The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1909-08-25

quiet kind of stir apparent that says a
| big man is passing.
Geers who stands out amnog the
famous horsemen of the country be-
cause of his splendid driving and the
fact that he will not stand for any
fixing" of the days schedule, was re-
turning from a days work. His best
horse, The Harvester, is valued at
| $4,000.
He talked as cheerfully of the work
he loves as If he had not been thrown
out of a sulky and all bruised up at
| Kalamazoo.
This isn't anything to sprain
had in Buffalo" he said. 81 was due
the next day in Detroit, so | sent for
two of the best surgeons there. They
looked me over and then said the best
| they could do for me was to keep me
| in bed for the next six weeks.
All right. gentlemen; you're not
the men I'm looking for told them,
and as soon as they'd gone / got up,
cinched my foot tight in a high shoe,
and went to Detroit
This was all without the least show
of interest. The genial turfman was
evidently just making talk. Just as he
did when he went on to run over the
four times his legs and the three
times his arms have been broken on
| the track. He leaned forward with
an Pm-gladthe preliminaries are
overland we'r ready-to- attitude,
| as soon as he was asked about horses.
THE only way to pick a horse is
just the way you'd pick a friend he
said. Beauty doesn't count. You
look him square in the face, and if he
has good head, full face, a fine eye
and good-natured ear, he's all right.
If he looks like a convict let him
alone"
The squint burrows began to make
two smile halos.
II was thinking of the horse that
gave me my start" he said. HE was
as hairless as NANCY dog, and his
tail was a scraggly affair, but II
coached him for a race and l sold
him for 1925 more than L bought
him for.
THAT happened in Lebanon, Tenn,
where l was brought up. My father
had a store and he set me to working
in it. But every spare minute 1 had
was with the horses. Finally we got
"a pony on debt that father gave to
me. l traded him for neighbours
mare that could trot and gave $40 to
boot. Then say but wasn't happy.
II worked that mare on the road
till she went so well that 1 sold her
for 1925, and then 1 bought the hair
less fellow, who won me my first
race"
Some way you get to seeing the
scraggy horse or any other, when
Geers talks, just as you do the people
other men describe. Yet there is alb
solutely nothing horsey about him.
His suit is black, his plain tie black
and not sign of diamond.
mo headlights for me- he said.
Then he laughed aloud. Il had a dia-
mOnd once and l lost it, he ex-
planned as If it were a great joke
Then he went back to horses.
bringing up a horse is just as in
teresting as bringing up a child" he
went on. "They have their family
traits and you have to take 'em into
account. Some are like a giddy girl
when you're breaking 'em. But that's
nothing to go by. Just get 'em into
race and they steady down, like the
| girl does when she marries.
'Then lots of people try to teach
'em too much at a time. 1 believe in
treating 'em just like children. Give
EN- only what they can take cheer |
fully. Then they won't break and get
bad-natured. And as for the whip,
not one horse in a thousand should be
touched with one. Spare the rod and
make the horse is my motto.
What do / think of fixing races?"
This time the squint burrows narrowed
as if they saw trouble ahead. well,
my horse and l have to fight anything
like that. When we see some fellow
dash for the pole, and the others
cover so they can open TO let the fix-up
in at the crisis, then we do some fixing
all by ourselves. We go in and-well, |
we've beaten the combine a good many
times"
Geers drove the Hal family, Hal
Pointer, Star Pointer and the rest to
victory. He is So and has been racing
more than 80 years.
MAKE it 80 odd" he said, laughing, |
''for they're pretty well on to me, as
I've been in the big league over 80.
And for all can see can do as much
work as when l was young So I'll
stay in as long as l do anything, be-
cause I'm too old to learn anything
new"