The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-12-01
ONE RIDER TAKES A HEADER.
The Military Display Was a
Wonder.
SIXTEEN sTEEDsNTHE LANCERs
To-Day Is the Last of the Big Show
and a Splendid Card Is
Offered.

II took only one little unassuming Cali
fornia mare TO take the wind out of the
sails of the Hobart crack gelding Peacock
in the high-stepper class at the horse show
Yesterday. The winner of thirty-two
prizes in The \ w York and San Francisco
shows went down inGlOriOusly to Music,
and J. d. Grant is her owner
But that was not the only good thing
in the Mechanics Pavilion yesterday
There were dozens of Others II was
the biggest day of the show and the
seats were filled most of the morn
ing and afternoon, and literally
packed at night. Society was out in more
new gowns, with even more radiant beau
ties than on former evenings: there was
more of a crackle to the cubly shirt front
and roster appearance to the clubly nose
The OdOr of fried mutton. which had ill.,
simulated itself softly at first on the open
ing night, spread out like a Scotch mist
over the arena and Inflated the nostrils of
the 400. the upper and lower middle classes
aud the hoi polloi alike. It's Way mutton
has-always up to caper'.
But, barring the mutton, the show Of
Tered during the day was the equal of any
since the show began, and. after Nox had
put up the shutters, 1t was markedly supe-
rior TO anything yet offered.
To begin with, the parade of United
States cavalry horses, sixteen in number,
danced the lancers, as society had never
dared to do 1t. Superbly caparisoned, eight
blacks, with full uniformed trooper. pen
noned lance in hand, on each tlok the
ladies' parts. while eight equally beautiful
and graceful whites, similarly deckeG,
were the gentlemaply partners.
Gayly played the band. the ladylike and
gentlemanly dancers bowed their graceful
heads, down dipped the f1uuering pennons
and soberly nodded each trooper to his
vis-a-vis. The dance began amid a storm
of applause, the music taking a liveier
time, the steeds mlncing dsintily stepping
the measures of the quadrille.
1t was a glorious, sUul-Stirring spectacle
never to be forgotten. Not a step missed,
not a measure slurred. Again and again
thu vast crowd rose. and shouted, and
cheered. and yelled and stamped its APP
probation till the building trembled.
And when that was over, enter ten cav
alrymen, barehead. coatless, brawny, on
nettled steeds. ready for the exhibition OF
vaulting over the barebacks of the ami
mails. brush fence had been stretched
across the center of the arena its entire
width, and they began. They went at it
singly, in twos and thIees. and the whole
bunch together; sometimes on the backs,
on the withers, under the bellies, on the
sides of the animals; part of the time
with their heels in the air. then again
with their toes on the ground, but always,
always doing the right thing at the right
time-fairly electrifying the audience with
the performance.
Nothing like it has ever been seen in
San Francisco, nor for that matter in any
other horse show. 1t was only a part, too,
of what these wonderful horses and their
remarkable riders do. They have dozens
of other clever things which they are hold
ing in reserve for their own show next week
at the pavilion.
There were ponies in harness again and
coaching stations; the prize hackneys pa
raded and the high steppers went through
their PAGES; professional coachmen drove
spanking steeds to stylish tuTnouts through
mazes of tbickly set posts; there was
enough jCmping to satisfy an equine Steve
Brodie and lust that danger of broken
necks and fractured ribs that makes the
sport favorite. One rider did a somer-
sault that would have done credit to an
acrobat, his horse turning another right
after him in equally graceful fashion,
after which they calmly proceeded to take
the fences as though nothing had hap
pened.
The parade of carriage horses to private
turnouts was beautiful display and quite
captured the hearts of the ladies, who had
not the slightest difficulty TO make out the
reflections of their own dear selves in the
highly polished sides.
To-day. the last Of the show, the pro-
gramme will be far the best of the week.
the principal events on the card being the
four-in-hand competition, the final appear
ance of the fre-engine teams and the polo
ponies ridden around bending poles.