Morning journal and courier., 1881-07-13
Horseback Riding in Denver.
Talk with Local Horseman-AImost Everybody 8 good Rider-The Single Foot Gait.

1 Foot Gait.
 GFrom the Denver (Coll Tribune.J
 So great craze has riding become in Den l yer that one can with reasonable degree >o1 certainty say that nine out of ten of the men 1 who have lived here for six months know
 how to sit horse. St. Louis or New Orleans
 in their palmiest days never furnished the | equestrian spectacle that may be seen any
 fine evening in Denver, and it is an indubit- 1 able fact that the Queen City of the Plains is 1 entitled to the first place as the greatest horseback riding city in the United States Notwithstanding the fact that hundreds of
 people own their own horses, and l that the livery stables of the city contain some of the best and large numbers of the fastest animals in this part of the country, saddle horses are in great demand in Denver "What do know about horseback riding
 ln Denver f' said MT. George, repeating the reporters question. sI know there is more
 of it done here than there is in any other
 city In the Union. It was not so uutil a few
 years ago. Then it sort of took boom, and
 has been jumping ahead at two-minute gait
 ever since. Mo-" continued Mir. George,
 thoughtfully, 'there never was a city where
 the people like to ride horseback or know
 how to do it better than they do here. We
 have some mighty fine saddle-horses here,
 too. There's MT, John Witter, of Wall &
 Witter. Hes got as good saddle horse as
 can be found-a big white horse, that car
 rles his head like General Mr. Gills, of
 the Windsor, has splendid animal, too so
 have Mir. Putnam and Charley Kuntz Mr.
 Joe Watson has little black mare which,
 while not so much for size is as speedy as they make themv There are lots of other fine private saddle horses in Denver, of course,
 but these just happened to come to my mind. In most cities 1t is hard work to find good saddle horses at livery stables. It isn't so in Denver There are actually 50 first class saddle horses in the livery stables of this city. These are legitimate saddle horses that are good for nothing else, while on a pinch there are good many others thatscan be put under a saddle and dosgood work. It may safely be said that there is no other city under the sun that can show as con- paratively large number of riding horses These horses are most all single-footers-
 'Single-footers ?" interrupted the report 1 CT.
 ''Yes that's 8 new gait," continued Mir. ! George; land to my mind it is the prettiest ! one horse can have. I saw an article in a ] Chicago paper few days ago which mourn fully regretted the fact that the young men 1 of America were deterioeating in riding, sim | ply because of the introduction of this single foot gait I'd like to see the man who wrote that article ride single-foo horse and do it well and keep the animal to his gait. A good many of them think it's an easy thing to do. but I notice that very few of them know how to do it. You see the single foot is al- together cultivated gait You have to break the horse to it. It is a peculiar step and distinct one, having none of the char acteristics of either trot or lope. Each foot moves without any influence from the other three-much as man would walk if he were to get down on his hands and feet and crawl Now, this being made gait it is, and unnatural one to the horse, md single -footer is always nervous. You l can readily see that man who didn't under stand horses, and especially single-footers, l xouidworr an animalthat hadbeen taught the gait until he had no movement in particular, md made it very uncomfortable for the rider. But let 8 rider keep one of these horses to lis gait and understand how to keep his 'addle, and he will find it as comfortable and I make as graceful appearance as though he were sitting in chair.
 But, of course, everybody has his favor te style of horse. An Englishman will want ! bobtail trotter, and he will wear his stirrups ;our or five holes higher than any other nan. Now he thinks that is graceful riding, every man to his taste, of course," md Mir George laughed as though he was .njoying good joke all to himself. Ii "Ihen there are men who ride as theTexans b." MT. George continued. "They wear heir stirrups SO low that their toes just I ouch them, and they like horse that 1opes l ( ike broncho h
 ''When was this single-foot gait intro f uced ?'' inquired the Tribune man.
 T think it was about five years ago. It is ( eculiar to this western country. don't l l elieve an eastern man would know what z ou meant by single-footer. It might sally be called Denver style, for I don't C eieye there areas many single-foot horses in S ny city as there are in Denver. The people t ere have got used to the gait and the ma t ,rity of them like it better than any other ' s said before man has to know how to i eep his horse down to it before he will en- f y it." i
 These single-footers may be seen every 1t vening moving along at 8 pleasant and U ,eedy gait, bearing their lady and gentle V len riders. The roads in Denver are all so T pod that there are no particular routes l a 'lected by equestrians n
 ..Davis Hadn't the Courage.r