George Foottit Jr.

George Foottit, Jr. debuted in the ring at age three as a miniature version of his father’s clown character, and learned under him his acrobatic repertoire. He was eight years old in 1872 when his parents sent him to Arnold College, near Nottingham, to improve upon the rudimentary education he had received so far at the circus from a musician, who also taught him music. George’s academic schooling didn’t last long: When George, Sr. died two years later of liver Cirrhosis, young George’s mother, Sarah (née Crockett), perhaps sensing that her son was now out of harm’s way, pulled him out of school.

Sarah Foottit remarried one year later with a more sober husband, the equestrian Thomas Batty, who took over the management of the circus. Young Foottit learned horseback riding with his stepfather, and quickly became a capable equestrian—as well as a fine acrobat and wire-walker. Sarah was related to the Sangers, and George was sent to his uncle, the legendary “Lord” George Sanger, whose establishment was by far the United Kingdom’s premier and largest traveling circus. Sanger’s stables were particularly rich, and young Foottit furthered his equestrian education in his uncle’s circus. In 1882, at age eighteen, he left the family cocoon and began a career of his own as an acrobat on horseback.
Dominique Jando, Circopedia