Evening star., 1934-12-30

and sometimes spills. There are IL trick
riders and two pace settlers. The squad
enters the hall at gallop. In column
of twos they ride around the hall, vault
ing to their horses, facing sometimes
the front, sometimes the rear of the
driver.
Next, the horse becomes the hero!
Seven soldiers form human arch. Be-
fore the arch stands another man, bend
ing to the ground in the semblance of
Jump. Before him lies Cub, docile
buckskin horse of the troop. Then old
Don appears on the scene with a bare
back rider. Don is a 24-year -old Olympic
horse and veteran of the A. E. F. He
sees Cub,A his playmate; he sees the
human jumps beyond. Remembering
his many years schooling, he breaks
into an easy gallop and jumps over
all-Cub, man and human arch.
The arch breaks up. Drivers rise to
their feet, each astride three linked
horses, and take Jump in the ancient
Roman style. The trick riders vault to
their steeds, two men to each galloping
team. Six men form pyramid on the
-ast team of the group and, all standing.
make dashing exit over the final Jump.
BAREBACK riders of the circus make
no secret of rubbing rosin on the
vide, soft backs of their PercheronS.
"Rosinbacks," in fact, is the circus term
which distinguishes the horse used for
bareback work from the baggage stock"
Horses for the circus ring are usually
white. The color is popular; the she'd
ding hair does not show on costumes
and trappings, and a white horse makes
a clearer mark for the vaulting acrobat.
Uncle Sans plain trooper, however,
Scorns roSin and takes his horse as he
finds him, white, black or bay.
OF quite a different type is the mag
nificent and dangerous drill of the
Field Artillery Battery. Eight 2-ton
gun sections. each drawn by six splendid
gray horses, charge into the arena and
execute a maze of intricate figures
among lighted fares-an exhibition
which requires expert skill. The slight
est error in the timing of turn would
result in the piling up of caissons and
horses in grim disaster. The Can
noneer," who usually rides on the box,
or Chest" of the section, is never pres
ent in exhibition drills. He might too
easily be thrown under the grinding
wheels and killed--as has, indeed, hap
pened.
For this drill Is new horses have been
broken in since December and Is new
drivers added, making squad of so.
It is interesting to compare the mod
ern Artillery drill with the chariot races
of Rome. In Roman days of glory the
chariot drivers were held in tremendous
popular esteem for their skill and daring.
The Roman raced light chariot, drawn
by either two or four horses, around
the oval of the Colosseum. The race
course itself was II feet broader and
81 feet longer than the arena at Fort
Myer. The artillerymen maneuver six
horses dragging two 4,000-pound car
riages in a drill requiring the passing
and intersecting of seven similar vehicles,
at gallop of IL miles an hour.
Prince Ras Des Demtu of Ethiopia,
through his fluent interpreter, expressed
great admiration of this feat during his
visit to America in the Summer of 1888.
"In my own army am an artilleryman,"
said his highness, "and I can appreciate
fully the very wonderful driving of your
men. have seen nothing in Europe
to compare with it,"
To write of three events and fail to
mention the brilliant whole is to paint