TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART XI 545 



The shires made a strong showing at Des Moines last week. The breed 

 always displays big, drafty stock and this year brought out good stuff 

 in both stallion and mare classes. An interesting feature is the steady 

 improvement in the American-bred animals. The futurity competition 

 may have helped a little this year in bringing out animals bred on this 

 side, but whether it did or not the fact remains that some good ones were 

 shown. Robt. Ogilvie placed the awards. Iowa and Illinois furnished 

 all the exhibitors, among the Iowa men being numbered a few new to the 

 ring, but showing some commendable individuals. In the aged stallion 

 class the presence of Dan Patch was missed, but quite a good one took 

 first for Hopley & Son in Scarcliffe President, a dark bay that steps out 

 with a good stride and shows lots of quality. Crownover's Surveyor, 

 a very drafty horse, with good middle, strongly coupled, but not so clean 

 in bone as the first. Trumans had a pretty pair in the lead in the three- 

 year-old-class. Royal Grey is a powerfully-made horse, of good quality and 

 style, has plenty of substance, and in action carries himself splendidly. 

 He has a long and quite true stride. It was a useful-looking animal that 

 stood below the two grays, not quite of their style and appearance, but 

 heavy and strongly muscled. A toppy black, clean cut in bone, but with 

 lots of substance and a larger middle, won for Trumans in the two-year- 

 old class over Hopley's Forest Duke which is on a little lighter order, but 

 symmetrical in build. A big roan, capacious in body, breedy in appear- 

 ance, strongly timbered and with a long, even stride, won first in the 

 aged mare class for McCray. Second went to Huston on a big black with 

 lots of weight. The class which aroused the most interest was the fu- 

 turity class, and it brought out the largest number shown in any class. 

 Paramount Rex won it for Crownover. He is a yearling, a dark bay, 

 has lots of bone, a big middle and is a typical drafty, powerful sort that 

 is so characteristic of the Shire breed. He is also a horse of much qual- 

 ity, which helped him to go ahead of Jack Tar, a larger horse, a month 

 older, but not so fine in quality. Forest King was third, a little more 

 upstanding and not so wide in build. These three had more substance 

 than the others which stood lower down. On the third day of the judg- 

 ing Prof. W. J. Kennedy, of Ames, took up the work of placing the awards, 

 Mr. Ogilvie having left the evening before. 



BELGIANS. 



Notwithstanding the fact that fifteen or more breeders participated, the 

 showing of Belgians did not measure up to the high standards which 

 the breeders and importers have been attempting to approximate in recent 

 years. Jupiter, a massive roan, which by close balancing was crowded down 

 to third place at the last International, readily came to the front among the 

 nine aged stallions shown. He is a horse of remarkable size, well built from 

 the ground up and is well supported by a set of strong-boned limbs. In 

 the show for the championship, Jupiter gave his stable mate. Challenge, 

 a very close rub, but the beautifully-balanced two year old seemed to have 

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