Brentwood College School - Brentonian Yearbook (Mill Bay, British Columbia Canada)

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Brentwood College Magazine Horsemanship IT is said that the horse and the dog are the two most intellectual of all animals — they certainly are the most intimate dumb friends of the average man. The horse is naturally of a shy and nervous disposition, because his natural state is one of freedom, but once he has gained confidence in his master, once he finds that his enforced captivity will not be abused by ill-treatment, then he becomes his master ' s faithful friend. Some horses are of a more vicious dis- position than others, but, practically without exception, any horse can be cured by one expedient — kindness. As far as managing a horse is concerned, some people do not seem to have the gift of riding, and even so, unless a person is keenly interested in it, then it is a decided failure, and the horse himself is the best judge of it. As soon as you mount him he knows whether he can ride you or you can ride him ' and he acts accordingly ! The good rider is he who not only thinks of the pleasure his horse provides for him, but he who thinks of the care and attention which should be given his mount in return. If a horse is treated unfairly, he will certainly take revenge. The story of the Godolphin Arabian, the founder of most of the best racing stock in England, is one of the most fascinating in equine history. This celebrated horse was sent by the Bey of Tunis to the King of France as a present and was accompanied by a Moorish slave, Agba, as groom. The French king, unaccustomed to such a finely-formed, nervous animal of which he knew nothing, as it differed so much from the heavy French stock, decided to have him sold. He was thus acquired by a drunken teamster, who put him to work in a garbage cart. Agba was separated from his charge, but he knew that though the horse was misunderstood in France, in Tunis, where king and commoner alike were horse- men, he was of great value. Agba wandered about the streets in the hope of finding the horse, to which he was greatly attached, and he was rewarded for his search late one night. He found him in one of the poorest parts of the city, in a miserable ' stable, a mass of skin and bones. He threw his arms around the horse ' s neck and with many caresses and words of endearment, proceeded to make him as comfortable as he could. While he was thus engaged, the carter approached. Scornfully rejecting Agba ' s offer to purchase the horse by a term of service, he kicked the Moor out of the stable. Agba, however, by no means gave up his purpose ; in some way and at some time so precious an animal must be relieved from his wretched situation. Meanwhile he must be cared for and his strength kept up. By sundry odd jobs about the city, he managed to pick up a little money, and with this, often stinting himself, he bought grain and medicine, and visiting the Godolphin Arabian at night, fed him and bathed his wounds. The horse changed hands many times under similar wretched conditions, but the faithful Agba always followed him. Eventually Lord Godolphin heard the story of the Moor ' s devotion and became interested in the horse and purchased him. He bred him to Roxana, Page Twenty-three

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Brentwood College Magazine Badminton THE addition of Badminton to our steadily growing list of sports has been, to most of us, the source of much amusement and has at the same time greatly helped to enliven the long Winter evenings. Its popularity spread like wildfire through the whole school and flared up when the tournaments were announced. There were many entries for these and, consequently, a considerable time elapsed before the finals could be played off. In the senior doubles, Creer and Macaulay, in a very exciting game, defeated Gunn and Eustace, while Creer emerged with laurels in the senior singles. Nixon won the junior tournament. The 1st team deserves credit for winning two out of three matches played, since their opponents were usually more experienced in the game. The first match against the Victoria Club was our one and only failure. The team included Creer (captain), Macaulay, Bryden and Henderson. The result of the game with Mr. G. C. Grant ' s team was more encouraging, and Bryden ' s place was taken by Clist. In return match with Victoria, Campbell played instead of Macaulay. We were successful once more. Polo There is not a great deal to report this term with regard to the activities of the polo team. This includes Johnson (No. 1), McGregor and de Pencier (No. 2), Head (No. 3), Capt. Dormer (back). These boys have done splendidly and shown great keenness. Johnson has an excellent knowledge of the game, has the qualities of good horsemanship and hits well. De Pencier and McGregor, who is quite young yet, are making very satisfactory progress. Head is quite good all round. The Victoria team has arranged to play us shortly, and the game should be well worth watching. Page Twenty-two

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Brentwood College Magazine the finest mare in England, and the Godolphin Arabian became the most famous sire in England of his period. This is sufficient to convince us that patience and kindness have their reward. All riders should develop the noble sentiment of sympathy for all dumb animals. They are here to give of their best to us and it is our privilege to see that they are not abused. Xenopiion. Speech Day ON SATURDAY, June 27, 1925, the Second Annual Speech Day took place at Brentwood College. During the early part of the afternoon various sports took place in the grounds. At four o ' clock several speeches were delivered in the gymnasium. Mr. Curtis, Chairman of the Board of Governors, said that the present year had opened with a full school, and went on to deal with the progress that had taken place during the past year. New tennis courts had been built ; new music- rooms and class-rooms were being constructed, and three playing fields were being put into shape. He mentioned the good name the College had made for itself both in work and play. Mrs. Nichol, wife of the Lieutenant-Governor, regretted that His Honour was unable to be present, because he had the interests of the school very much at heart. They had both watched the success of the School during the past two years, and gave their best wishes for its future. Dr. Ashton, Professor of Modern Languages in the University of British Columbia, in a very able address, spoke particularly to the boys of the School. He said the corner-stones of British education were unselfishness and loyalty. He asked the boys if they were happy. If they were not, they should attack the vexatious laws which existed. Each boy would find that the real enemy was him- self. The laws were made for the ultimate happiness of the boys, and many of them were the result of centuries of careful thought. To obey required a strong character, and the boy who obeyed well would be the man who commanded well. They should learn to obey, not as slaves but as freemen who knew the laws were as good for character as was exercise for the body. • The speaker asked the boys if they were proud of their School and prepared to be loyal to it. Brentwood College was nearly five hundred years old in that it was the descendant of the old British Public Schools. The boys ' duty was two- fold — to be worthy of the illustrious past and of the equally glorious future. The British public schools were more democratic in spirit than any new system he had seen on this continent. The democracy they taught was the democracy of toler- ance, of playing the game, of giving a fellow a chance when he was down — but it was not the democracy that threw overboard all principles and all decency. Dr. Ashton asked the scholars if they were grateful. They could not appre- ciate all their masters had done for them. A teacher could not count his time or Page Twenty-four