The New York herald., 1920-12-05
TIMELY GOSSIP
OF HORSE SHOWS
Pneumatic Speed Wagons for
Hackney Harness
Ponies.

The rule of the National Horse Show
Association which requires that all
ponies In harness classes must be shown
to appropriate vehicles proved to be
pretty elastic this year when many of the
bantam high steppers went into the ring
hooked to featherweight pneumatic speed
wagons. built for harness racing. The
light running four-wheelers worked won
ders with some of the ponies. Hamilton
Flame, for example, was unplaced wnen
shown TO miniature gig In competition
for the Montpelier Challenge Cup, but
when he came back with Caffrey speed
wagon behind him he won the blue and
later the championship. defeating Mighty
Mite, winner of the Montpelier Cup, who
had all the time pulled pneumatic AS
the ponies are supposed to be of heavy
harness type. II is. of course, out OF place
to drive them to vehicles essentially light
harness in type. and racing vehicles at
that. It must be said. however. that
some of the bantam hackneys looked
more like docked miniature trotters than
like ponies of true heavy harness type
and character.
The westchester- -Biltmore Country
Club, of which John NICE. Bowman is
the moving spirit, has just purchased
the Rye School OF Riding and Driving.
conducted for many years by Miss Ma
rie Louise Guion Thompson. now In
structor at the Riding Club in New
York. The old Rye school passed out
of existence on December l. and the
building will be remodelled and en-
larged for use as a future service build
ing for the three or four hundred en-
ployees Of the club. Mr.. Bowman's ex-
tensive plans for the club embrace in
door and outdoor riding accommodations
of the highest class, SO that the PASS
ing of the school Is merely the clearing
of the way for something far more i'm
portant to horse interests When the
new buildings and the bride paths are
all completed It is expected that horse
show of the first order will be held there
each year. If the owners of Madison
Square Garden continue to demand an
exorbitant rental from the National
Horse Show Association. as they have
done lately, 1t would not surprise every
body to see the annual exhibitions moved
to the Biltmore Club.
William H. Moore has presented to
the War Department. to be used as
sire in connection with the remount SER
vice, the two-year-old hackney colt Sea-
ton Florio by imported Marlboro, out
of imported Flora May. by Matthias. the
sire of Marlboro. The young stallion
was exhibited at the recent National
Horse Show, where he was placed sec
ond to Seaton Seaton. the champion stall
lion OF the show.
Miss Ethel Boyd Bowers has pub
lished the fifteenth volume of Ribbon
Winning Show Horses" covering the year
1919, and embracing awards at forty
! two shows held last year. This is per-
haps the largest number OF shows ever
reported. and the hand made book Is
a monument to the compiler's Industry
| in more ways than one. Its index or
| exhibitors enables one to readily trace
| the names and the performances OF all
horses in any particular stable, while
the index OF performers shows the
aliases as well as the pedigrees OF many
prominent winners.
Plans are being made by the officers
of the Princeton Field Artillery Bat
TALON to introduce an innovation in col
lege sports next spring by holding a
military horse show. Competition Will
probably be confined to undergraduates,
and the programme will include such
spectacular features as field artillery
race in which the contestants will have
to strike tents, harness teams. advance
a quarter of mile, unlimber. go into
action and finally retire to the starting
place. A big sham battle is proposed
as wind up of the show.
HA RNESS RACING