Favoured with a typical July day and the excellent organisation of the Sports Committee, under the direction of Capt R. F. J. Colsell (Hon Secretary), Major Scammell DSO (President) and Capt C. Lane (Vice President), accompanied by the spontaneous support of other officers and men of all ranks, the mounted events in connection with the regimental sports were held in the Riding School at Biscot on Saturday afternoon (July 14th, 1917).

Two large marquees were erected for the accommodation of officers and their friends, and the Commandant (Col C. H. Alexander) and Mrs Alexander were also present.

Each event evoked keen rivalry between the various batteries and Headquarters, and enthusiastic interest was aroused among both civil and military spectators.

The first item was a wrestling match on horseback, and the results were as follows: A Battery beat D Battery, C Battery beat Headquarters, C Battery beat A Battery.

The mounted tug-of-war proved a lively feature. Teams of four competed, and the difficulty was increased by the fact that no spurs were worn and the rope had to be kept clear of the horse. D Battery beat A Battery and Headquarters beat C Battery, and in this instance note must be made that HQ nearly lost all the rope and fell off their horses, but managed to scramble on again and eventually won. In the final, D Battery won.

Skill in driving was the ultimate purpose of the inter-battery driving competition. Each battery had to enter a section of guns without wagons Two gunners were mounted on each limber. Each section had to drive the course in one minute 30 seconds and had to pass through two pegs whose distance between was only a few inches wider than the vehicle itself, so that it required care and skill to drive through without knocking the pegs down. Although C Battery won, A Battery followed close.

The alarm competition was perhaps the most interesting event. Thirteen men competed from each battery, the personnel consisting of one Batallion Sergant Major, two None Commisioned Officers, four gunners and six drivers. The sections were in formation just as if bivouacked for the night, horses tied up etc. A sentry was posted to patrol the section, and on the alarm being given by a trumpeter the men harnessed the horses, hooked in and trotted 200 yards and formed up on the flags, just as if going into action. A and C Batteries tied, both completing the task in 3 mins 33.5 secs, while D Battery took 4 mins 10 secs.

In the vaulting competition nine men competed from each battery, there being eight men to vault and one to act as leader. The horses were at a trot, and each man vaulted successively from front to rear and down and up, and finally the whole side vaulted together. C Battery put forward a wonderful exhibition and won easily. Lieut Stannard trained C Battery for this event.

In the officers' individual vaulting competition there were two entrants, and Lieut Kerry, equestrian instructor for C Battery, was the winner.

The whole proceedings were a pronounced success, the events proving as interesting and exciting as they were instructive.

The regimental sports are to be held on Wardown cricket pitch next Saturday.

[The Luton News: Thursday, July 19th, 1917]