The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-02-11
SPORTING NEWS.
ElectiOneer GetAre the Natural
Trotting Horses.
Speed Cannot Be Developed
Where 1t Does Not Exist
OLD NORyAL SPEEDY.
Went Quarter i'm 33 ga Sec.
Onds When Aged 20.
Once Trotter Always a TrOtter
Is McCartney's Idea.

| EJohn Mccartney in Cincinnati CONNER
| cial Tribune.l
1 saw that remarkable stallion Norva
| (2:149a) a few days ago, and, while he is
| twenty years of age. the great old trot-
| ter does not look to be over eight. The
| Electioneers have the natural instinct tc
trot more than any other family of horses
that I know
Nc fast trotter was ever entirely MAIDS
by the trainer. Unless he was born with a
| natural instinct to trot all the trainers
in Christendom cannot teach him to trot.
A trainer can develop the speed of a trot-
ter, but he can not make a fast trotter
out of a horse which was not born rrot-
ter. The Electioneers are natural trot-
tiers, and all the trainer has to dc is to
develop their speed and they Will trot,
and trot fast.
living sons of EIectioneer,- and he, in his
day, was regarded as one OF the fastest
sons of his sire
never tire of looking at a great old
stallion, and the other day, when passing
through Lima. o., 1 could not resist the
visit. AS We stood in front Of his stall.
looking at him. his owner, Mr. ]. c.
II think that Norval possesses the trot-
ting instinct to a greater degree than any
twenty years, he has Just as much speed
right now as he ever had in his life. Last
summer, one day, a friend of mine from
New ork was here at the farm and we
fell to discussing Norvars speed. 1 main
as fast as he could in his racing days.
and my friends was positive that the old
horse could not show any of his old-tine
speed In order to settle the dispute,
ordered my trainer to hook him up ana
take him over to the farm track ana
give him trial. After a couple of warm
ing-up miles he was stepped a quarter
more Surprised man in your life than the
man from New York when he glanced at
our watches when Norval passed under
the wire. He stepped the quarter in
0:334. rate of speed almost equal TO his
Taking into consideration that Norval
had not been asked to step faster than
a slow jog for five years, think that It
lions 1 ever witnessed"
do not think that any horse that ever
lived had greater natural speed than Nor
val, and, had he been given the advan-
tages of the present day, bike sulky and
would have been able to trot mile away
Norval has been in the stud for many
years. is the sire of seventy-two stand
ard performers, and was in no condition
fall, yet he stepped a quarter in 0:33%i-
This performance proves that a horse
trot will do so under any and ali cir
cumstances. Great horses, like great men,
means. 1 think If the history of = ali the
great trOtters was laid bare it would
show that they possessed the ability to
trot from the time. they We're foaled.
Many great trotters, however, when they
go bad gated and many of them were so
badly mixed in their gait that it took
late their gait and properly balance them.
Once they were gotten properly on their
stride they trotted true and fast but if
they had not possessed the trOtting in
stinct years of constant training would
not have made them trot- Some horses
trot naturally. on the same principle that
some men just naturally take to drawing
and others take to singing. Other horses
fail into the pacing gait because they
possess a natural inclination to pace. and,
no matter how hard the trainer works to
make them trot, they will do nothing but
pace The fast trotting stallion, Sag. B.
(2:1314), was foaIed a trotter. and he
trotted in spite of the fact that his trainer
worked for months in a vain effort to
make him pace. Sag b. sire, American
Boy was a noted sire of PAGERS, and
when Sag b. was broken his owner sup
posed, because he was sired by Ameri-
can Boy, he would certainly prove q
PAGER. The colt was trained during all
of one season, and every possible plan
was tried to make him pace. The colt
absolutely refused to pace. and as last
resort. he was allowed to trot. In a short
time he showed so much speed at that
way of going that he was trained as a
trotter. He proved himself to be a very
fast trotter, and is regarded as one of
the best trotting race horses on the turf
today.
If horse is born a trotter he will .trot;
If born a PAGER he will pace, and, no
matter how much he is trained, he wiz
go best at the gait that he takes to nat
urally.