"Brains Plus Endurance" – several interviews with Frank T. Hopkins (of the movie Hidalgo)

Including “Training Endurance Horses” by Frank T. Hopkins (scroll down)

By Charles B. Roth

Out of the experience of more than 60 years horsemanship Experience in practically every civilized nation; out of the experience Of winning more than 400 endurance races, ranging in length from 50 To 3,000 miles; out of the experience of being named the "World's Most Expert Horseman," Frank T. Hopkins, who now lives in Long Island City, New York, proceeded to answer my question: "What is the ideal saddle Horse?"

Frank T. Hopkins began riding before he was 7. By the time he was 13 he was a full-fledged dispatch rider, carrying important messages to important army men through the Indian-ridden West. He took up horsemanship as a profession when he grew to manhood, and rode all over the world in races and exhibitions. He has lived with horses all of his life.

"The ideal saddle horse?" he repeated. "It depends. It depends upon what you want to use a horse for. I can answer your question best, I think, by telling you what kind of horses I found most desirable in my own riding. And my kind of riding required ideal horses if any riding ever did."

His kind of riding was endurance riding. Sprinting, he terms the races held today; the one-mile, two-mile, even the longer steeplechase races. To Mr. Hopkins a good race is one like the race from Galveston, Texas to Rutland, Vermont, held in 1886. He won this race. The course was one mile less than 1,800 miles in length. That is what racing means to him. And the horses he chose were horses that could make sixty miles a day for thirty days at a stretch. They had to be ideal horses to do the job, said he.

"The first quality of the ideal horse," Mr. Hopkins began," is mental power." Yes; thats more important than physical characteristics, bone, depth, conformation or any other things horsemen look for in a horse. Brains. Without them all the other qualities don't count for much.

"The ideal horse will be the horse with a level head. He is best. I tried out many horses in selecting the few I rode in important long distance races, but I always went back to the placid, level-headed animal. These high-strung beasts wouldnt do; they could not stand the grill of training. They burned themselves out during the first few days. The sensible horse, on the other hand, would work when I wanted him to, would rest and take care of himself when left alone.

"A few years ago when the Army was conducting those endurance contests, remember? Maybe you also remember that some of the finest horses, favorites to win, went to pieces after two or three days because they worried and fretted when they were put up each night in a strange stall. They werent happy unless they were at home. I believe rules for the later contests were modified so that the same route was covered each day in order to let these horses spend the night in accustomed stalls. A horse that requires coddling like this is far from ideal. He isnt sensible. A sensible horse is pretty much of an equine philosopher. He has brains enough to look out for himself.

"It might sound strange to you to have me say that I always rode stallions on my long rides. I preferred them to mares or geldings. The reason: brains. They seemed to have more sense, once you understood them and they you, than other horses."

But what about size—size, conformation, bone, breeding?

"A horses size is measured entirely by his ability," came the reply. "A horse, in other words, is no smaller than his ability and no larger. Like other horsemen, I have often remarked this rule in practical use. Horse outfits I have ridden with have had smaller horses, weighing up to 800 pounds, that could outlast many horses weighing 1,000 pounds and over. So you cant tell. As a general thing, of course, the larger the horse, within reasonable limits, the better.

For my own use the ideal horse would weigh not over 950 pounds. As to his other qualities, important points I should look for are these: First, he must be short in the back and well ribbed out to the hips, with long muscles to cover the kidneys well. Second, he must have a fairly long hip, with straight hind legs, closely linked between joints. In the shoulder he must be deep. His fore or upper arm must be well muscled. I dont want him to have too long a neck. My experience with long-necked horses is that they tire quickly, and do not last.

"In the matter of bone I differ from todays horse experts. I am told that they look for clean, thin limbs and long slim ankle-joints. But I don't. Give me the horse with strong bones and close-linked joints. He will be able to stand the pounding that I gave horses that came as near as possible to meeting the requirements I have set down, I never had bone trouble."

" Did you ever find an ideal horse?" was my next question.

"Well, not often. But I did own a few," said the old champion. "My best horse was a little stallion named Joe. I practically described him to you just then, only he wasnt so large as the ideal horse I told you about. He weighed around 800. But he was all horse.

Like most old time plains riders, Mr. Hopkins prefers the cantering horse to any other. Said he: "In long distance riding, the running horse will not last; burns himself out. The trotting horse often pounds himself to pieces, as well as his rider.

"The Arabs tell me that the trot is a cultivated gait anyway, not one of the horses natural gaits. I always preferred a horse that followed the natural gait so well liked by these great Arab horsemen: the canter or lope. I never in my life tried to gait a horse to suit my ideas. I either adapted myself to his natural gaitsor got a new horse. Usually the latter. Seems wiser to do this than to try to make the horse over to certain ideas I might have.

"So I always looked for a horse whose natural gait was a lope. Joe was one, a natural loping horse. He could lope as slowly as he could walk. And he would swing into a lope the instant I picked up the reins.

"I seldom see a true loping horse these days; I supposed he has become obsolete. The horse I am trying to describe never had but two feet off the ground at a time, the same as in walking. The running horse, on the other hand, has three feet off the ground at once, which explains why running or hand galloping is so hard on the horse."

The ability of the horse, a matter of study among horsemen from the beginning of Horsemanship, is a subject that Mr. Hopkins has thought much about. He has had to. It has been his job to.

He says that no breed, no one kind of horse has a monopoly of good qualities. In fact, he believes that there is as great a difference in horses as there is in men when it comes to endurancea view which coincides exactly with the experience of every horseman who has trained distance horses.

"There are famous endurance runners among men—middle and long-distance champions whose records stand for years. Take Nurmi, the Finn. There have been thousands of middle-distance runners, only one Nurmi. Why should endurance be limited to so few men?

"I dont know," he continued, answering his own question, "but it is. And it is the same in horseflesh. Some horses can stand more than others. Just why, we do not know. But they can. Training has something to do with it; breeding is very important; but beyond all these there is inherent ability that is one of the enigmas of life.

"Some horses can do 60 miles a day; others will wilt at 35. Yet the 35-mile horse may look better, more enduring than the 60-mile animal. You can never tell. In the annals of horsemanship, there are a few endurance records that I think will always stand."

"What," I inquired, "is the greatest distance you ever heard of a horse making in a day?"

"I have heard of 150-mile rides, 200-miles rides, but I do not believe everything I hear," said he. "For actual performance, I recollect these as outstanding: Black Elk, Sioux Chief, once rode a pony 120 miles in a day. King Stanley rode 100 miles a day for several days running. I once rode 124 miles in twenty hours. That was farthest. Whenever a man tells you of riding 150 miles or more, put it down he is either a liar or a horse-killer. I always had too much love for a good horse to ride him to exhaustion.

"I can think back and remember some remarkable endurance horses. My little Joe tops the list. Many times I rode him in long distance races. We were never beaten. My longest race on him was from Galveston, Texas to Rutland, Vermont, almost 1,800 miles. Seven years later I rode him from Kansas City to Chicago, by way of Nebraska and Wyoming, a circuitous route of 1,100 miles. Joe was a seven-year-old when I rode him to Vermont; he was an old horse of 14 when I took him to Chicago. But we won both times. He died at 15.

"Then I once had a little white mare, purchased from the Government for three silver dollars. Her I once rode 90 miles in a day, let her rest twenty-four hours, rode her back the 90 miles. Afterward I learned that she was an exceptional endurance horse, famed for her staying qualities.

"I named her White-Y. It seemed right. She was white all over, even to her eyes. As to breeding I think she was the same strain that Mark Twain wrote about in his book A HORSES TALE---half horse and half fossil. But she had what I wanted, and the fact that papers werent included in the $3 deal did not make me reject her.

"I used her for a brood mare for years afterward, and developed a strain of endurance horses that distinguished themselves. Greatest among these was a spotted stallion named Hidalgo. He traveled all over the world with me. When I went to Arabia he was along. I entered him in the longest endurance race in history: a race 3,000 miles in length. Hidalgo won. Horsemen for centuries, men who appreciated and loved fine horseflesh, these Arabs fell in love with Hidalgo.

"1800-mile Trail Ride—Texas to Vermont"

By Frank Hopkins, introduction by Harvey Wingate

Introduction

I wish all of the members of the Green Mountain Horse Association could have been with me when I spent an evening with Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hopkins of Long Island City and Laramie, Wyo., who has written this story of one of the greatest rides ever held in the United States. This ride started at Galveston, Tex., and finished at Rutland, Vt., and was, undoubtedly, one of the longest endurance rides on record in this country. Mr. Hopkins is now over seventy-five years of age, and during his life has competed in 402 endurance rides, most of them being races. He lost only one of this number and that proved, afterwards, to have been crooked.

He has performed trick riding stunts before all of the crowned heads of Europe and gave a command performance, with only one Indian companion, before Queen Victoria. This exhibition was given on a new lawn at Windsor Castle and you can imagine what two wild ponies did to that lawn in two hours of rough riding. However, the Queen told him to forget the lawn as it could be replaced.

Frank Hopkins is the only white man to ever compete in the "Thanksgiving Day" 3,000-mile ride in which only Arabs were supposed to participate and he also won that ride.

I wonder how many of us could ride in a Wild West Show for two hours every day for two years. That is what Mr. Hopkins did for two World's Fairs in Europe.

While a dispatch rider, he was shot seven times and bitten three times by rattlesnakes. He has shot several outlaws for the Government, including the very bad Tracy, for whose killing he refused a check for $3,000 given him by the Governor of the State of Washington. He speaks the various Indian dialects fluently and was a friend of Sitting Bull, Big Foot, and many other famous Indian chiefs.

His patience and native ability have enabled him to train horses other people could do nothing with and even today he can train them very well. He loves horses and good horsemanship and has had many a fight with men who used cruelty, in place of training, to make a horse do the proper things. Someday Mr. Hopkins will write us an article on the training of horses—he has promised me that he will. I wish to thank Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins for a grand evening and for this story.

- HARVEY P. WINGATE.


"1800-mile Trail Ride—Texas to Vermont"

To one who loves the great outdoors, there is nothing quite so interesting as a Trail Ride. It makes little difference whether you ride the sage-covered plains and foothills of the far West or the rugged hillsides of the Eastern States. There is something fascinating about such a ride—the falling leaves moving about your horse's feet, the squeaking of the saddle leather beneath you. The busy horse seems to enjoy covering the trail fully as much as his rider. There is new scenery for every mile you cover, but in the distance will be a beautiful hill covered with green spruce or sugar maples, with their autumn leaves of red and yellow, you will be anxious to get to. And when you do get to this spot, there will be another that looks more beautiful, beyond. As the day draws near its end, maybe you will see a glorious sunset dropping behind the faraway hills. So you have come to the close of the pleasantest day of your experience.

Caring for your mount is part of the day's pleasure. As a dispatch rider for the Army during the Indian troubles on the Western Plains for nine years, I have known the thrill of many long rides. Some of these rides covered 200 to 300 miles. My mounts were fed on wild buffalo grass. They got the best care I could give them, although the best could not be much. There was one class of horse I liked best and would ride no other but this, even though there were many fine-looking mounts offered me—I refused all but the Indian pony, a hardy little animal, no trail too long or too rough—a horse that could get along without grain and go without water for two or three days at a time. Still the Indian pony has a weakness—the sound of the human voice will worry him off his feet. I never spoke to my ponies while up there in the saddle.

There was one pony I shall always remember in particular and this horse will be remembered long after I have crossed the last canyon. I called him "Joe." He was given to me by a man who believed him a hopeless outlaw. This horse was still in the horsetrap where he had been caught as a wild Indian pony. I broke him in the trap; four months later I rode him on the buffalo runs. When "Joe" became used to the crack of the gun, he was the best buffalo horse I ever expect to hear of. He could stay with a run of buffalo til they were shot down and then race off after another run; he could lope off all day without dropping back into a walk. "Joe" was not fast, but he could wear other horses off their feet in a few days. I rode "Joe" from Galveston, Tex., to Rutland, Vt., the year 1886. I had been carrying messages for General George Crook during the Geronimo campaign down in Arizona. "Joe" was used in my string and when I was relieved from duty I rode him from Fort Apache, Ariz., to Fort Laramie, Wyo. On reaching there, I was told of a ride from Texas to Vermont. Buffalo Jones agreed to finance me if I would sign to ride in that race. Three days later I was booked at Fort Russell and started training "Joe" for the long Trail Ride. In three months, "Joe" was in the best of shape—fifty miles a day, three days each week, without a bandage on his legs or artificial courage (such as stimulants) of any kind. I allowed him to travel as he wished, not trying to force him to any particular gait; he preferred to lope or a flat-footed walk. Trotting was out of the program with this little stallion. Most of those wild ponies can lope along without much action—that is, they clear the ground and put their feet down very lightly. "Joe" had carried me on many long rides. I was sure he would reach Vermont ahead of the other mounts. Some of them were of the thoroughbred blood. I watched them exercise for a week while we waited down there in Texas. Fine looking horses they were, but too snappy and nervous to start out on a long ride of that kind.

On the sixth day of September, 1886, we started from the Old Point Ferry Slip, Galveston, Tex. There were 56 riders in all—some were cowboys, others cavalrymen and six were bridle path riders (I was amused to see them bobbing up and down on their small flat saddles, for I had never before seen the English type of saddle). All of the riders left me at the very start. "Joe" never cared about racing away with the bunch; he would just put one foot ahead of the other all day and never seemed to tire. The first day of that ride "Joe" was a little sluggish, which I thought might be due to change of drinking water. I did not urge him on, but after riding twenty-three miles, I called it a day. Under the rules of that ride you could ride ten hours or less if you wished. Each rider carried small cards that were to be signed and the exact time the rider stopped was marked on his card. This was done where the rider stopped and then checked by the judges. It was September 13 before I came up to the other riders. Four of those riding English saddles were in bad shape and their mounts were a sorry sight to look at—over in the knees and spread behind, their muscles trembled and twitched; those were out of the ride for good. The next day I passed twelve more tired horses. "Joe" was feeling fine. When I took his saddle off at the end of the day he would swing his head and let his heels drive at me. I always let him roll after taking off the saddle. This may not be any good to a horse, but they all like to roll. On the 17th, "Joe" and I had passed the last horse and rider. We were in Mississippi where there had been a heavy rain and the yellow mud stuck to "Joe's" feet like soft snow, but he would shake his head, jump and play at the close of every day.

Our route was marked with red paint daubed on trees, fences, and stones, so it was easy to follow. On this ride I weighed 152 pounds, my saddle blanket and slicker weighed 34 pounds; "Joe" weighed 800 pounds when we started the ride. I used a six-strand rawhide Hackamore without a bit. "Joe" did not like iron in his mouth—it seemed to worry him. I got word from the judges when they caught up with me in the towns that I was putting a lot of hills and valleys between me and the other riders, but I could not believe I had gained so much mileage. I had stopped to feed at mid-day in the town of Gallatin, Tenn. One of the judges stepped out in front of "Joe" as I was riding away and said, "You're riding against time now for there's not another rider within many miles."

I do not think it is good to rest too long in the middle of the day. Some riders do rest their mounts two or three hours but I have learned that a long rest is not good, for horse and rider will both get tired. One hour is plenty. And keeping your horse on his feet fussing over him and rubbing him after the day's work is done is not good. I always taught my horse to lay down and rest after I had rubbed his back with a damp cloth, and let him rest for two hours before feeding. I gave him a good bed where it was quiet and let him alone for the night. A good rubbing in the morning will make him feel fresh on the start of a new day. I might say that a horse that has plenty of endurance in him is not without a background—even "Joe's" ancestors were of the Arabian blood. The pedigree of a horse does not stand for much if there is no bottom or stemming in such an animal, although they get along in their own class and are thought quite a lot of. The real Morgan horse that I knew years ago was a very hardy animal, but those horses have been crossed with the thoroughbred from time to time; this crossing did that breed more harm than good, for they neither look nor act like the old-time Morgan. Each breed of horse should be kept in its own class. If I tried to run any of my endurance horses on the race track they would be out of their class and if a running horse was entered in one of those long rides he surely would come to grief as it was proven on that Galveston–Rutland ride. "Joe" and I were in Rutland thirteen days before the second horse and rider arrived. That horse was broken down in spirit and body. The third horse came a few days later, a broken-down wreck. I weighed "Joe" the following day after arriving at Rutland and he had gained eight pounds on the ride; he was seven years old at that time and I claim that it is the best year of a horse's life—at least I have found it to be so with endurance horses.

A large, heavy-bodied horse with too much daylight under him will not make an endurance horse, for he will pound himself to pieces on the long run. I would not train a horse, for a long hard ride, that weighed over 1,000 pounds. He must be close to the ground and well muscled with a short back and neck—the horse with a long slim neck will tire quickly. Today most riders want mounts that stand 15 hands or more—that is the first thing they will ask—"How high does your horse stand?" There are many other things to look at besides the height of a good mount. Some horsemen will speak of a horse's color which, in fact, goes only the length of the hair.

"Joe" was buckskin in color. When I rode him into Louis Butler's small stable at Rutland that October evening, many men of the town gathered to look him over—more on account of his color than anything else, for many of them had never seen a horse of that color. Although "Joe" had covered 1,799 miles in thirty-one days, without a day's rest on the trip, many of those horsemen criticized his color. "Joe's" average per day was 57.7 miles. I received $3,000 from Elias Jackson for that ride. Three weeks later I shipped "Joe" to Wyoming and bade farewell to those good people of Vermont. To me it was just one more long ride, for my daily work had always been in the saddle. When I reached Fort Laramie, Colonel W.F. Cody was waiting for me. He wanted me to ride in his show, which was known as the "Buffalo Bill Wild West Show." I played in the first Madison Square Garden, New York, that winter and then went to Earl's Court, London, England, the following spring. In fact, I stayed with Cody until his death, 1917. I rode in many endurance rides through Europe. After the World's Fair in Paris, France, I visited Arabia and rode in a 3,000-mile race, using one of my Indian ponies who also won that race. That pony was spotted cream color and white. He was a stallion whom I named "Hidalgo."

"A Judge's Impression of the Ride"

By Frank Hopkins

(Due to the fame of his 1886 ride, Hopkins was invited to Vermont yearly to serve as judge for the Green Mountain Horse Association's 100-mile Ride. In this report by Hopkins himself, one gets a true sense of the experienced distance-rider he was.)

Frank T. Hopkins (hands in pockets) and Dr. Earl Johnson,
with the later's horses. This photo was taken in Woodstock, Vermont
during the ride described in the following article.
(photo courtesy - Neill Hamilton)

The Green Mountain Horse Associations Sixth Annual One Hundred-Mile Trail Ride was a colorful event this year. It would be hard to find a group of horses in better condition, so few of them showed signs of tiring. All actually finished in good spirit. The weather was cool and without rain during the whole period of the Ride. Taking part in this Ride was a splendid group of horsemen and horsewomen who would class as excellent riders in any horse event.

Some of the trails are quite severe, with many long, steep grades; nevertheless, the footing was good and not a single horse injured the entire one hundred miles. On the second day, three very good horses and riders lost the trail losing two hours or more before they finally straightened out, thus putting them out of the contest.

I observed a spotted gelding on the Ride loping beside fast-walking horses, but he stuck to his gait which is the true gait of the Indian War Pony. This horse showed other signs of having such blood in his veins; for instance, he loped all the way, except when walking. Some horsemen not acquainted with that gait, expected to see this spotted horse out of the Ride the first day and remarked that it was poor horsemanship to ride the horse at that gait. Personally, I feel that it is better horsemanship to ride your horse at his natural gait than to try to force him to a gait that will wear him out in a few hours. It would be well nigh impossible to make that spotted horse trot under the saddle or any other place without actually abusing him. However, that spotted horse came in as fresh every day as he was going out—not even gaunted at the end of the 100 miles and he only lacked three points toward winning first place as the best endurance horse on the Ride!

It is well for us to forget about show horses and the bridle path, for the 100-mile ride does not blend with that little trot in the park before breakfast. On a real long, hard ride, the true loping horse will wear out six good horses who trot under saddle. I realize that this is a very broad statement. But I have seen it proven many times and history repeats itself in that famous, long hard rides have always been won by the loping horse. So, trail riders, don't condemn the true loping horse nor doubt the horsemanship of his rider, for the rider is using good sense when he allows his horse to travel his natural gait.

There were so many fine horses and good riders on all breeds and classes that the judges found it extremely difficult to arrive at their decisions. However, I can assure the riders that every horse and rider had the most careful attention of the judges. The riders were probably not aware that their judges and the recorder were up most of the night discussing and arguing the points of every individual rider and his or her mount, not that these same judges even deprived themselves of viewing and enjoying the fine Morgan Horse Show in order that they might come to the final decision. Even then, the judges were an hour and a half late with their lists, the competition was so close.

There were many large horses, also small ones, who did very well. Noticeable in the small horse group was Number 25 on the program on her little Indian "squaw" pony "Midnight." Although this pony is more than twenty years old and weighed but 790 pounds, she went all the way with the bunch and probably was in as good condition at the end of the Ride as the others.

The Johnson twins made an attractive picture on the Trail. They rode all the way on their spirited mounts and showed remarkable horsemanship in carrying their horses along at an even, open gait.

The stable in Woodstock, with its high posts, is well equipped to care for a large number of horses. The excellent hotels, inns and lodging homes are close by to accommodate the riders and there is not a more convenient nor livelier spot in our country to hold one of these rides. I really believe that anyone who rides on these trails will gain more knowledge of riding than in any other way. Some of the riders were overheard to admit that they would be better acquainted with trail riding next year.

I have been asked to give our riders a few "pointers" such as I have gained through experience during my years in the "leather." Right here, let me say that you can not tell how good your horse is just by looking at him—only covering the trail and lots of it, will condition your horse for a long hard ride. Another thing—do not jump or nerve up your horse in any way while training for a long ride. Be careful about balancing your mount while in the saddle; be sure to have your horse balanced as nearly as possible in his shoes. Often, a rider is unaware that his horse may not be naturally balanced; one horse might step with one forward foot an inch or more farther than the other, or it might be in one hind foot. Some horses travel too fast behind for their forrd feet; it makes an awful lot of difference in his riding if a horse is balanced. If you wish to find out of your horse is properly balanced, take your horse by the halter and trot him over a stretch of soft ground—about fifty feet—then measure the horse's tracks, from the toe of the hind foot to the toes of the forward foot—be sure to measure five or six tracks on each side; if the horse steps a half inch or one inch or more shorter with one forward foot than he does with the other, that foot should carry a little more weight in the shoe. If it is a hind foot, the same method should be followed, i.e., a little more weight put on both forward feet so he will throw them out. Of course, I can not tell you the amount of weight for an individual horse—you will learn that by having a little heavier shoe put on the foot. Keep trying it out until you have him stepping exactly the same length with one foot as he does the other. An unbalanced horse is quite noticeable, for he will have a little more knee action in one leg than in the other. There are some owners who will have a horse for years and not notice this. It will however, make a vast difference in the riding if your horse is perfectly balanced. To keep your horse balanced, it is wise to make a chart showing the weight of the individual shoe for every foot and the size of the nails used, so your horse will be properly shod the next time and save you the trouble of balancing him again. If your horse is balanced when shod, wearing down his shoes will not unbalance him as he will probably wear down his four shoes alike.

Look at the feet often, if there are any signs of thrush, treat at once, for thrush will lead to many foot ailments, even to low heels and dropped soles and pinched hoofs.

Remember, if the tree of the saddle does not fit your horse, he will not go right, no matter how the saddle is padded. Your saddle may fit many horses, but it may pinch the only horse that you choose to ride, or your weight may cause the saddle to bring pressure on the cantle end of the pads. These things are not easily detected on short rides, but you will soon notice them if you ride your horses over rough, hilly trails.

Some saddle-trees are not open enough at the withers for one horse, even though the saddle may fit another horse well. If the rider should come to a long, hard climb for his horse it is likely that the rider will let his mount take the hill slowly, while at the same time he (the rider) flops back in the saddle to rest himself, thus putting all his weight in one spot, digging the cantle into the horse's back—and there you have a sore back for the horse—even though you cannot understand how it came there. It is a sure thing, though, that the soreness came from the rider taking things a little too easy going up hill.

Padding your saddle too light will cause small skin corns. They don't appear sore when you fell of them, but when there are enough of them together, your horse will fret and worry.

Going down hill will sore the horse if the saddle does not fit properly. The English style or flat saddle, is rather hard on the horse's back regardless of how carefully you watch. It is not for long, hard riding. Many riders who have taken up long riding have changed to the moderate stock saddle, even though they could not be persuaded to use one until they learned of the comfort for both rider and horse.

Girth galls or pinches may be avoided by stretching your horse after saddling. This is done by taking the horses toe in the right hand and placing the left hand against his shoulder, pulling forward on the toe, thus pulling the skin wrinkles from under the girth.

Two or three small buckles on the girth will also dig into the horse and cause lumps on either side. It is far better to use cinch straps and do away with buckles entirely. Oh yes, they don't look stylish, but they are comfortable for any horse.

The head gear for your horse may suit you, but does it suit your horse? If not, he will have spells of fighting it. You have seen pulling horses and horses who seemed incurable. Riders, let me tell you there never was a horse who would get behind the bit and pull if that bit was hanging in the stable instead of being in that horse's mouth. I have broken some of the most vicious pullers that ever grabbed a bit and the cure was always effected by taking the bit out of the animal's mouth and gentling him with a choke cord, thereafter riding him with the old time hackamore bridle. No horse will pull without a good reason and in this instance it is the pain caused by the bit that does it, although there is no soreness visible. On the other hand, it may be shallow nerves or flattened bars on the under jaws; broken bars may lie under the skin in a horse's mouth all his life without giving him any trouble, but when coming in contact with the bit, your horse will pull and rave; some horses go stark mad from the sense of pain. Take this tip from an old-timer, riders—put a little LePage's glue on the seat of your pants and stay close to the leather and keep your feet in the stirrups—don't ride on the bit. A fairly loose line makes a happy horse and contented rider. It makes no difference whether your horse is three years old or thirty, hot blood or cold—they all respond to proper gentling if rightly done. I have gentled wild horses twenty years old or more who never had come in contact with a man before, and they took to their training kindly; in fact, I would rather gentle and break a horse who had never been handled than one raised in the stable fondled and patted from birth. During my years of handling all kinds in different parts of the world there is only one horse I recall that I could not gentle and there was a good reason for my failure to do so—the horses brain was diseased.

While in Woodstock, some of the riders asked me for a few "tips" on long riding and I hope they understood me right. I was not talking merely to hear my own voice, but was passing on to those younger riders the benefits of my years of hard-earned experience. I have nothing to lose or gain by it and am always glad to give this experience to those who feel they may derive some profit from it, for my days of polishing saddle seats have about come to a close; but the lump in the throat and flush to the cheek when approaching a group of horsemen in the saddle is always there.

Good Fortune favored me for nine years in getting dispatches through for the Generals on the Western Frontier, likewise throughout the seasons of my active horsemanship with that super showman, Col. W.F. Cody, and in successfully contesting against picked cavalrymen of all nations of the world. Meeting those riders in Vermont put a little more color in the dye. I enjoyed to the utmost being with them if only for a short while, and I hope to meet many new riders in addition to this friendly group in such a splendid Association. I know of no better way of spending a vacation than on the bridle trails in the Green hills of Vermont.

"Training Endurance Horses"

By Frank T. Hopkins

There are things to remember in training an endurance horse. First of all, don't let anyone give you advice - if you are not a horseman enough to know your mount, don't enter a distance race. Remember, all horses cannot be put in condition on the same amount of weighed feed. It is better to forget weighing - watch your horses' condition and feed him accordingly. It's the duty of any good endurance rider to care for his horse himself, also his duty to bring his horse in well cooled and at the end of each day, so the rider don't have to spend time cooling the horse where his mount should be resting. One of the things an endurance horse needs most is - - rest. A horse who requires false courage, such as giving him stimulants of whiskey or anything of the sort is not a fit horse to ride in an endurance race. Stopping a horse for 2 or 3 hours to rest is a very bad thing on a long ride you will find after a rest of any length of time your mount will lag and get weary. If your horse has been well trained and put in condition for such a ride it is duty of the rider to dry his horse out on the last week or few days of the training, so the horse will not crave to much water when he is put to the hard work of the long travel of the race. Don't speak to your horse unless it is necessary or shift about in the saddle, for those subtle things really fret your horse more than anything else. Be sure you have the right agreement before you start to train - that the road you are to cover is marked so every rider must cover every foot of the ground: leave the compass and foolish things at home - they're only extra weight. If the road is marked every mile or two and at the parting of tracks or where roads cross or turn off, then each rider can go along without delay. Bright red paint daubed on trees, stones or fences, makes good marking. If the land is clear of these things, then stick a small stake on the ground and paint the top red. If you don't have this agreement signed, some rider may cut across country and make miles on you. If your horse seems tired at night, get him to rest as soon as possible; don't keep him on his feet, rubbing and fooling with him. I always taught my horses to lie down by the command "lay down". Once they were down they would not get on their feet again but would rest. One more thing I always had signed - that is if I rode in a race and my horse came in first, there was no way of "gyping" me out of the money by claiming my horse was not sound at the time he finished the race or the next day. This thing of a horses' soundness is indeed queer. I've seen horses declared not sound by one veterinary and in just three hours afterwards declared perfectly sound by another vet. There is this question of points in a long ride. Now this is the only point that could exist in any ride that I would sign on and pay my entrance for. Here it is: if I cross the line first, I have won, if not, I have lost, this thing of barring a rider from continuing in the ride because his horse appears tired, is all foolish. If a horse is not in condition to carry his rider, the quirt or spur will not keep the horse going. Your mount will slow up - that is, if he has not the ability to push on. Rider will soon see he is not making any time and he is playing a loser's hand. Rider will give it up and pull out of the race without being told by the judge. I've ridden many an endurance ride and must say my horses were tired at the end of each day - I was tired too. Any man who rides for ten hours will get tired, but with a good night's rest, both man and horse will feel fresh in the morning - that is, if both of them have been put in condition, for the ride. If there were two or three endurance rides held every year, and they'd allow any one to enter with a reasonable entrance fee to make it a worth while purse and have these rides run thru without so much red tape, there'd be a lot of rider's and horsemen interested and a great chance to find out the best type of horse for endurance. Let every entrant train his own horse to suit himself alone the entrant to ride in any style he chose and allow riders to ride any size horse he brings along. The only rules he must live up to are that every rider must ride one horse all the way and that the hours should not be over 10 out of 24. Each rider must ride these 10 hours at the same, for if the day is warm some of the riders may want to ride at night and in order to be fair to the other riders; let e'm all ride at the same time. Here is a tip from an old timer - train your horse away from the other contestants - don't let anyone know you are training; for a race, always be a lone wolf, watch your horse as you train him, it's most likely that the horse you think will win for you will be the first who will go to pieces, but don't let your courage go with him.

Try one in your string who is lazy and sleepy but close to the ground. A horse who has no style or extra action only to put one foot before the other, a horse that will go along all day without worry, it's likely no one likes this type of horse; they'll tell you he's good for nothing but I'll tell you this describes a real endurance horse. There's a little yellow stallion lying beneath the soil of old Fort Laramie, Wyoming who never weighed over 800 lbs - often less, I've seen many rides in many lands and many different classes of horses in these races; I've read of long rides that were within the law and outlaw rides, but that little stallion was the greatest endurance horse that ever lived and I was his proud owner. He was a horse I caught wild in the Shoshone Valley; to me he was like his color - a golden hoss. Horseman then and today would not give $25.00 for him: he was lazy, his back was short without the least rise at the withers. He was very meaty in the hind quarters. He won five hard long rides for me - one across country from Texas to Vermont, the others were not easy rides. Riders don't pick style and action in your endurance horse, choose one who after he is trained can carry you fifty miles every day for two weeks - then you need not fear any of those long - legged narrow built, top heavy horses of today.

If you have been successful in training one endurance horse, don't think you can use the same methods in putting the next horse in condition for the same hard riding for I have not found two horses that can be conditioned in the same way. You'll have to watch and correct the least mistake in time (not wait till too late) and you cannot depend on training one horse twice in the same way. Your horse might harden to his training the first time very easily; a year later you might try to put him in shape for a long ride and find it all different from the previous training, tho the horse may have more ability than before after he has gotten in condition

I've learned that most horses are better on endurance rides after they are seven years old. I recall a horse I raised out of proven endurance stock. When he was five years old I started to put him in shape for a 500 mile ride. Although I began easy with him, the horse could not stand up under the training. I noticed this in less than a week. The horse was turned over to his old rider who rode him nearly every day, cutting cattle. When this horse was 15 years old I heard riders telling how tough the little stallion was, so I took him in hand and soon found he could pound the road from daybreak till dark. I rode him in one of the hardest rides of my career, this horse was as tough as they came, yet he could not stand easy training when he was 5 years old; the same horse won a 250 mile race when he was 20 years old so you can't tell by looking at them what they can do; but if you pick one who hasn't too much daylight under his belly, a horse with a short neck well set back on his shoulders so his head hanging out there at the end of their neck will not tire him too much like it does those long slim - necked horses, then you're coming nearer to a horse who might be a real endurance horse; still, there's only one thing that will prove it, and that is the training. If the horse shows the least signs of weakening, don't fuss with him trying to patch him up by bandaging his tendons and other foolish things, for if the horses' running gear can't carry him the horse is not sound nor fit for that kind of work. You are only putting in your time for nothing. I've seen a lot of that kind of horsemanship but there's really nothing to it.

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