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I" " Most Ardent Rooter For Native Dancer Exercise Rider Everson Can Boast More Flying Time on Gray Champion Than Guerin By TIM MORIARTY United Press Sports Writer NEW YORK, N: Y., June 2. While the racing career of Native Dancer hangs in the balance, there is one anxious man rooting harder for the big gray horse than any of his other handlers at barn No. 20 at Belmont Park. He is Bernie Everson, an ex-jockey and Army infantryman, who has served as The I Dancers exercise boy since the nations famous thoroughbred launched his fabulous career in 1952 I Everson has logged more flying time on Native Dancer than Eric Guerin, the contract rider for Alfred G. Vanderbilts Stable, and as a result is more acquainted with the whims and foibles of the big gray colt, who currently is sidelined with a sore right foreleg. According to Everson, The Dancer may be all business when hes on the racetrack, but back in the barn hes like a big kid who doesnt know his own strength. "Hes already thrown me so many times, Ive stopped counting," the thin-faced exercise boy revealed as he sat on a bench opposite Vanderbilts neat barn at Belmont Park. mean streak in Native Dancer, Everson replied: - Just Likes to Play "Heck, no, he just likes to play. But hes so darn strong that he keeps us all on edge, because you never know when he might get away from -you and- take off." Even during the frequent sight-seeing trips around the stable area, Native Dancer stands apart from other horses, Everson claimed. "When most horses run off," Bernie said, "they charge wildly about and sometimes hurt themselves. But not the gray horse. He always seems to have some place to go. "For instance, sometimes hell run up to another horse and nuzzle him kind of friendly like. Other times, hell stop long enough to stare at some stablehand and youd almost think he was laughing at you." Everson is 34 years old and a native of Laurel, Md. He rode on tracks in New England and Maryland from 1938 to 1941, when he went into the Army and served in combat with the 88th Division in the Italian campaign. Following his return to civilian life in 1946, Bernie, who still only weighs 116 pounds, gave up his jockey car,eer and hooked on with the Vanderbilt stable. Hes been with the successful New York outfit ever since. When Native Dancer first came to the race track, he impressed Bernie with his marked intelligence. "You knew he was going to be a great horse right from the start," Everson declared. "He caught on quickly when we were schooling him in the starting gate and on the training track. In fact, hes always acted like a veteran." Everson said The Dancer is a hard horse to work out because of his deceiving speed. "When you ask him for a little extra," he said, "The Dancer doesnt seem to increase his speed but just reaches out with a longer stride." "I guess thats what makes him a great horse," added Everson proudly. NATIVE DANCER with exercise rider, Bernie Everson, up.
