The Horse-breeding Industry in Yorkshire . 95 



present Sir Tatton Sykes, of whose doings we read so much in 

 the Druid's works. He had at one time, according to the 

 Druid, some 120 brood mares in the paddocks, though the 

 largest crop of foals recorded in a season was about 66 head. 

 The Sleight-of-Hand mares were one of his best and favourite 

 strains. On his death at the age of ninety, in 1863, the policy 

 of the stud, which lies in the Wold country, underwent some 

 change, but its old-time reputation has been more than main- 

 tained under the present baronet. Sledmere now ranks as one 

 of the most notalile and successful thoroughbred studs in the 

 country, and there are no yearlings more eagerly sought after 

 by buyers, nor of higher repute at the yearling sales, than the 

 contingent from these paddocks. 



Another very noted breeder of bloodstock in Yorkshire, 

 Major Fife, has already been alluded to. There are some 

 thii'ty-five brood mares of choice blood, at his stud at Langton 

 Hall, which among its successes has the breeding of an Oaks 

 winner to its credit. This was Airs and Graces, who won 

 in 1898, and subsequently proved very successful at the 

 stud in France. She was the dam of Jardy, who many still 

 aver would have won the Derby in Cicero's year, and so repeated 

 Gladiateur's triumph for the French, had he not been amiss 

 when running in that race. Another filly foaled here that has 

 made her mark as a brood mare was Miss Hoyden, the dam of 

 Lally, while among others of note Major Fife has bred St. 

 Alwyn, one of the leading sires in Australia. The sires standing 

 at the Langton Hall stud at present are St. Simonmimi, by St. 

 Simon out of Mimi, bred by Sir Tatton Sykes, and own brother 

 to St. Maclou, and also Bonarosa, by Bonavista out of Rose 

 Madder. 



Very prominently associated with Yorkshire are the 

 Hachneys which have here found a highly congenial breeding 

 ground, more especially so in the East Riding, l)ut they are also 

 bred in the North and West Ridings. The Yorkshire Hackney 

 strains were originally built up with Norfolk trotter blood, 

 on a foundation provided by the native breed of nags 

 and roadsters. This trotter blood began to be introduced into 

 East Yorkshire towards the end of the eighteenth century, and 

 was used on an increasing scale from the beginning of last 

 century onwards, the origin of the Yorkshire Hackneys thus 

 dating back for upwards of a hundred years. Prominent in 

 their early history was Robert Ramsdale, of Market Weighton, 

 who was the leading breeder of the old-time trotters in the first 

 half of the last century. He brought several good trotter (or 

 Hackney) stallions from Norfolk and Lincolnshire, and travelled 

 them in the district. In the Druid's " Saddle and Sirloin " 

 there is an allusion to old Bob Ramsdale, then eighty years old, 



