Wichita eagle., 1888-12-12
THE RIDING SCHOOLS.
WHERE SOCIETY SPENDS PART OF
ITS TIME WHEN SUMNER IS OVER.

from the Ground - Nervous Women.
Habits Fitte. While on the Horse-Rid-
ing to Music.
The base of all riding lessons for beginners
is the safety and careful training of the
horses Only horse Of strong will power,
wide intelligence and disciplined nerves can
bear with equanin1ity the succession of sur
prises sweet girl manages to arrange for
him when she mounts for the first time. The
first mounting is from block, and rider
has only to sit down with little spring to
be in her place, but there are something like
hundred ways a girl manages to take that
little spring and take it exactly wrong before
she is in the saddle. Then it takes an artist
to arrange girls skirts and two grooms to
hold the horse while it is DONE When she
! doesn't forget to unlock tho little loop that
holds her dress in the back she sits down
squarely on the fullness that should go over
the pommel, or gets SO helplessiy wound up
in the skirts that no one but the fifteen puz-
gle man can ever get her out alive. Her sad
die is never exactly right, her stirrup either
too long or too short and she fidgets and
fuses and nestles and giggles and gets
pink in her cheeks and lot of imprecation
fore she is finally satisfied and rides into the
ring, only to come back again in nine cases
out of ten for another horse or saddle or
something
Mounting from the ground is yet more
difficult feat, and usually the first few trials
end in disaster. One hand on the saddle, the
other on the shoulder of the MASTER his arm
about her waist, her foot in his hand, and
! then count one, two, three, and she springs
only to land where she least expects, while
the horse quivers and shivers in patient SUBJ
mission and bears it. The favorite mode of
riding is after the English style, and the
master rides round and round with the pupil
correcting, criticising her position, and sug-
! gesting such ideas as she may find beneficial
/ Suddenly, without warming, he chirrups to
her horse, and away they go, his hand under
meath her elbow to teach how and when to
/ rise from the saddle as the horse bounds.
/ Faster and faster they fly, and winter and
winter grows the girls face through the
/ nameless fear that will come and must be
/ dispeled by heroic treatment.
4 naturally graceful woman who is not
afraid of a horse and understands how to
manage one, can learn to ride well in very
I. few lessons, but timid, nervous woman re-
/ Quire considerable practice to accustom her.
self to the to her terrifying motion Of the
powerful animal she rides
Il practiced months and months," said
! pretty young girl in gray striped habit, ito
! learn to rise in the saddle according to the
masters teaching, but just couldn't do it at
all, and was lame all over, until one day
papa said: Why, just sit still ana let the
horse throw you,' and in ten minutes l had
it and have never had any trouble since"
All this time that the young riders had
been Topping and tossing and jerki1g around
in the rink, tall, vigorous young woman
had been drawing on her gloves, and pink
checked girl in the corner was reading love
letter, waiting for their horses and scolding
because some one whom they called Bert
couldn't come and ride with them, SO they
could go out in the park, and when the
horses finally came, two handsome, white
faced, slender necked beauties, they few
down the steps, one foot in the hand Of the
/ groom, a spring, and they were in the sad
/ dies, every fold of their habits falling into
exactly the correct and proper place with no
/ fidgeting, and into the rink they dashed on
/ the prancing, dancing horses, flying round
and round and across the circle, striking ter
/ ror to the hearts of their timid sisters, while
tho fresh, soft color sprang to the riders
checks and the pretty brightness to their
eyes with the swift exercise.
''HOw is it that you seem to have so much
less trouble with your dress in mounting
than the othersT asked an inquisitive matron
as the girls came painting up the stairs
! "Oh, l don't know, unless it is because they
were fitted on q real live horse up here at the
stable. a great many of the ladies insist on
their tailors coming to the stables to fit the
dresses now. A wooden charger isn't like a
/ live horse to mount, you know"
/ When the beginners lessons are ended for
the day comes the glorious dashing music
ride by all the school together. Suddenly a
crash of music, a trampling Of hoofs, a toss
! ing Of silky names and glossy curving necks,
! and sixty horses, all saddled and bridled,
dash out into the rink, and half as many
women are trying to mount the eager, paw
ing, quivering steeds, and twice as many
men are helping them to the best Of their
poor skill. The ladies fuss and twist and
wrestle, stirrups are shortened or heightened,
girths are frightened, the music crashes on,
/ the pretty horses stand impatiently, with
Quivering cars and dilated nostris. The
/ queenly beauty goes out to mount, but pouts
in the prettiest ina ginable way as she is led
/ along the block, but smiles with lips and
/ eyes as a fair haired Adonis, anticipating
! her wish to mount from the ground springs
/ down from the block and holds up his arms
! invitinGly TO her, Twenty horses are
crowded together in little space cavorting
/ aud paving in impotence and excitement,
/ but down among their trampling hoofs she
/ flies fearlessiy, and with quick, light spring
/ she is beaming down into his face as he fits
! her foot into the stiIrup aud tightens her
/ saddle gl'th. then filings himself en- a horse,
! and round and round the big rink they all
/ rovolve in steady measured pace to the quick,
/ throbbing music.
/ Sweet girls ride into the rim 6 alone al fear
4 lessly, but hardly are they inside the gate
/ before some mounted knight with uplifted
! hat joins them, and two and two they dizzily
/ wheel, now to the right, now to the left,
divide into two circles, meet and come up
/ the center four abreast, wheel again into the
/ circles of four, meet and march up eight
/ abreast, separate once more, wheel, meet,
/ and sixteen horses heads come tossing up in
! line, as unlike in expression as the sixteen
/ bright faces above them, and round they
/ wheel again in pairs.
/ Then they all form in one straight line,
while the music beats the time, dash for
! ward, the whole seventy Of them, in a salute
( to the leader, ard the lesson is over, only q
/ few of the braveSt Of the ladies remaining to
ride for the rings, and only two Drawing the
/ hurdleS-New York Sun.
Best Protection Against Colds
y normal condition OF the skin is the chief
7 h. ~