ISS VOLU:^TEER. 



He was not handlerl with proper care nor understanding for the next 

 four years, and was consequently nearly spoiled, for trotting purposes, 

 although possessed of great speed. He was bought by his present 

 owner on the 26th of June, 1802. While in the possession of his 

 breeder, Mr. Hetzel, he was stinted to a few mares, and got about a 

 •dozen colts out of this number. His present o^\'ner, about the time 

 that he bought the sire, bought four of his colts; three of the four 

 became so well known and popular in horse circles as to need only a 

 mention in this article, viz.: Mr. Thome's Hamlet, who has twice 

 •secured the first prize at New York State Fair, and the first prize at 

 the National Horse Exhibition held at Narragansett Park, in the fall 

 ■of 1868, where he trotted a full mile direct from the stud in 2:30; and 

 Matchless, who was also awarded first prize at the same exhibition, for 

 the finest and best gentleman's road horse, and was driven a full mile 

 by his owner after\vard in 2:30, to a 150 lb. wagon, on Prospect Park 

 track. The third of the trio, Idler, a horse of wonderful speed and 

 promise, met with an accident which eventually caused his death. 

 Volunteer's next appearance at the county fair at Goshen was during 

 the fall of 1862. The track at Goshen had just been altered from a 

 third of a mile to a half-mile track, and was in very bad condition. 

 His competitors were Winfield, Grey Confidence, and several other, 

 good ones. Each horse was timed by himself. Volunteer won again 

 in two straight heats, without a break, trotting to a wagon in 2:36, 

 and beating all his competitors by nine seconds. But his being virtually 

 removed from the stud for four years made a wide gap in the produce 

 of his stock to be bridged over. 



On his return to Orange county, an opposition was made to him on 

 the part of the owner and friends of Hambletonian that greatly limited 

 him, and almost exckided him from service as a stallion. It was just 

 ■at the time when Hambletonian was attaining great fame; and as 

 Volunteer could not be assailed on the ground of his having an unfit 

 •sire, his dam was made the object of obloquy and reproach rarely 

 heaped upon the head of one female of the equine race. Owing to 

 the limited service brought to him, and the tardiness of his offspring 

 in showing the trotting quality, he did not begin to rally from the 

 "burden of unpopularity and abuse which had been lavished upon him 

 until about the date of the article above quoted. In that same article, 

 the writer who seemed to entertain such a midnight estimate of 

 Volunteer, heralded the dawn of day in the following inadvertent 

 words: 



