A little over two months ago, we began a read-along of sorts: small weekly morsels comprising the chapter on tandem driving in the first volume of The Sports Library (by Mr. T. F. Dale), published in 1899.
If you didn’t start reading along with us from the beginning, you can catch up by reading part of the book’s introduction (and the introduction to our look back at this nineteenth-century book) and parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten of Chapter 10.
Today, the final part:
… Thus, then, I bring these notes on tandem-driving to a close. It is to my mind a delightful way of traveling, not, I acknowledge, so good as a coach, but then not every one has a coach to drive, and it is far more interesting than one horse and more exciting than a pair. Yet as the dangers and difficulties are for the most part imaginary, I can recommend it with a clear conscience to those who live in the country, have two ponies, and a steady running, well-built cart. It is no more expensive than single-horse driving if, that is to say, you do not break too many whips.
With a few parting counsels to those who may think of taking to tandem-driving I leave the subject. First, do not have the crop of your whip too long — five feet is quite long enough. Don’t be alarmed if your leader gets the rein under his tail; let out the rein till it hangs loose, when it will mostly drop out of itself. If you get into any difficulty, let someone put the team straight for you, and start afresh. If you get the point of the whip caught up in any part of the cart or harness, do not be too proud to pull up and let some one pull it out for you.
The Slower Road 