The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1904-03-14
JUMPERS AS GOOD
AS IN PAST DAYS
No Reason to Knock Mod
ern Horses.
ToMPKlNS' CHEERFUL VIEW
Steeplechasing Rapidly Recovering
POpularity-Mara Best Rider of
Timber ToppeTs.

Jumping horses are just as good to-
day as they ever were said Gwyn
Tompkns, who trains for J. w. Colt
and who won more money last season
for his employer than any trainer Of
timber toppers in America, this morn
ing.
Riders. too" continued the veteran.
ARE just as good as ever. but there are
not so many OF them. Many persons
think jockeys in their prime twenty
years ago We're superior to those Of the
present day, but I do not think there is
any foundation for this theory. For in
stance. some old fOgies who imagine
they know it all. and VIII not give the
young turfman more than a. chance to
express an opinion Will invariably reply
10 anything the younger follower Of the
horses may say by quoting things that
happened ten or fifteen years ago and
ridiculing his opinion. To hear many of
thcm talk there is no turf today But
10 come right down 20 the point, there
is but little change in the riders as far
as efficiency is concerned
"Of the riders OF the present Jimmie
Mara is by far the best, and for that
matter, think, has any man who ever
sIraddled Topper beaten block"
Wizard Of Steeplechasing.
Gwyn ought to know, too. because he
is to steeplechasing what John Z. Mad
den is 10 fiat racing-a wizard" He IS
an example Of what man with an ed
ucation. brains, and love for a horse
can do. Years ago Tompkins pulled
down his weekly stipend for writing
the races for a Washington newspaper
and has since made this his home He
severed his connection with the press
IN order TO more actively follow the
turf. lie suffered many discOmforts and
hardships but stiu held out IN hope
that he would some day discover a good
horse. and now he has gained a reputa-
tion as the best steeplechase trainer in
America For years he has been study
ing thOroughbreds. A racehorse Is TO
him thing Of love In order 10 obtain
a good one he has worked both hard
and long. and has succeeded about as
wclI as could reasonably be expected Of
any man.
My first engagement" said Temp
kins, 'necessitated my serving my ap-
premiership by roughing II through the
country fairs Of the South as trainer,
cook. jockey, and stablenand all rolled
up in a bunch OF bundles. / stuck TO IL,
however, IN hope that would some day
get good chaser that would reflect
credit upon me.
Each year Tompkins seems TO i'm
prove. and II was only this last season
That he reached the pinnacle OF his sue
cess. He won 40GO0 with horses which
cost his employer, j. W. Colt. less than
5000 Every important jumping event
OF the last season. with the exception %
the Champion Stakes, at Morris Park.
IL which his best jumper. Layator, came
10 grief when he had the race prac-
tically at his mercy, was taken by
horses trained by him.
The broad expanse Of green. the Hut
tering nags, and the large nelus OF
thoroughbreds sweeping over the grass
and taking prodiglous leaps over dlin-
cult obstacles, all tend 70 make steeple-
chasing a picture enhancing ana eN-
hilarating. The falls and mishaps, the
cries OF terror from the spectators.
make the heart throb wildly and send
the blood cOursing rapidly through the
veins. Even old turf followers who
have become hardened and callOus, are
thrilled by such spectacle.
Shoulders, Legs, Back.
When asked what he considered the
most salient points necessary in q good
jumper, Tompkins replied:
Good shoulders. legs. and back. One
should not always be governed by con-
formation in a horse IN estimating his
ability TO shoulder a heavy impost
Lavator. for instance. would not De
called a weight carrier by the average
turfman When he was running on tn.
fat he was unable 10 carry even light
weight successfully, but he can shoulder
fifty more pounds through the field and
beat any mans horse at even weight
Good. strozg shoulders which run back
To a nice angle are essential TO the con
formation OF every timber topper, as
all the strain OF a race comes on the
shoulders. which have TO stand tn
brunt OF the rise and the fan IN leaps
II a horse does not have shoulders Oh
thfs kind IL IS almost useless 20 tram
him over the sticks
"a good steeplechase horse must tur
ally have been speedy on the Nat Their
are so many twists and turns in
-etaeplecnase that a horse gets a res
between the jumps. II IS the run nom
from the top OF the stretch when ~
yvon Lavator the most Of his races. Thi
rule does not apply 10 hurdle racers. Ia
hurdle race where the obstacles ar
more than q quarter Of a mile apart
q horse. 20 become a topnotcher, mus
possess stamina rather than speed
Mara Remarkable Man
Much also depends on the Jockey. a.
IN a fat race. / would rather hav
Jimmie Mara astride a horse If ] weT
out 10 win. than any man who ever ha'
a leg up on a jumper Mara knows tn
game from beginning 70 end, IS D
strong as an OK, has a good head. AM
is by far the best finisher in the busi
ness men, ARIA - = 4p44g anu H4AA
ing worker No matter whether he ha
to work twenty horses or two. he Is Sus
as SiTing in each case II am preparin
a horse FOR a big event and Mara 8
10 ride him, Jimmie viii not even ALLOW
q boy 10 gailop him in the morning. II
wants 70 know the disposition Of eacl
horse he rides II he can possibly lear
81. he IS IA many ways a remarka Dl
man ThiTty-elght years old, he Ia
ten children. and is one OF the bes
hOrsemen ia America.
The outlook for steeplechase raciut
IN America was never better. EacI
year more are interested and with sucl
good men as the stewards Of the M
tiOnul Hunt and Stecplechase AssOcia
tion u look after its welfare, IL vii
become still more popular. SteepIe
chasing received a black eye five or 81
years ago because Of the piratica
tactics pursued by several unscrupulOa
owners and jockeys. The sport was lift
ed from IT'S state Of corruption by tn
National Hunt and Steeplechase Assn
citation. and since then the game haI
become very popular. but not so mucl
SO as ia the old days. when the pOpu
larlty Of the 81 ort was at fLs height
10