Harris Part III, First Ride part 2, and subsequent Rides

[CMNewell <reshan@deyr.ultranet.com>]

	"We took a day's rain without and trouble, observed the country, which in 
New England at that time of year is gorgeous in leaf coloring, and had time 
to devote  to our competitors. One man got lost; some needed adhesive 
plasters; one man had to have his boot cut off, his foot had swelled so. 
After caring for their horses one or two could not find a place to sleep, 
so camped in a stall. It was a forced march, sure enough, over all kinds of 
roads.
	"Our last experience was when Capt. Hurlbut on Castor, as game a little 
Morgan horse as ever looked through a bridle, fll going down a hill a few 
miles from the finish and spilled the Captain, who with Castor lay 
breathless in the road in front of us. Both seemed all in. Ramla did not 
want to stop, but after handking her bridle rein to a bystander, I propped 
the Captain up against a tree to recover his breath and when he reported no 
bones broken looked Castor over. As he did not seem to have broken any 
bones either...we proceeded on our way. No one in front of us but Rustem 
Bey, and no horse but Castor for miles behind, and Ramla  pawing the ground 
in her eagerness to be off after almost three hundred miles!
	"Catching up with Nicholson on Rustem Bey very shortly, we rode slowly 
side by side into Camp Devens. Nicholson informed me he could beat me to 
the finish and proposed to do so. I knew the horse under me and for a 
minute I was tempted to be the first across the line, but the temptation 
passed. I seemed to be doing the unexpected, so did the unexpected thing 
again. Pulling Ramla up, I lit a cigar and gave Nicholson the lead down the 
road to the judges' stand, where he was given a great ovation.  I did not 
have the inclination to finish first after out ignominious beginnings  and 
besides, imagined we were not supposed to. I was satisfied I had  found a 
horse, but of course, more than pleased when  the next day the 
judges  pinned the blue ribbon on Ramla
and presented me with the Cup...When Mr.Brown  was good enough to let me 
have Ramla a couple of years later, I knew I had been forgiven.
	"The Thoroughbred horses had not been really represented in this first 
Ride. It had not been taken seriously enough, but when these little Arab 
horses made such a record in the first test, winning the first five places, 
the Thoroughbred people decided to do something about it. In the next test 
there were no more Arabs than in the first Ride, but  John E. Madden 
entered two Standard Bred  Trotting Horses, Mr. Woodward  sent four 
Thoroughbreds from Kentucky, and with more Morgans  and grade Thoroughbreds 
the number starting jumped from fourteen to twenty-seven. A grade 
Thoroughbred won, but the pure Thoroughbreds made a poor showing.
	"The next year the Jockey Club was said to have helped the Army get 
together enough good Thoroughbreds to beat the little horses, but this time 
Crabbet, Mr. Brown's Arab gelding ...the only full-blooded Arab in the 
Ride, won it against the field...The larger horses did not make such a good 
showing and, of course, consumed 50% more feed. In fact, the Arab on food 
consumption alone would be the most desirable cavalry mount...
	"The reader should also bear this in mind when considering these 
performances----they were harder than forced cavalry marches...These Rides 
were made by the scales and watch, irrespective of terrain or weather. Each 
horse carried the same weight, made the same time over all kinds of going, 
the theory being that those that could do it under these conditions were 
the kind that could take it as war horses should, and, while we could not 
expect to have all horses in the Cavalry as good as that, those that made
the record were the kind that made war horses. They were the bogey for the 
Cavalry to shoot at.
	"The surprising thing demonstrated was the value of blood over type. The 
more Arab blood in the different horses, the better their record., 
irrespective of whether they would be called typical cavalry type or 
not.  They had the blood and the disposition."

                                      --CMNewell, DVM