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AN EXPERT IN STEEPLECHASING. Mr. Hitchcock Lauds the Thoroughbred for Greatest Usefulness in All Lines of Endeavor. New York, October 7. No man in America has developed more high-class steeplechasers and thoroughbred hunters than Thomas Hitchcock, and what this finished horseman has to say about the crosscountry or show-ring performer will be read with interest, as he is recognized as an authority in every country where the horse of quality is known. Mr. Hitchcock had just come to town after winning numerous championships at Piping Rock and Mineola, and he was. enthusiastic over the showing made by Jolly Dixon, Cavalier and other members of his stable at those places. "There is no horse in the world that is comparable to the thoroughbred as a hunter, or as a matter of fact for almost any purpose," said Mr. Hitchock, when seen at the offices of the Jockey Club. "You find men decrying him as being too hot to give satisfaction when put to any other task than racing. There never was a greater mistake. People who talk in that fashion have never had anything to do with the higher type of thoroughbred, and their experience has come from contact with culls which have been discarded because of their shortcomings. "As a matter of fact," continued Mr. Hitchcock, "the thoroughbred is not as hot as the half-bred if the same animals are subjected to equal tasks. Put a half-bred horse in training and ask as much of him as you do of the thoroughbred and the result will be surprising. The half-bred would not stand the acid test of racing and come through with a, perfect disposition. The thoroughbred has been bred for 150 years and the culls during all that time have been eliminated. I have had twenty-five years experience with thoroughbreds, and during that period 1 have experimented with them widely. My twelve -year-old son has ridden them in the hunting field on Long Island, and another of my children, only six years of age, has ridden them in the show ring. They are more easily broken to harness than any other horse in the world, and illustrating this, let me tell you of something I saw S. T. Harbison do at Lexington when the thoroughbred market was at its lowest some years ago. lie bought a lot of young stallions, mares and gelding from one to three years of age, and turned them all into a big paddock. They agreed famously, audi it wasnt three weeks till those that were old enough were broken to harness and some being sold all over the country. "The half-bred is fine, too, continued Mr. Hitchcock, "and we have to bring in the grade in order to secure an average size just as in Ireland they went to the cart horse to secure a bigger hunter type, but by and large, the thoroughbred when he is big enough, meets every requirement. Jolly Dixon, by Sir Dixon out of Merry Maiden, winner of the heavyweight championship at Piping Rock, is 10.2 hands and weighs 1,400 pounds. He has stood up under ten years hard service. Cavalier, by Stalwart, out of a Potomac dam. weighs 1,200, while another good thoroughbred hunter in my string is Coiiniston, by Yankee, out of La Sorella. that tips the scales at 1,300 iounds. Surely those are big enough for any purpose, and besides their bulk the have the quality we all admire. "The breeding bureau of the Jockey Club," resumed Mr. Hitchcock, "is doing splendid service in standing thoroughbred sires in various parts of tills state. They are really doing the work of the federal government on what foreign countries are doing in order that they may have a sufficient number of horses of the cavalry remount type. The greatest menace which I see to horse breeding in the United States is the growing scarcity of the light mares which nick so well with the thoroughbred sire. During a recent visit to Wyoming I found breeders raising the heavy draught type. There was a market for the smooth young mares unbroken at two and three years of age, at good prices, and they bred them in preference to anything else. "The trotting mare is an ideal mate for the thoroughbred sire," went on Mr. Hitchcock. "Her qualities have been developed by racing also, and those communities which have any number of dams of this type should conserve them. It is only a question of time till the authorities at Washington realize that we needs these mares. France, Germany and Russia have them, and trotting contests are a feature of race meetings everywhere on the Continent. "Thoroughbred blood," said Mr. Hitchcock in conclusion, "has played its part everywhere in the horse world, and it lias benefited all other strains. From whence does the trotter derive his sterling qualities? Is it from Messenger or Bcllfouuder? Racing everywhere should be encouraged. The more racing we have the more of this coveted blood we are going to have to infuse into other families, and in the end we should produce horses second to none in the world."
