140 LIFE WITH THE TKOTTERS. 



I now come to what might be termed the x)ersonal history 

 of Rarns; and, while it seems to me that his career in my 

 hands had been at the least fairly successfnl, I feel like tak- 

 ing but a small part of the credit for his snccess to myself. 

 First and foremost, he was a grand horse when he came into 

 my hands, and his owner, Mr. Conklin, was a man that I 

 think the owner of any trotting horse conld well pattern 

 after. In the first place, he had what people wonld call a 

 good deal of horse sense. In the second place, when he gave 

 his horse to me to drive, his contract extended for four 

 months. At the end of that time, he renewed his contract 

 with me, and said to me, ' ' S23lan, as long as I own Rarns, 

 he is your horse to do with in every way, shape, or manner 

 as you see fit. 'No one shall ever criticise you or your actions 

 to me. I will do nothing in connection with the horse with- 

 out your freewill and consent. Take your time, and do what 

 you can with him, whether it be in one, two, three, or four 

 years. The greatest pleasure that I could have with that 

 horse would be to see him beat the best record." When he 

 told me that, I knew and believed that he meatit exactly 

 what he sa id. Few people imagine how the trainers of horses 

 are annoyed by outsiders running to owners and criticising 

 the actions of the drivers. It is an easy matter for a gentle- 

 man who never drove a trotter a step in his life, and who 

 never did more than to sit up in the grand stand in a shady 

 l)lace, to say to the owner of a horse how his driver should 

 handle him, but if that same critic were asked to drive in a 

 race, he would have to be tied in the sulky, in order to in- 

 sure his appearance when the horse was come uijder the 

 wire. If I might be permitted here to give a little advice to 

 owners, it would be: If you get a trotter, pick out the man 

 you think is the best driver and trainer in the world, give 

 him your horse, and treat him as Mr. Conklin did me, and, 

 if you do not get that man's best efforts, I will be more mis- 

 taken than I have been in horse-racing matters in a long 

 while. 



The next factor in my success with this horse, was, I be- 



