Lovers of the Horse 127 



HUGH S. WILSON 



DT^RINC? twenty years of active association with the best of the jumping horses 

 Ilno'h S. AYilson, of '^^Foronto. has well earned his rejiutation as the pluckiest 

 Canadian ritler ever seen in the arenas of the principal horse shows of Canada 

 and the United States, and no rider of the jumpers has more victories to his credit. 

 Gameness is his characteristic, and when all his competitors have had enough of it 

 he is always out to take every chance a man and a horse can take. Consequently, 

 he has been the victim of accidents a scoi'e or more times, some of them verv serious, 

 but he has been fortunate in quick recoveries, and at this writing is in splendid shape, 

 and a model of a vigorous young Canadian who loves a game horse and possesses the 

 utmost confidence in himself to achieve victory, no matter what odds are against him. 

 For many years he rode ^Ir. Cieorge Pepper's horses at all of the ])rincipal shows 

 with magnificent success. 



II uo'liie Wilson, as he is familiarlv known all over America, was born in Pickeriiii'-. 

 Ont., in 1<S7(), and when a cou|)le of years of age went with his parents to Winnipeg. 

 Eight years later he came to Toronto, where he wound u]) his schooling. He is a natural 

 horse lover and at eleven years of age he was an accomplished rider. In 1904 he estab- 

 lished his present business as a dealer in Toronto in good horses and has achieved re- 

 markable success. His splendid stables on Pears Ave., Toronto, are a solid testimonial 

 to his business acumen and his reliability. He married ^Nliss INIcCormack, of Toronto, 

 in 1904, and their pretty home is at 48 Rathnally Ave., Toronto. On the annual 

 three months' circuit of the American horse shows, starting at Louisville, Mr. WiLson 

 has been time and again the most successful of the competitors. He obtained a re- 

 markable record at the New York show in Madison Square Garden, 1904, securing 

 the three championships, light, middle and heavy weights. He won the former on 

 King Juvenal, owned by Mr. Hitchcock, Jr.; the middle weight on Mr. Pepper's 

 Sweet Lavender, and the heavy weight on Hon. Adam Beck's Dul)lin. Away 

 back in 1891, in Chicago he rode Charlie, the pony under twelve hands which made 

 the record jump of 5 ft. 5 inches. He considers the liest jumper he ever rode was 

 Mr. Pepper's Pearl, a most consistent performer of prize-winning proclivities. He 

 made a world's record with her at Des Moines, la., in 190'-2, the jump being 7 ft. 6f inches. 

 He quit riding the mare that year or would likely have at least equalled the present 

 record of 7 ft. 11 inches. He is undoulitedly the most successful rider of jumpers 

 representing this country. Some of his stellar performances are Maud, 6 ft. 10 

 inches, at Toronto Exhibition; The Bard, 7 ft. If inches, at Des Moines, and 

 Rupert, 7 ft. If inches, on the same night; Sure Pop (Crowe & Murray), 7 ft- 

 44- inches, at Nashville, Tenn., and also sensational jumps on Myopia, one of the 

 most succes.sful ])erformers in the world, and Bloomington, another of his stars. Mr. 

 Wilson is a most useful member of the Toronto Hunt Club, and his quiet disposi- 

 tion and unfailing nerve have nuide him decidedly ])opular with the army of his 

 associates in the e(|uine world. 



