Standardbred’s are everywhere. They have become immortalized in song, story-telling, and lithographs that capture the spirit of a legendary American breed.
In the 1800’s the Standardbred played an important part in our American culture. They provided transportation for families, and soon became the swiftest of road horses. Often raced in road matches, the horsemen became enchanted with their speed, power and smooth gait. The Standardbred was slowly transformed from a road horse to a racehorse that ruled the turf for many years.
We are all familiar with horse weathervanes. Copper weathervanes of trotting horses can be seen on barns, proudly perched atop ornate cupolas throughout the country.
Did
you know that the trotting horse was modeled after a Standardbred named
Dexter, a son of the great Hambltonian’s first great progeny and set a
record for trotting a mile in 2 minutes 17.25 seconds. He was a blazed faced gelding whose low-headed way of moving became immortalized in the weathervanes we see today.
Dexter can also be seen in many lithographs. One color
illustrations by William Boell, features President Ulysses S. Grant
racing Dexter down Bloomingdale Road, NY in 1868.
Lithographs from the 19th century, including a collection of trotting
prints that illustrated the importance harness racing played in
American culture. Currier & Ives were know as “trottin men” and
they produced prints of famous trotters that we now see everywhere.
They also portrayed trotters as family horses, pulling carriages and
sleighs throughout the countryside.
The song Jingle Bells is familiar to us all. Do you know what
the song is really saying? The
final verse to jingle bells tells you to get a trotting horse, a
“bob-tailed nag, two forty at his speed”, and hitch him to an open
sleigh….and you will take the lead!
What about the “Old Grey Mare”? We
all know that “she ain’t what she used to be”, but was she real or an
imaginary horse that composer Frank Panella’s created for his popular
song? She was genuine and her name was Lady Suffolk, a great
granddaughter of Messenger.
Her
life began pulling a fish wagon in Long Island, but things were about
to change when she was hired to drive William Porter from New York to
Commack. Porter thought she should be a harness racing horse. She
became a champion in her day, held in high regard for her speed and
stamina. She
pulled a heavy two-wheeled high sulky against the best trotters,
traveling to and from most of her races pulling her own harness
equipment. In 1845 she was the first trotter to
“set the standard” and pull the sulky around the mile in 2:30, and was
12 years old when the record was set. The versatile Lady Suffolk also
raced the mile under saddle.
Stephen Foster’s song about the “bob-tail nag” is a tune in which
we are all familiar. Camptown races is about a horse born in Oneida
County, NY in 1845. Legend says that her tail was “docked with a
jack-knife before she was an hour old”. She was also characterized as
“willful and witchlike”. She
became a livery stable horse and was on her way to New York City with a
herd of cows when she caught the eye of Jonathan Vielee who purchased
for $175. He saw promise in this feisty mare that barelyt stood 14
hands. Two
weeks later, he sold her to George Perrin for $250 and he transformed
her from a flighty mare to a true stepper that began winning road
races. Sold again to G.A. Vogel for $600, her legendary racing career
launched. Her name was Flora Temple and was dubbed “queen of the turf”
by the NY Times. She was so popular, that babies were being named
after her. She was loved by all and was immortalized in many of
Currier & Ives lithographs. Flora Temple died on December 21,
1877. She was an extraordinary horse that earned her place in racing
history and won the hearts of all Americans.
Standardbreds are truly everywhere! They
are a part of American folk lore in song and story as well as beautiful
lithographic renditions, weathervanes and even in print. Author
Margqerite Henry’s books “Born to Trot” and “One Man’s Horse” are found
in schools, libraries and bookstores. Her
books have been read by many and capture the life of the great
Hambletonian…..as known as “The Great Progenitor” of Standardbreds –
but that’s another story.
Standardbred’s are everywhere. They have become immortalized in song, story-telling, and lithographs that capture the spirit of a legendary American breed.
In the 1800’s the Standardbred played an important part in our American culture. They provided transportation for families, and soon became the swiftest of road horses. Often raced in road matches, the horsemen became enchanted with their speed, power and smooth gait. The Standardbred was slowly transformed from a road horse to a racehorse that ruled the turf for many years.
Dexter can also be seen in many lithographs. One color
illustrations by William Boell, features President Ulysses S. Grant
racing Dexter down Bloomingdale Road, NY in 1868.
Lithographs from the 19th century, including a collection of trotting
prints that illustrated the importance harness racing played in
American culture. Currier & Ives were know as “trottin men” and
they produced prints of famous trotters that we now see everywhere.
They also portrayed trotters as family horses, pulling carriages and
sleighs throughout the countryside. 
Stephen Foster’s song about the “bob-tail nag” is a tune in which
we are all familiar. Camptown races is about a horse born in Oneida
County, NY in 1845. Legend says that her tail was “docked with a
jack-knife before she was an hour old”. She was also characterized as
“willful and witchlike”. She
became a livery stable horse and was on her way to New York City with a
herd of cows when she caught the eye of Jonathan Vielee who purchased
for $175. He saw promise in this feisty mare that barelyt stood 14
hands. Two
weeks later, he sold her to George Perrin for $250 and he transformed
her from a flighty mare to a true stepper that began winning road
races. Sold again to G.A. Vogel for $600, her legendary racing career
launched. Her name was Flora Temple and was dubbed “queen of the turf”
by the NY Times. She was so popular, that babies were being named
after her. She was loved by all and was immortalized in many of
Currier & Ives lithographs. Flora Temple died on December 21,
1877. She was an extraordinary horse that earned her place in racing
history and won the hearts of all Americans.