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; JOYS AND PERILS OF STEEPLECHASING. Harry Stone, formerly a steeplechase rider of note, writes nitcn tingly of bis peraonal experiences in the saddle, for thirteen years Mr. Stone rode burses over the Jumpe and he pronounce- t teeplrehaslng t" be the most faseiualing s|Kirt in the world. He describes his .en-alious as follow-: "The pleasure of sitting astride a game hurdler and flying through the air gives one a sen-e of e hilaralitm that is sublime. And the fact thai one fas to concentrate all his energies and attention to prevent accidents .elds to the thrill and v v of the sport, A li.ler takes a na-ty tumble :,• a race track. When he is led or carried off the course you tind that an arm or collarbone is broken. Dies that lone him to retire irom the pastime! Not so that it is noticeable. He worries until the trouble i- over. Not on account of the injury, but simply in hi- IU icty to jel back in the saddle. That professional lacing mi n are not alone in praising the sport of steeph cha-nig is apparent from the number of its wealthy amateur supporters.. Men v ln are worth millions grasp at the opportunity to ride on the big course-. Not lor any notoriety, but simply for the pleasure and excitement. My experiences in this end of the sp..r have been extensive enough to till books, l mhuwbvj I have broken almost every hong In ni.v In lv. My misfortunes, however, were not different from any other riders. But, like every otiier sport, one gets caac hardened and pays no attention to such a small thing as a fracture. Some of the accident- happened from causes that were so trivial it seemed ridiculous that a rider could get hurt through them. Again, then have been eases where it looked as if the rider could not possibly escape death, and yet he gets off without a scratch. My entry into stc pleehasing came about in a peculiar manner. Ever since I could sit on a home I was following the hounds around my birthplace in Toronto, Can. One afternoon, in the summer of 1 S! 7. Thomas Phelan. a friend of mv family, jokingly asked me to- ride his none Clarke il one of the gentlemens races at tht old Woodbine course. Boylike, I jumped at the opportunity. The folks objected strenuously, but I managed to get ■ nd them and the fateful day arrived. Clarke Was a Strong-beaded horse and when the Hag dropped he bounded off in front. Coming to the first lump. I wondered bow and where I would land. Rang we s.-iled over, and my courage reliirimi. After going nearly two miles Clarke was a sixteenth in front. His trainer, who was in the middle of the Infield. yelled at lue to pull up. as people were on the course. Clarke recognbmd his voice, flustered, and ran to ward he ;imers- stand. He never Stopped Until be jumped into the iuelosure and chased the spectators away, in some manner I managed to dash out through a gate and on to the course again, and bv hard work I got home by less than one leruth. "In my next outing I was not so successful. Getting a little chesty. I tried to hold mv mount when he was in front. The next thing I knew 1 was lying on the ground with my father ben ling over me. This is your In-t attempt over steeplechases, voting mail. he said, and dont forget It. "Although this was said publicly. I never stopped riding to the hounds, six vars later I started in business in New York. Appendicitis got in its tine work, and one line afternoon my physician cheered me up by ordering me to go back home. "Get yourself a comfortable rocker. he said, •and take matters easy, for you have not much time for this earth. I went home as ordered. Instead of the rocker I si ent the afternoon around mv fathers horses and speedily regained mv strength. The next year I went back to Gotham. Drifting around Sbeepahead Bay one afternoon I was persuaded to rab- Cdnover in the Stirrup Cup. an amateur event. I was then practically unknown in New York. Mr. Charles Harris. COnovers owner, put me in the sad die and told me to do my best- and be very careful With the other riders, who were all experienced. M hen the race was over. Conovor was across the line before tie others had c, me out on the track The old fever was back again. After riding as an ama-tiur for the remainder of that season I took ont a license as a professional. "Of all my experiences the most thrilling was at Nice a few years ago while riding a man; named Eingara. The field consisted of twenty-live. When the Bag dropped I went off in front. After we had gone half a mile this flightv miss hobbled at a lump, took off badly and both of us landed in a neap. The twentytour opponents were right behind us. It was a 1 to a 100 shot that I would be trampled to death. Fortunately I landed in such a peculiar fashion that I was lying between the four legs of my mount when the field came along. This proved a perfect cushion, and when the runners had passed I picked myself up without a scratch. The mare was literally skinned bv the iron shoes of some of her rivals. If I had rolled over when I fell there would not have been enough left of me to iHilher about. "Ag,ain. I rode one of the steadiest jumpers in Canada, and when be stumbled just slightly I -h of. out of he saddle and broke an arm. One thing that strikes me as queer is that when a rider is oeea--] on. illy thrown out of the saddle to hear some folks say that he lumped out intentionally. If there is a rider in the game who has jumped off a horse when going full speed he is fitted for either of two places — a circus or a lunatic asylum. Mv experience in this line was when rode John II. P. at Slieeps-nead Ray in his third race in this country. This erratic hurdler made a tremendous leap at the Liverpool and. landing badlv, unseated me. When I dropped to the ground I still bad hold of mv reins and seemed unable to let go. AH this time the horse was kicking me with his hind legs. Finally I managed to roll myself away from him. When I scrambled to my feet 1 found that I could not walk. My riding clothes were torn into shreds. After an ex animation by the track physician it was discovered that I had the narrowest escape in the world from being injured for life. Judge of my surprise the next day when I beard the rtqiort that I had deliberately jumped off the horse. If some of those skeptics hul any experience riding Jumpers they would soon find out that the jumping-off stunt is like squaring a circle — impossible. "Of all the jumpers that I ever straddled I believe that John M. I". was the Ih-sI. He showed his n al ability in his fir.-t two starts, which were vie tones. Alter those great performances ho liecame erratic, and then lost his genuine form. When First Ill threw me at Pimlico in 1D0! I had another miraculous escape from death. The mare turned a complete somersault and rolled right over me. I was carried off the field unconscious and never knew what happened untH the next day at I he hospital. "The result of this fall stayed with me longer than any of the others. This brings up the fact that there is very lit Jo sympathy expressed for riders when they fall. They recover so rapidly from in-Jeries that their hurts are belittled. The main reason lor such marvelous recuperation is wholly due lo the fine physical condition of the lniys who risk their lives to amuse the public, n 1000. while riding Touchwood I got a simple fall at -Sheep-he. id Ray. Regaining my feet almost as soon as the horse I discovered quickly that my left arm and two fingers were broken. This, kept nie on the ground lor nine weeks. The time lost while recovering from an injury is one of the hardships of a Steeple chase riibjis life. Their earning |iower is sum marily CUT off- While they are standing around idle the stable employs another rider. So when one gels hack to good health it really means starting over again. "In schooling horses in the morning the chances of an accident are just as great as during a race. Several years ago I was schooling Sandalwood a turn through the field in preparation for a Saratoga campaign. At the last jump he stepped in the ditch of the Liverpool and fell. I picked myself up with a collarbone broken in two places. One week later al Saratoga I had the arm strapped down in such a manner as to give me partial use of the forearm. 1 rode Commodore Fontaine in the North American, a three-mile event. ;1n I won. Had 1 fallen off "in modore Fontaine and broken that shoulder again it would have been shattered so that I would have been a cripple for life. This goes to show how an x ions a rider is to get back to work, and what Chattel -he will take to get into the saddle again. One of I he most courageous jumpers I ever rode i* Waterway. This I found out io my sorrow at Saratoga when he in. nie an effort to take off at a fence when he had plenty of room to put in another stride. His over confidence landed him on top of a hedge. We both fell mid I carried anay two broken ribs. In spite of all the many injuries that are chronicled yearly the fascination of stoepleehasing always brings plenty of recruits. You may have narrow escapes ■mil exciting moments, but nevertheless, believe me. stc. pleehasing is a winner."
