The Washington times., 1901-07-28
THE CHINESE PONY.
Handy Little Fellow whe Provides
Racing I'm SHANGHAI


There are many forms of sport afforded
to the foreign dweller In Shanghai. bat
the most absorbing Is undoubtedly that
OF pony riding. with its accompanying op-
portunfties of taking part In paper hunts
and the races held under the auspices of
the Shanghai Race Club. Almost every
healthy young man. with the necessary
means and spare time, has his own pony
which Is not such an expensive luxury as
one might think after the initial outlay
has been made. And In the cold, bracing
atmosphere of the winter months there is
no more enjoyable pastime than to ride
to the finish Of paper chase over the
fiat. obstacle-studded country on the out
skirts of the settlement.
The sport dates back to the time when
foreigners first settled in Shanghai, and,
like local cricket. has fiourished ever since
without a break At one time, when the
resident foreign merchant was piling up
his fortune with rapidity never since
equaled. 1t was the correct thing for him
to import his horses from abroad, but 1t
is not SO now. The aim and desire Of ev-
cry sportsman Is to have a better stud of
Chinese ponies in his stable than his
nefghbor, and the result Is a class of ami
NAL which Is so improved by sedulous care
and attention that in some instances 1t Is
hardly recognizable as belonging to its
native stock in the wild state. When first
purchased they are rough. shaggy little
brutes, but under the diligent attention of
the native mafoos they become the smart
est-looking ponies a lover of horse flesh
could wish to see
In addition to his qualities of strength,
speed, and endurance, the Chinese pony
possesses the great advantage over his
foreign brother OF being thoroughly in
ured to the climate. which affects animals
in very much the same way as man, es-
pecially Of foreign stock. The old meth
cd of bringing the ponies down from
Mongolia in large droves has been abol-
ished- They now arrive in small compa-
MES by steamer from Tientsin and other
ports. and upon reaching their destina-
tion are sold by auction. Their new own
ers then put them into training, and, as
age is no criterion of their abilities, only
shape. which Is pretty generally the same.
1t Is often the case that a pony of which
the gioomiest predictions are made turns
out to be a jewel
The weight-carrying power Of these
ponies Is remarkable considering their
size. which is seldom above 13.2. and as
rule anything between Il and 13 hands,
and their speed is no less remarkable.
Most of the riders in the races, who make
no pretence to be anything else than anna
teur jockeys, are men of average weight.
What has been said will be Better appre-
ciated by perusal of the following list
Of record times established by Chinese
ponies on the Shanghai race course: One
and a half miE,s. minutes III seconds;
mile. minutes ~ seconds; 1N miles, 3
minutes II S-5 seconds: II miles, 2 min
utes 3S seconds; 2 miles, minutes Nh
seconds; mile, l minute % As seconds;
u mile, 81 seconds. ans the same distance
at the last spring meeting. on a ground
turned into a verita BILE marsh by inces-
SAINT rain, 81 rs seconds, by pony named
Moriturus.
The spring meeting this year was sig
nalized by the Introduction to the race
course at Shanghai of the Australian
horse, an innovation rendered necessary
by the seizure up north by the allied
forces of all obtainable ponies for cam
purposes. The step has not been
attended with such satisfactory results
as were anticipated. but the outcome of
it, generally, certainly justifies an in
crease of subscriptions to the waller list
for the autumn race meeting.-London
Field