it a good many buck-jumpers,
and, am thankful to say, I never got thrown, because, from what I have
seen of men being catapulted and placed on the flat of their backs on
the ground, this kind of fall must be, as Jorrocks would say, "a hawful
thing." The great difficulty in sitting a buck-jumper consists in
keeping the body from being jerked forward in the saddle, and slackening
the reins the moment the animal makes a vicious downward snatch at them,
by ducking his head; for if the rider hangs on to his head, he will pull
her forward by means of the reins, and she will be unable to sit the
buck which will follow. All confirmed buck-jumpers look out for this
opportunity whenever the rider draws the reins tightly. Ladies who ride
with the right leg hooked back would not be able to sit a buck-jumper;
for I found that the chief means which prevented me from being thrown
was the ability to lean back, which the forward position of my right leg
gave me. When riding bad horses at my husband's classes, I was able to
see beforehand what special defence such animals offered, and was,
therefore, prepared to cope with them; but I have been taken unawares
when mounted on Australian horses which dealers in India have lent me,
when they have wanted to sell such animals as having carried a lady. I
remember one very handsome Waler, which went like a lamb with me until
suddenly, when cantering quietly along, he took it into his head to try
and buck me off. He did his best to accomplish his purpose, and was
encouraged in his efforts by my pith hat coming off and flopping about
my head. I wished the thing could have fallen, but it was held by the
elastic--we wore our hair in plaits at the nape of the neck in those
days--and I had securely pinned the elastic with hairpins under my
hair. This great wobbling hat only caused the horse to buck worse than
ever, until he tired of his performance and came to a sudden halt. I was
greatly exhausted, and suffering from mental tension, because I was
entirely unprepared for this attack, and doubted the security of my
stronghold, for the girths of my saddle had seen a lot of service, and
the strain on them, caused by the violent bucking of this powerful
sixteen-hand animal, was very great.

The bigger a horse is, the more difficult he is to sit when he bucks
badly, because he can put much more force into the performance than a
small animal, and he shakes the breath out of one much sooner. It is
lucky for