Tent-pegging was all the Raj
QUESTION My late wife’s father, serving with the British Army in India between the wars, was a fine horseman and won the Spencer Cup for tent-pegging. Can anyone provide details? My GRANDFATHER was a horse breaker who volunteered to serve with the Warwickshire yeomanry Cavalry in the Boer War. He won prizes for tent-pegging.
The riders had to gallop their horses down a row of pegs hammered into the ground and lift as many as possible with their lances.
Apparently, in wartime, the cavalry would gallop through the enemy’s camp (usually at daybreak), lift the tent pegs and the tents would collapse on the enemy, causing mayhem and giving the cavalry an advantage in the ensuing battle.
My grandfather also had an award for lemon cutting — nothing to do with gardening. They galloped through two rows of posts with lemons secured to the top and had to slice as many as possible, alternately, with their cavalry swords.
Presumably this was practice for close fighting with the enemy.
Mrs M.A. Hay, Studley, Warks. My FATHER was in the Metropolitan Police mounted branch for many years and won several tent-pegging contests.
The 4in by 9in wooden peg was hammered into the ground, and the rider galloped with a lance to lift it out, still attached to the lance, for a ‘carry’.
A much harder version was two rings and a peg — two rings suspended from two arms and the peg as usual. The idea was to collect both rings on the lance, then lift the peg attached to the lance — again for a ‘carry’ and maximum points.
One ring and a peg scored less, as did missing the rings and only lifting the peg.
One of my father’s biggest rivals at Imber Court was a Sgt Scattergood from, I believe, the West Riding police.
John C. Kent, London SW6. THE origins can be traced back to the 4th century BC when the lance was a key weapon in Indian armies. Tent-pegging has featured in the Royal Tournament since 1880.
After World War II, several demobbed cavalrymen found themselves employed in various mounted police units around the UK. It was recognised that tent-pegging competitions were an excellent method for improving horsemanship and mounted police became regular participants.
There is an International Tent Pegging Federation based in Oman. The inaugural Tent Pegging World Cup was organised by the Oman Equestrian Federation (OEF) at Al Rahba Farm, Barka, Oman, from March 31 to April 4, 2014.
The participant countries were Pakistan, Oman, Qatar, yemen, Iraq, Egypt, South Africa, Britain and Australia. South Africa won, with Oman as runner-up.
Alan Chapman, Hereford. QUESTION If the U.S. President and Vice-President were both killed, who would take control? THE first Presidential Succession Act of 1792, Section 9, declared that, in the event of the removal, resignation, death or inability of the President and Vice-President, the President pro tempore (‘president for a time’) of the U.S. Senate was next in line of succession, followed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The President pro tempore was appointed on an intermittent basis when the Vice-President could not preside over the Senate.
In the Presidential Succession Act of 1886, Congress removed the Speaker and President pro tempore from the succession and instead members of the executive, i.e. the Presidential Cabinet, would succeed, with the Secretary of State being first in line after the Vice-President.
Proponents of this change argued that the Senate elected its Presidents pro tempore based on parliamentary rather than executive skills.
When the 1945 death of Franklin D. Roosevelt propelled Vice-President Harry Truman into the Presidency, he suggested putting the Speaker of the House and then the Senate President pro tempore ahead of the Secretary of State. His rationale was that the President should not be able to choose his own successor in naming a Secretary of State.
Since one could make the same argument for the President pro tempore, his decision may have reflected his poor relations with 78year-old President pro tempore Kenneth McKellar and his warm friendship with 65-year-old House Speaker Sam Rayburn.
President Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act On July 18, 1947. If President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden were both killed, the Speaker of the House of Representatives would take control. This is currently Paul Ryan, a Republican.
Mark Lewis, London NW1. QUESTION What happened to the Leyland clock on Shap Summit on the A6? How difficult was this climb in winter for lorries in the Sixties? EARlIER answers reminded me of another fearsome road for wagons of old. That was Standedge (pronounced ‘Stannage’) on the A62 cross-Pennine road.
In those days, wagons weren’t luxurious — no heating save the radiated heat coming through the engine cover (and your ex-Army greatcoat), non-synchromesh gearboxes and hydraulic brakes.
The ‘crash-boxes’ necessitated ‘double de-clutching’, a complicated set of manoeuvres: 1. Foot off throttle; 2. Depress clutch; 3. Move gear leaver into neutral; 4. quick stab on throttle; 5. Depress clutch; 6. select gear; 7. release clutch, open throttle.
All this had to done very quickly as, if climbing somewhere like ‘Stannage’, with 16 tons of bagged corn on the back and with the wagon going ever slower, you had to change down, change down, change down until you had to select ‘crawler’, a super-low gear which enabled the wagon to climb the steepest of banks.
The ‘crawler’ position in the ‘gate’ would entail the gear lever having to be lifted, too. This was a safeguard to stop ‘crawler’ being inadvertently selected and possibly causing engine damage — but it added another hurdle in the flurry of foot/hand moves!
Modern HGVs have power-steering, automatic gearboxes, sprung seats, airconditioning and sleeper cabs.
Phil Roe, Stamford Bridge, York.