TRAINER AND SPORTING WRITER.

Southland Times, Issue 18851, 17 June 1920, Page 2

TRAINER AND SPORTING WRITER.

To the Editor. Sir, — In writing to the Southland Times last week, I think I made it clear—or I will leave it to your readers to judge —how much your sporting columns were used (or misused) to make out a case for a jockeys association. Your sporting writer still keeps to only a few efficient riders. There were two hundred riding in New Zealand on June 3. It is a pity if only a few of them are efficient. He rambles on to say it is untrue to say that he wrote down local horsemen. He is writing down the lot. Now regarding the demand for jockeys and stable help, you will have, say, hundreds of “Wanted” during the year for bushmen, tailors out, ploughmen, farm hands, etc.; but I don't see much space in the “Wanteds” for jockeys or stable hands. Your writer says I am angry—nothing of the kind —and gives ii? a picture description of an old lady with a broom. Could he believe that any lady old or young is or was ?o silly '! I am sorry to have to say that untrue statements are reported to your sporting writer and he puts them in the sporting notes. In the sporting note? in Monday's limes you say that I worked my horses in four divisions. This is untrue. Some while back you gave your readers to understand 1 had twenty-one horses in training. 1 have never had more than fourteen training in any one month. You say that in the conclusion of my letter something was made obscure. There was nothing but what was plain. 5 our friend on the train' who you say “ran first” did not know what jockeys were paid, he did not know they had grievances. All he knew was that if the association was formed, two secretaries or representatives would be employed at £2OO a year each, and the owners and trainers who did not say that this was right were advised to go to a place not nirntionable. However, he is still in the running. Tom Punter is coming in "offside,” over the leaf, to let us know what he has been informed. When he gets informed something worth signing his name to, he will lie taken notice of. I wish to let Sir Modred know that owners don’t wish to carry on at the expense of the stable hands or jockeys, if they thought they were, they would stop at once.-- I ant, etc., PATRICK T. HOGAN. Rorke’s Drift Lodge, June 15. (Our correspondent seems to be confused in the allotment of his censure; it is not always clear whether he means to blame the editor of the Southland Times or Sir Modred. We desire to point out, however, that he ascribes to this journal statements that it has not published.-—Ed b.Tj