The New York herald., 1921-07-24
HOLLYWOOD PARK IS
:HORSEMEN'S MECCA
28th Annual Exhibition at
Long Branch This
Week.
BY C. CHAPLIN.

the annual exhibition of the Monmouth
County Horse Show Association is to be
held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
A good list OF entries is reported, and
the summer colonists along the Jersey
shore from Seabright to Point Pleasant
are making plans, as usual. TO rendez-
vous undar the red umbrellas on the
lawn at beautiful old Hollywood Park.
II is twenty-seven years since the first
assembly of horses and horse fanciers
took place there, a two days show on
August 10 and II, 1894, with just one
class for saddle horses and one for
jumpers on each days programme, the
harness classes making up the major
part of the show. The pendulum has
now swung to the other extreme, with
the saddle horses and the jumpers dorni-
mating each days card. The veteran
secretary. p. j. Casey, and Charles w,
Smith, who succeeded James T. Hyde
as manager, have been identified with
the annual exhibitions from the begin
ming, but they are the only ones now
active. To Harry Content, who has been
president since 1911. is due much OF the
credit for having carried the old show
through the trying period of the great
war and made it the medium of raising
many thousands of dollars for public
charities.
When the first horse show at Long
Branch took place there was only one
other summer show of its kind in the
country. The old Philadelphia Horse
Show at st. Martins Green had been
established in 1892. the same year that
marked the advent of the short lived
Su.....-1sr show at Manhattan Field, In
New York. The Philadelphia show con-
tinued until 1909, when its grounds We're
sold for other purposes, and SINCE when
Long Branch has ranked as the oldest
outdoor show of Importance In the
United States. The Westchester County
Horse Show. which still survives, was
also established in 1894, but it came later
" the year than Long Branch. Except
ing the National. established 1888, and
Brooklyn, 1898, the show at Hollywood
Park is now the oldest In the United
States.
Rochester will have something like
the class for registered saddle bred
horses suggested in this column last
Sunday. r. Pryor Combs of Kansas
City has given piece of plate as a prize
"for the best American saddle horse, sire
or dam to be registered type to count
seventy-hve per cent, performance
twenty-five per cent" 1t Is presumed
that performance will be at the walk,
trot and canter only, and that the sire or
the dam must be recorded in the Amer
lean Saddle Horse Register. But the
conditions would be more satisfactory IL
they required the registration of the
morse exhibited, or else required the ex-
hfbitor to give the name and address of
the breeder as we'll as the name and
number OF the registered sire or dam.
The move is in the right direction. how
eyer. and 1t is to be hoped the owners
OF registered saddle bred horses will sup
port it with their entries.
Mr.. Combs's specification OF the
american saddle horse" is a reminder
that this type has been defined as fol-
lows by the American Saddle Horse
breeders Association for purposes of
Judging in the show ring:
The saddle horse must be sound. of good
conIormation. substance. finish. style and
shown without artificial appliances ana mn
10 carrying at least 100 pounds.
The three-gated horse should go plain
Walk priskly and with speed equal to four
miles an hour; canter reasonably high and
gentle, trot steady, straight and true; action
enough 70 be attractive; well balanced and
with speed equal to twelve miles an hour.
This is pretty good description of
the market and that dominates the show
ring.
Championship prizes, nowadays a fea-
ture of even the smallest horse shows
were first offered at Long Branch in
1895. before the National Horse Show
and possibly before any other American
show had made such classes. The one at
hollywood Park was for all winners in
heavy harness classes. and was won by
Great Scott, owned by George B. Hulnoe
who judged harness horses there last
year. The innovation at Long Branch
led Strauss &c Hexter, then among the
leading dealers in carriage horses in
New fork, to offer a special prize of
1900 In plate at the next National Horse
Show for winners in the harness classes
which was virtually a championship
class. 1t was won by Joseph e. Wide
ners bay gelding Dash, trotting bred
high stopper by Messenger Wilkes out
OF mare by Daniel Lambert. Tho as
sociation took the cue from this SUCCESS
ful feature and in 1896 made the cham
pionship class a fixture of the prize list
Within sight and sound of the waves
as they break along the Jersey coast
the horse show to be held on Saturday.
August s. at Sea Girt, ~. J.. will be dis
thCtiy diIterent from any other outdoor
exhibition OF the season. The morning
hours VIII be occupied by n series of
sporting events and regimental games
The afternoon programme provides for
dozen classes. open to all saddle
horses, polo mounts and jumpers, with
half dozen classes for officers charR-
crs. troopers mounts and jumpers The
show will be held under the auspices Of
the recently organized New Jersey Cav
airy Horse Show Association, OF which
Col. Lewis y. Ballantyno Is president,
Lient.-Col. Henry T.. Moeller, vice-presi-
dent. Major Hardy ]. Bush. treasurer,
and First Lieut.. Cecil M. Boycott, secre-
tary.
n. J. Hess. owner OF Desert Gold
and other winners, has written letter
20 the managers OF several summer
shows in the vicinity OF New York
criticising the Judges rs having favored
local exhibitors by some unwarrantab BILE
decisions not In conformity with the
published conditions Of the classes they
were judging. Mr. Hess expressed the
opinion that if the alleged practice con-
tnues 10 prevail these shows win
eventually be confined 10 local exhibits
The temptation is always strong TO give
little tho best OF II to the home talent
IN these neighborhood horse shows,
though perhaps not more so than in
other sporting events OF a similar ma
turc. The amateur or professional who
can Judge horses without ever being
Influenced by consid orations of owner