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HORSE PHOTOGRAPHY AN AR Two English Experts Excel in Work Climate an Advantage BY SALVATOR SALVATORThere There are two great horse camera masters i England W A Kouch and Clarence Hurley HurleyIf If I were lit liberty to gratify one of my wishes I would be the possessor of a complete set of the Koucli photos which to me are the finest in exist once Extended experience and unequaled oppor ¬ tunities coupled with equal ability have combined to produce in Rouch what we might almost term the ideal equine photographer He is an adopt at not only posing a horse but in judging those so tricky factors light and time with such skill that the results he obtains often appear to me little short of miraculous Rut in comparing his work with that of C Cook or other American photographers it must always ho remembered that he has a distinct atmospheric advantago over them themContrary Contrary to the usual idea the best photographs of horses are not made in the glaring sunlight lint under conditions of softer more diffused light re ¬ sembling that which a portrait photographer obtains by means of screens curtain etc in his studio Tims intensely deep black shadows are avoided the values photographically are if less striking more natural and in particular the various planes and surfaces in the conformation and contour of the animal more truly rendered In England the rays of the sun are less brilliant as a general rule than here the light more diffused hence the more exquisite effects there so often obtained obtainedRecently Recently in the New York edition of Daily Racing Form there was reproduced an oldtime photograph taken half a century ago of the mighty Longfellow with Bobby Swim up and old John Harper frail and tottering standing at his idols head It was from a photo by Pach and depicts the on of Leamington and Nantura as he appeared in the days of his rivalry with Harry Bassett I have one dating nearly fifteen years later which represents the stud Sultan as lie appeared after years of service the fruits of which wore itnny sous and daughters of high rac ¬ ing prowess The differences between the two photos are striking strikingAnother Another plioto in my collection taken at the same time and in the same spot at Frank Har ¬ pers Nantura Stud shows Ten Rrocck at a similar period in his career and shortly before his untimely taking off Longfellow is the more massive of the two Ten Broeck the more racinglike even in stud condition his outline is inevitably suggestive of speed Theso portraits were mado by Mullen of Lexington in former years by far the best horso photographer of that era and later I have Fellowcraft Gleiielg Himyar Lisbon King Ban Falsetto Harry OFallon King Alfonso and Prince Charlie while lastly there is a very beautiful one of Hanover who in type as he was in greatness looks every inch the horse he was wasOf Of all these celebrated sires it is Himyar whose blood has bred on most successfully and is today the most potent Curiously enough he looks the least thoroughbred of the whole lot being in appearance more of the trotting than the thorough ¬ bred type His body is long his legs comparatively short the hind leg having a decided angle at the hock while his front ankles show plainly the ef ¬ fects of his campaigns His head is not particu ¬ larly refined his throatlatch not so clean as it might be There is a rather cutunder and tiedin effect in the foreleg just below the knee The title and second thigh are of such shape as almost to suggest benchleggedness behind In othei words Himyar is the opposite of the modern racing type in several conspicuous respects A contempo ¬ rary descprition of Himyar states his defect of con ¬ formation to be rather short back ribs which make his flank look light And this the portrait discloses disclosesFrom From the standpoint of conformation Himyar would today be voted distinctly below par Yet lie was the spued marvel of his era the fastest miler ever seen in America up to that time and able also to win at two miles in 335 then a brilliant per ¬ formance The only native blood Himyar carried was that derived through his dam Hira by Lexing ¬ ton Hegira by Ambassador next dam Flight by Leviathan All three of these marcs were famous race mares before being put to the stud and many no figure crosses are shown in their ancestries Himyar was fur from being the bestbred American stallion of his day on a pursang basis He was far from being the best shaped Nor did he for years have the best stud opportunities Yet his blood lias carried on amazingly His son Domino and grandson Commando had they lived out the siiaus ordinal ily ullnted their genius would in all probability today occupy places unrivaled among latter day American progenitors they do in a way sis it Is Who can answer these enigmas of breeding which upset all formulas and play havoc with theories and precepts save only that one which bids us brood to the winner winnerReturning Returning in closing to the photographic theme since his arrival in Kentucky to enter this stud some interesting and successful photos have been made of Man o War by McClure of Lexington and others They reveal him like Ilimyar to be by no means Mho glass of fashion and the mold of form But he is the first and only horse pro ¬ duced in America which has beeir able to surpass Himyurs son Domino as a moneywinner and this he docs only by virtue of his semicircus perform ¬ ance at Windsor the like of which never figured in Dominos career
