The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-08-18
Famous Jockey and Noted Driver
Treat Horses They Drive
Very Kindly and Get
Most out of Animals.
GEERs NEVER sWEARs
Veteran Reinsman Now Capturing
Honors on Grand Circuit is
Model of Modern Horse
man to Look to.

Pop Geers, whose name these days
appears in bigger type than anyone
else's in the press OF the land, says
that horses are like children, and
should be governed accordingly. AS
the twig is bent so is the tree in
clined" is quite as applicable to mans
best friend as to the young man
himself is the Geers doctrine. Never
treat horse roughly. if you want him
TO do things he is capable of doing"
asserts the wizard Govern him kind
ly and the results of this patient treat
ment will oftimes be surprising.
Pop" Geers practices what ne adj
vises. In his training he exercises
the greatest patience imaginable and
has never been known to treat
one. of his charges roughly.
Few trainers exercise the perse-
verance in this regard as does
the driver who has twice land
ed a c. OF C. and an NJ. & NJ. stake the
same year He continues this treat
ments of kindness after the trained
animal is sent out to race. He neyer
once deviates from the course of kind
ness with which he starts in upon
when horse is placed in his charge
Pop Geers has never been known
to swear. Here is another exceptional
trait in the veteran drivers character.
al L., in n q
open as the turfman's life happens to
be, promotes the profanity evil in mans
makeup oftimes to frighful degree.
But the very worst thing that Geers
is said to have uttered that impignes
on ultra-urbanity was when he called
a fellow driver on one occasion "a
burned old cuss.' There was agra
waiting cause for the old man breaking
away from his unuaIly benign disposi-
ton on this occasion, however, and he
may be pardoned for his expletiye out
burst
The Provocation.
It was just like this. Geers was
driving favorite in a race in one of
the Grand Circuit cities (not Detroit
a few years ago, when the wolves and
bears got after him. fword of instruc.
ton to the unintiated: The wolves and
bears are those drivers who will take
turns in the various heats of a race to
run into the ground any performer
they may level their guns upon TO en-
compass his defeat)
Geers was the one this day these
WIS and BIS singled out to vanquish
But they had more difficult task to
perform this time than they had reck.
oned upon. So they even went a bit
further to beat Pop and he over
heard their talk about putting him and
his horse over the fence on the back
stretch. This threat was not to be
taken literally, but time-worn plan
TO carry a driver to the extreme out
side rail in a race and thus injure his
chances of winning to considerable
degree,
They succeeded in their plans II
this instance and Geers was taken the
overland route to the extent that i
cost him the race. It was after this
act of "cussedness" that the veteran
walked over to the stable OF the driv
er who happened to be the ringleade
of the plan to put him over tn,
fence" and directed the remarks quot
ed above. Out of his system, Geer
felt relieved, but it is said that h
later repented for using such stron
expression as burned old cuss.''
He never before went so strongl
In his expletives and has never bee
known since to so far forget himse-
as to address any of his associates I
anything but the most gracious wa,
is Like Sloan.
In the regard of the kind treatmer
of horses and the results achieve
therefrom, Pop" Geers is not unlil
that premier Jockey of tie past, TIC
Sloan. Tod, the most skillful driv,
that ever sat astride horse in tn
country or in England, France or al
other land, was never known to abu'
horse in the slightest, nor did
have any patience with any persc
who did
Tod Sloan could get more out OF
vicious animal than any other king
OF the pigskin He didn't bring abo
these results by means of the whip
spur. 1t was kindness alone that W.
the day for Tod with these fractio
pfutes. He further claimed that if
mad mad early training of these al
mas they would never have develop,
lhe savage disposition he found the
possessing.
TOD nursed his mounts along