The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-06-19
BAREBACK RIDING.
en- OLD INTERVIEW WITH FISH
WHICH is INTERESTING.

Good Horse Dangers of the 'sTwistcr."
Charles W. Fish, tho bareback rider, was
probably the best known rider in tho world
and held tho championship for years, do
ing many remarkable fcats which tho
younger men in tho profession never ex-
cclled. he was born in Philadelphia in
1889. He came of &c n old stock. The
following interview Win him. published
in Philadelphia in 1850, will be interest
ing, especially to circus men and lovers Of
the tent show:
What is necessary, Mr.. Fish, to become
first class performcr?''
WELL there are good many things nee
essary. To climb to tho top of the tree
or on the back Of the horse, properly-a
child's training boy or girl, should begin
ut tho agc Of or 6, not later than OF
years anyhow. Tho first steps are to give
the body that elasticity so essential, and
this is done by practicing all kinds of tum-
bling OH the ground. Somersaults, back
ward and forward, handsprings or nipnaps
in fact, I'LL that tumblers do in q circus.
When boy becomes thoroughly proficient
in this sort of thing, tho next step is to put
him on the back of q horse and teach him
how to Keep his balance. There arc two
ways of doing this to keep juvenile from
mastering it at the risk of broken neck.
ton, by which the rider is held suspended
in the air If no leaves the horses back
while going around the ring. The other is
to have ropo attached to the boys waist,
which passes through ring on the side of
the pad, the end being held by the teacher
AS soon us tho boy begins to topplc and is
seen going strong pull on the rope brings
him up against the side of tho horse and
keeps him there until he can Chamber bncl5
again.
u began riding when was o years old
at Spoulding & Rogers old circus in Gin
cinnati, in 1SiS, but I've been all over the
world since that. No, my family were not
professional people. 1 ycarncd to become
u rider the first time 1 ever saw q circus,
like ninety -nino out of every hundred bows
in America.
American malo riders are the best I'm
the world, but we look for tho best lady
riders In Europe. In Europe. / hayn
known Frcnchmcn, Englishmen and Span
lartis to be billed us the Great American
Horscman. Some of these men never saw
this side of the Atlantic. There is no rcn-
son why the riders there should not be bet
ter than American riders from the fact
that they are six months In place at q
time, and learn to know their ring thor
oughly. That is more important matter
than 1t seems mt first sight a foot's differ
encc makes very serious matter The
ring is usually - feet in diameter, and q
rider counts on that. a single foot larger
or smaller makes 1t necessary for the per-
formers to strike different angle. inclin-
ing moro inward rs the ring gets smaller
and more pcrpcndicularly if its dimensions
are Increased. Yes, bareback riding is the
most difficult, Of course. A pad rider gen
orally requires four or five years hard
practice bareback before he can be trusted
for clean, finished performance You
see on pad riding man doesn't have to
take into account the horses backbone or
the curve of the back. 1t is perfectly level
on pad, and just SO much easier. A great
deal depends on the horse.
"Valuc2 Well, q first class horse is not
for sale at any price. You've got to use a
horse three or four years before you can de-
pend upon him with absolute certainty.
Reputation, living = life itself = DEPEND
upon n bareback rider having under him n
horse on which he can positively depend to
be just at the right place Mt the right time
Tho swerving of an inch, the uuickening
or slowing of the pace TO the half length of
u hooi, may mean n broken arm, perhaps u
broken neck. Realize the danger? Why.
OF course we do. I've had horse stumble
on mo when l was half way up in a somer.
sault, and before got down 1 could real
iZo that was in danger of never getting
up alive. 1t only cost me fractured arm,
however,, which is all right now.
The most critical moment in my life
was while l was doing 'twister' in 1875.
James Robinson and myself were with
Montgomery Queens circus on our way
overland from San Francisco. We were
billed as the rival champions, and at Mus
kcgon, Mich, Oh the 10th of August I
first did the 'twister' Now, I'll tell YOU
what 1t Is. There are three banners held
very close together. AS 1 ride, with my face
10 the first, l jump pirouette and come
down again face forward, instantly up
agun-for 1t must be done in IN Instant
and half pirouette over the second, thus
bringing my back to the horse head, when
l again alight, then, quick as flash, I'D
anu turning somersault, twist my body
around when in the mir, SO as to reverse
my position, and when alight on my feet
having my head in front, as the horse goes
had practiced it on the ground for ten
years, but on bareback horse it's very
different affair. We were in Detroit, and
among the audience were j. NJ. French
and number of other prominent circus
men. All We're anxious to see the twist
en- Tho ring was wet and in bad condi-
ton, and had only about onc-third of the
circle to work in. Three, four, five times
tried it and failed The sixth time with
every nerve strung to its utmost tension,
with my teeth firmly set and my hands
clinchcd, l was determined to succeed.
The audience rose almost en- massc with
excitement, and cries of We'll done. any
how! Don't try it againr maddcncd me.
The first step was all right, so was tho
next, but as left for the final spring the
l,.Ny IL
was up in the air and came down with
terrific crnsh hrnd md shnn1l1lnr- i,rA Al