uld not be made nearer the
fence than 30 yards. When a lady has made up her mind to ride at a
fence, she should think of nothing else but getting over it. Some women
go at their fences in such a half-hearted, irresolute manner that their
horses learn to refuse. Too much practice over "made" fences is
monotonous to the rider and hateful to her horse, who is only too apt to
become "reluctant" in such cases. Hence, if the lady has ridden over
the fences nicely, from left to right and from right to left, and taken
her artificial brook at a good pace, she should not be required to do
any more jumping on that occasion. The ground near the fences should be
laid down with tan, stable litter, or anything else which will make the
falling soft, in the event of the pupil having a tumble. It would be
better for a lady not to be given a lead in riding over these "made"
obstacles, because it is necessary for her to have as much practice as
possible, at first, in controlling her mount without assistance.

PRACTICE OVER NATURAL FENCES.

A lady who has gone through the hard drudgery of learning to sit well,
will be repaid for her efforts on finding herself able to ride with ease
over natural fences. Her companion should select the obstacles, and give
a lead, but the pupil should not send her horse at a fence until she has
seen her pilot safely landed and going away from it. She should
occasionally assume the lead, in order that she may not always rely on
the guidance of others. Unless there is a paucity of obstacles, no fence
should be jumped twice, and the companion or attendant should be a man
who knows the country, so that he may direct his pupil to obstacles
without going out of the way to meet them. The more these fences are
treated as adventitious circumstances, and not the main object of the
ride, the steadier and more safely will a horse jump them. A lady
should ride as many different horses as she can, and in company, for
when four or five horses are cantering together, the lady's mount will,
doubtless, be sufficiently excited to require steadying in approaching
his fences, and she may then learn to gauge the distance at which to
take a pull at him. Those who are riding with her should require her to
wait her turn at the only practicable place in a fence, as she would
have to do when hunting, to pull her horse up to a halt, and to send him
at his fence with a run of only a few strides. She should also practise
trotting her ho