The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-06-15
He Is Main Figure I'm Colony of Horse
men There and Only One that
Doesn't Say ''Hoss."
FAITH IN oLD-sCHOOL HORSES
THEY WERE As FAST, DOBLE SAYS,
AS THE MODERNs,
But They Did Not Have the AppIi-
ances of This Day-The Art of
Driving to Win.

IN a tent at the Idlr GROUNDS, Wnere the
trotting and pacing horses are shod ac-
cording to scieI life principles, the drivers
and trainers gather and talk boss" No
matter how much the rest of the country
is disturbed over the Pennsylvania coal
strike and the eruption of Mont Pelee or
what great questions Congress is discuss
ing, these men live in oblivion to it all.
They get along in a quiet, unassuming
way and give their whole time and atten-
ton TO their horses. The man who is the
center OF attraction in this little group is
Bud Doble, the veteran driver who is here
doing his summer training. In the thirty
five years he has spent in the sulky he has
driven more horses in winning races and
breaking records than any other man in
the history of the turf To the younger
drivers who gather in the little crowd in
the shoeing tent he is an inspiration, for
each Of them is ambitious to become a
second Doble some day, and TO the older
drivers he is looked upon with a certain
amount Of envy.
Bud Doble is not a talkative man, and
what he says is straight to the point. He
talks in a slow, quiet way and seems to
weigh every word, and what he says is law
to the other horsemen. Whenever Doble
takes long draw at his cigar. which is a
sure sign that he is getting ready to say
something, they are all attention. Doble
also has the peculiar characteristic, when
talking to any one, of looking far ahead of
him. His eyes are light gray and have
that expression about them of looking far
| into the distance, which is generally at
! tributed to steamboat pilots. Doble is also
| unlike most horsemen in that he calls a
/ horse a horse, and not a "hoss." When
| visited the other day at the fair grounds
| and asked about horses and the art of
driving, he said:
THE first and most essential thing that
a man driving in race should know is his
horse, and without this he will not be able
/ to get near the speed out OF him that some
one who is acquainted with the animal
/ Will. To make any success with a horse
! the driver should make a study of him.
He should know the horses temperament
and disposition better than he knows his
/ own, for it is a foregone conclusion that
there is as much difference in the intelli-
gence of horses as there is in people. Each
horse has a distinct character, and his in
| dividuality is as marked as in human be-
/ ings. One TO realize this has to be closely
associated with horses all the time, and
then he will find that they have all kinds
of little peculiarities and traits These are
what driver should know. for from these
he can determine just how his horse should
be driven. All of the horses that have
made phenomenal time were driven by men
! who had been with them for a long time,
and knew every move that they were going
to make.
-
a horse is that it enables you to tell when
he is giving out or when he is ready to
make his final squirt If a driver happens
to send his horse at the wrong time and
not know when to save him his race is lost.
He must measure the endurance of his
horse, for some OF them can stand much
more than others. Some animals have
strength enough to go from the start to
the finish of race as hard as they can
be driven, but they are exceptions. Others
have to be saved on the start ard let out
on the last half quarter. 1 have seen
horses that could be held clear behind the
whole bunch very near all the way around,
and then at the finish let go and put
straight past all the rest Very often you
find horses that must have a pacemaker
to get all Of the speed out of them. This
kind of animal musV be kept we'll up
in the bunch. so when the time comes he
can pass his pacemaker without trouble.
There are horses that have such a great
amount of endurance that they can take
the lead from the pole and keep it the
whole way around the track
THE RATTLES ARE FATAL.
Another highly essential thing in driv-
ing a race is for the driver to keep his head
and not get ratified. Let a man get excited
and he will lose his race sure. This is also
not only a necessity with the driver, but il
is a quality that horse must possess for
if he gets excited he Will generally break
into run. This in most cases can be pre-
vented If the driver will keep cool-headed
for a good driver can generally have COM
plete control over his horse. a driver must
also use judgment, and, as I said before
study his horse thoroughly. 1 have known
some cases where men who had never seen
the horses before they got up into the
sulkies and made very good showings with
them, and the reason was that they were
good horsemen. and by closely observing
the animals and noting what people told
them were able to judge just about what
they could do
ut is very often thought that by the re-
markable records that have been made in
the last few years all of the attention OF
turfmen is now turned TO training for speed
more than it was in the earlier days Of rae