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Ponies are frequently seen grazing on the farms near coal mines. Most of
these rugged little ponies are descendants of pit ponies which were used to haul coal from
mines as early as the 1600s.
When coal was first mined in America, breeds such as the hearty Shetland ponies from northern Scotland were imported in great numbers to work in the mines of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
The Dark Work of the Hard Working Little Mine Ponies
Life in the coal mines has never been easy for either man or beast. But few equines have
received better care and respect than the pit pony. In some larger mines - particularly in
Europe - a pony would be bred, born, and put to work without ever having seen the light of
the sun. Whether this confinement was insensitive or really more humane has been debated
for some time. However, a pony in the mines received excellent care and attention
throughout its working life.
Those who knew Man o' War were enriched by the experience. This was not just another
racehorse. Man o' War was one of 1,680 Thoroughbreds foaled in 1917. He was born on March
29 at the Kentucky Nursery Stud owned by August Belmont II. Man o' War's sire was Fair
Play, by Hastings, both of whom were mean and temperamental, but excellent weight
carriers. To provide balance to Fair Play's temper, Belmont bred him to Mahubah, by Rock
Sand who had won the British Triple Crown.
Her ancestors were even tempered and intelligent. He was named by Mrs. Belmont,
"My Man o' War"-since he was a war baby. Belmont's insight as a breeder
ultimately paid off, if not in money. Belmont was to serve in the Army in 1918, so he
ordered his entire crop of yearlings sold at Saratoga.
At Saratoga, Man o' War was bought by Pennsylvania horseman Samuel Riddle for $5,000.
Riddle reasoned that if the big, chestnut yearling didn't succeed as a race horse, he
could perhaps be trained a show jumper. The horse was shipped to Riddle's training farm,
"Glen Riddle, " in Maryland. Man o' War was trained by Louis Feustel who had
trained Mahubah, Fair Play, and Hastings. Here Man o' War grew to the size and name of
"Big Red."
When he was sent off to his first race at Belmont Park, a retired bay hunter named
Major Treat accompanied him and would continue to travel with Man o' War throughout his
racing career.
On June 6, 1919, ridden by Johnny Loftus, Man o' War won his first race by six lengths,
crossing the finish line at a canter. He showed his desire to be a front runner and never
liked to have any other horse in front of him. Legend has it that upon seeing him in
action, a spectator asked a groom, "Who's he by?" The reply was "He's by
hisself, and there ain't nobody gonna get near him." He ran only in expensive stake
races for the remainder of his career. As his wins built up, so did the weight he was
required to carry. By his fourth race, Man o' War was carrying 130 pounds, a very great
weight for a two-year-old.
His sixth race was the Sanford Memorial and the only defeat of his career. A bad start left him with a ten length deficit, and once he caught the pack he was boxed in. He was beaten by a horse ironically named Upset, whom Man o' War beat on six other occasions. In spite of this lone defeat, at the end of his two-year-old season he was selected Horse of the Year.
Man o' War went undefeated as a three-year-old in 1920, and reduced the American record
for the mile by two-fifths of a second, to 1:35 4/5; and even at that, his jockey - now
Clarence Kummer - had held him back. Later, in the Belmont Stakes, he went 1 3/8 in 2:14
1/4 which stood for 50 years. By the time of the Dwyer Stakes at Aqueduct, Man o' War
could find only one opponent, John P. Grier, a horse from the Whitney Stables. In this
race, Grier challenged Man o' War, and Kummer used his whip for the first time. Man o' War
dashed to victory, and set a new American record at 1:45 1/5.
The crowning event of Man o' War's career came in a match race against the celebrated Canadian horse Sir Barton, the first winner of the Triple Crown. On October 12, 1920, he and Man o' War met in Windsor, Ontario. Man o' War won by seven lengths! In his career "Big Red" won 20 of 21 races.
Watch a segment of Man o' War's famous match race
with Sir Barton.
Note: 3.53 meg. AVI file.
Man o' War's stud career was just as distinguished as his career on the track. At stud on Hinata Stock Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, he sired 13 foals his first season, the most notable of which was American Flag. Riddle did not allow Man o' War to breed many mares besides his own. Although he became history's leading sire in terms of his off-spring's winnings, his stud career might have been even greater had he been bred to better mares. Among Man o' War's most important get were Triple Crown winner War Admiral, Crusader, Blockade, War Hero, War Relic, Clyde Van Deusen, and Battleship. In all, he sired 379 foals who won 1,286 races.
Under the close care of his eloquent groom, Will Harbut, "Big Red" was a national landmark, and thousands visited him each year at Riddle's Faraway Farm. In 1947, Will Harbut died of a heart attack, and barely a month after he was followed by "the mostest horse," also victim of a heart attack at the age of 30. Man o War's burial was a moment of national mourning.
His funeral was broadcast over radio and covered by the press all over the world. Samuel Riddle had commissioned Herbert Hazeltine to sculpt a memorial statue of Big Red while he lived, to be placed on his grave. In 1977 Man o' War and his famous statue were brought to the Kentucky Horse Park. Here at the end of the entrance drive, he continues to greet horse fans from all over the world.
One Saddle Horse which became a legend in his own time was the great Wing
Commander. Foaled in 1943, Wing Commander was by Anacacho Shamrock and out of Flirtation
Walk. He was a model of everything a Saddle Horse should be. He was bred and owned by
Dodge Stables (at Castleton Farm, only a mile from the Kentucky Horse Park).
Wing Commander was trained and shown by Earl Teater, one of the outstanding
trainer-riders in the Saddle Horse world. In 1946, he was first entered in competition as
a five-gaited stallion and began a career of consistent victories over the finest Saddle
Horses in the country. At the Kentucky State Fair in 1948, Wing Commander won the
Five-gaited World's Grand Championship, and continued to win this championship every year
until he was ten years old in 1953. Retired to stud at Castleton Farm, Wing Commander
earned a reputation as a prepotent sire of champion Saddle Horses.
When the German Panzer divisions crossed the Polish border in 1939, they
confronted an adversary which symbolized the end of the mounted soldier - or so they
thought. Pathetically, the Polish Cavalry attempted to stall the invasion by charging the
German tanks on horseback. To say the least, the valiant Poles were quickly overrun. Four
years later the cavalry had a final say. In the cold winter of 1943, on the steppes of the
Ukraine, the German tanks were literally frozen in their tracks. Cossacks descended on the
tanks, mounted on ponies which were descendants of the horses of the ancient Scythians,
the first masters of cavalry.
The Cossacks swept over the frozen plain firing machine guns and throwing grenades into
the German forces with deadly effect. The Cossacks fled on their swift horses before the
astonished Germans had time to react.
Next Exhibit - The Horse in Sport