The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-11
ACTOR Horse TAKES FRIGHT.
BEN HUR, A "PRO," CAN'T STAND
FOR Az AMATEUR CIRCUS,
And Spoils Ills Scene With "NIIle. Onanag'
-Nightshirt Race StartIes the Women
FOlks-Burros Hawshaw at = blue
Mule whose Hind Legs We're Human.

Mule Whose Hind Legs We're Human.
Ben Hur, an old white horse with n rock
Ing chair movement and a back as broad
as a barn door, tried to break up the Saddle
and Bride Clubs amateur circus and music
ride last night at the Central Park Riding
Academy.
Ben Hur does stunts at the Hippodrome
for a good living of hay and oats, and is
a'grand sight when they darken the foot
lights and turn the calcium on him. He
has a mild and usually Trustworthy dis
position, and for that reason is Skip Dundy's
~favorite noun when he wants to take a
turn in the Central Park bride path.
The Saddle and Bride Club thought it
would be a good thing to borrow Ben for
the big stunt Of the amateur circus, which
was billed as "a desperately dangerous
exhibition Of equestrianism by the Queen
of the Tanbark, Mile. Onanag." They
took Ben Hur to the riding academy and
trained him for weeks on the tanbark.
The mothers and sisters of the club MEM
bers went to the rehearsals, and fed Ben
with Jumps of sugar, red apples and other
things that horses love.
Everything went smoothly at rehearsals.
Ben loped gently around the ring, going
smoothly and easily. He made friends
with R.T Lockwood, who, as Mile. Ondndg,
was to ride him in the circus. The club
forgot, however, to introduce Lockwood
to the old horss when the rider was in
costume. That caused the trouble.
Mile. Ondndg's stunt was the second
on the bill last night. The galleries APP
plauded when grooms led old Ben into the
ring and ripped gloves when Mile, Ondndg
appeared with a chorus girl flip of thefeet,
a backward kick and a bow, Mademoiselle
was attired in a noisy orange silk dress
which reached to his knees. He wore red silk
stockings and his black hair was marcelled
and waved. The chest of mademoiselle was
bare and powdered a somewhat CHASTITY
white.
Old Ben, Eliminating in the ring and
maybe wondering why the electrician
fash Of the wonderfully attired mademoi-
selle. What happened after that will be
an unpleasant subject to discuss hereafter in
the Saddle and Bride Club. Old Ben SHE'D,
baked, buoked and did some of the finest
eccentric highschool tricks in ring history:
The ringmaster cracked his whip and
svore under his breath and the women
In the galleries leaned forward, breathing
hard.
The mademoiselle was game, though,
ana he went uU Olu Den "ltn nlS Jaw set.
He took a run and a jump and landed on
the broad back, gave a dig with his heels,
q whoop and they were off. The first time
around old Ben hurdled the ring and broke
for the door leading to the stables. Mile.
0ndndg slid of just in time to escape being
jammed into the wooden sections of the
ring. The crowd laughed and applauded.
1t was good fun for them.
They brought the white horse back into
the ring, set the dislocated sections and
went at the stunt again. Next thing Nile;
Ondndg knew he was standing on his head
In a pile of sawdust and old Ben was over
the enclosure and beating it for the door.
Once more they caught hin and led him
back, but another look at the orange silk
and the red stockings set him agoing
the clown, and D.. C.. Wainwright, who
played the Dutchman, Joined with Lock-
wood in trying to get, the best of the old
horse. They piled on him three at a time
stand for Mile. Onandg, and they had to
give it up and lead him out,
C.. H.. P. Yallalee was a blue mule. He
used his own ~trotters for the hind legs and
waved stuffed cloth for the front. The ears
of the blue mule were long and moved by
cunningly contrived springs. The bray OF
the mule was the voice of an auto horn,
which Yallalee manipulated skilfully. When
he came into the ring w. c. Thompson and
oeOTRe LyICD, l"o gray hbIS EhCAiSah
burros, were dumping the clowns into the
"a wdust and laughing as burros laogh.
raucously. When they saw the blue mule
they backed up in a way that was almost
human n studied the strange beast with
heads lowered and cooked to one side. 1t
was the funniest thing in the circus and
made a hit with the folk in the galleries.
The liveliest stunt was a nightshirt race
between A. r. Schweens, w. E. Seybel, w.
o. Mcdonald, G.. H. P. .Yallalee, v, S. An
- - uT D.aInar IL rht n,,iN
cases, each containing a folded nightshirt,
were set at equal distances at one end OF the
enclosure. Ar umbrella was strapped to
each suit case. The six riders took their
places at the other end of the enclosure and
at the whistle of the ringmaster set their
ponies at a gallop and charged on the suit
cases. They were off their ponies in an
instant and funbling with the nightshirts
while they tried to hold the plunging, kick
ing ponies. The horses stood it pretty
well while the men were getting the nightueS
on, but when it came to raising the UNI
brellas and racing back the ponies went
slam bang crazy.
For a few minutes the ring was a mixup
OF scared horses flashing out with their
hind feet and men in nightshirts rolllngin
the tan bark trying to dodge the hoofs.
Some of the women got pretty well scared,
hut nobody vas hurt. Only two or three
Of the riders finished with the proper equip
ment Of nightshirt, suit case and raised
umbrella.
The circus opened with a grand march
entitled a Parade of All the Nations of the
Earth A Joe Weber D%utchman rode side
by side with a French soubrette in pink,
and a green whiskered Irishman, rubbed
knees with a whooping Sioux. The club
men went through the drill in nice shape,
wheeling into the proper eyolutlons at a
quick whistle from the ring master.
The rough riding exhibition, with it's
tricks Of snatching handkerchiefs from the
a@N,@ - fell allD In nNrnT fhn
horses as they went at a fast trot and buck
ing bronco riding, got more applause per
haps than any other act. F. w. Keeting,
G. w. Lang, Jr., d. G. Wainewright, J. s,
Casey, F. G. Smith, W. 0. Mcdonald, X T.
Lockwood, j. +. Mcclure, H. M. .McLdntock
and W. E. Seybel, rugged out in cowboy
chaps and flannel shirts, took part in the
rough riding.
The show wound up with a race Of Roman
riders in togas. Some Of the togas fetched
loose at critical moments, and the ponies
didn't seem to care for that style Of getup
anyway, but the clubmen got through the
race without fatalities.
COAL AND OIL INQUIRY.