New-York tribune., 1909-01-18
RTJLERS ON HORSEBACK
Vku the French Republic Objects
to Its President Riding.


President Roosevelt's ninety-eight mile ride last
,r serves 10 call attention TO the fact that, with
80 nossIble exception of King Alfonso of Spain, hs
a. ne only one Of the worlds rulers capable of the
e.. although the latter IS less arduous than it
,ears at first sight owing to the frequent change
= -,ornts A ride of sixty miles in one day. on
=. came horse would have been. according to my
-.-sonsI experience an infinitely more severe test
Of endurance
gss are called upon 10 spend so much of their time
:, horseback the steed being, indeed so TO speak.
= of the attributes of authority, since the man
q. .he,-al~ IS always more impressive and calcu-
,..s 70 inspire more respect than any one On foot.
-. do not as a rule ride particularly well, the
-. - bo-seran Of the lot being King Ferdinand Of
i-eria who in spite Of his having been lieutenant
- crack Austrian hussar regiment when elected
:. HE Balkan throne. is prevented by inhrmity
-, remaining OF horseback for more than an hour
:. ,5,7e ard is restricted to the most tame sober
r.i-ed chargers. The Kings of Greece, Of Sweden
= >-o-v-av and Of Denmark prefer walking 70
-, riding or driving, and are rarely on
S.b.cL Neither Alexander III OF Russia yet
.L rresent Gar. can he described as fine horse
KING Edward rides well. but is not en-
.lze-fc OF accomplished equestrian as his son,
- 1s+e Duke of Clarence. who was as daring a
,,-hese rider as his first cousin, the present
-, Crown Prince. The latter. in fact has all
-, ~ reckless feats 10 his credit. and is splen-
,,5 herser1an ike his godfather. the OLD Emperor
:. Austria who still, in spite of his great age rides
,-b grace and ease difficult horses, tring out men
much younger than hlraseh 0S ms @S'oheiiiiis ei
su-snce in the saddle.
Fnoreror William rides like an Englishman and
.. never So happy 5 when in the hunting helo-
r,-;ne the grand annual nlanceuvres Of the German
So, he used TO be sixteen and even eighteen hours
q, n. saddle at a stretch. day after day. but last
,-,n,er made use OF his automobile. in order to be
bl. n travel from point OF the scene OF opera
-,o,s 70 the other with greater degree OF celerltS
yy,+or Emmanuel III likewise affects the autonlo-
"a. although he is z much better horser1an than
-. s--Ls- mas FIumbert was passionately fond OF
..-sss 5i5 not hesitate ply his riding whip Wig
,-ouslv on the head and shoulders Of any of his
.+sb--sn whom he found neglecting or III treating
~, A,,,ine farorites but had bad seat and sus-
-,ne5 more runbles than any other OF the Anoint-
=, NJ The Lord King Leopold. though have never
tnoun MIN 10 hunt used formerly 10 be very fond
~ riding and looked well in the saddle The late
rins Christian Of Denmark rode superbly, taking
his horse over the most wonderful jumps even long
after his eighteth birthday
S,,1+an Abdul Hsmid has never 10 my knowledge,
5zrinz all the thirty-odd years of his reign made
Use Of the naagnicently caparisoned Arab which Is
always led in :he procession every Friday, when he
visits the mosque in state, and which is held In
readiness in the event Of his preferring TO return
on horseback instead of in his carriage. King
Alfonso IS the only crowned head to have won lau-
reIs at polo But King Peter of Servia. in spite OF
his being 4 graduate Of the great French military
college Of 81. Cyr. rides abominably, presenting
ptiable figure on horseback; not quite as bad
though as Prince Victor Napoleon. the Bonapartlst
pretender whose innumerable equestrian mishaps
have been Of such ignominious and altogether
ridiculous character as TO sadly handicap his pros
poets Of bringing about restoration OF the empire
in France.
The French are 81 alive to the advantages and
DISADVANTAGES Of eauestransm in politics that they
will not allow their President 70 figure on horse
back at any Of the great military reviews and out
door pageants. On the hand, they fear that If
he presents graceful and gallant figure on horse
hack he will captivate popular favor and arouse
The enthusiasm OF the masses 10 extent calcu-
lated 10 erdanger the safety OF the republic. 1t
vas the striking figure which the Ill fated General
Foulanser presented horseback that contributed
more than anything else his extraordinary vogue,
riindiug the populace TO his weaknesses and en-
doRing him q time with power that almost
wrecked the republic People are always afraid IN
France lest some one man another should be-
come TOO great a popular favorite and avail him.
self thereof TO seize the powers Of dictator on
tbe other hand if the President rides badly and
presents an ungraceful figure horseback. he i'm
pairs the prestige and the dignity Of the republic
by The ridicule which he excites.
For these reasons il is insisted that the Presi-
6enrs OF the French Republic should always appear
Ct great reviews and military pageants in a car
rage instead Of on horseback, no exception haNlns
been made in favor OF Marshal MacMahon ana OF
President Faure. The latter rode extremely WEI
and looked very much TO his advantage on horse
hack Vet at the review held In honor q the EN-
peror and Enpress Of Russia at Chalons the Car
alone rode on horseback Faure being conPeheu u
follow IN the carriage with the Czarina'