3-043-786 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Steeplechase with gentlemen riders at Madrid, 1864. 'As an illustration of the growing taste among the Continental nations for our English pastime of horseracing, we have engraved a Sketch, by Mr. A. Baumann, of Madrid, representing the steeplechase ridden by some Spanish gentlemen at the races held in the neighbourhood of that city on the 28th of May. The prize was an elegant bronze vase presented by the Duchess de Fernan Nunez, the Marchioness de Bedmar, and other ladies. The course was about a mile and a half long, with a hedge, a ditch, two palings, and some natural difficulties of the ground to be overcome. The prize was one by Don Joaquin Cano, his competitors being Don Gonzalo Saavedra, and Don José Alvarez de Toledo. A numerous and fashionable company witnessed this spirited affair'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.