Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-01-17


last woman in the world you'd suspect of
having hankeling after horses, to look at
her. She is Mrs Chaloner, of Newmarket,
and in the racing world there isn't better
known name than Chaloner-no, not even
the name of Falmouth among the swells or
Dawson among The professionals
She comes of racing stock, and she was
born into and raised in the racing world
She is a Yorkshire woman, and as matter
of course had an innate love for and under
standing of the horse. Her father was old
John Osborne, III old and well known train
er of Brecongin, in Yorkshire, and she
learned horses as she learned English Her
brother is Johnnie Osborne, the oldest Eng
fish jockey able 10 ride.
1t was good sized family her father had,
and he entertained no fine notions about
giving his girls and boys advantages he
hadn't enjoyed, He brought them up in
good, sturdy, honest fashion. He had
long string of horses, and they needed
plenty of lads 10 look after them, but in
the Brecongin establishment there wasn't
an army of careless servants to carry on the
household and waste the masters sub
stance. The daughters did the work, as do
our sturdy farm ers' daughters at home,
and old John Osborne prospered with his
provided for
In his training stable there was a clever,
bright faced lad, an apt pupil in the saddle
He thought the masters CHEEKY daughter,
who was such 2 keen judge OF horse,
would make good wife for jockey-and
she thought so too. His name was Tom
Chaloner, and rare good jockey he was in
his time, which was the time of Fordhaln
and Archer. He was almost the only one
that Fordham's kidding" did not disturb
and who could beat him at his own game.
a flock of young Chaloners, who have all
turned out trainers or jockeys, gathered
round their heart lstone in the pretty flower
decked cottage in Yorkshire, but as all good
racing people 20 10 Newmarket, Just as all
good children go 20 heaven, the Chaloners
joined the Newmarket colony also There
Tom Chsloner died, leaving Mrs. Chaloner
with 4 houseful Of children and none too
much wealth.
She made a trainer out of one boy-her
eldest son, TOm-whO IS married now, has
a training establishment Of his own, q de
sirable set Of patrons and a coy home in
Newmarket. She made a trainer and Jockey
out of another, wlo is in South Africa now,
and she made jockeys out of the younger
ones, who are indeed the chief lightweielits
now. They are George, one of the leading
young jockeys; Dick a nineteen ear-old
lad, strong rider and still an apprentice
to his mother, and two little lightweights,
Phil and Harry, who have sported silk and
promise to turn out well.
She did a good Ceal toward making them
good Jockeys, inst Hing in their minds the
wholesome pgece pts of her father and
brother, giving item many a point about
riding race, get ns them before the pub
Nv -T,-i IN. I,
horses; giving them fair, useful educations.
and making them good, honest, well man
nered, self respecting lads by her sensible,
| cheerful home influence.
Thus you see her turning trainer is the
| natural result Of her life and associations.
1t isn't fad with her. She is regularly
| licensed by the Jockey club. and has a
string Of horses il training for herself and
several patrons.
She has trainiI establishment in New
market that compares favorably with the
establishments OF some famous trainers
| Her house, Osborne house, is a big, roomy,
| comfortable house, looking out on a train
ing ground and tn Bury hills. Herstables
connected with it are OF the approved New
market style, with the stable yard and every
| thing about them as neat as a pin.
| She is a good hoTsewOmen and goes out
| on the heath on her pony every morning to
| work her horses, Just ike her professional
| brothers She puts her charges through
| their walking, trotting and cantering; she
| knows when to give them fast work, when
| to try them and she knows pretty well what
| they can do after sac tries them. She comes
| in with them, sees that they are properly
done up and her small hand can discover as
| much as any other trainers when she runs
| it down horses leg.
She is woma1ily woman besides and
| thoroughly domcst &c, and the fact that she
can set batch of bread to raise and then
| go out and train her horses doesn't detract
from the success OF either undertaking.
| She is known ami respected and liked by
| all the English racing folk In her quiet,
unassuming costumes, with her CHEEKY, sin
| cere unaffected Il anners, she is seen at
nearly every meeting during the racing sea
son. She is out early every morning to see
| the horses at woTk, even when she hasn't
| her own out, and when the races are on
J spends most of her time in the paddock
l looking over the horses, chatting with the
racing people, seeing that her boys get
| fair cut at the ridiT g and sending an occa-
sional small comm ssion into the ring.
! She is keen jud ge of horse, she keeps
| herself posted on ne form of those run
ming, and her own eye can tell her a good
i
and many "a frequenter of the paddock
comes to her for her opinion about a horses
| chance in a race just as he would go to
masculine trainer. She bets carefully and
cautiously herself, rarely risking more than
| a pound, and the balance is usually on the
| right side with her. There's very little fuss
aboat her betting Ii she likes Il horse she
| will say to some oue willing to do her the
service, Put SOY ereign Tor ten shillings
or five shillings, rs the case may be) on So
and-so to win," or for place, and no more is
said about it till tn icy settle by letter.
In the sale paddocks she Is always in de
mand More than one buyer will come to
her and ask her TO look at a yearling or
blood mare and tell him what she thinks OF
it-and what she tn nks Of it frequently has
a good deal OF weight in his decision about
buying it.
She is as farniliar with the English stud
book as she is with the needs and troubles