Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-04-28
4 Driving Remittance.

him for several seasons. after which It be-
came the property of Nelson Brown of the
Philadelphia Four-in-Hand Club
Driving Remittance.
Despite its popularity. coaching is perhaps
tie least of the sports which now are caus-
irg renewed demands for the horse Light
harness driving, in which there has been
great and widespread revival, is probably
contributing most. This revival owes much
throughout the country to the pneumatic
tire as applied to light pleasure vehicles.
III New York the speedway, completed Two
years ago. has been even more influential.
Years ago, when the Harpers, Commodore
Vanderbilt Robert Bonner and other old
time gentlemen drivers were in the habit
of speeding their horses every fine day on
Harlem Lane New York was the greatest
center for light harness driving in the
country. The growth of the city and the
extension Of paved streets wiped out Har-
lem Lane and with II went the speeding of
horses for fun. Later the state laws adj
verse to racing and betting extended the de-
cline of harness driving outside the city.
In time the decline became so widespread
as virtually to call halt in the breeding of
fast trotters. But the speedway has chang
ed everything. Now that there is a road in
which to drive them, trotters and PAGERS
are once more great fayorites, some of thu
old-time breeding farms have resumed
operations on a large scale and new ones
are being established And, as of old. the
driving constituency in New York is not
professional, but composed of men who
speed their horses for fun and not for
money. Though the relative number OF
light harness drivers is less than in tAe
palmy days of the lane, the actual number
is much greater. According to the speed
way police, some thousands of separate rigs
are often TO be seen on the speedway in the
course of a single day. Not all these rigs
are drawn by real flyers. of course, but the
speedway sees at least twice many fast
horses as the lane ever did.
Stimulated by this state of affairs, the
Road Drivers Association of the state Of
New York has made arrangements for
trotters and PAGERS parade TO take place on
the speedway in the immediate future. This
will be the first of what the association
hopes to make a series of annual events
Drivers of light harness horses from all
parts of the country have been invited to
take part, and it is confidently expected
that the result will be a spectacular display
of handsome wagons and fast horses.
Speedways i'm Other Cities.
Not many in New York know 1t, but
Chicago was the first city to have a regu-
lar speedway, though Chicago's drive has
never equaled the speedway here. For
eight years the Chicago Park commission
ers have maintained g. drive of a mile along
the western limit of Washington Park. and
other drives of the same kind are now
being built in other parks there; the most
extensive will be in Jackson Park along the
lake front.
Cleveland. Detroit, Boston. Brooklyn and
Providence are all building speedways. At
Newport a good track that was owned by
private club but which has been lying
dormant for about six years, is to be re.
vived this year. and the applications for
membership have been so numerous that
the city council contemplates building q
public speedway. A prominent horseman
Of Boston, speaking of the driving In the
hub city, said recently: Where there was
one light harness horse last year there viii
be ten this sunDner. and look for as large
an increase for some time to come" AL
bert C. Bostwick of New York is one OF the
most enthusiastic automobilists here. Yet,
with all his auto-wagons, his stables were
never so full. He said: The horse Will
never leave us. The automobile is going
to do the work and the horse will remain
our domestic friend. use my automobile
| to go around the heart of the city and save
my horse from heavy stones and rails.
use my automobile to run to my farm,
| twenty-five miles out of town. L go and
come in an afternoon and do not have to
| worry about overtaxing my horses. They
are driven for enjoyment, and l want more
good horses instead of less"
Naturally all this driving has increased
the market for trotters and PAGERS, and the
horse dealers of New York and nearly all
the other cities named are realizing for
tunes in the century's closing year.
More Riding Than Ever.
The revival of riding is almost as wide
spread as the revival of driving. Nearly all
the riding academies In all the great cities
have been overcrowded daily from the be-
ginning of spring to the present. According
to the most prominent riding masters in
New York there is now easily four times
the riding there was ten years ago. and he
fully believes that there will be an increase
this year over last of nearly 80 per cent.
Riding Is receiving great stimulus also
from the increasing popularity of horseback
games and cross-country runs. The Mead
OVERLOOK Club of Long Island, which is one
of the largest hunting and cross-country
riding clubs in the country, has made more
extensive preparations for equestrian func
tions this year than ever before. and the
waiting list for membership is said to be
novel developments in the riding circles of
New York city is the recently opened Rough
Riders school, which is being very largely
attended, not by members of the wealthy
class mainly, but by bank clerks and young
business and professional men.
For some years Chicago has had
annual equestrian parade, as New York is
now to have a harness parade. The Chi
cago parade always takes place early in
May. Many of the most prominent men of
the city who are horse enthusiasts take
part in it All classes of riders from
the counterfeit English hunting man to
the ex-cowboy and many ladies, are to
be found in line. The parade follows the
boulevards, on the south side of the city to
the parks. and the event has become a
spring feature.
Those who ought to know say this func-
ton will be more elaborate than ever this
year, and that the number of saddle horses
in ,floe &c fnns1 fyaar