Remembering... Kingdon Gould, Jr.
by Katherine O. Rizzo
In a time when such horses as Mountain Dew and Jay Trump were running and jumping over Maryland’s biggest timber fences, a small bay horse and a businessman joined forces to chal- lenge the racing tycoons and create their own steeplechasing history. Kingdon Gould, Jr., and Hurdy Gurdy became names that will forever be intertwined. T eir story has inspired many truly amateur riders, fellow businessmen on their foxhunters, to take up the sport of chas- ing timber, and for that, Kingdon and Hurdy Gurdy will live on as long as there are hounds to follow, and timber to jump. Born in New York City in 1924, Kingdon at- tended the Millbrook School and Yale Univer- sity. While at Yale in 1942, he volunteered for the armed services and served in World War II. He received a battlefi eld commission as a second lieutenant with the 36th Mechanized Calvary, and served in the Ardennes and Rhine campaigns. Kingdon retired from the Army with two Silver Stars with oak leaf cluster, as well as a Purple Heart with cluster. In 1946 he married Mary Bunce T orne and
returned to Yale to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in English literature and a law degree. In 1955, the couple moved to Overlook in Laurel, and shortly after joined the Howard County Hunt Club. Kingdon had ridden as a child and told au- thor Margaret Worrall “I always rode, but I never really knew what I was doing” for the 2011 Equi- ery article “A Gentle- man Jock & His Gallant Foxhunter,” which can be found on the Archives of
equiery.com.
Kingdon practiced
law in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. He began purchas- ing real estate in the 1950s, often parking lots, in D.C., and Baltimore. He was also a major contrib- utor to the Republi-
can Party, and in 1962 was named chair of the Maryland Republican Finance Committee. He served as ambassador to Luxembourg from 1969 to 1972, and to the Netherlands from 1973 to 1976.
Gould loved all as-
pects of foxhunting, and after attending his fi rst Maryland Hunt Cup as a spectator, he de- clared that racing over timber was something he wanted to do. “As is his nature, he came up with a strategy, and the fi rst order of business was to fi nd a foxhunter who has the potential to run over timber fences,” wrote Worrall.
Mountain Dew in second. Kingdon and Hurdy Gurdy made it around the Hunt Cup again in 1964. He retired the horse from racing after a stop in the 1965 Hunt Cup, but continued fox- hunting Hurdy Gurdy. Kingdon would remain a part of the Maryland steeplechase community until his death this past January. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Kingdon Gould, Jr., and Hurdy Gurdy’s fi rst Howard County Cup victory, the Howard County-Iron Bridge Hounds created a Mary- land Steeplechase Association Governor’s Cup Series perpetual trophy in their honor, and awarded the fi rst trophy to Darren O’Brien in 2012. Here are some thoughts on Kingdon Gould, Jr., by the winners. Full stories can be found on the Archives page of
equiery.com.
Kingdon and Hurdy Gurdy on their way to winning at Piedmont in 1961
Kingdon found Hurdy Gurdy in Virginia but did not get started hunting or racing the small horse until a coronet band injury from a trailer accident fully healed. By 1960, the pair had been hunting with Howard County and entered their fi rst race, Casanova, and fi nished fi fth. He won the Howard County Cup the following year and also fi nished second in the Virginia Gold Cup. T e pair fi nished the 1961 season as the leading point-to-point horse of the year.
“It was one of my distinct privileges and pleasures to have gotten the opportunity know him - thanks to The Equiery, Howard County-Iron Bridge Hounds and the Maryland Steeplechase Association.” – Crystal B. Pickett, founder of The Equiery of HCIBH and MSA treasurer.
, jt.-MFH
www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580
In 1962 Kingdon and Hurdy Gurdy won the My Lady’s Manor on their way to their fi rst Mary- land Hunt Cup ap- pearance. T at fi rst trip around the Hunt Cup, Hurdy Gurdy fi nished third, with Mountain Dew taking the win. T e next year, the pair fi nished third again, this time with Jay Trump winning and
“Mr. Gould seemed to execute everything he decided to pursue with a high degree of precision and strategic planning. Take it on and do it right! Put more in, get more out! This Mr. Gould understood…if you put more into your life and into the people around you, you get more out of life. More mean- ing, more depth, more love, more caring, and far more excitement!” - 2012 winner Darren O’Brien
FEBRUARY 2018 | THE EQUIERY | 29
Karen K. Wenzel
Bob Keller
Crystal Pickett
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
