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    Kentucky's Saddlebred Heritage
    Kentucky's Saddlebred Heritage
    Kentucky's Saddlebred Heritage
    Ebook172 pages1 hour

    Kentucky's Saddlebred Heritage

    By James Kemper Millard

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    About this ebook

    Long associated with fine Thoroughbred horses, Kentucky's Bluegrass region is also home to America's oldest indigenous breed: the American Saddlebred horse.


    A composite of several breeds, the Saddlebred was developed by 18th century colonists who sought a good looking, sensible, adaptable, and comfortable animal to ride and drive. These traits made it the mainstay of the Confederate cavalry during the Civil War and the choice mount of many generals on both sides. As the Industrial Revolution replaced the need for working horsepower, the Saddlebred evolved naturally into recreational activities. Affectionately known as "peacock of the show ring," the Saddlebred's beauty, expression, and athleticism epitomize the essence of a show horse. In many ways, the breed's history parallels that of America and unfolds in pictures in Kentucky's Saddlebred Heritage.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateJun 20, 2007
    ISBN9781439617755
    Kentucky's Saddlebred Heritage
    Author

    James Kemper Millard

    James Kemper Millard and his wife, Madelyn, own and breed Saddlebreds on their Lexington, Kentucky, farm. Falling in love with the breed when daughter Caroline began riding (eventually becoming a national champion), Millard's interest formed the foundation for this volume in the Images of America series. Special thanks go to Kim Skipton, curator, and Tolley Graves, director, of the American Saddlebred Museum in Lexington, Kentucky.

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      Book preview

      Kentucky's Saddlebred Heritage - James Kemper Millard

      are.

      INTRODUCTION

      Known the world over as the Horse Capital of the World, Lexington, Kentucky, and the surrounding Blue Grass Region is the historical breeding and training ground for equine finestock. The first white settlers of the area, originally settled as part of Virginia, brought their passion for horses with them to the new frontier. Among the earliest explorers were the McConnell brothers, William and Francis. As their party camped alongside a bubbling spring in early June 1775, word came of the Colonial victory over the British at Lexington, Massachusetts. The brothers vowed to name their new settlement in honor of that victory.

      That bubbling spring, however, was the harbinger of the newly founded settlement’s eventual reputation. The limestone topography pocked by springs and sinkholes that define the Blue Grass Region gave rise to the horse farms and related activities for which it is renowned worldwide. The underlying limestone karst infuses the water and grass with calcium that ensures horses bred and raised in the region develop strong bones and stamina. (Humans benefit, too. The area has one of the lowest rates for osteoporosis.)

      Although Thoroughbred horses tend to capture the general public’s imagination, especially around the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup, it’s the Saddlebred that is America’s own breed (the Thoroughbred was imported from Europe). Bloodlines that included the Thoroughbred and Morgan, as well as the Narragansett Pacer (now extinct), the Irish Hobby and Scottish Galloway of the 1600s, and the Norfolk Pacer, came together one glorious spring day in 1851 when a foal by Denmark F. S. out of a mare simply known as the Stevenson mare dropped—and a breed was born.

      The term saddler predates the breed and was used generally to refer to any horse that had a comfortable gait and was easy to ride. As the Central Kentucky area became renowned for fine horseflesh, precursors of the developing breed soon became known as the Kentucky Saddler. Many Lexington breeders and trainers became intensely involved in bloodlines, including local farm owner and Speaker of the House Henry Clay and trainer Denton Offutt (earlier owner of the general store in New Salem, Indiana, where Abraham Lincoln earned the nickname Honest Abe), a friend of Clay’s. One of the first horse shows of record was held near Lexington, Kentucky, in 1816, and Saddlers were prominent entrants.

      In a day and age when horses were the most reliable transportation and were available to just about everyone, a well-trained horse that was easy to ride was an essential. As what would become known as the American Saddlebred finally emerged in the mid-1850s, the animal featured three natural gaits (walk, trot, and canter) and could be trained to two additional gaits (slow gait and rack).

      It’s been said that the first horse race took place when the first two riders met. So it’s just a natural evolution that a horse bred and trained for basic transportation would also take on a competitive edge. Think of the three-gaited Saddler as the family car, dependable and easy to maintain, but nothing you’d see at NASCAR. Soup it up to five gaits, however, and you have the 19th century’s equivalent of a modified racecar.

      Generally a Saddlebred is noted for specific features. A relatively small head above a muscular and sweeping neck is a hallmark. Both the forelegs and hindquarters are extremely strong and wide set. A short back, compact body, and broad chest add to the qualities ensuring a smooth ride. But many feel it’s the expressive eyes and erect ears that signal the animal’s intelligence and willingness to train and perform.

      Timing is everything, and just as the breed was developing through crossbreeding to strengthen the bloodline, the nation descended into sectionalism and war.

      As when iron, carbon, and other elements are combined under extreme heat to forge steel, so too did the demands of military conflict form the crucible that would elevate the Saddlebred to war horse fame. As the Belgian was to knights of old, the Saddlebred became the cavalry officer’s mount of choice: Robert E. Lee’s Traveller, U. S. Grant’s Cincinnati, Stonewall Jackson’s Little Sorrel. It’s hard to find a breed other than the Saddlebred leading the charge or escaping capture. Early on, because Confederate officers generally brought their own horse, whereas Union cavalry mounts were provided by the Quartermaster Corps, the South had a decided advantage. The conflict wore on. The North captured more and more Southern horses. The South’s advantage slipped away. In 1864 alone, the Union army bought or captured nearly 210,000 horses.

      The devotion of the cavalry rider to his mount took on almost mythic proportions. Lee’s Traveller was just about the only horse he would ride, the same for Jackson’s Little Sorrel (originally purchased for his wife). Grant had only two mounts. When capture was imminent for Lexington’s own Gen. John Hunt Morgan (Thunderbolt of the Confederacy), rather than destroy his beloved Saddler Black Bess to prevent his mare’s capture, he turned her loose. Legend has it Morgan could hear her calling for him as the Union forces took him prisoner.

      Following the war, the Saddlebred settled into domestic life with a solid reputation. Children were ferried to and from school on a reliable

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