Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1892-08-26
Lebanon. Tenn, Aug. 2, 1892.
WlLLIAMSON'S BELMONT.

Editor Breeder and Sportsman In
referring to Belmont and his des-
cendants, have referred to their ability
to trot more particularly than to run, al
though his breeding was equal to any
thoroughbred horse. There was ten
dency among his colts to trot that was
possessed by few; this doubtless was in
herited from his sire.
American Boy was a natural trotter
himself, and never knew of his superior
as getter of fine harness and road horses.
My father had pair of matched bays by
him that with ordinary farm handling
could pull a farm wagon faster than a
mile in four minutes. They were driven
three miles in twelve minutes once to an
ordinary farm wagon.
American Boy was fine race horse
and finely bred He was by Van Matters
Sea Gull, son of imp. Expedition, dam
sister to Boxer, by imp. Expedition. |
was always taught to believe that the
tendency to trot came from Expedition.
My father was familiar with Expedition
and Messenger and both horses in their
time stood at my grandfather stable, and
he was familiar with both and always said
that Expedition was the finer horse of the
two and horse of the prettiest action,
that the only advantage the Messengers
had was that they were not quite as ner-
vous. Messenger, though a very cor
rectly formed horse, was on the plain
order.
Before American Boy was brought
West he got the horse Awful that was
one of the most celebrated trotting hors-
es East. Awful beat Lady Suffolk at
two-mle heats also Dutchman in three
in five race at mile heats, and at one
time was called the phenomenon. After
coming to Ohio, he american Bow got
what was called the Keith horse, that
beat all the horses that he met, making
a campaign from Cincinnati to New Or
leans and back, trotting seven or eight
races during the trip and won them all.
| saw this horse at Mr.. George Creams
stable in Cincinnati after his return and
Confidence was also there, Just having
returned from his Eastern trip, where he
had been trotting a number of races with
Ripton, Americas and Lady Suffolk.
Mr.. Cream offered to match the Keith
horse against Confidence for purse of
| five thousand dollars a side, either at
mile heats or two-mile heats, which was
declined by the owner of Confidence.
There was one remarkable thing about
American Boy. He lived to be twenty
three years old and he meyer got a sor-
rel stud colt in all his stud service His
colts were uniformly bay or brown with
a strong family resemblance in all, and
never saw one who was not a good road
ster. | believe that had horses been
trained to trot in that day as they
are now that he would have been cele-
brated as the sire of trotters.
Belmont inherited all of the trottng
qualities of his sire and transmitted those
qualities to his colts; besides, they were
superior as farm horses. The dam of
Belle Echo was worked in this neigh
borhood until she became old and was
sold to 60 to Los Angeles. If Langford
had been broken to harness and trained
to trot he would have become as cele-
brated trotting horse as he did a
race horse. He could trot very fast
when he was in training. Owen Dale,
Bonnie Belle, Dashaway and Musidora
could all trot fast. The only thing they
wanted to make them trotters was the
education at that gait, instead of train
ing them as race-horses. Ida May could
trot as fast as any of them, and a
daughter of hers, by Owen Dale, pro-
duced Lady Ellen. and she was a good
trotter and has proved an extraordinary
good brood mare. She has three or
four In the list and more coming.
| am of opinion that it is unfortunate
that some one who was breeding harness
horses had not been able to do away with
the "running foolishness" prejudice and