Maryland’s Horse: The Iconic Thoroughbred Does it still have a place in the modern Maryland equestrian world?
For over 300 years, the phrase “the Maryland
Horse” has been synonymous with T orough- bred. No need to qualify “the Maryland horse” as a T oroughbred, as that would be redundant. Hence why our T oroughbred breeding organi- zation is named “T e Maryland Horse Breed- ers Association,” and why––until about 15 years ago––the magazine owned by MHBA was called T e Maryland Horse (today the magazine has evolved into Mid-Atlantic T oroughbred, re- fl ecting changing times and assumptions).
Trailblazers Kentucky may have more T oroughbreds, and
Virginia may have more money, but Maryland has the history, the pedigrees, the creativity and the chutzpah. Maryland has always been a na- tional pioneer in innovative T oroughbred pro- grams, while the other states play catch-up. T is is only natural, as Maryland formed the
fi rst sporting organization in the colonies, the Maryland Jockey Club, in 1743. Also in 1743, Maryland hosted the fi rst orga-
nized race, the Annapolis Subscription Plate. Governor Benjamin Ogle established the
fi rst T oroughbred breeding farm, Belair Stud, in 1747. Fast-forward through 220 years of T orough-
bred history, and Maryland was still blazing trails in the T oroughbred world. In 1962, the Maryland General Assembly
created the nation’s fi rst “bred fund.” T e value of Maryland-breds immediately skyrocketed, as did stud fees; other states immediately fol- lowed suit, creating their own bred funds. T e Maryland Million, Ltd., established in
1986, was the fi rst one-day stakes program re- warding progeny of nominated stallions stand- ing in Maryland. Imitators quickly followed. By 2003, the Maryland General Assembly had anointed the T oroughbred as the “offi cial state horse.”
Olympic Medals Yes, the Maryland T oroughbred was bred to
run fast. But after racing, Maryland T orough- breds became foxhunters, steeplechasers, show hunters, eventers and trail horses. T ey became schooling horses and Olympic medalists. If you are over the age of 40 and grew up in
Maryland, chances are that the fi rst horse you rode as a kid was a T oroughbred—even if you were not from one of Maryland’s fabled “old T oroughbred families.” T e T oroughbred not only defi ned Maryland and racing, but also defi ned our nation’s nonrac- ing sports. T e standards for show hunters were originally based on the way an ideal T orough- bred would carry himself and move—not the way a pony or a draft cross would move. Phase
28 | THE EQUIERY | AUGUST 2012
two of the original T ree-Day Event, which included not just cross-country but the now absent roads & tracks, was all based on how T oroughbreds ran, jumped and recovered. Even in American dressage, the T oroughbred had a role. T e popularity of dressage surged in the U.S. in the 1970s, and at its center was the T oroughbred Keen, who earned fi ve USDF FEI* level titles, gold and silver medals at two Pan Am Games, a team bronze in the 1976 Olympics, and was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. But running and jumping
was really where the T or- oughbred excelled. It used to go without saying that the major U.S. Olympic and international eventing horses were T oroughbreds. Given that fact and given that Maryland produced some of the best T orough- breds in the world, it fol- lows that Maryland-breds would be included in this luminous roster, Maryland-breds such as the great JJ Babu (winning team gold at the 1984 Olympics with Bruce Davidson) and Mr. Wis- ter, ridden to Olympic team silver in 1964 by Maryland-based Lana DuPont Wright (fi rst female to ride in the Olympic T ree-Day). It is likewise no surprise to fi nd that T or-
No longer does the T oroughbred reign su-
preme. Day two of the T ree-Day no longer favors the T oroughbred: roads and tracks has been eliminated and the cross-country has be- come “more technical,” which is a polite way of saying speed, grace, courage and riding off your gut are no longer the primary talents needed to excel.
Olympic rider,
Just like today’s to-
day’s weekend war- rior favors the less complicated cross- bred or warmblood. Today’s adult ama- teur will often inten- tionally steer away from
T orough-
breds: “anything but a T oroughbred!” T ey may relent a bit,
qualifying that
Ridden by Jennifer Small at the 1987 WIHS, the Maryland bred mare Touch of Class won the Love Trophy also won two Olympic gold medals with Joe Fargis.
as “nothing that has ever raced.” T is preference for the crossbred and warm- blood is refl ected
even in the modern show hunter ring and the preferences of contemporary judges.
Sliding into Ignominy Over the last 300 years, the goal and focus of
oughbreds had at one time dominated show jumping. According to a 2011 pedigree analysis by
sport-horse-breeder.com, of the 20 inductees in the show jumpers Hall of Fame, 18 are T or- oughbreds. And guess which breed of horse holds the puissance record at the Washington International Horse Show? A T oroughbred, of course! T e 17.1-hand “racetrack reject” Sweet ’n’ Low, with his rider Tony d’Ambrosio, crested the big wall at 7’ 7.5” in 1983, a record that stands to this day. Who can forget the little Maryland-bred
T oroughbred mare, Touch of Class (Jockey Club name Stillaspill), capturing two Olympic Golds in show jumping in the 1984 Olympics? (1984 was a good year for Maryland-breds at the Olympics!) She was the fourth horse in history to win two show-jumping gold medals (the fi rst since 1956), and she became the fi rst nonhuman U.S. Olympic Committee Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year
Where have all the good ones gone? On July 9, our U.S. equestrian teams for the 2012
Olympic Games in London were announced. T ere are no T oroughbreds on our roster.
T oroughbred racing have changed dramatical- ly. Once a gentleman’s sport, pursued for honor and bragging rights, with horses bred for func- tion, then form, the modern sport of racing is chasing a ever-decreasing betting dollar that is increasingly split among other gambling inter- ests. T e goal with the modern T oroughbred is to win as many races as possible, as quickly as possible, when the horse is as young as pos- sible, and then be fl ipped to the breeding shed in order to make even more money. Inevitably, this aff ects the breed. T e sport horse and pleasure rider, leery about the legendary “hotness” of the T oroughbred but also the possibility of costly lifetime sound- ness issues, have increasingly refused to look at a T oroughbred unless it was guaranteed to have never raced. “Off -the-track T orough- bred” (OTTB) teetered on becoming a dirty word, and the post-race market for track horses slid even further, leading to even more unwant- ed T oroughbreds. T is, in turn, has led to a public relations
nightmare for the T oroughbred breeding and racing industry, as animal rights activists glommed onto and sensationalized random (and presumably isolated) cases of former rac-
continued... 800-244-9580 |
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Al Cook
852027-120812
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