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AMBLETONIAN was bred by Jonas Seely, of 

 Chester, Orange County, N. Y.; foaled May 5, 

 1849 ; got by Abdallah, son of Mambrino, by 

 imp. Messenger. Abdallah, his sire, was out 

 of Amazonia, who was first claimed as by Messenger, then 

 by a son of Messenger ; but it is now generally conceded 

 that her blood is entirely unknown. She may have been 

 got by a son of Messenger, but the evidence upon which 

 this story rests is too flimsy to carry with it any weight. 

 But, notwithstanding her unknown lineage, she gave to the 

 world, in her son Abdallah, one of the greatest horses that 

 ever trod the American soil " rough to look at, but king 

 among stallions." Hambletonian's dam was by imp. Bell- 

 founder ; second dam by Hambletonian (son of Messenger) ; 

 third dam by Messenger : which gives him one direct cross 

 of the highly-prized Messenger blood on the side of his 

 sire, and a double cross on the side of his dam. The dam, 

 with the colt (subsequently Rysdyk's Hambletonian) by 

 her side, was sold by Mr. Seely to Mr. W. M. Rysdyk, of 

 Chester, for $125. When he was two years old, four mares 

 were bred to him, from which resulted three foals, one of 

 which afterwards became famous under the name of Alex- 

 ander's Abdallah, the sire of Goldsmith Maid. It is worthy 

 of remark, in this connection, that the greatest of all trot- 

 ting mares should have been begotten by a three-year-old, 

 and he, in turn, by a two-year-old colt. At three years old 

 he was taken to Long Island, and underwent a few months' 

 training as a trotter, but the promise which he showed upon 

 the track was not deemed sufficient to warrant a continua- 

 tion of the training, although he showed a trial of a mile 

 in 2:48, and he was retired permanently to the breeding 

 stud. Up to the year 1854, his service-fee was $25 to 

 insure a foal, but it was then advanced to $35, at which it 

 was kept to the year 1863, when it was advanced to $75, 

 and, owing to the fame which his get began to acquire 

 about this time, his services were in great demand at the 

 increased price. In 1804 the fee was placed at $100, and 

 in the year following at $300, during which two seasons he 

 was permitted to serve the unprecedented number of four 

 hundred and ten mares, from which there were produced 

 two hundred and seventy-six foals. His fee was then fixed 

 at $500, at which it remained up to his death, ia 1875. 

 During the season of 18G8, he was retired from the stud, 

 so that there were no sons or daughters foaled by him in 

 18G9. Since that time he has been limited each season 

 to a very small number of mares. Up to twenty-six years 

 of age, he was active, strong, and vigorous. He has sired 



more foals, perhaps, than any other stallion of any age, the 

 number reaching over 1 ; 225, which is conclusive evidence 

 of his wonderful constitutional vigor. In a pecuniary sense 

 he has been a wonderful success, his services aggregating 

 over $100,000. Not less than fifty-eight descendants of 

 this famous old sire have made public records of 2:30 or 

 better, twenty-one of which are in the first generation. Ot 

 the remaining thirty-seven there are thirty-two grandsons 

 and granddaughters, and five that are one generation further 

 removed from their distinguished progenitor. Of those in 

 the second generation twenty-nine are descended in the 

 male line, two in the female line, and one by both branches. 

 Of the sixty-one horses that have made records of 2:23 or 

 better in harness, twenty-one were his descendants, and of 

 the ten that have dropped into the 2:18 class, he claims just 

 one-half a showing from the records that clearly entitles 

 him to stand preeminent as the great progenitor of trotting 

 horses. He was a horse of great substance, but, at the 

 same time, without a particle of grossness. His bone, 

 though heavy, was of most excellent form and apparent 

 fineness of texture. His mane was originally light, the 

 hairs perfectly straight, but not a vestige of it remained. 

 His tail was once very heavy, but it also grew thin with 

 age. In color, he was a rich mahogany bay, with a small 

 star, and two white ankles behind, but below them the coro- 

 nets were dotted with black spots, and the hoofs mainly 

 dark. His head was large and bony, inclining to what is 

 known as the "Roman nose" type; jowl deep; eyes large 

 and prominent; ear large; neck rather short, and heavy at 

 the throatlatch, but thin and clean ; shoulders very deep, 

 oblique and strong; withers low and broad; back short; 

 coupling excellent ; croup high, and enormous length from 

 point of hip to hock ; broad, flat, clean legs, with tendons 

 well detached from the bone ; hock well bent rather than 

 straight ; pasterns long and elastic ; and hoofs splendid. 

 The walk of Hambletonian was different from that of any 

 other horse. It cannot be described further than to say, 

 that it showed a true and admirable adjustment of parts, 

 and a perfect stability and elasticity of mechanism that 

 showed out through every movement. Many have noticed 

 and endeavored to account in different ways for this pecu- 

 liarity, some crediting it to the pliable pastern, others to a 

 surplus of knee and hock action, but, in fact, the trait is 

 not limited to the influence of any one part. There seemed 

 to be a suppleness of the whole conformation that delighted 

 to express itself in every movement and action of the horse. 

 Spirit of the Times. 



