Riding and Driving for Women Part 14

With all formal ladies' traps, plain square lamps are more appropriate, and round lamps belong rather with sporting vehicles. Ill.u.s.trations of a number of smartly appointed ladies' traps will be found on page 209.

The owner's rain coat and storm gloves should be carried folded in the hood. The rubbers, comprising the rubber ap.r.o.n and groom's rain coat and cover for his hat, should be folded and placed under the seat of the rumble.

CHAPTER XV

HINTS ON DRIVING

Regulate the pace by the distance that you have to go, and, whatever the distance, keep going at a steady pace--from seven to nine miles an hour is a good average--and it is a great mistake in long driving to go sometimes very fast and then try to balance it by going very slowly. In the old coaching days, when long distances were covered and the horses had to be kept in good condition, the general principle was to keep the horses going at about the same gait uphill and down, and this applies quite as much with a pair or a single horse. It is easier for a horse, and tires him less, to keep a steady gait than to walk up and down hill and then go very fast on the flat.

The most important thing about driving horses, especially for distance driving, is to find by experience their natural fast gait and then to keep them to it, and never to urge your horses beyond their natural gait, as nothing tires them so quickly. On the other hand, it tires a high-spirited horse almost as much to keep holding him back from his natural gait. Horses, after they have been driven a bit, know better than their drivers how to cover the ground, and they generally had much better be left to pick out their own gait than be forced to what the driver thinks is the gait they should take. So, in going up or down hill, if a horse shows a natural inclination to trot up even a steep hill, let him trot if he wants to; it will tire him less than holding him back.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DRIVING A PAIR TO A GEORGE IV PHAETON]

It is also a great mistake, which many drivers make, to walk horses down every hill they come to. Unless a hill is very steep, it is far easier to keep up a steady even trot, and if you have a heavy trap and find it straining your horse, drive him in the soft part of the road, which will hold back the trap. In going up or down very steep hills, it is easier for the horses to zigzag from side to side, though of course at a walk, as a hill as steep as that cannot be undertaken at a trot.

Start your horses slowly and let them gradually warm up to the work before them, and drive them slowly, or even walk them, for the last mile or two, so as to cool them before they go to the stable. As in riding, follow the old adage, "Walk the first mile out and the last mile in."

When you are bringing your trap up to the house or to the curb, so as to get out yourself, or to let some one else out, you should rein in your horses gradually; keep them going at a gradually diminis.h.i.+ng trot, until just before you are at the point at which you are to stop, and then stop them quietly but firmly. Do not attempt to dash up to the stopping place and then throw the horses back on their haunches, but do not bring your horses down to a walk twenty feet sooner than you need to and then creep up to the stopping place. Follow the same general principle when you are coming to a corner or entering a gate. That is, keep your horses well in hand and slow them down before you make the turn, but it it is very bad style to bring your horses down to a walk, or anything approaching a walk, before turning a corner and to make the turn at the walk. When going at a trot you should not make a turn at the walk unless you wish to turn the trap entirely around and go in the opposite direction, or unless you have to make a turn of more than a right angle.

In going up driveways, as in approaching a country house, be sure to keep your trap in the middle of the road, and to keep your horses up to their gait, always with your horses well in hand. Needless to say, it looks very badly to cut in on the gra.s.s on either side or to look as if you were cutting W's.

It must be borne in mind when you are driving into a country place, that many of them have their drives so arranged that there is a turn to the stable near the entrance gate. Be sure that your horses are well in hand, and that you are prepared to turn them to the other side, as they are sure to see the stable turn and very apt to try to take it.

When you come to a hill, remember that your horses in going up need to stretch their heads out in order to exert their full strength. You should, therefore, give them their heads as much as they want, provided always that you keep them in hand. In going downhill, on the other hand, the horses should always be reined in, though, as I have said, not enough to bring them down to a walk unless the hill is very steep; they should, however, be kept well in hand in going down as there is then the greatest danger of stumbling.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BASKET PHAETON

Note position of groom and livery]

If you are driving a trap with a brake, with which some basket phaetons are equipped, as are all traps for use in hilly countries except runabouts, do not use the brake too freely. It is much better for the horses to accustom themselves to hold the trap back than it is to have them pulling it downhill. If your horses become accustomed to having the brake on at every hill you go down, you will find great difficulty in holding them when you drive them without a brake. The brake should be reserved for use in going down very steep hills and for emergencies, such as having the horses get away from you when going down a moderate hill; but the brake should never be used, in single or pair horse driving, in pulling up.

The rule of the road in this country is "keep to the right," but why this rule has ever been adopted, instead of the English rule of keeping to the left, I have never heard explained. A little reflection will show one that the English rule of keeping to the left is the naturally correct and sensible rule, and that the whole theory of correct driving is based upon it. Thus, the driver sits on the right side of the trap in order to be able to avoid hitting a trap pa.s.sing in the opposite direction, as he is on the side where he can best watch his own trap and the trap that might strike him. So the whip is held in the right hand, pointing toward the left in order not to engage with the whip of a pa.s.sing vehicle, and the reins are held in the left hand that the whip may be held in the right.

Similarly, I may add, in riding, a man rides on the woman's right, in order that he may have the point of danger, the middle of the road, when, if the riders are going to collide with persons or vehicles coming in the opposite direction, he will be the one to suffer the collision.

That keeping to the left would be the common-sense way is quite clearly shown by the fact that many automobiles are now made with the chauffeur's seat on the left, so that, keeping to the right, he may see and not collide with vehicles coming in the opposite direction. However, this rule of keeping to the right is established in this country, as it is in many of the Continental countries, and probably will never be changed. All vehicles, riders, etc., coming in the opposite direction, therefore, must be pa.s.sed on the right, and on crowded roads, particularly in parks and on the streets or avenues of the city, the driver should habitually keep to the right of the middle of the road. If you are driving slowly, wherever you may be, you should keep to the extreme right in order that vehicles going faster may be able to pa.s.s you on the left. In pa.s.sing any other vehicle or rider going in the same direction you should keep him on your right.

For driving in the show ring, the park, or any crowded thoroughfare, the whip should be used to indicate to those behind you what you are going to do. It is held up straight to show that you are slackening speed or that you intend to stop. It is carried to the right of the trap and twirled from left to right to indicate that you are turning to the right, and it is kept to the left and twirled from right to left if you are turning to the left. You should not only give these signals yourself, but you should always observe the driver ahead of you to see what signals he may give, and be sure when you are driving in any crowded place to keep your horses absolutely under control so that they may be stopped in a moment if need be. This is particularly important in driving in the city, where conformity with traffic regulations makes sudden stops necessary.

For all formal occasions, when you are driving any kind of a phaeton with a rumble, you should always have a servant on the rumble. For any formal occasion, where it is correct to drive a trap with a rumble, it is incorrect not to have the servant. It is better form, even for country driving, if you take a servant, to have him on the rumble, where he should always be if there is a rumble. It is not correct, where you have a rumble, to have the servant at your side. If the horses are pulling too hard, it is quite permissible to pa.s.s the reins back to the servant, or he may even drive them from the rumble, where he can control them quite as well as he could if he were sitting beside you.

For this reason the reins are made longer for a woman than for a man.

CHAPTER XVI

DRESS

While, except for four-in-hand, there is no prescribed formal costume required for driving, at the same time there are certain general principles which women should always observe, not only for formal occasions, such as the show ring or park, but whenever they take the ribbons.

For formal ladies' traps, such as phaetons, it is perfectly permissible to wear a large hat of the prevailing fas.h.i.+on and an afternoon or calling gown. Where the owner is driving a trap of this kind on a formal occasion, the costume should not be tailor-made, and her costume should produce the effect that she is out for a pleasure drive. With sporting traps and carts of all kinds, on the other hand, the costume should be strictly tailor-made and the hat small and not inclined to blow off.

This is particularly so for tandem driving, and in that case the general effect should be mannish, and particular care should be taken to have everything securely fastened so that undivided attention may be given to the horses and reins. For driving tandem, or for any kind of a sporting vehicle or cart in the country, a plain sailor is the most appropriate as well as one of the easiest to keep on, and veils, as well as other feminine adornments, look quite out of place. The hair, of course, should be neatly and securely done, and boots or low shoes are much more appropriate than high-heeled slippers with open-work stockings.

It is always correct, under any circ.u.mstances, to carry a lap robe, and while in the show ring it may remain on the seat on the left side of the driver. For other occasions it is better to spread it over the knees to keep off the dust. If it is spread, be sure that it is neatly tucked in about the feet, but to do this requires some knack, and the best way to arrange the robe is to have it come over the feet so that the heels will rest upon it, and then to have the right end placed under you so as to entirely cover the lower part of your knee. If you are driving alone both sides should be adjusted in the same way, but, of course, if you have a companion the robe should cover you both.

For tandem a driving ap.r.o.n is permissible, but is not required, instead of a robe, and for four-in-hand driving it is required.

The costume for four-in-hand driving, as worn by the members of the New York Ladies' Coaching Club, is a rough gray beaver top hat with a double-breasted dark-blue melton driving coat. Under the coat is worn a plain tailor-made cloth suit of any smart material, such as a check or a stripe. Some members wear spats, which are very smart. Heavy tan driving gloves are worn, and the driving ap.r.o.n is laid across the knees and strapped around the waist over the driving coat.

For the show ring heavy white driving gloves or tan driving gloves are equally correct, as they are for other occasions. When driving ladies'

traps, if you are wearing a gown with short sleeves and therefore are wearing long gloves, they should be slipped off the hands and folded back so that only the arms are covered and then driving gloves should be slipped on the hands. When driving a George IV, where a card-case is part of the appointments, it is a good idea to fold a fresh pair of gloves in the card-case.

For all formal occasions, such as the show ring and park and town driving, the servant should wear a groom's dress livery, consisting of a single-breasted long coat with six b.u.t.tons in front and two rows of three b.u.t.tons in the back. The coat should come to five inches above the knee and should always be kept b.u.t.toned. It should be of the color which the family may have adopted--black, dark blue, dark green, maroon, or gray, etc. The coat collar should be of the same material as the coat and the cuffs should be plain without b.u.t.tons. Under the coat a waistcoat should always be worn, of some striped material, a small strip showing inside the collar. A plain white Ascot tie and standing collar should be worn, but no cuffs, and the coat sleeves should be very long, coming well down to the hand. The breeches must be white--of buckskin or breeches cloth. Stiff-legged top boots should be worn, with tops of tan or buff, or of some color which matches or goes well with the color of the coat. The boots must always be of calf and never of patent or varnished leather. A silk top hat should be worn, with a narrow silk band. In this country it is improper to use c.o.c.kades except for officers of the army and navy and other officials. The gloves should be tan, but white buckskin gloves are correct for park or town driving.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CORRECT GROOM'S LIVERY]

For country wear, particularly in summer, this full-dress livery is too hot and looks out of place, so that an undress livery should be worn.

The best style of undress livery is a morning or cutaway coat with three b.u.t.tons in front and two in the back, cut like any morning coat, but a little higher in the neck, and breeches and leggings of the same material, or perhaps leather puttee leggings. This livery is made of covert cloth or whip-cord, and the color may be any shade of gray or any shade of tan. If the livery is gray, it is smarter to wear black leggings rather than tan, and when the leggings are black, black shoes should always be worn, and russet shoes with tan leggings. The hat to wear with this livery should be the same shape as a top hat, of black felt for a gray livery, or of brown felt to match the tan livery, or a straw hat of the same shape may be worn, black to go with the dark livery or straw color with any livery. Tan gloves are correct with undress livery. A sack coat is sometimes used instead of a cutaway, but I think the latter very much smarter, and if a sack coat is worn a top hat should not be worn, but rather a square derby.

CHAPTER XVII

BITS AND BEARING REINS

In the ill.u.s.tration on the opposite page are shown the various types of driving bits, and I shall not attempt to describe them in detail any more than I did with respect to the riding bits. They are fully treated in many of the standard works on the subject and a detailed description of them would not belong in this book.

For single horse driving either the Liverpool or Ashleigh is correct for all occasions, except for the show ring and park driving with ladies'

traps, such as the George IV or Peters' phaeton, where the Buxton is the correct bit for single horses as well as pairs, and except also for gigs where a gig bit is correct. Gig bits, however, should not be used with other traps than gigs. For pair horse driving the Buxton is correct for the show ring and park driving and may be used for informal occasions, though personally I think it rather poor form for country driving with any kind of trap. The Buxton, however, not having a hole to correspond with the "half cheek" of the Liverpool or Ashleigh, is, unless you use the "full cheek," rather a severe bit for any but a skilled driver with light hands. For pair driving a pivoted bit should always be used. The Liverpool is not so suitable for pair driving as the Ashleigh or other elbow bits, because even when the bars are pivoted they do not turn freely, so that the two inside bars are usually pulling at an angle on the bit, and do not give an even pull on the horses' mouths.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BITS

1. Coaching 2. Buxton 3. Ashleigh 4. Liverpool]

If your horse has a very light mouth, and you have not acquired very light hands, it may be better to drive with the reins in the full cheek.

If, however, you have acquired light hands, the reins had better be in the half cheek of the Liverpool or Ashleigh, or in the middle bar of the Buxton, as this gives much more control and "feel" of the horse's mouth. In fact, no competent whip with light hands, particularly no woman, will want to drive a horse, however light his mouth, in the full cheek. If your horse's mouth is rather hard and there is danger of his running away, it is better to have the reins in the first hole of the bar of the Liverpool or Ashleigh, but if you drive him this way you must keep a very light hand, as it makes the pressure of the curb chain too severe, and you may make his mouth hard by a constant pressure of chain.

If you are unfortunate enough to have to drive a puller, it will probably be necessary to put the reins in the second hole of the bar, and even to twist the curb chain, and to use a special form of bit with a long port or other device intended to stop a pulling horse. No woman, however, should have a pulling horse in her stable.

In pair driving the bitting is most important. It is the rarest thing in the world to find two horses who are not only well matched in appearance but have the same dispositions and require the same bitting. In fact, there is an old saying, "There is always one to a pair." By correct bitting and a proper adjustment of the coupling reins the differences in the dispositions of the two horses can be equalized, and they can be made to go well together. This is a point which is very frequently neglected by inexperienced drivers, and few coachmen really understand it, so that you must learn it yourself and see that your coachman has your horses properly bitted and coupled.

The general principle, of course, is that the slow horse of the pair should have the reins in the cheek or half cheek, while the fast horse should have them in the half cheek, or the first, or even the second, hole in the bar, and it may be found necessary to put a severe bit on the fast horse and a plain bit on the slow one. Similarly, if one horse has a light mouth and the other a hard one, the bits and the coupling reins must be regulated and the curb chains adjusted accordingly. It is impossible to lay down any fixed rules to follow. It is all a matter of experiment with the particular pair of horses that you are driving.