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2.
"Great Horses and Riders"
By Albert W. Harris
Before completing the circle and getting back to Arabia, let us call to
mind some of the outstanding performances of this war horse in our own time.
How much horse was he after all these journeys? How much had he deteriorated
from the day when his forebearers left the desert?
We have read of many outstanding feats of horsemanship by our Indian scouts,
by our Army officers, and usually the horse was a Mustang, or a pair of
them hitched to a buckboard.
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A
plains Indian fearlessly riding his Mustang mount
(Image - Frederick Remington)
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Then the interesting stories of the "old timers"
have held us spellbound as they related tales of their prowess or of somebody
else's distinguished ride on the Indians' pony. I have sometimes regretted
the Indians' lack of written language or ability to record their achievements
with the aid of their war horses. It is just as well perhaps that they could
not. There is not so much incentive to commemorate as there is to celebrate
and we may better celebrate accomplishments than commemorate defeats.
Let us listen to reports of the accomplishments of these horses, not as
war horses, but as companions (in accomplishments) of our own famous frontiersmen.
I am in receipt of a letter from Captain Dan D. Casement of Manhattan, Kansas,
in which he says:
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"Dear
Mr. Harris:
"If you write a book or an essay on the Arab horse I hope you
will follow your inclination and deal with your subject from the viewpoint
of the Arab's contribution to our western horse through the blood
of the Mustang mare. The Indian pony of my boyhood was a marvelous
animal. The typical Spanish cow ponies that brought the cattle up
the trail were, I am sure, the best horses the country has ever had
for serving a man in his most desperate needs. Once in Grand Junction,
Colorado, I found myself a-foot and wanted to get home to the ranch—forty
miles. I bought a blue, line back Ute pony for $8.00. He weighed 630.
I sometimes think he was the most of a horse I ever owned. I called
him Castaway. Of course, it was the Barb and Arab blood that gave
these horses their courage and super-qualities—plus the characteristics
they acquired from their environment. The pure Spanish strain of blood
has been almost completely dissipated during the last forty years
but in the Quarter-Horse many of its most valuable qualities seem
to have survived, evidenced much more in character and disposition
than in conformation. I suppose this is due to the fact that when
the first Quarter-Horse stallions found their way into the southwest
there was practically nothing but Mustang cow ponies and Indian ponies
to which they could be bred." |
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Those who know Captain Casement—and they are legion—consider him
one of the authorities on the blood of our western horses. The Captain's
statement, "In the Quarter-Horse many of its most valuable qualities
seem to have survived, evidenced much more in character and disposition
than in conformation," would indicate that he subscribes to the theory
of heredity previously referred to in this connection.
Revel English has been an American Saddle Horse enthusiast for years. He
owned and showed one of the most famous horses of his breed, namely, Edna
May's King, and is in much demand as judge at horse shows.
Mr. English, judging the stallion class at the Tucson, Arizona, Horse Show
last year, gave the blue ribbon to a Quarter Horse stallion, not a recognized
breed, much to the chagrin of those exhibiting registered stallions. However,
this Quarter Horse, a product of our Southwest, was undoubtedly the best
individual of all the stallions shown.
While the Quarter Horse has been recognised only as a strain or family heretofore,
recently a Quarter Horse Association has been formed and a registry arranged
for. If carefully organized and maintained, this should result in producing
another recognized breed of horses containing Arab blood. Bob Denhardt in
writing of the ancestors of the Quarter Horse in the January, 1939, issue
of The Western Horseman says, "Basically his blood was Spanish."
It is regrettable that the general public did not appreciate the possibilities
of the blood of the Mustang. We could have developed a wonderful cavalry
horse, but now it is too late to restore the race. While they were greatly
changed in conformation through feed and environment, this plains life of
several centuries through natural selection gave to the Mustang and to the
Criollo horse of South America physical qualities equal in value to what
they lost, but they never lost the IT that made them war horses, never lost
their characteristics that Captain Casement so well describes when he refers
to them as "the best horses the country ever had for serving man in
his most desperate needs."
The Criollo in South America, of almost identical experience, fared much
better. There the blood has been preserved and an organization and registry
established to maintain it.
In a letter from Mr. Echenique of Brazil he states, "I am working on
a booklet dealing with Arabian horses in South America," and this should
be of much interest
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Another man who has made a study of the Mustang is Charles B. Roth of Denver,
Colorado. It is not surprising that on account of his interest in them he
should have contributed the finishing touches to our study of the blood
of the Mustang, or the Arab horse, as he is greatly interested in the preservation
of the last Mustangs on the open ranges. Incidentally, by telling us about
the riders of some of these horses, he has presented a more intimate picture
which is especially fitting. We are indebted to Mr. Roth for permission
to quote this article of his, which appeared in the United States Remount
Magazine The Horse of April, 1936, entitled "Great Riders:"
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"Up
at Grantrice Pillars, Montana, King Stanley's friend lay dying of
a bullet wound. Word was carried to King at Fort Custer, 700 miles
away. King saddled up, turned his horse's head northward. Seven days
later he rode into Grantice Pillars and hurried to the bedside of
his friend, while a game little stallion grazed contentedly, none
the worse for his long trip. A hundred miles a day for seven days.
"The friend whom King Stanley broke all horsemanship records
to visit was telling me about it just the other day. He is Frank T.
Hopkins and he lives in Long Island City, New York. And though he
himself has been a horseman all his life and has seen and done unbelievable
things ashore, he believes that this feat of King Stanley's entitles
King to be called one of the best horsemen of all time.
"Champion long distance rider, thrice winner of international
contests to determine the world's finest horsemen, Mr. Hopkins says
that King Stanley is the best rider he ever knew. In Mr. Hopkins'
estimation, the test of a good horseman is that he can do what he
sets out to do with his horse and at the same time manage the horse
so skillfully and considerately that the horse does not suffer a single
ill effect in the feat.
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"In over 60 years of horsemanship, which took him into every
civilized nation and made him a participant—and winner—of
over 400 long distance horse rides, Mr. Hopkins met many horsemen
of many nations. So his judgement of horsemen is that of an expert.
" 'Who were some other great riders?' I asked.
" 'Colonel Cody was one," he replied. Colonel Cody, as the
world knows, was Buffalo Bill of Wild West Show fame. But Cody had
an insurmountable handicap—weight. Close to 200 pounds he weighed,
and this bulk could not be overcome in a long distance horse contest.
Had Cody weighed 50 pounds less, Mr. Hopkins believes he might have
been the greatest of all riders.
" 'Yellowstone Kelly," continued Mr. Hopkins, enumerating
the great on horseback. 'Yellowstone Kelly belongs right near the
top. He was an old time plains scout. When there was a job to be done
he was practically tireless. Once he rode 385 miles without rest.
Certain messages had to be got through. Kelly carried them.
" 'He changed horses often on this ride, of course, but he sat
down in the old McClellan saddle himself for 32 hours without rest.
If you don't think that takes a man, go on a one-hour or two-hour
ride yourself someday.'
"Another great rider, who never received his due because he was
an Indian, was Black Elk, a Sioux. Mr. Hopkins thinks that the American
Indian, before the contaminating influence of the white race plunged
him into constant warfare and made him neglect his ponies, was as
good a horseman as the world ever saw. Black Elk was one of the best
of his class. On one occasion he rode 120 miles in a day, and brought
his pony through in good shape.
"A modest man, Mr. Hopkins does not list himself in the great
riders, but in my opinion he not only belongs in the list—he
belongs at the head of it.
"Look at his record: In over 400 long distance races he was beaten
but once, and then by foul; he finished first, but was disqualified.
These races varied in length from 50 to 3,000 miles. Three times he
won the title of 'World's Greatest Horseman,' in a competition with
picked riders from the cavalry of the world. Other horsemanship prizes
too numerous to mention he also won. So I place him first in the list
of great.
"His most famous race was held in 1886. It was 1,799 miles long.
The starting-point was Galveston, Texas; the finish-line was Rutland,
Vermont. The race was backed by Lucky Baldwin with Richard K. Fox,
owner of the old Police Gazette.
" 'We started from Galveston on September 6, 1886, fifty-six
of us,' recollected Mr. Hopkins. 'We were riders of every kind—ex-cavalrymen,
cowboys, skilled horse trainers and horsemen. My friend Buffalo Jones
induced me to enter and backed me to win. The prize was $3,000—a
lot of money in 1886.
" 'Conditions were hard on men and horses. We were permitted
to ride ten hours a day, no more; we had to report frequently to the
judges; we were controlled by a careful system of cards which we had
punched whenever we stopped, so that judges knew exactly where every
rider stood at any time.
" 'My horse on this ride was a game little stallion I had picked
up out West. His name was Joe. He was seven years old at the time.
I knew the stuff he had, because in Montana I had ridden him on buffalo
runs. He was the only horse I ever saw that could finish a run, then
be ready to take on another herd.
" 'I never was a sprinter, but I knew a thing or two about long
distance riding. I did not press Joe at first. The others all passed
me. Then I began passing them, one by one. I rode for thirty-one days.
I came into Rutland. I waited there for two weeks before the second
man rode in, and we two waited for several days together for finisher
number three. We three were the only riders who finished. Three out
of fifty-six.
" 'My daily average on that ride was 57.7 miles.'
"Mr. Hopkins does not believe that this longest American horse-race
is his greatest feat in horsemanship. He took part in one race that
was nearly twice as long—over 3,000 miles. This race was run
in Arabia, and competing against this American and his American horse
were the finest riders in Arabia on the finest Arabian horses, horses
famed for centuries for their endurance." |
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But that was another story.
This tribute to the horsemen by Mr. Roth is just as great a tribute to the
Mustangs they rode. To be great horsemen they had to have wonderful horses,
and wonderful horses they certainly had. The account he gives us must surely
leave the reader with the impression that the blood of the Mustangs, or
Spanish Barbs, they rode had not deteriorated and that they were as much
Arab war horses by heritage and performance as when they left Arabia in
647.
Albert Harris won America's first government-organized endurance race
in 1919. He was president of the Arabian Horse Registry from 1926–1942,
and author of the famed book, Blood of
the Arab. |
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