Up Hill and Down Dale

THE Boot and Saddle Club is one of the newest organizations on the Dartmouth campus. Its popularity has increased quite rapidly within the four years of its existence and it feels that it is truly serving a function of appreciable value. Up to a couple of years ago, of all the organizations formed fer the many campus activities, there had been none which recognized the interests of the equestrian enthusiasts. Yet we have in the hills about Hanover some of the most beautiful country to afford riders thrills of taking their mounts through the relatively wild and wooded country along narrow wagon roads or cross-country trails.

True there have always been stables in Hanover to accommodate those students who would of their own initiative spend several afternoon hours out in the open country. But these groups were never of more than two or three persons and they did not have the opportunity to follow the suggested trails as developed by the club through its system of mapping them into several circuits covering the whole territory. Nor were they likely to get together for the various forms of riding activities the club can so conveniently arrange.

There has been the objection put forth that the Hanover horses are not the well-bred type that a choosy city equestrian cares to ride. The horses are not of the well-groomed, blueblooded, painstakingly trained type, but a sincere horse lover can experience a great deal of satisfaction in learning to understand and properly treat even the humble farm horse.

The founding of the Boot and Saddle Club in the fall of '2B was an event that brought more than the usual amount of satisfaction to its sponsors. They had nursed such a dream for many months before the organization became an actuality. As freshmen, two men in the class of '3O, Bill Milne and Bill Dearstyne, became close friends as a result of their mutual fondness for riding, especially that for taking long rides to explore the more remote Hanover regions and finding new places that men on foot would seldom discover.

The first attempts to sound out other students as to their enthusiasm in founding a club based upon such interests were not begun until the spring of '2B. Had it not been for the D. O. C. it is doubtful whether anything very concrete could have been accomplished even then. But credit for giving the club its first push goes to Bob Monahan, '29, when he asked Bill Milne if he would lead a horseback trip to Moose Mt. over Decoration Day as something of a novelty in the way of D. O. C. trips. It was around the fireplace of old Moose that plans were made by an enthusiastic group to organize the club upon the opening of college the following fall.

From the beginning, the club filled a much needed and proper place in Dartmouth's out-door life. Men were allowed to join if they showed a sincere interest in horsemanship and had personalities that fitted in with the group. The fine points of the "sport of kings" were taught them then until they could ride with ease in any company. For a club of its size and age, it has undertaken a rather ambitious program. Practically every week-end there is arranged some form of equestrian activity. The time of the year makes little difference. New members are taken into the club at two times during the year, fall and spring. Each delegation must qualify by taking three out of five scheduled rides, one being an overnight trip. These trips have been attended by as many as twenty. Throughout the whole year there are many other trips conducted exclusively for members.

After all, no trip returns to the stable without some bit of excitement occurring. Some new rider is bound to leave his horse, have a runaway, or find himself in the perplexing situation where his horse has found a nice mud puddle in which he wants to roll over. Probably the extreme of odd moments might be cited as one which occurred a few weeks ago. Upon leaving the stable, one of the men found his horse to be very restless and hard to manage. The horse raced down the street a block before he could be brought under control. When the group of riders reached the base of the Balch Hill road, however, this particular horse began to shudder as if reluctant to climb. The trip leader had the man dismount and loosen the saddle. This was no sooner done than the horse collapsed and fell dead in the middle of the roadhaving burst a blood vessel in his head. I'm sure that incident will be remembered by them.

In the winter the trails prove to be quite treacherous and hazardous. Crossing fields and snow drifts is not the simplest thing for either horse or rider. The hare and hound chases always cause plenty of excitement. Deceitful trails are laid with colored bits of paper by the hares. The chase often leads to distant points in country quite strange to the hounds and then circles back on the trail at a point in rear of the pursuers by crossing fields and using old wagon roads to make their return to the starting point before being tracked down. If the hounds get within hailing distance of the hares and it is evident that the latter realize they have been sighted it is judged a kill.

Ski-joring as conducted by the Boot and Saddle Club during Carnival has proven in the past to be a popular event. Twelve teams were entered in the races this year. The Club is somewhat handicapped however in not being able to find a suitable course for the race. The upper stretch of Tuck Drive has been used for the last two races giving the teams a straightaway of several hundred yards, but a course with a few difficult turns would be one more appropriate in judging the ability of both the rider and the skier.

In conclusion it may be said that it was and still is the fond hope of the original and present members to some day see Boot and Saddle equipped with horses, a stable and supplementary accessories such as no other college riding club has ever had. Several members made a try at keeping three horses under their own care in a rented stable a year ago. Although it was continued for a couple of months, the lack of equipment and capital to invest in order to make the matter worth while was telling, so the experiment was dropped.

The Club is certainly grateful to Professors Speight, Hultzen, and Colonel Diettricb for their support and advice to the club. They have been active in judging numerous riding competitions and ski-joring races and have been helpful in guiding the growth of the club into the proper channels. That the ideal of the founders has been maintained is evidenced by the standing of the club today. This has been possible largely because of the sincere interest the members hold in the welfare of the club.