The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-15
METHOD Of BREAKING
YEARLINGS At SCHREIBER'S
SINCE THE EXODUS OF AMERICAN
JOCKEYS TO ENGLAND RIDING
TALENT IN THE WEST Is
SCARCE AND GOOD
RIDER Is VERY
VALUABLE.
by II. ]. COLLINS.


60 per annum. while there are any num-
Der Of jockeys riding in this country that
make at least $1,000 annually. Tommy
Burns. who rides for Brewer Schorr OF
Memphis: Henry Spencer. who rides for
jim Keene the great Wall street spscu-
iator: Danny Maher. who is under contract
To Pierre Lorillard. the millionaire to-
baceo merchant. and John Builmsn.
| Green II. Morris's Jockey. are about tho
best paid race riders in this country. All
| Of these boys command retainers Of not
less than $4,000 per annum.
| When not riding for his stable jockey
| Is permitted TO accept outside mounts. For
| this work he IL paid at the rate of So and
| So the first figures representing his re-
| ward for plotting a winner. Successful bet
| tors also remember winning Jockeys. Wal
| ter Hobart handed Lester Reif sl.seo for
winning the Realization Stakes ON Bright
| Phoebus. and Snapper" Garrison received
| s2.oGO for winning the Worlds Fair Derby
| at Chicago on Boundless.
| The scarcity OF competent riders Is re-
sponsible for the big money paid first-class
| Jockeys. As a matter OF fact. good riders
are much harder TO develop than fast
horses. Barney Schroeder for instance,
found this out when he lost Felix Carr,
The big ST. Louis horseman picked up a
promising boy in Milton Henry at Frisco
last winter. but when W ]. Arkel OF
Judge fame offered 5000 for his contract
on the lad Schneider concluded 10 part
company with Master Henry. That II
more money than Barney ever got for any
OF his horses. and he is In the breeding
business. too. and has them for sale.
Schreiber has n long head on his shoul-
ders. He realized last year. when the
L.. I"Ua.F-
land commenced. that II was going TO re-
suit In a great scarcity Of riding talent
on this side OF the big pond. When the
Reifs Tod Sloan. "Skeets' Martin ana
other crack American riders went TO Eng
land the rich Eastern turfmen swooned
down on the Yves: and grabbed everything
In sight. Tommy Burns was the only good
Jockey left after the big owners from
around New York had looked the field over
and made their selections. |
Schooling Race Riders
Knowing that Western horsemen had no |
chance with Eastern owners In the scrdm- |
Bile Tor good jockeys unless :hey developed |
their own riders. Schr.iber started In 10 |
adopt the latter method. and lie went about |
II in the most practical manner possible. |
establishing a Kindergarten class for JOCK
eys at his Woodlands breeding farm near
Erids-ton In St. Louis County.
The farms equipment includes SIX
furlong track. over which the SPEEDY race
mare. Miss Marion. worked tive-eighths OF
Il mile a .-ytar-old. In l:Jl anu fr1c-
dion. IL is hardly necessary TO add that
track which i 2-year-old can taEel |
that fast must be kept in iirst-ciai - c":-
horses are trained ON II. Two trainers are az
present engaged in breaking thirty head OF
yearlings. These YOUNGSTERS 81, are barely h3l-
ter-wise when taken up. They have tn be |
handed with great care and patience Ten
men and many boys are required to 10 /
the Job right.
Most of the bows are little orphans and 4
have been at the farm for over a year,
They are regularly bound over to the mas
ter of Woodlands. who has guaranteed TO |
take care and educate them until they
reach the age OF IL. when they become
their own masters.
The first thing the boys are taught is TO
ride. They receive their first lessons on
well-broken horses, and after learning lhe
BOYS are placed astride the gay and festive |
y.arlings.
When first taken up ysarling Is as
will brighten the little animal out OF it's
senses. In view of this fact, the man ana
boys must De exceedingly careful with
their charges until the youngsters get some
sort of an idea about what Is wanted of
them. After that the job l. easy, especially
If their handlers have exercised Patience
and not soured the animals by rough treat
ment for shyness. or frisky conduct at the
beginning of racs-hOrse careers.
breaking the Neariings.
The first thing .yeariing is taught IS to
they are brought on the track. the trainers
never allow them to reverse TO the right.
Schooling in this manner prevents khem
from swerving for the gate through which
they entered the track during the progress
of a race. Nearly all race horses run with
their left foot forward. although some |
yearlings are rather backward about learn
Ing that IL is much easier on them TO run |
that way around turils. Sofola. when a
yearling. was very slew about ascertaining |
this fact. The first time she caught on. |
however. she stepI5ed a quarter of mile
around the turn at the Oakland track In
twenty-three seconds.
III handled correctly from the start. a nice
horse IS the result: but, on the
other hane. If the yearling Is not broken
right. It's. future value as a racing machine |
may De entirely ruined Different methods
are used to correct young race horses
sionally youngster will turn up with n
rr,ean disposition that may have been bred
in the animal. In this case II Is difficult TO |
break II, and sometimes the horse VIII al
ways be dangerous to have around. As a
rule. however breeders do everything In
their power to prevent the perpetuation of
at the race track every day. but. generally |
speaking. the talk about II having been
nearly every case the trouble was caused
by the horse not having been broken prop
eriy. OF course, horse must be taught TO
obey his master, but IL Is never necessary
to abuse or bully animal in order to ac-
complish the desired result. In fact many
a high-strung.. fragile thoroughbred has
men,. when little coaNing might have
started the animal a career that would
have proved profitable to his owner.
Sometimes ii Is the boy who gailops ii or |
maybe the man who grooms 1t that does
the damage A good trainer will take no
with either boy or man until salts |
fed that both can be thoroughly trusted |
Before a boy Is put up. a colt is walked
several days with saddle and bride on. |
After the animal gets used to them. a boy |
is given a leg up. If the youngster is going
to be fractions IL will show its colors as |
soon as saddled. or IL not then. when the |
boy Is put up.
Buck Like Broncbos.
Their method of causing trouble at this |
stage OF the game is to buck like Western
bronchos. The boys are frequently mn
horsed. but nothing short OF a broken bone | ,
ri ich seldom happens, prevents them
from getting up again. After awhile the ,
colt will get tired of bucking and submit |
the s.irrups are strung to the saddle and ,
the youngsters taken to the track, where
they are walked, logged. gaIloped and final ,
y breezed. n sixteenth, then eighth and
possibly quarter of a mile being about |
rs far as they are sent before entering
Writer quarters in the fall.
At Woodlands the stockings are fed grain
long before they are weaned. Sofala is a | I,
specimen of what they breed at Woodlands | ,
This filly commenced racing a few days :
after she became 2-year-old. and had won !
welve races IN fourteen starts before nine | !
enths Of the youngsters now in training ,
we're sent to the post for the first time
a small division of the most advanced :
rearlings now being broken at the farm 4
will be taken TO San Francisco next winter ,
juveniles in January. This may seem =
,ather early 20 commence running the q
,ab:cs, but it does not hurt them apparent
y. Golden Rule. Yellow Tail. Sardine and