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METHOD OF CREATING A REAL JOCKEY An Apprentice Must Undergo Long and Hard labor Before Being Permitted to Bide The life histories of famous jockeys are constant ¬ ly being published and interesting reading most of them afford but they seldom give any details of how these knights of the pigskin fared in the earliest stages of apprenticeship From time to time articles have appeared describing the life of an ap ¬ prentice in a big racing establishment and the writers have endeavored faithfully to limn them front their point of view though the experiences narrated invariably differ widely from fact factFew Few people arc aware of the hardships which are endured by a boy who is to make his mark as a Jockey and it is generally imagined that if a lad is of IT sufficiently slender built he has merely to enter a racing stable to earn the income of a cabinet minster In a few years This is a great mistake as everyone concerned with stables knows well enough and as every embryo jockey finds out to his cost The training of a jockey entails many years of hard work if success is to be achieved and possessing a strong constitution alone will enable an apprentice to rise to the position of a first rate jockey jockeyThe The famous actor usually gains fame by begin ¬ ning on the lowest rung of the ladder and so it is with the jockey and few cases can be recalled of any rider of note who has not commenced his career by doing his bit in the stables That those who rise to the top of the tree are few and far between is apparent from the long list of ap ¬ prentices which appears year by year in tlie Rac ¬ ing Calendar the majority of whom pass into ob ¬ scurity scurityThe The life of an apprentice in a racing stable al ¬ though healthy enough is by no means a bed of roses and woe betide the gently nurtured lad who thinks lie is going to have a good time Years ago an apprentice was thought little of arid his housing and feeding were of tlie most primitive kind but things have changed greatly and in most estab ¬ lishments the lads are looked after with tlie greatr est care and their interests studied in every possible way wayThe The term of apprenticeship varies considerably and it usually rests with his parents whether a boy is bound to a trainer for three five or more years in most instances five years is the stipu ¬ lated time is the rudiments of the profession can scarcely be taught in less though in some cases casesthe the apprenticeship lasts until tlie majority is at ¬ tained It is an old saying and a good one too however much to be said for the other side of the question that nearly all the craclc Jockeys of the present day owe their positions to the care caretful tful tuition bestpwedvipon them by their early em pioyers pioyersMUST MUST HAVE NATURAL ABELITT ABELITTA A boy must have bred in him the ability to con ¬ trol horses and the nerve to do so fbr no teacher can instill these necessary attributes The instinct to judge pace is indispensable as without it no boy can hope to succeed and it was probably owing owingi i to this faculty that Sloan exercised such influence on race riding in England Englandr r The Inability to estimate correctly tlie speed at which a horse is traveling has spoilt the career of ofmany many prominent lads and this will be borne put by byr r every trainer who will tell yon that men whom he has had in his employ for perhaps a score pf yeaijs even then cannot tell the difference between a hulf speed threequarter speed or racingpace gallop gallopAnd And now to describe some of the details of an apprentices life It must not be supposed that when he enters the employment of a trainer he is at once placed on a race horse No a great many things have to be learned before lie achieves that distinction The routine of a stable has first to b2 taught and there is a great deal more in this than most people imagine At the outset his attentions are mainly confined to sweeping the yards polishing brasswork washing out the stables cleaning sad ¬ dles bridles and harnesses and a hundred and ouu other details too numerous to mention mentionGoing Going the rounds with tlie stopping pot Is one of these first duties and as this implement will no doubt be unknown to many readers it may be well to explain its uses A stopping pot is a box or other receptacle containing moist cowdung which is used to slop up horses feet the night before they have to be reshod the object of the dung being to soften the hoofs and thus render them less resisting to the blacksmiths knife knifeThe The novice is then gradually educated in the proper Avay of cleaning out a stable and bedding it down while he also has to notice how to dress a horse down properly It is frequently a source of wonderment to the visitor who makes his first in ¬ spection of a racing stable to see a small lad of some fourteen summers and sometimes jess than four feet high completing the toilet of a big animal of sixteen hands in order to do which he has perched himself on the top of an upturned stable bucket bucketEAELY EAELY BISIKG IS BIGID BULE BULEEarly Early rising is the rule in all stables and the lads are invariably aroused at hoursr hoursrranging ranging from 6 a in in the winter to 4 a m in the summer for in the latter season most trainers have their strings on the exercise ground before 5 oclock oclockWhen When the boy has thoroughly learnt Ids stable duties he is then taught to ride his first mount usually being some quiet old cob or pony and lie is after having practiced a few times in the home pad ¬ dock allowed to go out with the string to pick up and bring back the rugs hoods kneeboots etc which are taken off horses when they are about to undergo fast gallops This gives them plenty of mounting and dismounting practice an invaluable experience as race horses cannot be mounted by the usual procedure of placing the foot into the stirrup for they will not stand and they have to be mounted by a scries of springs springsWhen When sufficiently advanced the lad is given charge1 of a nice horse usually one chosen for its quietness and good manners and he is then taught how to ride canters the tusk of steering the horse in the faster work being left to more experienced Jiands After some months of this the lad of promise is given a chance of taking part in the gallops and it is the way in which he then shapes that decides whether the trainer thinks he is capable of riding in a trial gallop gallopThese These trial spins are the crucial test and if a bo does well in them he is certain to be put up in publlc To win at the first time of asking is nat ¬ urally a fine beginning but it falls to few and more offen many races have to be ridden before a lad lias to direct liU mount to the winners in closure Even then a long period may elaps before his services an in much request but it he is i promising lightweight he is fairly certain of mnr ing oine patronage patronageThe The apiuviitlc s career is not assured even at this jwiiit for though he may be capable enough and his skill lit much demand the loss of the five pounds iipprentice allowance may cause him to be relegated to the background This five pounds allowance rule was made ju order to give on apprentice a cJwnce with his more experienced opponents and so it does but as soon as a boy loses his right to it it will e found mpre often than not that he is no longer wanted and ifljesji he Klunvs special ability he seldom heard of again j jThellfc Thellfc uf actable apprentice consist of a sjrent Amount of hard work with little prospect of earning the great prizes of the profession just as in every other walk j f life the stars are few aud far between London Sportaman
