A
plain headed creature good for nothing but harness racing? Not so! Over the years
the Standardbred has proved to be
HORSE BREED
Raising the standard
diversely talented, making its mark in many Olympic disciplines and shining in the show ring. The breed was established in the United States in the late 1700s, when some of the first trotting races were held. In the pursuit of developing a faster horse a combination of breeds was crossed, including the Narragansett Pacer (now extinct), English Thoroughbred, Canadian
In bygone days, the Standardbred was often regarded as the Thoroughbred’s inferior cousin. But times have changed and this once underestimated breed has made its many talents abundantly clear, writes SUZY JARRATT.
Pacer (rare), Hackney, Norfolk Trotter (extinct) and the Morgan. A register was begun in 1867 to record trotting horses’ pedigrees, and twelve years later the National Association of Trotting Horse
