THE HEAVY-HARNESS BREEDS OF HORSES 49 



tance trotting. Such records, it remains to be said, are 

 of use only to enable us to understand the original char- 

 acteristics of the breed, not for their official value to es- 

 tablish the reputation of the Hackney of the present day, 

 for speed at the trot, for either long or short distances. 

 It is to be remembered, also, that these records, if they 

 may be called such, are in nearly all instances dependent 

 on hearsay and not on official trials over measured dis- 

 tances. It is said that Driver (187), already referred to, 

 trotted 17 miles within the hour, and Fireaway is credited 

 with having trotted 2 miles in 5 minutes. The perform- 

 ance that is most noteworthy is that credited to the mare 

 Phenomena, that in July, 1800, trotted 17 miles in 56 

 minutes, and shortly afterward repeated the same per- 

 formance in 53 minutes. Attention has been drawn to 

 the fact that it was not until 1849 that Trustee, in America, 

 trotted 20 miles in 59 minutes and 35| seconds. The 

 mare's rate would be 20 miles in 62| minutes, showing 

 that at that early day the Hackney or Norfolk trotter 

 was noted for ability to trot long distances, with speed 

 unusual at that time. 



The secretary of the Hackney Horse Society, Mr. 

 Euren, in the first volume of the stud-book, credits the 

 era of railroad building with dampening the ardor of the 

 breeders of Hackneys ; and, for a time, the breed did not 

 receive much hearty support. A revival came in a very 

 decided manner with the advent of exhibitions, and 

 especially with the inauguration of horse-shows. Until 

 the breed began to attract notice for heavy-harness and 

 high-stepping purposes, they were not very largely im- 

 ported from England, nor did they attain their present 

 popularity in England. It was in the spring of 1893 that 

 the first notable Hackney exhibition was held in England. 



