On Hunting - Letters to Young Sportsmen - Part I.
Cód:
491_9781443758765
THE war has introduced hundreds of young men to the horse in R.A. and K.A.S.C. as company commanders and transport officers, and other ways. They rode and learnt to like it, and now the war is over many will think of hunting who, had it not been for the equestrian side of soldiering, would never have thought of following hounds. To these I write. I disclaim any idea of laying down the law on so complex a subject. The veteran will think it all absurdly elementary, but let that same veteran, not being a soldier, turn at fifty to make up a pay sheet or write an appreciation on manceuvre orders and see what, sort of a hand he makes of it. Hunting men made splendid officers. The sport had developed their initiative, confidence in themselves, and the pourer of quick grasp on situations. Map reading and the use of ground came easy to them. Those now beginning hunting will never regret having done so, it will open to them a new vista of enjoyment. Hunting improves on acquaintance, gives more than it promises and, after thc initial stages are over, is nothing but rewards and rewards which endure till anno domini calls a halt. In the past, boys started hunting on ponies, even in baskets on donkeys. I have seen a baby of eighteen months blooded in a perambulator. This rather unsavoury ceremony consists in the huntsman smearing the childs cheeks with the blood of a newly killed fox. The rite is considered almost sacred in some families and each child is blooded, if opportunity occurs, when first he appears at the covert side. The knowledge of hunting a decade ago was gained during a childhood passed in intimate contact with those who knew all about hunting, and its ins and outs were absorbed automatically. Now, however, as we are to learn older, we must learn more quickly. So we will go straight to the meet with our budding foxhunter. Later, perhaps, we will touch upon the purchase of the right class of horse for various countries, horsemastership, hounds and riding to them. By
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