotton, and Captain
Percy Williams. For hunters, Colonel the Hon.
Wellington Cotton, Captain P. Williams, Mr. John
Russell Cooke*, Master of the Worcestershire
Hounds, aud Mr. Fred. Winn Knight, M.P. For
hacks and ponies, Mr. F. W. Knight, and
Mr. J. R. Cooker'. For chargers, General Williams.
For carriage horses, Captain Bustard. For Arabs
and barbs, Captain Thus. Francis.

THE STRANOTti OF 1111 HOSTILE FLEITL—The
Hamburg papers give the following ma the respective
thresigth of the Daoiah mod Austro-Prussisn OW, in the
North Bea :—Ths Austrian force consists of the screw shop-
of-the-lice Kaiser, 91 guns; the screw frigate hamar:en-
berg. 60 giros; the iron-clad frigate Doo Joao d'Austrie,l6
guns ; the scree corvette Friedrich, 22 ; the paddleAtheel
steamer Elisabeth, 6 ; and the scree gunboats Wall and
freehand, each carrying 4 guns. The Itsdetzky, screw
frigate, 36 gums, woe at Bochum upon the 90th alt. The
Prussia se havethe paddle-14*a steamer Preussischer Adler,
4 gar, sod the threw gunboats Blitz and Basilisk, corning
3 gar each. The Danish force is believed to consist date
screw frigate Niels Joel, 42 guns; the screw frigate Jet-
land, 44 ; the screw corvette Beiodal, 16 ; the screw shir
ri•the-Ithe Ithiold, 64 ; and the 'roe-chid corvette Dense.
lireg,l6. The frigate Blisellsod, 44 ; at the Tordenskjold,
will sloe probably be seat to the North des, with oebee
oat.