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BETWEEN RACES By Oscar Otis l lKirkland Kirkland Adds to Turf Interests InterestsDeveloping Interestst t Developing Virginia Rest Farm Good Example of Made Reinsman t Stroubes Temporary Retirement RetirementGARDEN GARDEN STATE PARK Camden N J May 18 Arnold Kirkland is expanding his turf interests Rather brilliant in the saddle the last several seasons he is continuing bright in another way by de ¬ veloping 100 acres of rolling land near his ancestral home in Vir ¬ ginia into a thorough ¬ bred rest farm The acreage isnt open to equine customers as yet but it probably will be by winter or within another year Kirkland is in no hurry to rush the venture He wants the place right before the gates are opened for paying guests The historic property is located midway between Charlottesville and Richmond at a spot called Louisa The place is paying some expenses now by virtue of a roadside inn operated by Kirklands parents But a lot of his earnings in the last few seasons have been poured into the land to develop it into a show place horse farm The Kirkfand barn is something out of the ordinary and they say that farmers from miles around come to take a look at it An engineer friend designed it on a structural principle that the more weight Hay grain etc stored in the loft the firmer the walls held together togetherA A A A AKirkland Kirkland is building with good judgment When he didnt know the answer to cer ¬ tain problems such as the best seed mix ¬ ture for that part of the country he sought the advice of government soil experts and took their hints His permanent pasture planting program is well along The 100 acres has three streams and the paddocks are of about 15 acres each To avoid the fire hazard the barn is covered with as ¬ bestos shingles Kirkland says frankly he doesnt know whether the place will make any money He has spent considerably more than average on the place His fences are of Walnut planed from trees on his own land The posts however are of cedar His next step will be to obtain the services of a practical horseman to operate the place placeA A A A AIt It might surprise you to know that Kirk ¬ land has some rather positive opinions about the riding profession He looks upon it a little differently than most riders and insists that it offers the greatest income with the least education of any pursuit in America A good rider must have intelli ¬ gence of course but that intelligence need not be of the school and bookish variety It is appalling how many boys with ability throw away their chances observes Kirk ¬ land Even if a fellow never went to school he has a good chance to go places earn good pay and meet the finest people in America Most well paid jobs these days require a college education And as the writer has observed in other cases one does not have to be saddle born to make a good rider Kirkland himself is another example of a made rider He was serving as a printers apprentice in a Baltimore shop when a friend of his fathers talked him into trying his luck on a race course Be ¬ ing young 17 he decided to take the chance He had never been on a horse much less ridden one It didnt take him too long to make good albeit he rode about 50 horses before hitting the winners circle Kirkland is a great believer in diet and is on one steadily that keeps his weight at a normal 110 pounds He never has to re ¬ sort to a sweat box which has all but replaced the road work of former years for weight reducing reducingA A A A AW W C Stroube the Corsicana Texas sportsman is going to apply to himself the same treatment he has given his horses as he explains it by temporarily retiring from the turf on a major scale and following the routine of the horses They always are in the best place for the best climate he says and Im going to vacation along those lines myself for a spell Stroube re ¬ veals that he has sold all of his mares to W L Davidson of Ontario Calif who is starting as a breeder with a new bit of equine acreage in the famed Riverside County thoroughbred country His stud Sirasia whose produce brought top prices at the last open auction sale of the Cali ¬ fornia Thoroughbred Breeders Association has been transferred to California to Da ¬ vidson on lease Stroube has kept one mare for himself for reasons of sentiment The Texan has purchased a home in California and intends to spend more time out that way during the Hollywood Park and Santa Anita racing seasons
