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Traveler (died 1912), was a
foundation sire of the
American Quarter Horse breed, but mystery surrounds him as his breeding is completely unknown.
[Simmons, et al. ''Legends 2'' p. 6] He appeared in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
in the mid-1880s and eventually ended up as a
match
A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
racehorse and
stallion.
[Short ''Unregistered Foundation Sires of the American Quarter Horse'' p. 42] Some stories have him part of a contractor's work string doing grading work on a railroad being constructed in
Eastland County, Texas
Eastland County is a county located in central West Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,725. The county seat is Eastland. The county was founded in 1858 and later organized in 1873. It is named for William Mosby Eastland, a ...
.
[Chamberlain ''Quarter Paths: Traveler from Oblivion to Fame" ''Quarter Racing Journal'' pp. 16, 68, 71] Whether or not this story is true, the first recorded owner of Traveler was a man named Brown Seay.
[Denhardt "The Traveler Legacy" ''Quarter Horse Journal'' pp. 106–108]
Traveler was a light
sorrel
Sorrel (''Rumex acetosa''), also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ('dock' being a common name for the genus '' ...
horse, with light amounts of
roaning on his flanks. Markings were a snip, and a streak on the face. Standing around , he was leggy but well muscled, although George Clegg said the horse was the shortest backed horse he had ever seen.
[ He was also owned by the Shely brothers, who bred most of his most famous offspring. While owned by Seay, Traveler was match raced extensively in Texas.][Groves "Out of New York, By Boxcar" ''Quarter Horse Journal'' p. 18]
Traveler died in 1912 and sources estimate his age at 32.Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at ...
s as Little Joe, King (later named Possum), Jim Ned, Judge Thomas, Texas Chief, and Captain Joe.[ Other descendants included Joe Reed II, Hard Twist, Silver King, Tonto Bars Hank, and Tonto Bars Gill.][Nye "Fast Travelers" ''Quarter Racing Record'' pp. 6–11]
Traveler was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum was created by the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), based in Amarillo, Texas. Ground breaking construction of the Hall of Fame Museum began in 1989. The distinction is earned by people and ...
in 1994.
Notes
References
*
AQHA Hall of Fame
' accessed on September 2, 2017
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Further reading
* Reynolds, Franklin "They Called Him Traveler" ''Quarter Horse Journal'' May 1957 p. 7–9, 22–23, 34–36, 54–65
* Rockingham, Montague "Traveler: Greatest Sire Since Sir Archy" ''The Western Horseman'' January 1949 p. 10–11, 33
External links
Traveler at Quarter Horse Directory
Traveler at Quarter Horse Legends
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American Quarter Horse racehorses
American Quarter Horse sires
1912 racehorse deaths
AQHA Hall of Fame (horses)