Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-10-26
VANDERBILT WINS
WHOLESALE PRIZES
Third Night of Tan Bark Arena
Exhibit Most Brilliant of Pres
ent Season, and Was Epoch
Making.

Alfred Gwinn Vanderbilt. multi-million-
aire. world-famous whip and president of
the National Horse Show association. won
the lions share of ribbons, cups and hon.
ors Thursday night at the third exhibition
| of the Atlanta Horse Show association, in
the presence of the largest and most rep
resentative audience which has yet filled
the auditorium-armory.
His stables were represented by ten en-
| tries, and be won ten ribbons. including
five blues awarded horses which ne him
self drove. When he had more than one
entry in the same class, it was simply a
case of the order in which the Wander
bilt animals should win. for they made .
clean sweep of everything in sight
Driving Lady Katheryn, in the open
runabout class, he won years hold upon
the Piedmont Driving club trophy, the
| magnificent silver loving cup which Is
one of the most coveted awards of the en-
tire show. and a special cup was present.
ed him as a token of appreciation OF the
admirable way in which he handled the
coach and four-in-hand entered for ex-
| hibition purposes.
WAS AT FIRST UNRECOGNIZED
Certainly large portion of the brilliant
audience had been attracted to this par
ticular exhibition mainly out of desire
to behold in the flesh the man who is
probably the worlds most famous figure
| in the horse show ring. the man who
startled staid old England a few months
ago by driving his coach and four from
London to Brighton, with his own hands
on the ribbons; the desire to see Alfred
Gwinn Vanderbilt had brought to the
auditorium-armory many people who 9th
4 r-fen
them tense with expectation, but, curious
! to relate. or perhaps quite naturally, he
was unrecognized by the majority of tho
audience when he did make his first ap-
pearance in the ring.
Many imagined he would not appear un-
I'll he made his triumphal entry on tina
high seat of his coach. but as a matter
of fact he entered the second event, the
open runabout class, driving Lady Kath.-
eryn. and circling the ring time after time
while the audience, though admiring his
superb horse, never dreamed who was
driving it; indeed il was not until the big
Piedmont trophy had been handed him
that the whole crowd awoke to his pres
ence and greeted him with cheers.
Thereafter his every movement was
watched with intense interest (maybe GU
riosity would be a better word )by thou
sands of pairs of eyes
CYNOSURE OF ALL EYES.
He was correctly but inconspicuously
CARRIED in the conventional silk coaching
hat. and long gray driving coat, wearing
the Atlanta horse show colors in the coat
lapel. He handled his horses with con-
summate composure and skill, but not
with grace, for he sits with STOPPING
shoulders, like a sphinx, never seeming
to move his body or his hands, but al
ways holding his horses under complete
ccntrol-too complete in fact to leave any
room for the. dashing or spectacular. How
ever. his magnificent ability to handle the
ribbons ELECTED deafening applause. and
his triumph was complete He is probably
the ablest horseIhan, amateur or profess
sional. who has appeared in the Atlanta
ring this season, and he so impressed all
who watched him. Love of horses is one
of the passions Of his life; he was born
a Judge of horsefesh. and his immense
wealth has enabled him to possess the
finest that have ever been bred.
THE FAMOUS COACH AND FOUR
Strange to relate, his appearance with
his famous coach of four did not awaken
in the audience the same enthusiastic
applause as when he drove in to her
events.
The exhibition was beautiful ard will be
long remembered; it was the finest quar-
tet of coach horses in the world, at
tached to the handsomest vehicle ever
seen in an Atlanta ring, guided by the
hand of a man whose name will be
synonymous with remarkable achieve
ments in exhibition and out-of-door
coaching as long as horse show history
endures-but he was watched with passive
interest.
During the other events in which he
figured. however, he and his entries were
cheered to the echo and the welcome
he and his splendid string of horses have
received in Atlanta was commensurate
with the position he holds in the horse
show world and the magnificent horses
from his stables which have done so much
to make the Atlanta horse show sue
cess.
RACE FOR CHALLENGE CUP.
The most closely contested and spec-
tacular event of the evening was the
race" for the Merchants $500 challenge
cup, an open class, for light harness
horses, in which speed and action counted
80 Ler cent.
The full list of entries is given else
where. Nine were in the ring. All were
hitched to light, smalI-wheeled speed
wagons. All were determined to win.
After trotting around the ring a time or
too the judges gave them the sign to be-
gin speeding. They were off like racers
on a two-mile track, cfrcling and re-
eircling with the speed of the wind, cut
ting the corners more and more sharply.
A powerful gray entered by James T.
Lynch and driven by a man who seemed
to take all chances and yet never run
the slightest risks, began to develop
startling speed and pull away from the
others.
For few moments it was the fastest
animal In the ring, though 1t broke fire.
quently and trotted irregularly. The rest,
moving more smoothly but not quite so
rapidly, followed at it's heels like a whirl-
wind. The tanbark began to fly. The
turns came sharper. The speed-wagons
skidded like racing autos in muddy
road. The drivers bent far inward. The
horses bodies leaned at an angle Of AZ
degrees when they caught the curves. A
drivers hat few of. Rubber tires were
jerked loose from skidding wheels. The
crowds around the rail yelled on an
opening day at Sheepshead. The band
happened to be playing some gorgeous
music from Tannbauser. The crowd went
speed mad.t
TILTING CONTESTS BEGUN.
Last on the program was the brilliant
fitting contest between picked teams from
the cavalry troops of the national guard.
consisting of running at heads and rings
with sa bres Two teams COMPETED Thurs