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MISS ELIZABETH D AINGERFIELD S WAYS. By Christopher J. Fitz Gerald. Lexington, Ky., October 23. No visitor to the blue grass" country, of which this .city is the center, wonld call his trio complete without having seen and Chatted with Miss Elizabeth Daingerfield. the remarkably clever young wohiau who manages the Kingston Stud of Messrs. McKinney and Corrigan of : Cleveland with marked ability and still finds time to contribute reviews of books aud essays on topics i of interest to the leading newspapers of the state. Kingston comprises 700 acres of rolling blue grass pastures and spacious paddocks on the Russell Cave pike, three miles from Lexington. There are six : sires, sixty broodmares and more coining, twenty-six yearlings and twenty-eight weanlings, as this years foals are termed, and these, together with the men and women necessary to run such an establishment, are under the care of Miss Daingerfield, who is the last word in efficiency. She knows the Stud Book as the Mohammedan knows his Koran, and can tell you .the pedigree of every animal on the farm to the fountainhead. Her right hand is her sister Jay, who is everybodys friend, and whose appearance is always a rallying signal for the clans, whether broodmares, yearlings or foals, which come racing the moment she makes her appearance in the pastures. Miss Daingerfield was the -hief aid of her father, the late Mnj. F. .. Daingerfield, during the period when that noted horseman was in charge of Castle-ton for James It. Kecne, and it was under her eye that the famous Commando family was brought to its nigl.cst state of perfection. She l as in the light of achievement made a secure and unique place for herself in the history of horse breeding in this country, if not in the world, and horse lovers everywhere will be interested in the theories which were responsible for the xroduction of a tribe of horses whose winnings ran well up to the million-dollar mark. "I iried always," said Miss Daingerfield, standing ankle deep in blue grass, surrounded by a group of mares and foals, eacli eager to touch some portion of her dress or person with their eager and friendly muzzles, "to follow along the lines laid down by my father. Sometimes I am afraid when I havent him to turn to for counsel and aid. My idea is to find the blood and individuality you want and then intensify. Ultiunis represented the an-jx of endeavor on the part of my father," she continued, as she stroked the broad forehead of a lovely matron with a colt at iter foot, "and he is an illustration of what I mean. You know lie is by Commando, a son of Domino, and out of Running Stream, a daughter of Domino. My ideal sire must have speed and courage. He mustnt be too big 15 hands at tlr, most. He mut be muscular. You have seon Ultimus. Ho is my type to perfection. I am a firm believer in inbreeding, but caie must be taken to avoid weaknesses. Taking nothing for granted, I must have proof for myself. "With an inbred sire." resumed Miss Daingerfield, "the greatest care must be taken in selecting mares. AVe were in good shape in this respect when the fire destroyed so many at Castleton and then came Mr. Keenes death and the disposal sale. We have had to begin all over again. This crop of weanlings you see is the first that is comparable to what we once produced. Mr. McKinney wants quality rather than quantity." Asked what type of mare she preferred. Miss Daingerfield said: "Those with the blood of Am-phion, Galopiu and Hampton. I would prefer mares that had not raced much, and my choice would be the untrained sister of a great performer. Mares which have been raced for long periods should have at least two years of recreation before being bred. Every mare should possess speed of a high order." In reply to a further query as to whether she favored the racing of two-year-olds, Miss Daingerfield said: "I am not in favor of racing any two-year-olds prior to July 1, and then only the smaller ones that mature quickly. Many of our best youngsters are broken down by trials before their bones and muscles are set. AVe might as well expect factory and sweat shop children to grow into sound and healthy specimens of the human family. Yearlings and two-year-olds should get their educational work in galloping on grass, and we are now rolling an oval on one of our pastures, over which we shall break our youngsters this year. AVe have the yearlings nicely under way now. They stand in line and spring away at the word of command. The turf is springy, and Ave shall keep them off the unyielding dirt as long as possible. "Our system of racing is not well ballanced, went on the self-reliant young woman. "Too much money is offered for two-year-olds, not enough for three and four-year-olds. Properly trained, our horses should stay as well as any in the world. It will be a happy day for the turf when the sprinting trainer is no more." The quality of the pasturage at Kingston being commented upon, Miss Daingerfield was moved to remark: "Its not as good as usual because of the long drought. We try to give our pastures a rest from the horses by turning iu the cattle, of which we have quite a number. We spread lime and muck, too, and have reason to congratulate ourselves on the results obtained."
