Having satisfied himself as to the proficiency of his pupil in cantering "going large"—that is, round the school or manÉge,—the attention of the instructor should next be directed to teaching her to make the turns and circles, and execute the "half passage" with precision.

The use of these exercises is to confirm (while riding upon both snaffle and curb reins) the steadiness of hand and seat and true balance of the rider, because, although these may appear good enough while a lady is riding her horse on a straight line, or only with the turns at the corners of the school, many shortcomings will be detected when she attempts to turn him square from the boards, or asks him to make a true circle, in which the hind legs follow exactly over the same track as the fore legs.

To commence this lesson in proper form, the pupil should collect her horse, by reining him quietly back, then move him forward well up to the hand, at a walk and at a smart active pace. When she arrives at the centre marker at the end of the school, the master should give the word "down the centre," when the rider should turn her horse square to the right (assuming, as is usually the case, that she commences her lesson to that hand). The aids for turning at a walk having been already given, it is only necessary to say that the turn down the centre requires only a trifle stronger application of the left leg, to counteract any tendency of the horse to throw his haunches outwards, and that, looking steadily to the centre marker at the other end of the school, the pupil should sight that marker well between her horse's ears, and ride true and straight to it, taking care, by closing the leg in time, that the horse does not cut off any of the ground, but plants his near fore foot close to the boards and makes the corner equally square, because whenever a horse is allowed to "cut the corners off" he endeavours to get behind the bridle, and generally succeeds. The pupil, therefore, should be cautioned in time by the instructor, and if she fails to make good every inch of ground, the word "halt" should be given and the horse reined back. Arrived about midway down the school, the turns to the right should be made square from the boards, the horse's haunches kept under him so that he does not hit the side of the school with his hind feet. His doing which is at once a proof that he is out of hand. Arrived at the centre of the school, the words "right turn" should be given again, instead of allowing the pupil to ride right across the school to the boards on the opposite side. She should then ride a couple of lengths down the centre, and again turn her horse, by word from the master, square to the right, and once more to the left, when arrived at the boards. This, repeated two or three times, is a good preparation for executing the circle; in order to facilitate the correct riding of which, the master should cause his pupil to halt her horse at the side, and himself walk over the ground he desires her to ride over. If he does this correctly, the pupil will find little difficulty in riding the circle with precision.

Starting from a point close to the boards, a couple of horses' lengths in front of the pupil, the master should make an incline to the right, at an angle of about forty-five, until he is half-way between the boards and the centre of the school; he should then bring up his left shoulder, and make another incline at the same angle to the centre of the school. Down the centre he should walk straight, the distance of a horse's length; again bring up his left shoulder, and make two inclines to the side. The figure he will thus describe does not quite represent a circle as he walks; but when the horse is called upon to move his fore and hind legs on the same track, it will be a circle in his case as nearly as possible. Having caused the pupil to move her horse forward, the instructor should give her the aids for circling, which are a double feeling of the inward rein, the horse well supported with the outward, and well kept up to the hand by the leg.

In circling to the right, the horse to be well bent to the right, so that the rider can see his inward eye; fore and hind legs moving exactly on the same track, the horse not throwing his haunches out. The great use of this circling is, that as the horse changes his direction no less than six times in a small space, to keep him up to his work the lady must bring up her left shoulder as many times as the horse alters his direction. To do this, she must be quite supple in the waist, and circling is therefore a capital practice to insure this freedom of action at that portion of the figure. To render the lesson still more easy to the pupil, I have found it answer well, after walking over the ground, to mark it out on the tan with a stick. In military schools the circle to the right or left is followed by the "circle and change," in which, when arrived at the boards, the pupil, instead of turning the horse's head to the hand he is working to, changes the bend, and turns to the reverse hand. This, however, cannot be executed at a canter with due precision without the use of the right leg, and is therefore (in my opinion) better omitted in a lady's course of equitation, an additional reason being that, when she is taught to make the change at a canter, she can do it much more effectually and elegantly by the "half passage."

The circles having been neatly done, the pupil should rein her horse back, put him well upon his haunches, and strike him off at a collected canter, about five miles an hour, the cadence true, the position of the rider correct.

It is at this point that the instructor should begin carefully to get his pupil to supple herself in the saddle, while she still rides her horse well up to his work. It should be borne in mind that a horse cannot make turns or circles at the "pace of manoeuvre" without considerable danger to himself and his rider, because at such a pace it is next to impossible to keep him fairly balanced, and he is liable, even on well-kept tan, to slip up, whereas at a very collected pace, with his haunches well under him, there is no danger whatever, although at first it will call very much upon the energy and close attention of the rider. Having her horse well into his bridle, the give-and-take action of the hand should now come gradually from the shoulder joint, and the pupil should be frequently reminded to avoid resisting the action of the horse in his canter, but to endeavour, on the other hand, to accompany him in his short stride. This is to be done by simply keeping both heels well down, the hands back, the waist bent slightly forward and perfectly supple, and avoiding too strong a grasp with the right leg upon the upper crutches of the saddle. The figure from the waist upwards, however, should be perfectly erect, leaning neither backwards nor forwards, either position being both unsafe and ungainly.

Nothing is more common than to see a lady sitting with the upper part of her figure bent forward in a canter, and, if not overdone, the effect is by no means ungraceful to the eye of a looker-on. But it is a habit likely to increase in degree, and unsafe in any case, because it is opposed to the principle of true balance.

With the shoulders well back, the body, neck, and head upright, the waist slightly bent forward, the hands well back, and acting by an easy play of the upper arm at the shoulder joint—sitting, in fact, with freedom in the saddle—the action of the horse at a collected pace will give the rider a slightly gliding motion from the cantle towards the pummels, and gradually she will thus acquire the habit of suppling herself on her horse; ready, however, at any moment "to seize her seat" (to use the expression of old Sam Chifney) by muscular grip if the horse flirts or plunges, which, however, it is difficult for him to do when going well within himself and up to his bridle.

The left leg at a canter should not be drawn back, as in trotting, but kept close to the horse's side, with the heel down, and the foot as nearly as possible under the knee. Of course, the above-described easy deportment in the saddle is not to be acquired in a single lesson; it requires considerable practice and close watching by both master and pupil. Once learnt, however, the lady has gained another important step in her equitation.

The length of time requisite to insure complete souplesse at this point is dependent upon several circumstances, over which the master has only a moderate amount of control.

The figure of the pupil is an important point in the matter. If she is naturally lithe and has been well suppled on foot, the task will be considerably easier. If, on the contrary, she is of a square figure—short in the neck and waist, and stiff in the shoulders—considerably more time is requisite. But with care, attention, and perseverance it can be acquired by all in early youth.

I know a lady who rides with both dash and judgment with hounds who is anything but a good figure; but she began under proper tuition when she was very young, and, although no longer so, she has preserved the souplesse and true balance acquired in her early days. Natural aptitude, too, is of great assistance to both master and pupil, and should be energetically developed by the former; at the same time, care should be taken that the pupil does not overrun her lessons.

As an instance of what can be accomplished even at a first essay by a lady gifted with natural talent for riding, I cannot refrain from relating the following:—Some years ago I chanced to be at the school of a fashionable riding master in London, when a class of young ladies was going through a ride. In the gallery from which I was observing them was also the mother of one of the young ladies who was riding, and of another much younger, who was standing by her side watching with the most intense interest the riding below. The younger lady was not more than ten or eleven years old, but of a form and figure exactly fitted for performing well in the saddle, being tall of her age, and lithe and supple in her movements. She did not speak, but I could see from the excitement of her manner, the glitter of her large dark eyes, and her changing colour, that she was heart and soul with the fair equestrians. The ride finished with a leaping lesson, and there was some capital jumping over a gorsed bar, hurdles double and single, and an artificial brook. The last performance completely overcame the little spectator in the gallery. Bursting into a violent fit of sobbing and weeping, she clutched her mother's dress, and cried convulsively, "Dear mamma, let me ride, let me ride." The lady, quite surprised and very much affected by the emotion and excited state of the child, nevertheless, refused, declaring she was too young. But the young supplicant for equestrian honours was not to be denied; she continued to implore and weep, and, the riding master coming to her aid, the mother gave way. Her little daughter was put on a quiet horse, and the master himself led him round the school at a walk, but this by no means satisfied our ambitious little tyro. "Let me trot," she said; "I am sure I can trot." The professor was quite sure she could not, and told her so; and, to convince her, he started the horse trotting, and ran by his side. He was never more mistaken. The lessons the pupil had been witnessing from the gallery must have made a strong impression on her mind; for, to the surprise of all of us, she caught the action of the horse at the first step, and made the best attempt at trotting I ever saw for a beginner. Feeling that trotting fatigued her, she asked to be allowed to canter, and this she did in very good form. But the crowning part of the thing was, that when we were about to take her off her horse, she begged to be allowed to have a jump. I confess, I thought the riding master wrong in consenting to this. But again our little friend electrified us all. A hurdle was put up, well sloped, so as to make the jump a very moderate one, the little pupil's hands placed, and her position rectified. No sooner had the horse turned the corner of the school, and before the riding master had time to check her, than the girl's eye lit up just as I had seen it in the gallery. She caught the horse fast by the head, hit him with her heel, put down her hands, and sat as though she had been hunting for years. It was too late to stop her, and any interference at the moment would have done more harm than good. With my heart in my mouth, I saw the horse go at the hurdle. He was one that had "an eye in every toe," and did not know how to make a mistake. But his daring little rider had roused him thoroughly, and he jumped high enough to clear a big fence, and far enough to take him over a small brook. Just as the horse took off, I shouted involuntarily, "Sit back;" and the little enthusiast answered as though my voice had been inspiration. Her lithe little figure was bent from the waist, precisely at the right moment; and she landed safe, except that the concussion threw her slightly up in the saddle. Her marvellous aptitude (talent the professionals would have called it) induced the riding master to let her make another attempt, and this time, putting her horse at the hurdle at the same dashing pace (which, by the way, with her wonderful nerve and confidence, made it easier for her), she sat in the saddle, as the old groom who tended the hurdles said, "as if she had grown there," and landed fair and true without jolt or concussion.

This young lady is now one of the most brilliant horsewomen in England. Her genius (if I may be permitted the expression), joined to close application and the best of opportunities of riding good horses, enabled her in a brief space to far outstrip all her youthful competitors, and in less than twelve months after the time I speak of she could execute most of the "bending lesson," at a canter as well as a professional rider, while over the country with hounds she was always close to her pilot, than whom there was no better man. This when she was barely thirteen years old.

Such instances of extraordinary aptitude, nerve and courage, combined with the necessary elasticity and physical power to ride, are very rare indeed; in fact, in a long experience of such matters, I do not know of a parallel case. Nevertheless, if the natural dash and fitness for riding possessed by this young lady had not been carefully watched, moulded into proper form, and restrained within due bounds, they would inevitably have run riot with her, and brought her to grief. It is in such cases as the above, or rather such as tend in that direction, that the tact and judgment of a riding master is required. If the young lady I speak of had been allowed, and the opportunity had offered, she would have mounted without hesitation any brute that would carry a saddle, and mischief, of course, would have resulted.

To return to the cantering lesson proper. When the instructor has succeeded in completely regulating the cadence of the horse in his pace and the position of his pupil, he should give her due caution to wait for the last sound of his word, to keep her body back and her leg close, supporting the horse well with the outward rein, and he should then give the word, well drawn out, gently and without hurry, "right turn," when the pupil should turn her horse from the boards with the same aids as at a walk, but more firmly applied, and if the horse leans upon her hand she should keep him up with her spur.

"Many a horse" (says the "Aid Book") "keeps a tolerable canter on a straight line, but when turned he feels too much constraint laid upon him, and leans upon the rider's hand. If at such a moment the rider yields the reins instead of closing the hand firmly on them, turning the little fingers up towards the waist, and closing the leg firmly, the horse comes upon his forehand."

Concise as the above passage is, it describes exactly what occurs on first making a turn at a canter, and it calls upon all the energy and attention of the pupil to keep the horse up to his work. But as in other exercises in the course of equitation, her reward will be in her thorough command over her horse under all circumstances, because by learning to ride him with such minute precision she is always able to anticipate his every movement.

The first three or four turns at a canter should be made square across the school, from side to side, and no second word should be given on arriving at the boards; the pupil turning her horse again to the right without any caution, and continuing to "go large" round the school until she again gets the word to turn. This practice will teach her to be constantly on the alert, and to maintain such a balance as will enable her in turning to move exactly on the same line as her horse, bringing her left shoulder up precisely at the right moment.

Three or four turns are quite sufficient for the first lesson, because the horse before completing these must go several times round the school, and the pupil should ride him well up to his bit. After a few turns, smoothly and correctly made, the pupil should bring her horse to the walk, halt, make much of him, and sit at ease.

Making much of a horse when he has performed well is always a judicious mode of letting him know that he has been doing right; at the same it affords him an interval of rest, which is quite necessary. This may appear absurd to those who are accustomed to see horses continue galloping for hours. But it must be remembered that the sort of work I have been endeavouring to describe is altogether artificial; that the animal thrown upon his haunches only goes through the lesson with considerable exertion, and that if he is kept too long at it, this can only be done by an amount of fatigue on the part of the rider which would be far from beneficial to a lady. The object of the lesson is to induct the pupil into a mode in which she can obtain complete mastery over her horse. It is, as it were, a gymnastic exercise for both steed and rider, and must not be persevered with too long at one time. After about ten minutes' rest the pupil should again collect her horse, rein him back, and prepare him again for cantering. She should then strike him quietly off, and ride him very collectedly, so as to be ready to make the circles. These should be made from about midway down the boards; and on the last sound of the words "circle right," the pupil should turn her horse's head from the boards, and, supporting him well with the left leg and rein, ride in a figure exactly similar to that she described at a walk. She will find, however, that the horse requires considerably more support in making the circles than he did in the simple turns. Being on the bend from the time he leaves the boards until he arrives at them again, the nicest riding is necessary to keep his fore and hind feet on the same track, and prevent him from throwing his haunches out. The pace, too, should be more collected than when the turns were made. Four miles to four miles and a half an hour is quite fast enough, and, if necessary, the horse must be halted and reined back several times in order to get him thoroughly collected. Two circles well done are quite sufficient. The pupil should then again halt, "sit at ease," and make much of her horse. By this time both he and the pupil will have gone through a tolerably severe lesson, because the collected pace necessary to execute it, and especially the circles, necessitates a great deal of cantering before a beginner can ascertain the true cadence—without which, and a considerable amount of support from her hand and leg, it is unsafe and useless for her to attempt her turns and circles; frequently, too, a horse will have to go several times round the school before the instructor can see the opportunity to give the word. Reining back again, and collecting him, call very much upon the horse's powers, while, on the other hand, over-fatigue is specially to be avoided as regards the pupil. After resting ten minutes or so, the lady should conclude this lesson by walking him quietly about till he is quite cool.