How to turn any Horse, Mare, or Gelding; How to Ride genteel & agreeable down Hill; A Bit of Blood; How to be run away with; How to loose your way; One way to Stop your Horse

Rudolph Ackermann, London|Henry William Bunbury|Thomas Rowlandson

March 1, 1803 · Hand-colored etching · Drawings and Prints

Six small vignettes make fun of difficulties experienced by riders. 1: A rider walks his mount next to a wooden fence and holds a whip that dangles in front of the horse's nose. 2: A stocky rider on a pony plods down a track, gripping the reins, his tail coat flying behind. 3: A sporting cove wearing a wide brimmed hat and square tailed riding coat and holding a club, caters past a signpost lettered "The Bridle Way / Charsely Down". He turns his face towards the viewer. 4: A terrified rider leans far back struggling to control his runaway mount which leaps over an upturned wheelbarrow and a fallen woman. Behind another rider clings to a bucking mount. 5: A rider plods through wind and rain, his hat across his face preventing him from seeing a signpost that directs towards Oxford in one direction and London in another. 6: A stumpy rider in hat, tailcoat and top boots leans back in his saddle, waves his stick and tries to rein in his mount, a shaggy pony that heads towards a stage coach. Some of these scenes were developed to illustrate "Academy for Grown Horsemen, and Annals of Horsemanship" (1808), a book by Geoffrey Gambado (a pseudonum for Bunbury).

Artist

Rudolph Ackermann, London|Henry William Bunbury|Thomas Rowlandson

Date

March 1, 1803

Medium

Hand-colored etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959