page_title: Tom Bass (horse trainer)
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Tom Bass (horse trainer) / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: A weymouth style English curb bit. Long shank style is used primarily in Saddle Seat style riding
context_page_description: Tom Bass was an American Saddlebred horse trainer. Bass was born into slavery, but became one of the most popular horse trainers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Bass trained the influential Saddlebred stallion Rex McDonald, as well as horses owned by Buffalo Bill Cody, Theodore Roosevelt, and Will Rogers.
context_section_description: Bass quickly developed a reputation for gentle training methods and drew a clientele came from a wide area. He was reputed to have said, "Horses are like humans."  Bass trained the influential five-gaited Saddlebred stallion Rex McDonald. He trained horses for notable people including Anheuser-Busch executives Adolphus and August Busch, Buffalo Bill Cody, Will Rogers, and President Theodore Roosevelt.  He also started the Tom Bass Riding Club. Celebrity guests to his farm included William Jennings Bryan, President William McKinley, and circus magnate P.T. Barnum
  In 1892, Bass and his wife moved to Kansas City, Missouri to open a livery stable and eventually helped start the American Royal Horse Show, one of the three jewels of the Saddlebred Triple Crown. He was the first African-American to exhibit a horse at the American Royal.  In 1893, Bass showed horses at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and won respect for his riding ability, besides winning the World Championship on the Saddlebred mare Miss Rex. Bass later moved back to Mexico, Missouri, and continued training horses. In 1917, it was estimated that over one million people had seen him perform with his horses. He was credited with making Mexico, Missouri the "Saddle Horse Capital of the World."
  Besides Rex McDonald and other Saddlebreds, Bass trained the notable high school horse Belle Beach, who could bow, curtsy and dance. He invented a curb bit called the Tom Bass bit, which was designed to give the rider control without causing pain to the horse, but never patented it. The Bass bit is still in use. For his contributions to the state of Missouri, Bass was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians in 1999, becoming the twentieth person so honored. Bass also has exhibits in the American Saddlebred Museum in Mexico, and the American Royal Museum in Kansas City.
caption: A modern version of the Tom Bass bit design
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