San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-10-04

and Good Judgment-A Certain Knacl
Exhilaration.
The life of professional jockey is full O
the widest and most unrestrained excite
ment doubt If its parallel can be foun
in any other vocation. Watch even tn
casual spectator Of horse race as he sits Of
the grand stand calmly viewing the start
and then see him as the horses speed arulnC
the track, the ON locker becomes interested
more and more until, by the time the WHINE,
has crossed the line, he is standing in hi
chair, madly waving his arms and cheering
until his breath is gone.
That is the way closely contested rae,
affects even passive spectator. To what
feverish excitement then is the jockey him
self subjected, who, next to the good noun,
under his saddle, is the most active partici
pant in the contestl Yet amid it all the
rider must be as cool and clear>headed as il
he were simply taking a constitutional
morning canter on his fathers favorite mare.
CAREFUL IN HABITS.
In order to be successful as jockey one
must necessarily be careful in his habits, and
must be in what we might call partial train
ing all the time. There is no necessity for
the rigorous diet and abstemlousneSs which
is considered essential to thcs who engage
in athletic sports, but the most extreme care
is absolutely necessary, that the weight may
be kept down to the proper figure, and for
that reason all food which has tendency to
increase flesh must be avoided.
For my own part | may say that have
always been temperate in my habits l use
tobacco to a small extent, but eat almost any,
thing to which take fancy, although some
times l am obliged to pay the penalty 1t is
my purpose always to keep myself down to
about ll2 pounds in weight. The lowest
weight l have ever attained was l07 pounds,
and the highest $50 pounds, so, to reduce
myself to the right avoirdupois, l was once
forced to knock of just eighteen pounds of
superfluous flesh, and it was no easy under
taking.
When find myself accommodating weight
too rapidly | begin to take long walks wear
ing sweaters and the heaviest winter cloth
ing, which is not especially enjoyable in hot
summer weather. A walk of from eight to
ten miles, dressed in the condition described,
will usually dispose of from one to two
pounds of extra flesh. These walks are in
dulged in only when the necessity requires,
and are by no means of daily occurrence, for
which am duly thankful
The one all important requisite for a sue
cesSful jockey is to keep cool head and to
possess an unerring judgment. for if he loses
one and fails of having the other at a critical
moment, he will never overcome the MANY
obstacles that meet him with every turn of
the track, and never win a race unless he is
upon horse that will carry him
through in spite of himself. There is as
much strategy and ffnesse to be exercised On
the race course as on the battlefield. One
must know his enemy thoroughly, and must
be alive to take instant advantage of any
errors his opponents may make He must
to make his rivals use up all their
strength before the critical moment comes,
and must reserve for himself sufficient force
to carry him safely through the final |
struggle.
A KNACK OF RIDING.
But above all, he should be very intimately !
with the capabilities of his own |
horse, and must be thoroughly cnversant |
With all its points of weakness, as well as its |
elements of strength for the former NAV |
often be taken advantage of if they are not |
known to his opponents There is a certain |
knack Of riding which 1T is difficult to ex- |
plain, but which has a substantial existence |
just the same, that enables one to almost lift |
bis horse along, especially in passing under |
the wire, when a fortunate leap will carry |
you to the front by even nose. Many |
lucky win of mine has been made in this
way, noticeably in the recent race where |
Taa Trau onI IL
and Tristan won by 80 small a fraction that |
L IS said that no one ON the track saw the |
rue result, excepting the judges. In that
ace, which was one of the most exciting in
which l have ever been engaged, was able
20 lift Tristan almost by main strength,
when felt that l had surely lost, just enough |
70 win.
The sensations which n jockey experiences
n speeding around the track are many and
7aried, and there is always the utmost c.
lllaratiOn of mind, and every muscle of his
)ody Is drawn TO tension approac ling tie
breaking point. He has little time to view
he landscape within the iaclosure. or to see
he mad crowd that is cheering him on from
he grand stand, or at the fences close by the
rack, even If his eyes arr. not blinded by the
mowers of II I'D or the clouds of dust win
which the enemy in front delight to greet
lin, But he knows instincuveIy that the
landscape and the crowd ure there, and Re
leals the cheers Of the mob family aJovc the
Of the horses LoofS These are
Iuiet and subdued sounds at the start. winch
re completely lost the momcut the first turn
5 made, and then they cease altogether until
he homeStretch is gaiI..i. vhea the noise
rows gradually louder, but seldom becomes
good sized one for the Jockeys ears. 1t is
Then the race is over and the victory is won
hat the jockey remembers all he has passed
Trough. The nervous exhaustion occasioned
y a record breaking mile is excessive, but a
ath and rub down soon puts the Jockey in