Evening star., 1939-01-10
BY BOB HENRY.

Half the population around War
renton turned out yesterday to pay
tribute to one Of Virginia's most
famous sportsmen, Julian C. Keith,
who was celebrating his 80th BIRTH
day anniversary by riding to the
hounds, as usual.
AT time when most athletes and
sportsmen have long since made
themselves comfortable in an easy
chair to peer into the past this
hardy veteran, with muscles like a
college four-letter man and a grip
akin to steel trap, still is going
strong and with no thought what
soever of hanging up his tack. "Why
should II" he explains. I'm just
beginning to enjoy this riding
game"
-Four years ago, when only 76,
neighbors and relatives were count
ing a fatal 10 over him, at least as
lar as his riding career was con-
cerned. He was unconscious on a
hospital bed, the result of fall in
the hunting field, when his mount
stepped in a hole while going full
tilt across country. A broken leg,
arm, nose, a fractured skull, not
to mention cuts and bruises by the
dozen, did slow him up bit, but
he surprised them all by popping
up few weeks later fit as ever and
rarin' to go. That was the only time
he ever got the worst of fall, even
though he's had more than he can
remember.
"Old Guard Class" Winner
Only short time before that
incident" Mr.. Keith got a big kick
out of winning a blue ribbon in
the "old guard class" at the Orange
horse, show, scoring at the expense
Of half dozen old timers. Riding
his faithful old mare, Tugboat An
ME, he went around the four jump
course twice with a perfect per-
formance to prove that he had lost
none of the skill that brought him
many triumphs as a young man
when campaigning wherever horses
were shown.
An added thrill that day was
watching his l8-month-old grand
son, Robert Barry Hamilton, win his
first blue ribbon riding his pony in
a lead-ln class. Both ribbons and
trophies won that day have a special
case in the Keith library as token
of the unusual double.
Mr.. Keith has been president of
the Warrenton Horse Show Asso-
citation for 25 years and under his
leadership has grown into the most
famous hunter show in this coun-
try. When he took over, short time
before the war, the show was little
known outside of Virginia, but grad
ually it grew until now the most
prominent stables in the East and
Middle West send their thorough
breds down with the hope of in
creasing their value by picking up
a ribbon or two. They say that a
red ribbon won at Warrenton is
worth a blue at most any other
show. Quite a tribute to President
Keith's management. incidentally
one of his daughters, Mrs. James
Hamilton, herself one of the most
capable riders in the country, only
recently was elected a director of
the association. the first time such
an honor has been rendered a
woman.
Rates Fox Hunting Tops.
While always having enjoyed
showing and racing horses, Mr.
Keith figures that fox hunting is
the best game of them all. It's one
sport where no one can be bribed
and it remains through the years
the most honest sport in the world
A former master of foxhounds OF
the Warreenton Hunt, he says the
greatest hunting in this country is
in the State of Virginia, and. re-
membering that he has hunted all
over the United States, it's likely
that he knows whereof he speaks
OF course, he is not alone in that
thought, more than one Northener