THE GENESEE FARMER. 



21 



THE BRITISH TEOMAN, WINNEll OF THE GREAT METROPOLITAN STEEPLE-CHASE IN 1849. 



THE BRITISH YEOMAN. 



We have had the above portrait of this celebrated 

 horse engraved for the Genesee Farmer^ from a steel 

 engraving in the London Farmer''s Magazine. We 

 copy the following description of him from the 

 same work : 



The British Yeoman, a bay horse, bred by Mr. 

 V. Corbet in 1839, was sired by Count Porro, out 

 of Pintail by Pioneer, her dam Ringtail by Buzzard, 

 her dam by Trentham out of Oytherea, sister to 

 Drone by Herod — Lily by Blank. 



Count Porro, was but a bad race-horse, having 

 during the three seasons he was in training never 

 won anything but a fifty pound plate. As a stud- 

 horse, too. he does not rank high; for beyond a 

 couple of Tairish mares, Jemima and Miss Maria, the 

 property of Sir Richard B<jlkelet, and his great 

 card the Yeoman, tliere has been nothing out by 

 him to "signify." His stock, hAwever, were gen- 

 erally handsome, with — a family likeness — partic- 

 ularly good, blood-like heads. 



Pintail, bred by Mr. Rusn in 1824, and the last 

 of a dozen foals her dam produced, never ran but 

 once, when she was not placed, in a two-year-old 

 stake at Newmarket. She was sold the following 

 spring, at the hammer, to Mr. Corbet, who bred 

 from her some for seasons with but indifferent suc- 

 cess. Our friend "the Racing Man," though, is so 

 well up (as the lawyers say) in this case, that to 

 make the history complete we repeat the following 

 from his account of the Metropolitan Steeple Chase. 

 After a note of admiration for Mr. Mason, he thus 

 proceeds : 



" Of his horse, 'The British Yeoman,' I am per- 

 haps better qualified to speak than of his accom- 

 plished jockey, this across-country crack having 



been bred by a much respected friend, and aflford- 

 ing a striking example of the success that perse- 

 verance will sometimes attain in breeding. Pintail, 

 the dam of the Yeoman, was put to the stud at 

 three years old ; and throwing a foal almost every 

 spring for thirteen or fourteen years, never up to 

 that time produced one worth breaking. Many of 

 them were fine good-looking colts; that in no way, 

 however, fulfilled the promise of their appearance ; 

 as race-horses, and they were tried often enough, 

 not one could win a ten pound note. As hunters 

 they were famous for bad hocks, and not being able 

 to go a yard through dirt. Many a day have I 

 sickened on one, whose only fit duty, with his fine 

 mouth and good action, was to canter up Rotten 

 Row. So disheartening, in fact, did the case be- 

 come, that the celebrated Nimrod, when on a visit 

 at the house, walked into the drawing room one 

 morning, after a round of inspection, with these 

 words in his mouth: 



" 'My dear madam, I can tell you liow to save 

 my old friend a good income.' 



" 'How, pray?' of course inquired the lady, 

 " 'By cutting that brute Pintail's throat.' 

 "And yet, after that, this brute. Pintail, lived to 

 produce the very best steeple-chase horse of his day. 

 "The British Yeoman is altogether a better horse 

 than he looks. From his appearance you would 

 hardly give him credit for carrying that weight 

 through dirt he has so sufliciently proved he can do. 

 He is light everywliere, all wire in fact, with far 

 more the cut and carriage of a race-horse than a 

 hunter. From what I could gather of him, I should 

 say two of his best points were, a fine mild temper 

 and excellent action for the kind of country I saw 

 him go over. I have little doubt, indeed, that with 

 some material to work on, much of his success is 

 due to the clever hands into which he has fallen." 



