Lord William Beresford, V.C., Some Memories of a Famous Sportsman, Soldier and WitMenzies, Stuart, Mrs.
History
Lord William Beresford, V.C., Some Memories of a Famous Sportsman, Soldier and Wit
Menzies, Stuart, Mrs.
Beresford, William Leslie de la Poer, Lord, 1847-1900
There was no public announcement of the meeting, it being a
semi-secret affair held at Down Barn near Southall, within easy reach
of their quarters at Hounslow. Consequently there was no big crowd.
Nevertheless, it was quite an historic meeting; the rows of drags
that lined the course reminded those present of Ascot. The judges
were Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar, Lord William Beresford, and Lord
Rosebery. The card of the day’s racing contained only five events.
Everyone was anxious to see the Royal colours win the Challenge Cup
for bona-fide hunters; distance about three miles.
The entries for this race were:--
H.R.H. the Prince of Wales’s Champion, b.g. Captain Rivers
Bulkeley.
Lord Valentia’s Wellington, ch.g. Captain Wood.
Hon. P. W. FitzWilliam’s Punkah, b.g. Owner.
Lord Valentia’s Vent Piece, bn.m. Mr. Woods.
Mr. Smith-Dorrien’s Marquis, ro.g. Owner.
Major St. Quinten’s Crusader, b.g. Owner.
The Prince drove down from town with Colonel Kingscote in attendance.
Captain Rivers Bulkeley and that popular old sportsman, Major Chaine,
were the stewards, while Mr. Smith-Dorrien, whose name as a general
is so intimately connected with the War, was the most courteous of
secretaries. The idol of the hour after the Prince was Captain Rivers
Bulkeley, as being the first to wear the famous Royal purple and gold
braided jacket with gold and black cap. He must have felt a very
proud man, but unfortunately like Humpty Dumpty he had a great fall.
At the brook Champion, the Prince’s horse, came to grief, he and the
favourite Vent Piece fell together, the riders remounting, and in at
the finish. Champion managed to regain so much ground that hopes were
raised once more of a Royal victory, but in the last half-mile he
showed distinct signs of having taken too much out of himself at the
brook, so was overtaken by Wellington, who won for Lord Valentia by
ten lengths. Champion second, Punkah third.
It was a great day. I wonder how many good men and true who were
there would be able to answer the roll-call to-day?
There were a number of well-known people there besides the Prince of
Wales: Lord Westmorland (the handsome Frank) and Lady Westmorland,
the Earl of Cork, the Earl of Rosebery, Lord Fitzgerald, Lord
Carrington, Lord Clonmell, Lord Charles Ker, Sir George Wombwell,
Colonel and Mrs. Owen Williams, and many others.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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