The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-07-02
HORSE SHOW ENDS
Finest Exhibition of the Kind
Ever Seen i'm Topeka.
A Large Crowd Witnesses the
Closing Performance.
WHAT WAS TO BE SEEN
Millionaire Armour Tried His
Best to Win So Prize.
He Failed, but Enjoyed the
Excitement.
WHAT WAS TO BE SEEN

| Horse shows bring together a strange
mixture of people. AS strange a crowd
as is attracted by politics. From the
grand stand and carriages society, for
it is for the elite that such shows are
given, watch stable boys and million
aires hobnobbing in the exhibitions ring
Everything is horsey, the people, the
talk and the clothes.
Saturday at the second annual horse
show was no exception and those VINO
paid so cents to witness the programme
saw a millionaire, A. Watson Armour of
Kansas City, doing his best to win a IS
prize, and also saw him fail. 1t was in
the potato race during the evening On
the north side of the arena was a sack
of potatoes In front of the grand stand
was a large bucket. The contestants
We're mounted on polo ponies and were
armed with long sharp sticks. Like
knights of old the six contestants lined
UP in front of the bucket and were in
structed to ride to the potato sack, spear
innocent Murphy. ride back to the
bucket, deposit the potato and go back
for another as often as they could in six
minutes. CO." shouted the referee and
away dashed the potato racers for the
supply sack At a breakneck speed they
charged for the potatoes, pulled up their
ponies and jabbed a the sack. The first
to emerge from the struggling mass
was Ed Sims, of Kansas City. He depos-
tied the potato in the bucket and sour
ried back for another. Half way he met
Armour who landed his potato in the
bucket and dug spurs into his pony and
galloped back for more For six min
utes they raced back and forth, some
times losing their potatoes on the way
and sometimes failing to land them in
the bucket. At the end of six minutes
it was found that Sims had deposited s
potatoes in the bucket and won the
IS prize while his millionaire friend had
to be content with second place and no
money. But he doesn't need it. There is
another war started and his family will
interested r1Q N
instead of potatoes into a bucket
Q. P. Updegraff, of Topeka, who is
known throughout the country a
horSeman and successful race starter,
was master of ceremonies. But although
he is"decidedly horsey, don't you know"
he made a serious mistake and was set
back 10 points for laundering. He an
nounced during the performance that
Limestone Belle will give an exhibit
ton of high school gaits.'' That was
awful. In the lexicon of the horseman
there is no such term as high school
gaits." In the programme of the show
was a page devoted to horse show
don'ts" and among them is a warning
as follows to save any of the uninitiated
Don't say high school gaits.' They are
movements" Updegraff will have to
read up.
But whether they were gaits or move
ments Limestone Bellies exhibition was
received with applause. With Ed Sims
up, that's very horsey, she went through
all the movements possible to the stir
ring strains of a cake walk time. While
not so good a performer as Miss Rex
who was exhibited here last year she is
certainly a wonder and displays an
amount of intelligence that would do a
lot of people devoid of horse sense a
deal of good.
OF course horse show is never sue
ceSSful without few features not on
the programme. This show had them. In
the afternoon in the sporting or hunt
n
and team which did everything they
We're intended to. They were hitched to
a two-wheeled hunting cart. The lead
er carried saddle and the contest was
TO drive up to within short distance
of a hurdle, unhitch the leader, the dri-
yer mount him, and take him over a
regulation jump. The leader was too
anxious to make the jump and wound
himself up in the harness. Jack knitted"
and kept a half dozen stable men run
ming after him and hollering whoa
and get up" in a very unhOrse show
manner. Sims was driving and Low was
beside him. Sims wore a coat as red as
the Jacket made famous by Frank Dan
iels in 1.-THE Idols Eye and Mr.. Low
was dressed in a Prince Albert and silk
hat and carried cane. The leader was
bound to turn the cart over and sue
ceeded in running one of the wheels half
way up the side of the hurdle before the
cart would tip. But it finally did tip
and most beautifully. 1t turned bottom
side up but the occupants landed on
their feet without a spot on the red coat
or a ruff on their hats.
In this class A. E. Ashbrook's Bonnie
Lass and Quo Vadis took first, The Ar
row and mate. belonging to the same
man, second, and Sims and Lows team
third There were three contestants. In
the roadsters, with appointments class,
Lows Silverthorn took first, J. M
Wells, of Jefferson City, second with
Princess Peach and DIR. George c.
Pritchard's Phyllis Tee third.
In the polo pony contest Ed Sims, on