Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1889-01-11
POINTS FOR RIDERS.

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POINTS FOR RIDERS.
An Old Cavalryman's Advice to an Inox.
pcrlenccd Horseman.
1.-The best riders in the world" said
an old cavalryman, who was giving D
greenhorn some points on equestrian
ism, "are the Mexicans. Buffalo Bills
cowboys are splendid riders,' but tho
MeXicans are better still. And their
superiority is in part due to the kind OF
saddle they use. That low English
saddle you've got there" he continued.
al couldn't ride in. 1t isn't fit for a
man to ride in. Now, the great beauty
of the Mexican saddle is that man sit
ting in 1t has his legs almost straight
down beside the horse, like n clothes
pin. A Mexican on horseback keeps
his heels and shoulders nearly in line,
his feet planted firmly in his stirrups
underneath him and pointing straight
ahead, parallel with the horse. Our
Mcclellan saddle would be rs good as
the Mexican saddle If it only had the
stirrups placed couple of inches fur
ther back. As it is, Il man riding in
Mcclellan saddle has to bend his leg at
the knee in the English style. Now,
with the knee bent it Is almost impossi-
BILE to keep your feet pointed straight
ahead.
This position OF the feet" the inn
promptu riding-master continued, after
pausing moment to allow his casual
pupil to absorb what he had already
said, sis a very important thing in
learning to ride properly. In fact, tits
the thing. And yet nine-tenths of the
riders you see about the street and
country roads every day have their toes
turned at an angle of forty-five degrees
from the sides OF the horse. As a con-
sequence, these riders can't have firm
seat, and don't enjoy the exercise half
as much as they would If they rode
properly"
"How is it the way the toes point has
so much to do with good riding?n re-
porter who happened to be on hand in
quired.
10 sit firmly on horse and at the
same time to have the body erect and
free to give with the horses notion"
the cavalryman said, ''you must grip
the animals sides with your knees.
Not with the calves OF the legs, mind,
not with the thighs, but with the knees
alone, Now, if you don't keep your
toes pointing straight ahead, or nearly
so. it is impossible 10 get this grip with
the knees. Turn your toos out and
you will find at once that you grip the
horse with the calves of your legs and
that your body is thrown forward from
the hips instead of being erect. Ex-
pertinent little when you get on your
horse and you'll see it works just as
say. But if you keep your feet straight
hold tight with your knees and sit erect
you will find you can accommodate
yourself to the motions OF the horse
more readily and gracefully, your seat
will be firmer and riding will not tire
you near SO quickly. II you will
notice old cavalrymeh when they
walk" the gentleman continued, "you
will see that instead of spreading their
feetapart they keep them parallel. This
is the result of their habit of riding and
it often makes them very ungraceflll on
their feet. The best and most graceful
rider knew was General Ashby, who
was killed during the war. i never saw
any man who looked SO handsome on
horseback. OF a horse, however, he
walked like duck and was so clumsy
that he couldn't get into parlor with
out falling over all the furniture in
curved saddle, with his legs hanging
straight down, rides as easily as II he
were sitting in a rocking-chair, and at
the same time it is almost impossible to
unseat him. He is clothes-pinned on to
the horse, and the latter can't get from
under him. But q man riding on q fiat
English saddle with short stirrups, his
legs bent ut the knee and his toes turn
ed out, has no chance when his horse
jumps suddenly. He is in cramped
positions and is almost sure to be
thrown forward on the horses neck
or over his hea ~ Washington Star.
England and the English do rot.
after all, derive their name from the
Angles, according to the long-roo:ed
tradition. so declares n German Gov
ernment professor, DIR. Bcning. After
extensive researches, he has discovered
that the word English originates from
the "Engcrn," numerous and power
full Saxon race living nenr the banks OF
the Weser, on the North Sea. This
theory rests also upon the authority Of
the old British monk Gildas, who lived
much earlier than Bede, and who speaks
only of the Saxons who colonized
Britain. Further, DIR. Benlng points
out that our supposed forefathers, the
Angles, dwelt on the Baltic, further off,
and that their country was much
smaller than the Land OF the Engern.
"A farmer OF Marietta, Ga, missed
fine COW the other day. The Surround
ing woods and fields were searched for
two days without avail. Finally an old
colored man found the missing animal
in the top story OF the college building.
whittier she had climbed up winding.
narrow stairway.
Nebraska has its Paradise Valley.
Milk river, Honey creek, Thunder
Canon, Lightning Fork, Doughnut
Prairie. Bakers Reef and Cake Basket
Precinct. For variety and style OF
product. this commonwealth has no