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Page 19 · column 1 of 5 · from the scan, no model involved
By Betsy Parker
Times Community Newspapers
Staff Writer
Racing over fences has obscure beginnings veiled in centuries of shadowy lore. The nod, however, goes to the sporting Irish for getting the jump on steeplechasing through the foxhunting field.
Perhaps the portrayal of the fox as an agricultural liability in Ireland of old was exaggerated in the agrarian 18th century, but Celtic horsemen nevertheless jumped (literally) at the chance to turn routine pest control into a dandy diversion of running and jumping.
Through the natural act of crossing fox territory to chase down and eliminate the lambthieving red devil, horses required fleetness of foot, athleticism and an innate ability to jump obstacles at speed.
Hence, an incipient birth for a thoroughly modem sport.
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