Riding
From The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia
Arthur Conan Doyle rided not only horses but also dromedaries and even a Donkey in Egypt! As he wrote himself in his memories : he « was never a great horseman. »
Photos
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Arthur Conan Doyle and his wife Louisa visiting the Pyramids, Cairo, Egypt. Conan Doyle wrote on the back "Everyone happy except the donkey." (1895). -
Arthur Conan Doyle on dromedary in Mena, Cairo, Egypt (spring 1896). -
Arthur Conan Doyle riding a horse at Chiddingfold Hunt in Surrey (1899). -
Arthur Conan Doyle with horse in South Africa (1900). -
Arthur Conan Doyle riding in USA or Canada (1920s).
Conan Doyle about Riding
- « There was golf of sorts and there was riding. I was still an immature horseman, but I felt that only practice would help me, so I set forth upon weird steeds provided by the livery stables opposite. As a rule they erred on the side of dulness, but I have a very vivid recollection of one which restored the average. If my right eyelid drops somewhat over my eye it is not the result of philosophic brooding, but it is the doing of a black devil of a horse with a var-minty head, slab-sided ribs and restless ears. I disliked the look of the beast, and the moment I threw my leg over him he dashed off as if it were a race. Away we went across the desert, I with one foot in the stirrup, holding on as best I might. It is possible I could have kept on until he was weary, but he came suddenly on cultivated land and his forelegs sank in a moment over his fetlocks. The sudden stop threw me over his head, but I held on to the bridle, and he, pawing about with his front hoofs, struck me over the eye, and made a deep star-shaped wound which covered me with blood. I led him back and a pretty sight I presented as I appeared before the crowded verandah! Five stitches were needed, but I was thankful, for very easily I might have lost my sight. » (Memories and Adventures, 1923)
- « I had taken up riding, and though I was never a great horseman I was able from that time onwards to get a good deal of health and pleasure out of it, for in that woody, heathy country there are beautiful rides in every direction, and the hunting, in which I joined, was at least picturesque. » (Memories and Adventures, 1923)
Letters
- Cavalry Training (1910)
Fictions with riding
- The White Company (1891)
- The Adventure of Silver Blaze (1892)
- The Three Correspondents (1896)
- The Tragedy of the Korosko (1897)
- The King of the Foxes (1898)
- The Début of Bimbashi Joyce (1900)
