Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-01-31
TRAINING FOR THE RING.
The Process of Fitting Human and
Equine Performers.


The process of training man or horse fol
successful appearance in public requires al
amount of attention and perseverance thai
will hardly be credited by the outsider. II
the case of the human performer, the soon
er beginning is made the better. First
catch your boy before he has past his fftl
year, if possible, though instances have beer
known Of lads who had not been taken il
hand before they were Is, and who eVentu-
ally became creditable acrobats. The pu-
pill must be supple, Surveyed and plucky
If he be fatherless and motherless, the OBJ
lection will not initiate considerably against
his chance of future eminence in the ''prO-
fessiOn." Before he can attempt to mount
a horse, he must be put through steady
course of gymnastics on the firm ground.
His emulation must be excited and his fears
must be allayed, or be played on. This is
the system in some establishments: "See,
boy, there's a shilling, and there's a whip
which will you have? Take your chOice!
This mode is generally found successful,
and the boy, if he have the stuff Of a true
athlete in him, earns his shilling with will.
Feats Of agility are taught by careful grada-
ton, the hand of the master helping the lit
his limbs have acquired the knack Of the
fitting movement, and then the novice is
left to himself. SOmeTsault throwing is
practiced at the beginning from an elevation,
or a spTing-bOard, on to soft bed; by de-
grees the elevation from which the pupil
stakes Off is lowered, until, finally. the re-
quisite turn Of the frame on itself can be
given on the level. Afterward the feat may
be performed with tied limbs or on a sheet
of note paper, or on the fiat top of a stool.
Practice deyelOpes surprising powers in this
line, and begets a confidence that induces
hazardous experiments. Not many years
ago, clown killed himself in the Music
Hall, Dublin, while trying to throw triple
sOmersault from the gallery Of the building
on to the arena. He had achieved the first
two turns, but landed on his head while in
the act Of making the third, literally break
ing his neck.
As soon as the boy has got his sea legs,
so to speak, on the sawdust, he is indicted
into the mysteries of hOrsemanship. \
steady-going pony is selected for his open
ing lessons, which are confined to giving
him good seat and accUstOming him to
the rapid gyratiOns of the hack around the
circle. The pOny's head is borne by a bri-
die, but the rider is allowed the help of no
reins, and, Of course, no stiTups. The next
step is to teach him TO run round the ring
with the nag, so as to time its PAGES and to
mount while it is in motion, commencing
with a walk. Both these lessons are got
through with the help of hand-hOlds attach
ed to the roller girding the animals body;
the pupil is taught to grip those and swing
himself up sideways on to the back. That
is called the GLADYS jump" The "gentle-
mans jump" which is the ordinary vault
astride, comes next, and then follows the
ground about" which carries both feet to
the off side. The pad, flat leather-covered
surface, about the size of a common tray,
to the left Cor near side) of which is fixed
ring is next put on the pony, and belt with
swivel in front buckled round the waist of
the rider. A lounge-cOTd, as it is termed, is
fastened 20 the waist-ring, and passing
through the ring in the pad is held by the
trainer. This is for the purpose of holding
up the novice when he makes his first essay
standing erect on horseback. If he tOtters
the slack cord is frightened and lends him
support, and even if he lose his balance COM
pletely, it prevents him from coming to the
n
that the performer cannot fall on the side
next the audience. The attraction of
centripetal force draws him inward. Jump
ing on the pad is the next exercise, and
though the boy may have never heard OF
the laws of motion, his experience very
soons warns him that, if be desires to land
on the spot from which he starts, he must
confine himself to a straight spring upward,
the horse communicating sufficient impulse
to carry him forward with it. If he at
tempt any forward bound, he will inevitably
find himself sprawling over his chargers
neck. SOmersault-thrOwing is practiced in
the same systematic way, on the horse
standing still, on the horse walking, and on
the horse in a canter. When attempted
without pad, the bare back of the animal
is always thickly coated with resin to make
it sticky; and as gray horses show less the
resin, or california" as it is technically
called, they get the preference for 'acts" of
his kind. Two years is generally the
period necessary to teach a boy his business
well to permit him to risk him
self in public.