LIFE WITH THE TKOTTEKS, 437 



Mr. Bonner and he will not want it unless it is the best one 

 on earth ; and you surely will be proud to have him speak 

 well of the colt's intelligence. And in a very great measure 

 the intelligence which the driving or track horse displays, 

 is imx^arted to him by the man who rears and brings him 

 out. I mean by this the driver wiio takes a colt as a wean- 

 ling, breaks him, drives him in races and gives him his first 

 starts and records. 



August has come; the races both with runners and trot- 

 ters are occupying the attention of vast audiences all over 

 the land. Daily reports are eagerly looked foi and each 

 item scanned with interest to find out all the news pertain- 

 ing to our great American sport. It really has fastened 

 its enchanting and seductive grip upon the people of this 

 country. From one end of our broad domain to the other, 

 in almost every village or town, there is a si)eeding place, if 

 not a race-track. There is no doubt in my mind that trotting 

 races in this country are now but in their infancy. Trot- 

 ting is the fashion, and will be, and will surely become the 

 poi)ular sport in other countries as well as this. Why should 

 it not be so? For trotting is truly a gentleman' s sport, with 

 less demoralizing influences than almost any other, and can 

 not be dragged down to the level of a college foot-ball slug- 

 ging match. The trotting horse does not lose his value or 

 usefulness. His proper education on the track fits him for 

 a perfect road horse for ladies and gentlemen to drive. It is 

 a grand school, and the best driving horses graduate from it. 



Our colt has had a run to grass for five or six days, but 

 is taken up nights, groomed and fed, and is looking the 

 picture of health. He jogs fresh and elastic and acts like 

 a trotter. ( )nly fifteen days more and we must try his 

 mettle in an actual contest. No foolishness now; the best 

 colts in the State are entered against you, and it will be a 

 matter of pride to win, and chagrin to lose. Now go on 

 with the colt's work vigorously. He has not run out long- 

 enough to become soft, and the distances you speed him are 

 short. The races for yearlings at the "State Breeders' 



