Al-Matalib al-'Aliyah 2639 — Etiquette of riding

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) that he saw a rider behind whom another man was running (on foot), so he said to the rider: "O so-and-so, why do you not seat this man behind you on your mount?" He replied: "Should I seat this burly fellow behind me?" Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Then why do you not send him ahead to the place where you yourself want to go?" He said: "I have not done so (that is, he stays with me)." He said: "Then why do you not take in his place a slimmer and lighter servant?" He said: "I have not done so." Then Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "(This conduct of yours is not right,) for I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Whoever has a person running behind him while he himself is riding, Allah Almighty only increases such a person in distance (from His mercy).'"
The chain of this hadith contains Layth bin Abi Sulaym, a weak narrator; however, this narration is found in various books of hadith, and a servant or any person running behind a rider has been deemed disliked because it is a sign of arrogance.