Source of Thoroughbreds: First English Breeding for Speed Began in the Eleventh Century by Normans, Daily Racing Form, 1921-08-07

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. I I I i ; 1 i SOURCE OF THOROUGHBREDS First English Breeding for Speed Began in the Eleventh Century by Normans. The breed of nice horses i descended from stallions Ixiught from the Medes. Persians and Arabians, which they give mares to suit in size, strength aiid wind; in all which we have excelled all other countries. Roger de Relesme, created Earl of Salisbury by William the Conqueror 1070, is the first upon record that introduced a. Spanish stallion into his seat at Powis-Land, from which that part of Wales was celebrated for a swift and generous breed of horses. Geraldus Cambrensis, who lived in the reign of Henry II. 1135, takes notice of it, and Michael Drayton, contemporary with Shakes pears 03S"5 sinfs tblr ?xctltec? ft Hie -xU part of bis Tulyolljlon." This breed was dest ijicil to mount the nobility and knights for feats of activity in the contests in the tilt-yard. From these sprung", to speak the language of the times, the flower of coursers, whose excellent form added charms to the rider, and whose activity and inan-:ied dexterity gained him the palm in the field of romantic honor. Afterward the gentlemen began, among other feats of sporting, to try the floetness of their horses against one another, but rddc themselves, without measuring the horses, or weighing the burdens they were to carry: other methods being found out afterward by experience to be necessary in fair matches. That this was the chief object in cultivating the mixed breeds seems to be probable till .lames the Firsts reign l.SO. when we find horse races at Croydon iu the south and at flatherly Co , a little north of Richmond in Yorkshire, which wen; then famous for horse courses; but how long they had been so before we are not informed, .lam-s Mnrkliam in ir,0, on the management of horses, mentions running horses, but these were only designed for matches In-twet-u one gentleman and another at that time. Yet this diversion being so much esteemed subscriptions were at last made toward purchasing a piece of plate, or making a purse, as a prize to the winning horse. Thus gentlemen went on breeding their horse;M ko fine for the sake of shape and speed only without considering thai those animals being only second, third or fourth rales in speed were then quite useless, until the reign of Queen Anne 1000, when a public-spirited gent lem.-in, observing this inconvenience, left thirteen plates, or purses, to be run for at such places as the crown should appoint, whence they are called the Kings or Queens llate or Cuincas, upon condition that each horse, mare or gelding should carry 10S pounds weight, the best of three heats over a four-mile course. By this method a strong and more useful breed were soon raised, and if the horse did not win the iuiueas he was yet strong enough to make a gxid hunter. By tlmse crossings, as the jockeys term it, we have horses of full blood, three-quarters blood or half-bred cattle, suitable to carry any burden, by which means the English breed of horses are allowed to be the best, and are greatly esteemed by foreigners.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1920s/drf1921080701/drf1921080701_8_3
Local Identifier: drf1921080701_8_3
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800