The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-10-14

being verified, and that the Houyhnhnms had
at last vindicated their superiority. A fine
horse attracts in most cases more attention
than his owner. The wealthy, whose aflu-
ence and virtues once nourished perennial
Jenkins now appear in his delightful CORES
pondepce only as adjuncts, or as trappings,
so to speak, for their steeds. These the
veracious chronicler is never tired of trotting
out for the delectation of his readers: he outs
them through their PAGES; he calls attention
to their points with the pride and skill of a
veteran jockey; he marshals them in long
procession, and his catalogue of the horses
eclipses the catalogue of the ships
In one respect this devotion to driving is
we'll enough. At least it brings people into
the open air, and gives them certain amount
of exercise. with Just that dash of excite
ment which Americans must have to make
recreation palatable. But it is to be regretted
that it is tending to degrade the horse from
his finest purpose, and to make the witchery
of noble horsemanship lost art among our
people. Considering the many attractions
of riding, not to speak of it's healthfulness,
it is hard to understand its disuse. A canter
through the bride path of the Central Park
on one of these glorious October mornings,
which are a perpetual contradiction to the
libel of the poet, is a pleasure sufficient to
transfgure and brighten whole day of toll
delight and a memory forever. No exer-
else is more invigoratiDg than this; no amuse-
ment has more fascination for those who have
learned to appreciate it. A good rider of
either sex nowhere appears to better ad van
tsge than in the saedle, and even an awk-
ward person may be made to seem graceful
by the skilful handling of spirited steed
1t is an accomplishment easy Of mastery TO
all, asking only practice and patience for IFS
thorough acquisition. Yet with. all these
arguments Of pleasure, healthfulness, facility,
and even vanity, to plead for it, equestrian
ism is, in this part of the country at least,
the science of the few. AS social fact.
as an element of social enjoyment, we
may safely say it is generally ignored.
! Four and six-in-hands, with flaming har-
ness and Haunting liveries, fill the
roads and monopolize the devotion of our
| sportsmen, while spur and saddle are curiosi-
ties in the shop windows. Even in the rural
districts riding is but little moro in vogue
than in the cities. An American farmer
never walks out to traverse distance of only
mile; it is the buggy that is ''hitched up,
and not the horse that is saddled 1t was this
fact which gave to the Southern cavalry so
decided superiority in the late war, and so
far as the North is concerned will always
leave our armies deficient in this branch of
the service.
For this reason, the establishment of
racing parks throughout the country, since
they tend to give an impulse to equestrian
ism, is deserving of all encouragement. AL
ready in the near vicinity of New York we
have four-Jerome, Prospect, and Monmouth
Parks, and the tract at Saratoga. 1heil
management since their opening has been in
all respects creditable and they must exert
a favorable influence on the future of the
American running horse. 1t is only another
proof of our abb ect worship of utility that we
have so long cherished the trotting horse tc
the detriment of his nobler brother. In this
as in other things, we are learning that grace
and beauty also have their uses