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STEEPLECHASING

01. Steeplechasing early began in the eighteenth century as a sport among the fox-hunting

02. gentry. In those days, they raced through the countryside to a place marked by a

03. distant church spire, or steeple. It was a reckless and dangerous sport. By 1830,

04. it became a part of formal racing, and is today an established winter sport. The

05. courses, which there are over 40 in England and nearly 30 in Ireland, have

06. artificial barriers in place of the real ditches, walls, streams and hedges. From

07. October to March, hundreds of steeplechase jockeys, professional and amateur,

08. risk life and limbs. Of all the races in the steeplechasing calendar, the most

09. popular is the Grand National, run over a distance of ten kilometres and forty

10. high jumps. Everyone in the country takes an interest to it and most people

11. seems to buy a sweepstake ticket, or put a pound or two on the horse they think

12. will win. In some years, where the going is especially bad, as

13. much as three-quarters of the horses will not finish the race.

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©English Teaching Systems February 2005