Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-12-29

ever enacted. Reason and common-sense
mite in rejecting sbe interpretations of MIR.
EDGAR and in accepting the pedigree of Po-
fomac, as 1t was believed TO be 10y his con-
tempOraries. :.
cree stands Potomac by Diomed, dam by
Pegasus. granddam by iorick. great
granddam by Silver Eve. great-great-
granddam an estray mare Of unknown
blood" This pedigree IS about az good
as anv Of those before 1900. which did not
trace TO an imported dam. It is not what
is required in our time. True. 1t does not
identify the Yorick or the Silver Eye oc-
curing in n. either of which might nave
been some one Of six Of his name. and It
gives no indication Of the blood of the
estray mare. But even with these deh-
cieRcies it is as good ~ most of the ped-
grccs of Amer.can-bred animals OF the last
century.
ALL EARLY HORSES OF THIS REGION WE'RE
SELECT HORSES.
The renown won by Potomac is the only
direct indication of good blood IN the
cstrav mare. But there is much Indirect
may have been Of good blood. The his
tory of the original horses Of Virginia
MARYLAND. and that northeastern part Of
North Carolina which imported through
Norfolk. and was settled from Virginia IS
we'll known. From an early period OF
colonial history extraordinary attention
was paid by Virginia and her adjoining
neighb0rs to the blood of their horses. Our
original stock was, of course, all imported
from Mother England. and 1t cannot be
supposed that the colonial planters would
incur the expense and risk of bringing over
Indifferent animals at the same cost and
trouble as would have been incurred with
superior animals. The conditions OF the
task required a careful selection OF the
horses and mares imported. Planters could
not afford to import mean ones. Inc
planters OF the country that has been de-
signated traded exclusively with England.
The New York Dutch aud Pennsylv9na
Germans traded TO holland and the Con
tineut, and naturally imported their beety
stock Of horses from that quarter.
But our ancestors got all their stock
from ENGLAND. and got 1t during a period
Of renaissance in England IN the breeding
of thOroughbreds. Let few examples on
these early importatiOns show the spirit III
which the selections were made.
ORIGINALS or ORR COLONIAL STOCK.
One Of the earliest horses Of winch we
have record was old Jolly Roger by Round
head, out Of dam by Partner. and was I'M
ported about l7i6. Then came Janus two
or three years later by old English Janus.
ont OF dam bv Aristotle. son of the Cullen
Arabian. 4 little later came Motions
Traveller by Partner ont Of dam by the
Arabian known as Bloody Buttocks.
Spark followed in MARYLAND, bred 10y
Frederick, Prince o; NaLes. Ola Fear
naught came about 1853. son OK
Ecguus, the best son q the CO
dolphin. out of Slvcrtal. grand
daughter of the barley. Afterwards
Medley bv English GimcracS. ont of Ara
NINA hv snap. TGskeT's Selma was an-
other Grand accession 10 the ROYAL band,
daughter of the Godolphin. ont Df dam by
Old Fox. granddau toy Flying ChldcrS.
She had been preceded 10y BHNton's KITTY
Fisher by Cade. out OF dam by the Cullen
Arabian. could add dozens Of Ike high
blools imported before l1a1. when Dio-
med came over. whose pedigrees attest
the great care Of our early planters IN So
lect.ue the originals OF our race Oi horses.
In fact,
THERE WE'RE 30 COARSE uoEsES
in all Eastern Maryland. Virginia, and
North Carolina.
There was little or no intcrcommcrce
between these States on the one hand and
New York. New jersey. and PennSylvana
on the other. It was the Eugland's policy
7
none. The original horses of the region !
have defined were all selected with care
and inpOricd because of their individual
merit and qualities Of form and descent
There was no other sort Go now. oven
now. through that region aud the stranger
will be struck by the evidences he Will see
OF fine blood manifested I'D ali the features
of their horses. They may be poor and
crippled. halt and manned, they may w.
driven by negroes 20 dump-car's, halted
and never grOOmed. but e.. s VIII al d.
play the evidences OF blood. and IN every
line and part proclaim their descent from
ancestry who won Tenown IN better day.
Before $50 or even 1880 there was 3D.
means Of publicly recording pedigree
During the entire century preceding &
coming Of ID omcd. and for more than q
quarter of a century afterwards, there was
no turf register or American stud-boo..
And u must be confessed with sorrow That
our early breeders We're ~ careless OF TIE
pedicrecs as they were tenacious OF tie
blood Of their horses. Those old pldnic q
We're provcrbial for thor neglect OF r.
cords. They carried their accounts n
their hats. their cash in Their bree hes
pockets and bat for the except onai tnris-
tian boon of family Bibles. they wolld
have preserved the pedigrees even Of their
own ancestry only in thor memories:
What chance had the fine stock Of horses
which were so carefully bred for regis
tration OF their descent? NV proposition
is. that i'm view of the history OF the race
Of horses under consideration. the absence
OF pedigrec~ beyond the first remove or
two is not proof of cold blood as TO AMI
mails bred anterior even t. 1875. emphatl-
caIly Is not as TO those bred before 1903 or
1910.
But .here is a valuable test besidcs that
OF extended ped grees for the h0r4cs oi
that anterior period. In all the history Of
racing in England, whore pcdgTees have
been registered for now nearly hundred
years. there has been no instance of q
great performer. both in field and stud.
who was not of full blood. In very rare
instances steCds not fully bred may have
run good races. but in no SINGLE instance
las such q horse proved successful IN his
Ii the tact be so-dcmonstratcd
TO be SO by expcrlence-thon the con-
verse proposition is true that # horse
be % great winner and a successful
prOgcnitor. and ms ancestry be not
known 10 have been OF impure blood.
and its purity Is questionable only because
not registered as perfect, then that horse 8
of true blood. ! am willing TO discard
the proposition and TO treat II as'ot no
worth rs 10 periods OF time during which
pedigrecs have been Systematically regis
tered. Indeed. If horses pedigree Is not
recorded in period when abundant iacIl-
ties of registration exist, the presumption
is and ought to be that his descent IS not
pure. But rs to the earlier period we must
pcrfOrce resort 10 the next best evidence
10 that crucial test Of high per-
formancos in field and stud.
BY this test let the elder Potomac stand
or fall. From the accounts OF hln that
have come down TO Us. he stands paragon
in form and action, his running on the
turf the poetry of motion; after his half
brother and Junior. Sir Archy, the most
popular son Of Diomed; bay OF imposing
size and majestic presence; 50 strongly i'm
pressing himself upon the beholder by his
beauty. grace, speed, and power a TO
extOrt the exclamation, "gdam. ggdam,
aud gggdam to tine demnitiOn bOw-wows.
| must have a colt from that horse
1t goes without saying that many Of his
progeny were below first class. This is
true. not only of him but of all the best
horses in the stud-bOoks, which are filed
with proofs of the fact. The greatest
horses are Judged by their best offspring.
Why should not Potomac have the benefit
Of the universal rule!
indispensable as the Stud-BOok is. what
after all does II accomplish except TO canon
ze nine weeds to one fleet. staying horse.
capable of producing his like: And what