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The minute a new horse arrives at the Nolly stables, everyone starts speculating whether he can jump or not.

A horse that "hunts" doesn't have to take the big jumps. His form is what counts, and for this reason, a hunter is usually a Thoroughbred. That means he has strength and stamina and good looks. Although some Thoroughbreds tend to be skinny and frail like Stogy, the stockier horses look better in the field.

A jumper, on the other hand, must be able to clear the big fences. These are set up inside the ring and will "knock down," or come apart, in the event a horse or rider falls on one. A jumper has to have strength and stamina, just like a hunter, but he doesn't have to have pure bloodlines. He simply has to be a horse, even a pinto. Even a small pinto.

Even Mr. Ragman.

Because some of the fences are five feet and higher, jumping can be very dangerous. To quote my mother: "Oh, dear Lord, you're not going to get up on those big horses and go over those big fences, are you?" And that's the way most mothers -- and dads -- feel about it.

At horse shows, jumping provides the biggest thrills, and spills. The crowds literally leap to their feet as the excitement builds and the competition starts getting keen. I'd won 6th place once on Tony, but now that Tony was getting a few years on him, Mrs. Nolly had decided his jumping days were over. Naturally, I'd concentrated on hunters since that. But this was something else. Here I was, sitting on this blocky little horse, staring down the center of the ring at the jump Rusty had put up. We started toward it at a trot.