George Herbert "Pete" Bostwick (August 14, 1909 – January 13, 1982) was an American

court tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

player, a

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

and

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

, and an eight-goal

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

player.

Biography

He was born in Bisby Lake,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to Marie L. Stokes and

Albert Carlton Bostwick Albert Carlton Bostwick (June 22, 1878 – November 10, 1911) was an American banker, sportsman, and automobile enthusiast. Early life Bostwick was born in New York City on June 22, 1878. He was the only son born to Jabez A. Bostwick and Helen C ...

. His grandfather,

Jabez A. Bostwick Jabez Abel Bostwick (September 23, 1830 – August 16, 1892) was an American businessman who was a founding partner of Standard Oil. Early life Bostwick was born in Delhi (town), New York, Delhi, New York on September 23, 1830. He was a son of A ...

, was a founder and treasurer of the

Standard Oil Company of New York Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

and a partner of

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...

. His grandmother, Helen C. Bostwick, left upon her death in April 1920 a sum of $1,156,818 to him and similar amounts to his siblings. Among his cousins were the cross-dressing woman speedboat racer "Joe" a/k/a

Betty Carstairs Marion Barbara 'Joe' Carstairs (1 February 1900 – 18 December 1993) was a wealthy British power boat racer known for her speed, eccentric lifestyle, and gender nonconformity. In the 1920s she was known as the ‘fastest woman on water’. ...

and the pilot Francis Francis. Pete Bostwick's inherited wealth afforded him the opportunity to pursue a number of sporting interests. His father was a horseman and

player and Pete Bostwick become one of a leading

owners, trainers, and riders. Pete Bostwick was a member of

The Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the breed registry for Thoroughbred horses in the United States and Canada. It is dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing and fulfills that mandate by serving many segments of the industry through its s ...

and a patron of the

National Tennis Club The National Tennis Club (NTC) is a court tennis (also known as "real tennis") club in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Its home is the reconstructed Court Tennis Building at the Newport Casino. The National Tennis Club hosted the Real Tennis ...

. He rode

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

steeplechase horses from 1927 to 1949 both in the US and

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

in the UK and also rode in

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

. In flat racing he finished 4th in the 1928 running of the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

aboard Whisk Broom, owned by his uncle F. Ambrose Clark. At

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

in 1932 he became the second jockey (after Jockey W. C. ("Bill") Clancy in 1895) ever to ride a flat and steeplechase winner on the same day a feat which he repeated again within two weeks.Gentleman Jockey – TIME
/ref> Initially he rode to victory at Belmont Park aboard Thomas Hitchcock's Silverskin in a steeplechase and Latin Stables' Ha Ha in a flat race on the same day. Then repeated the feat two weeks later in the Metropolitan Driving Club, a 1-1/16-mi. flat race on J. F. Byers' Glaneur then won the Chamblet Memorial steeplechase on Mrs. Ambrose Clark's Madrigal II the same day. As a trainer, in 1962 Bostwick became the first steeplechase trainer to have horses win more than $1 million in a single year. His horses were voted the

Eclipse Award for Outstanding Steeplechase horse The American Champion Steeplechase Horse is an American horse racing honor awarded as part of the Eclipse Award program since its inception in 1971. It is awarded annually to the top horse in steeplechase racing. Flatterer is the only horse to wi ...

on six occasions:

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...

(1950, 1951), Neji (1955, 1957, 1958), both of whom were voted into the United States Racing Hall of Fame, and

Ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

won the Eclipse Award in 1959. Bostwick was a resident of

Old Westbury Old Westbury is a village in the Towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 4,671 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Village of Old Westbury i ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

Gilbertsville, New York Gilbertsville is a historic village in Otsego County, New York, United States. The population was 399 at the 2010 census. The Village of Gilbertsville is in the Town of Butternuts and is west of Oneonta. Geography Gilbertsville is located at ...

and

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, in western South Carolina. It is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. Founded in 1835, Aiken was named after William Aiken, the president of the Sout ...

. First riding at the age of 7 his horseman roots were at the famed

Aiken Preparatory School Mead Hall Episcopal School is a private, 3K–12 coeducational college preparatory school located over two campuses in Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, in western South Carolina. It is on ...

where his aunt, Mrs.

Thomas Hitchcock Thomas Hitchcock (23 November 1860 – 29 September 1941) was one of the leading American polo players during the latter part of the 19th century and a Hall of Fame horse trainer and owner known as the father of American steeplechase hor ...

known as the "mother of U. S. polo", taught him and many leading polo players of the era their skill. His talents attested to ultimately reaching an eight-goal rating. "Polo for the Public" was his motto at the Bostwick Field on

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

and polo for a purse was also inaugurated there. In his later years he maintained an immaculate polo field and stables xtant todayat his sprawling farm in

under the name of Village Farms. Bostwick also owned Haig Point Plantation on

Daufuskie Island Daufuskie Island, located between Hilton Head Island and Savannah, is the southernmost inhabited sea island in South Carolina. It is long by almost wide – approximate surface area of (5,000 acres). With over of beachfront, Daufuskie is sur ...

off of

Hilton Head Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and southwest of Charleston. The island is ...

in South Carolina which he bought from Stiles Harper of Estill, SC in 1961 for $143,000. Pete skipped attending college remarking: "There is no use sitting in school when one can sit on a horse and go somewhere."

Personal life and legacy

''The New York Times'' reported Bostwick's wedding to Laura Elizabeth Curtis on 7 October 1933 and their divorce about 16 years later. An agreement gave Mrs. Bostwick custody of their three children, George H. Jr, James and Laura. Pete married Dolly Van Stade on April 26, 1949 to at the home of her parents in Old Westbury, Long Island. Dolly was a grand-daughter of Charles Steele, partner of J. Pierson Morgan. Her father was a noted polo player in the early days of the game on Long Island. At the

Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum The Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1977 as a tribute to the famous flat racing and steeplechase Thoroughbred horses that trained in Aiken, South Carolina. The museum was a project of the local Jaycees, ai ...

, there is a permanent exhibit dedicated to his accomplishments. In 1968, Pete Bostwick was inducted into the United States'

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

and posthumously inducted into the

Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame The Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization to celebrate the sport of polo.Horace Laffaye, Dennis J. Amato, ''Polo in the United States: A History'', Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, 2011, p. 28/ref> Overview It ...

in 1996. In 2006, he was inducted into the

Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame The Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame honors elite athletes and sports media workers who have roots in Nassau County, New York. The Hall of Fame presentation takes places at the Nassau County Sports Commission "Salute to Champions" Awards Dinne ...

. Pete Bostwick died of a heart attack in 1982 while playing polo. He was survived by his wife, Dolly Von Stade Bostwick (1921–1998), four sons and three daughters.George H. (Pete) Bostwick; Trained Steeplechase Horses – New York Times
/ref> Son George Herbert "Pete" Bostwick Jr. (Pete Bostwick Jr.), born August 22, 1934, was one of the more versatile amateur sportsmen in American history. He won three National

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

titles, two hard racquets Open Championships, and was a World Champion in

Biography

Personal life and legacy

References

Further reading