HORSES AT THE PARIS EXHIBITION

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1507, 17 January 1901, Page 54

HORSES AT THE PARIS EXHIBITION

Nearly 1800 horses were named on the date of closing; entries to be shown at the Paris Exhibition, September 1 to 10, and with a very few exceptions all ‘‘came to the post.” It was the general opinion of able judges present that never had such a horse show been held, and with possibly one elxception every European nation was aaimirabiy represented. The stables were very tastefully arranged in the'Hois de> Vincennes and the! facilities for ishowing were perfect. Nearly £150,000 Avas expended in the construction of the stables, and nothing was left undone to ensure the comfort, safety and health of the horses on exhibition. The great European nations’" had representative exhibits of the breeds common to

gan the earliest but spent by far the most money to display properly her equine; resources. The next best foreign exhibit was the Austrian, which included drafts from the Imperial stables. Germany followed with an extensive and creditable exhibit, Belgium and Holland also forwarded many superior horses, but Great Britain, while represented by several stallions and mares from famous studs : was not in line with the nations already named, considering her prominence in the horsebreeding industry and her close proximity to France. While liberal provisions were made to attract exhibits from America, not a single horse came direct from that country to the show. In not thus bring ng their wares American breeders and owners made a great mistake, for not cnly were the prizes very liberal, but stallions and mares of outstanding excellence could have belen disposed of for very long prices and 1 in practically any number right on the grounds. Among the unique features of the great show were the different exhibits made with all national characteristics, the attendants being in native garb, and the caparisoning of the horses that are in common ’use in the countries from which they came. The Turkish, Arab and Barb horses attracted an immense amount of attention, the gorgeous trappings of the animals, the strange appearance of the stable utensils, the simple manner of care taking, and the peculiarities and manners of direction and grooms all serving to fix the utmost Interest on the. part of spectators. This was distinctly a representative exhibit, and enabled the the; seeker after knowledge to acquire an acquaintance with the horse of the desert such as never has been presented before. The scope of the grounds on which the show was held have ample room for the evolutions of the Eastern horsemen, and at all hours of the clay troops of sometimes 15 or 20 of the white robed Arabs might be seen wheeling their horses in bewildering- evolutions on the plain and going through exercises that astonished and delighted the -onlookers. The French section was wonderfully well filled. The! National Haras was provided with a separate building in which were exhibited the most celebrated stallions of all races at present owned by thei French Government. The French breeders should be complimented on the number and excellence of the horses which filled every' class to overflowing and it may be many years before so many horses are grouped together by the breeders of - one nation at any single show, no- matter what its importance. The 1 French section contained no less than 1191 horses out of a. total of 1718 on thei grofu/nds, and it is safe to say that- the best horses in all France were on exhibition. What is more, a very large number of the prize-takers, including all the prominent winners in the Percheron section, were during the show or are now actually the property of American importers and breeders. There are a number of lioht-legged sorts in France, but the- most important is the demisang or French coach, and the showing of that breed was splendid in every way. The trotting type was shown by itself and the coach type was split in twain, the one- class including horses above 15.3 hands and the! other those- of that height or below. The grand champion winner in these classes for trotters from all countries was a bi°" good horse called Presbourg, a chestnut stallion, 16.2 hands high, by the famous trotting sire Fuchsia and holcling a fastrecord. He is a. representative type- of the best French trotter—the utility horse into which the French Government has succeeded in injecting so- much beauty of conformation and speed. Ha is a genuinely beautiful horse, with a long, thin neck, well rounded lines, and all the- qualities one could desire in a racehorse, ydt without any suspicion of weakness or evens lack of substance. It is plain that it is by no means impossible to unite a. high rate of trotting spued with an abundance of beauty and size without sacrificing augjit of quality or other desirable character. The exhibit as a- whole was simply phenomenal and the general excellence of the 61 trotters shown was nothing short of a revelation. The coach types were represented by 614 stallions and mares and so many really beautiful horseis were never before seen crowded together in such small compass. Here was made plain the beautiful large size, contour, and high folding action that have been so firmly fixed in this, breed by the continued wise policy of the National Haras. The Geirma-n exhibit of coach horses was commended on all hands, as were those from the Low Countries, Russia, and Austria, while England sent on simply hackneys and Cleveland Bays. The hackneys were few but good, and furnished the grand champion carriage horse of the show in Hedbn Squire, Sir Walter Gilbiey’s well-known prize-win-ner. In the French section for draft horses the largest and best exhibit was made by the Percheiron breeders, followed in order by the Boulennais, the Breton, the Ardennais, and there was in addition an omnibus class in which horses of other recognised French breeds could be shown. The Percherons were a great show. In the aged class 23 stallions came up and the winner Castelar is now in Illinois, being at the time of showing actually the property of Messrs Dunham, Fletcher and Coleman, Mr Jas ! . M. Fletcher having bought him, from M. Edmund Per-

the right to show him at tint Exposition. Thirty-one- three-year-olds came to the post and made up the best class in the show. It was a battle-royal between Tacheau; and Perriot, the! most famous breeders in the Perche, M. Perriot winning in the end. but not- on the colt lie expected would be firs-t. He* thohiriitRoger Bon-temps would win, and the bystanders conceded first money to either Roger or Calypso in Tachcan's string, but to the surprise of all thei judges awarded first- place to a colt that really had nothing to recommend him to an American buyer, as he possesses neither substance, size, nor bone. Roger-Bon-Teimps got second. Thirty-nine two-year-olds faced the judges, first money being won by Suffren, bred and owned by M. Perriot. Many of the colts had friends in tin* crowd for first place the most fancied being Shakespeare, also owned by Perriot. while Tacheau’s Pourqtioi-Pas had many admirers. The mare classes we fie well filled, many most substantial matrons of great excellence being on exhibition in the aged ring, while the fillies showed forth the success which is attending the mighty efforts the breeders of Percherons are making to advance. The feature of the Percheron exhibit as a whole was that Edmond Perriot put every winner over the plate—no other breeder or owner obtaining a single first prize, while horses in the Perriot string carried off many of the lesse'r honours. Sir J. Blundell-Maple sent a few good Shires from England for exhibition and won most of the prizes in the different classes, but in the- Clydesdale section not a horse was shown. Some Stiff oiks were entered, but none were forward for exhibition —in fact the British exhibit of draft horses was by no means creditable. The Belgians had a very large show of superior animals and the Germans also showed some fair draft horses. Taken as a whole the show of horses was in everv way worthy of the great Exposition in connebtion with which it was held, and it is doubtful if the present generation will see it duplicated, let alone surpassed. The arrangements, as before referred to, were perfection itself. One may or may not admire the arbitrary manner in which the judges are selected nor yet with the number of men on each jury of award, but the promptitude with which the business of the show was got through was commendable. The gates were locked and the public excluded on the Monday, and that day the entire judging of the horses was concluded. The ribbons ware; all tied, the horses led back to their stalls, and the prize list rushed off to- the printer, so that during nine out of the ten days of the show the public had time to examine and compare at- its leisure/. There can he no question as to the great benefits arising from this system, .and indeed there are many things about the French showyard and its management, even in cases of very much less importance than the exhibit‘on under review, that might- be transplanted into the United States. For instance, the exclusion of the public from the entire live stock section during the making of the award removes many possibilities for wrong and harm-doing; and the prompt issuance of the list of prize-winners enables visitors to intelligently survey the stock. Altogether it was a great and admirably managed show of horses. “Breeders’ Gazette/’