Indoors of Old

Pony Profiles

Indoors of Old

By Thalia Gentzel

of the National Horse Show at the original Madison “It was just a beautiful Square Garden in New York class!” recalls Nancy City, the Pennsylvania Baroody, a mid-Sixties to National in Harrisburg, and early Seventies competitor the Royal Winter Fair in in the pony appointments Toronto, Canada. event which was a special Washington was added feature of Devon and the later.

Indoors in past decades.

Ponies showed at the old “And it was truly an incrediGarden from 1948 until ble horsemanship class as 1967. Smokey Joe was a vetwe had to use a full bridle eran entry - beginning his with a snaffle and curb bits career there as a seven year or a Pelham which in those old in 1950 with champidays had a steel or hard onships in 1954, 1955, and rubber mouthpiece.

1957. His National Horse Our formal attire was a Show career continued until black wool Melton hunt 1964 when he was 21 years coat with canary breeches old! and a black velvet hunt cap.

Russ Walther tells of the The boots had to be plain famous group of Smokey black without the patent Joe siblings. “The brothers, leather tops that were fashTony and Alexander Rives of ionable at that time. There Keswick, Virginia, raised a was a narrow strap that ran whole string of brothers and through a loop at the back sisters from the Hackney Nancy Baroody displays her pony appointments and buckled around the stallion, King of the from the 1960s - the whip and lash held just so tops of the boots. No field Mountain, and the Welsh and the case which held a sandwich and a flask. boots were allowed. Our mare, Belle of Wales.

Photo: Thalia Gentzel stock ties had a plain gold Smokey Joe, Nutcracker, pin.

Pinocchio, Powder Puff, Owain Glyndwr, and sevWe wore spurs, having to be careful not to use eral others. I rode Pinocchio. them on ponies that did not need them. The They were great, great ponies! Okay movers horn-handled whip was held just so with two and would hack on completely loose reins. They loops in hand and the line and tassel hanging. weren’t the daisy clipper type of pony of today Our gloves were black or dark brown with a they had a little bit of action at the canter. spare pair of white string rain gloves woven in Occasionally we’d be asked to measure. In and out of the billet straps with several fingertips those days we showed 13 hands and and over 13 visible about a quarter of an inch beyond the hands so Pinocchio was over and had to compete knee roll. This was part of the appointments. in the larges. At the Garden, Pinocchio won his Two buckled straps held the leather appointvery first class as a large! What pleased me the ments case from rings under the left cantle of the most was getting my picture in the New York saddle. This contained a glass flask which had to Times!” contain a drink like lemonade, not water or alcoThis was back in the fifties and Russ was comhol. A metal sandwich case had to hold a fresh peting against Sydney Gadd on the famous 14.1 sandwich and some judges like Steve Hawkins hand black, Cravans Raven. Hoping to get his would open the case and actually look!” pony quiet and win the hack, Russ remembers In the adult classes the ladies wore silk hats that “I got up real, real early and started getting and shadbellies. The bits were sewn in to the briready for the hack at 4 A.M. It was going well dles and reins! until a Saddle Horse wearing chains came clatterFor some decades the indoor circuit consisted

stake until 1:00 AM. As a result, reporters could not make their deadlines in time for the morning editions!

Marguerite Taylor, who was to become a top breeder of hunter ponies in the decades following, recalls that, “Our children schooled at home on their own, while it was a prominent thing for the English. They were very well prepared and coached, especially for the figure eight so, of course, they did it perfectly.”

The judges were Mrs. Philip Fleming, J. Eliot Cottrelle, and Bernard Hopper. Their choices were:

ing up the wooden ramp. That was the end of it!

Pinocchio ran off!”

The wooden ramp came up from the basement where all the stabling was - remember those days?

Upstairs all was “uptown” for this “society” horse show for several breeds and disciplines. Space along the rail allowed people from all across the country to meet and mingle. Classes were called to the ring by horn. The conformation hunters were incredibly gorgeous with “a face like the lady’s maid and a bottom like the cook”. The international Small Ponies: team jumping brought entries 1. Coch Coch Llwydrew, GB, from Great Britain, France, Italy owned

by Lt. Col. and Mrs. and Germany as well as the Bullen Americas - Mexico, Canada, 2. Trefesgob Lagus, GB, the US and sometimes more.

Long a trainer of renown, Russ Walther, then Gillian Blakeway The Saddlebred competi12 years old, relaxes with Pinocchio follow3. Pendock Porter, GB, tion featured pillars of the ing their win at Madison Square Garden.

C.Driver, Susan Driver breed such as the five-gaited Photo from the collection of Russ Walther 4.

Coed Coch Pryderi, GB, stallion, Wing Commander. I Miss A. Stubbings, Jane Bullen have a “mind picture” of 5.

Johnny Reb, US, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Josephine Abercrombie driving her fine harness Taylor, Noel Twyman mare, Parading Lady, her lowcut russet velvet dress coordinated to the mare’s chestnut coat.

Large Ponies: The saddle seat medal or National Horse Show 1. Royal Show, GB, Miss A. Stubbings, Jenny “Good Hands” class and the AHSA hunt seat Bullen medal were always features. Winners were pho2. Cathy, US, Roddy Wanamaker tographed and chronicled in The New York Times 3. Cherry Ripe, US, Bambi Ellis each day. Horse showing was a closely followed 4. Mr. Crisp, GB, Miss A. Stubbings, Jay Coates national sport in those days! To me, a teenager 5. Chase Me, US, Patricia Gorrell from Upstate New York, it was like a fairy tale back a half century ago!

Also competing for the US were And then I had the good fortune to be teaching Smalls: Bantam-Carolyn Amos, Blue Hill-Pie out on Long Island when the International Pony Wickes Teams came to the Garden in 1959 - so I was Large: Roll Call-Bobbie Gardner. present! The British team members and their spiffy ponies triumphed in the first of four interOf the 12 ponies who shipped from England, national competitions - although this didn’t hapten were sold in the States including Pendock pen again!

Porter, Mr. Crisp, Trefesgob Lagus, and Coed Hack classes and individual workouts dominatCoch Llwydrew who became small pony hunter ed with only two fences as part of the format. champion at the National Horse Show in 1962.

Margaret Smith complained in her Chronicle write-up that the judging had been heavily balanced toward the British, that some of their I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into the ponies “displayed action more often found in the pony world of a half century ago! saddle type than the hunter type pony.” Another complaint was that two ponies were placed Thalia Gentzel although they had refused one of the two fences.

Welsh Ponies since 1957 She also felt that the Saturday evening placement heliconponies@gmail.com was not a sound one as the hour and a half perwww.heliconsportponies.com formance had pushed the international jumping