The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-11-20
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 FOUR-IN-HAND COACHING.

The Most Aristocratic of All Sports
 The public coach idea, the opportun- ity thus afforded to enjoy the most
 aristocratic of all sports, does not be-
 long to any one social set, but is hos pitably open to all who can pay the
 fare. The richest or the humblest citi-
 zen may book a seat; the first comer
 having the first choice of place. The enterprise is backed by a few men who
 have the sporting fever in their blood. They put a professional whip in ] charge but they themselves take turns 1 on the box during the two months of | tho season.
 The preliminary arrangements for
 running public coach involve almost l as much work as the staging of q new
 play. For weeks before the opening of 1 the season, both the men and the | beasts who are to figure in the great event spend their time training and re-
 hearsing. The departure Is planned and
 the run prearranged, down to the
 minutest detail. Tn the selection of horses, in the "equine equipment" the incest discrimination is necessary The
 horses are gathered from all over the
 country. The coach horse must be of
 mature age, a horse unders six years
 of age being too full of youthful en-
 thusiasm. A beast with short, thick
 neck is barred His character too
 closely resembles that of short, thick
 neck man, You can never persuade
 him that your way is better than his,
 and with the short neck is is physical
 ly able to withstand the argument of
 the most accomplished whip. A long,
 thin neck, that offers leverage, Is the most desirable, Horses with that characteristic are usually better tenn pered and much easier to train and handle. To fit and season the horses, after they have been matched, is the first lesson in their education, and a raw, green team, fresh from the coun- try, demands as much patience and spanking as twins. Being unaccustom- ed to the roar of the city they are gradually introduced to the strange sights and noises by morning jaunts, at which times only two horses are driven to light skeleton brake. When they have become sufficiently acclimated to have their first go at four-inh hand, they are hooked to a stout body brake, and, if after a months probation they have over- come their ein shyness, have not de- veloped any evil traits, and can go the pace and istance, they may become identified with the eXhilarating sport of coaching. The guns are regulated so that a coaching stable, including the four extra emergency animals, can show one horse for each mile of the distance, one way to be covered.
 Out of the popularity which coach ing gained as a sport grew the idea of a coaching club. Of all clubs, the coaching club Is the most exclusive. To become member one must own coach, and run it regularly between the city and a country place. The first | American club was organized in 1875, with six English-built coaches. The same club now includes 22 coaches Il or 12 of which are necessary to a | quorum at the annual parade in Cen | tral park.
 The peculiarity of coaching as a | sport is that it had its origin in busi- l ness. When railroads supplanted the | stage coach and drove the old- time i whips out of the trade, gentlemen be- gan maintaining coaches for the pleas ure of driving the horses Every driver of a four-in-hand to-day observes all the formalities of | coaching etiquet. The amateur whip always salutes the professional A new driver may occupy a social posi- tion ever so lofty, he may be a mill lionaire or a prince, but he always bows to an old coachman. Indeed, the :, | rule and face every danger of the road, for the pleasure he derives in making a sport of that which, in our forefathers time, was a business Gilson Willets in Frank Lesiies