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[RC] Hopkins/Hidalgo - CMNewellLinda--I'll see your Hopkins photo, and raise you one <G>. http://www.minglewood-arabs.net/distance_stuff.html Charlotte, does Harris cite any independent sources to verify Hopkins' story? The previous chapter in the book, "Great Horses and Riders", quotes an article by Charles B. Roth, titled "Great Riders", published in the US Remount magazine "The Horse", in April, 1936. Hopkins is both mentioned as a rider, and quoted on the subject of other riders and horses. Roth says that Hopkins lived in Long Island City, NY, so perhaps the local historical society might be a place to look for his papers. Says Roth: "A modest man, Mr. Hopkins does not list himself in the great riders, but in my opinion he not only belongs in the list--he belongs at the head of it. "Look at his record: In over 400 long distance races he was beaten but once, and then by foul; he finished first, but was disqualified. These races varied in length from 50 to 3,000 miles. Three times he won the title of 'The World's Greatest Horseman,' in competition with picked riders from the cavalry of the world...His most famous race was held in 1886. It was 1,799 miles long. The starting point was Galveston, Texas; the finish line was Rutland, Vermont. The race was backed by Lucky Baldwin and Richard K. Fox, owner of the old "Police Gazette"." So, perhaps the "Police Gazette" followed Mr. Hopkins subsequent career. I was thinking. If somebody actually wanted to document the reality of this race, what contemporary sources exist? You'd need some current day professor or archivist or Near Eastern librarian who knows the first source material from that era and that locale. I was checking in some of my old college books, and one of the books cites a bunch of stuff written post 1900, like a "Gazeteer" set of yearbooks for 1908-1912 from somebody posted in Aden, but nothing that goes back as far as 1890. This is getting intriguing. We've yet to see anything that proves Mr. Hopkins' story, except Mr. Hopkins telling it. Who would I call...Who would I call... Now you've got *me* intrigued with tracking this down... --CMNewell =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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