THE HACKNEY OR HARNESS HORSE 69 



was followed by the " Fireaway " family belonging to 

 Jenkinson, West, and Burgess. Jenkinson's " Fire- 

 away " was foaled in 1780, and West's " Fireaway " in 

 1800. The last-named was the sire of Burgess' " Fire- 

 away " foaled in 18 15, which in turn was the sire of a 

 horse called " Wildfire," foaled in 1827. Later on we 

 find the names of " Phenomenon/' the sire of " Per- 

 former," and " Performer " begat " Sir Charles " (1843). 

 " Sir Charles " was the sire of " Denmark," and the latter 

 the sire of Sir Walter Gilbey's " Danegelt," foaled in 1879. 

 This horse had a brilliant show and stud career, and a 

 considerable number of the best hackneys have the blood 

 of this horse in their veins. The foregoing is a brief 

 survey as to how the hackney was moulded, so far as 

 descent on the male side is concerned. The mares 

 indigenous to the county of Norfolk were employed for 

 mating to the aforesaid sires. According to authentic 

 information, these animals were well built, being of 

 compact type, durable, fast, but did not possess the 

 extravagant action which many of the modern hackneys 

 possess. The obvious deduction is that the right material 

 was present on the side of the miares, and that all that 

 was required for estabhshing the hackney was the use of 

 impressive sires — a condition which was duly fulfilled. 

 Almost anyone can recognise a hackney at a glance, 

 either as a 15 or 16 hands horse or as a pony between 

 12 and 14 hands. The compact form, the remarkable 

 knee and hock action, the clean limbs, the thin skin, and 

 the general ensemble are unmistakable signs of this 

 useful type of horse. As a roadster the breed has certainly 

 no superior and very few equals. Its manners are 

 usually very good, both in and out of harness, whilst for 

 durability, courage, and speed the breed leaves nothing 

 to be desired. We must not forget to mention the splendid 

 work done by the Hackney Horse Society, and the un- 

 tiring energy displayed on behalf of the breed by their 

 Secretary, Mr. Frank Euran. It is of interest to note 



