The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-11-13
TROTTlNC
AND PAGING.

One OF the best posted men on harness.
horses. their breeding and records. is
Hon. Norman j. Colman, ex-secretdry
of agriculture. The recent phenomenal
performance of Star Pointer. pacing q
full mile in 1894. has excited much
comment, as no trotter has come within
several seconds of that time
Recently Governor Colman was asked
the following question:
Why do horses pace faster than they
trot?
Governor Colman said: THAT is
difficult question To answer. The facts
show they do go faster at a pacing
than at trottins gail. The fastest
trotter 10y the records IL AliX, 2:039I
while Nancy Hanks is only onc-fourth
of a second slower. This time has been
beaten several seconds by pacers--
namely Star Pointer, 1854: Joe Patch
en-. 2:0lla; John r.. Gentry. 2:00ia; Rob-
ert j, 2:0lR. and Bumps, 2:04a. This
shows a great difference i'm tho speed
of the two gaits. Ii cannot be account
ed for on the score of breeding as all
the fast PAGERS are trotting bred but
one. Star Pointer. He is an out and out
pacing bred horse. with the exception
well known that thoroughbred horses do
not impart either trotting or pacing
speed. though they do impart stamina.
They cannot impart what they do not
possess No strictly thoroughbred has
ever trotted or paced In 2:30
The best answer 10 your question IL.
and IL is undoubtedly the correct an
swer. that the pacing gait is the fast
est because il is the easiest and simplest
gait The lateral way of going is sim
pier and easier and can he executed by
the mind and limb Of the horse more
readily than the diagonal way of going.
which requires one limb from opposite
sides of the body TO be propelled at the
same time for instance, the right fore
leg and the left hind leg or the left fore
leg and the right hind leg. rhfs Is The
trotting gait. while I'm the pacing gait
both legs on side move forward at the
same time almost answering to the gal
lop. which is both legs at an end move
forward a the same time, which is the
fastest gait of the horse. Some horse
men think that the pace so nearly re-
sembles the gallop that in time IT may
equal the gallop in speed. There are
some PAGERS. however. that can pace
faster than they can possibly run.
Another proof that the pace is the
easier and simpler gait Is that any
trainer Of trotters will tell you that, as
a rule. it does not require half of the
time to develop the same amount OF
speed i'm PAGERS that IL does i'm trotters.
The PAGERS come 10 their speed very
rapidly. far more so than the trotters
do. Indeed there are those who claim
that to the fast PAGERS we are indebted
! for our trottng speed that in the early
! settlement OF this country the Nara
gansett PAGERS were fast and were fire.
| auently raced. and that from their de-
! scendants we have derived much OF the
| trotting speed that American horses
| possess
1T is a remarkable fact that In coup
! ling pure bred trotting horses and
mares. some Of our fastest PAGERS have
| been produced. showing that the pacing
| gait is an inherent factor i'm their COM
! position
| In answer TO n question as to which
| SEE, tion of the country has produced the
| greatest speed, Governor Colman re-
! piled:
star Pointer the champion harness
| horse of the world was foaled at Spring
| Hill. Tenn. i'm 1889. His sire was Brown
Hal. and his dam was sired by Snow
| Heel both pacing stations. Joe Patch
en- was sired by Patchen Wilkes. then
standing in Kansas, ana hc was foaled
! there John II. Gentry was likewise
foaled i'm Kansas. He was afterward
sold To John II. Gentry of Sedalia. Mo,
who developed his marvellous speed and
after whom he was named
Bumps is Kentucky bred horse, by
I Baron Wilkes. Robert j. H. an eastern
bred horse. bred. ! believe in Pennsyl-
Nania. | think that he is the, only great
PAGER from that section OF the country.
Alix. the champion trotter OF the world,
Is an Iowa product, and Nancy Hanks
was bred i'm Kentucky
This is a remarkable showing FOR the
west. particularly as 1t was not many
, years ago when all the fast harness
| hcrses were products of the east