Hambletonian 10
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Hambletonian 10, or Rysdyk's Hambletonian, (May 5, 1849 – March 27, 1876) was an American trotter and a founding sire of the
Standardbred horse The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...
breed. The stallion was born in
Sugar Loaf, New York Sugar Loaf is a mixed-use hamlet in Orange County, New York, United States. It is located in the Town of Chester, within view of Sugar Loaf mountain. History The hamlet of Sugar Loaf, New York, was founded in the late 1740s as a waypoint alo ...
, on 5 May 1849. Hambletonian has been inducted into the Immortals category of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame.


Origin and early years

Hambletonian 10 was bred by Jonas Seely, Jr., on his farm at Sugar Loaf in
Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orange ...
. He was sired by Abdallah, a grandson of the hugely influential
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 ...
sire, Messenger. Abdallah was ugly in body and temperament, so much so that he was sold to a fish peddler for $5. Hambletonian's dam was known as the Charles Kent mare or the "Kent Mare", sired by Bellfounder (GB), an imported
Norfolk Trotter The Norfolk Trotter is a historical horse breed once native to East Anglia and Norfolk, England. It was said to be "a large-sized trotting harness horse originating in and around Norfolk". In 1542, King Henry VIII required the wealthy to keep a ...
. Hambletonian was
inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...
to Messenger (GB) (1780) in the third and fourth generations (3x4x4x4). Seeley's hired hand, William Rysdyk, cared for the mare and foal. Rysdyk became so attached to the pair and was so convinced that the foal would someday be great that he asked to purchase them. Seeley finally agreed, and for $125, William Rysdyk took his prize possessions home. Hambletonian had an unusual build, being low at the
withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle a ...
(15.1 hands), but high at the croup (15.3 hands). This length of hind leg provided a great deal of thrust with each stride, and he passed both characteristics on to all his get.


Racing record

Hambletonian 10, from his Standard registered number,Summerhayes, R.S., “Horses and Ponies”, Warne & Co, New York, 1948 made his first public appearance at the age of 6 months at the nearby Orange County Fair in Goshen. He caused quite a sensation, and horsemen started referring to him as "Rysdyk's Abdallah colt." Meanwhile, another son of Abdallah, Abdallah Chief, owned by Seeley C. Roe, was looming as a competitor for the local stallion honors. Roe had nothing but contempt for Hambletonian, and claimed he would never be a trotter, only a show horse. This issue was settled in 1852 at Long Island's
Union Course Union Course was a horse racing course in what is now Woodhaven, Queens, in New York City. It hosted some of the most famous horse races in American history, including the 1823 match between American Eclipse and Sir Henry. The track was located ...
. Hambletonian and Abdallah Chief were hitched to skeleton wagons with their owners driving. Three minutes and three seconds after the start, Hambletonian crossed the finish line ahead of his rival. Roe still was not satisfied and insisted on another race. A time trial was held. Abdallah Chief went the mile in 2:55½. Then Roe watched Hambletonian, in what would be the only time trial of his career, trot the mile in 2:48½.


Stud record

Hambletonian 10 began his stud career at age two when Rysdyk allowed him to cover four mares. The horse's reputation as a speed sire quickly grew, and Rysdyk then placed Hambletonian at stud in Chester and bred him to mares for a fee upwards of $500, with Rysdyk making a modest fortune from the horse's services. In the 1860s, one of the stallion's sons, Dexter, trotted the mile in 2:17¼; a record. Dexter was immediately bought for $25,000 by a Robert E. Bonner for his own private driving pleasure. A rigidly moral man, Bonner did not approve of racing or betting, so no one would ever know if Dexter could have trotted even faster. Ever since, though, no horses lacking lines to Hambletonian 10 in their pedigree have ever done better. In 24 seasons at stud, between 1851 and 1875, Hambletonian produced about 1,335 foals. Through four of Hambletonian's sons (George Wilkes, Dictator, Happy Medium, and Electioneer), the lineage of virtually all North American Standardbred horses can be traced to him.


Death

At age 27 on March 27, 1876, Hambletonian died. Both his owner, who had died in 1870, and he were buried in Chester, New York. Seventeen years after Hambletonian's death, a granite monument, the gift of many people who had fond memories of the horse, was placed over his grave on Hambletonian Avenue. William Rysdyk is buried in the Community Cemetery on the Old Seely Ward Farm in Chester, New York.


Honors

The
Hambletonian Stakes The Hambletonian Stakes is a major American harness race for three-year-old trotting horses, named in honor of Hambletonian 10, a foundation sire of the Standardbred horse breed, also known as the "Father of the American Trotter." The first ...
race, the most prestigious harness race for trotters in North America, is named in honor of Hambletonian 10. The official mascot of the Chester Academy (formerly Chester Jr/Sr High School) in Chester, where Hambletonian is buried, is Hambletonian. High-school sports teams are referred to as the Chester Hambletonians, and Hambletonian's image appears frequently throughout the village of Chester. The road where Hambletonian is buried is also named Hambletonian Ave.


Pedigree

Hambletonian 10 is considered a foundation sire of the Standardbred due to his pervasive influence on modern bloodlines. The breed is older than Hambletonian by a few generations, though, and was formed by mixing Thoroughbred bloodlines with various trotting breeds,such as the
Norfolk Trotter The Norfolk Trotter is a historical horse breed once native to East Anglia and Norfolk, England. It was said to be "a large-sized trotting harness horse originating in and around Norfolk". In 1542, King Henry VIII required the wealthy to keep a ...
,
Canadian Pacer The Canadian horse (french: cheval canadien) is a horse breed from Canada. It is a strong, well-muscled breed of horse, usually dark in colour. The horses are generally used for equestrianism, riding and driving (horse), driving. Descended ...
, and
Hackney Horse The Hackney is a recognized breed of horse that was developed in Great Britain. In recent decades, the breeding of the Hackney has been directed toward producing horses that are ideal for carriage driving. They are an elegant high steppin ...
. Hambletonian's sire Abdallah, one of the fastest trotters of his time, was sired by the Thoroughbred stallion Mambrino and was out of the Norfolk Trotter mare Amazzona. *Hambletonian 10 was
inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...
3 × 4 × 4 × 4 to the stallion Messenger, meaning the horse appears in the pedigree once in the third generation and three times in the fourth generation. † Thoroughbred
‡ Norfolk Trotter
§ Hackney


References


External links


Facsimile edition of Busbey, H. (1873). “The Trotting Horse in America”. Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, vol. XLVII, June to November 1873, pp. 604-613.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hambletonian 10 American Standardbred racehorses United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductees Racehorses bred in New York (state) Racehorses trained in the United States 1849 racehorse births 1876 racehorse deaths