Native Victory
(Born: Spring of 2004)
has been sold

TOM RYDER ON THE HACKNEY HORSE

The High Stepper by Tom Ryder (J.A. Allen, London & New York, 1979)
"To the modern horseman the name hackney denotes a high stepping trotter, specially bred and trained for exaggerated performance in the show ring...  a breed society was set up in 1883 to distinguish the breed name from the older usage meaning a riding horse of general utility, as distinct from the war horse. Such a hackney may not have been a trotter at all, indeed the amble was considered a more desirable gait for a utility riding horse from the earliest recorded times until the early part of the eighteenth century; the able being a lateral gait, a slower form of what is not spoke of in harness racing circles as 'the pace.'  ...However, in Britain it was the ability to trot fast that became a much sought after quality and, although there may have been many reasons for this change, it was not likely have been a mere whim of fashion. Hilaire Beloc in The Road, published in 1923, draws attention to the increase of wheeled traffic in England from the end of the seventeenth century, and with this increase came the demand for improved roads. This in turn led to faster travel for which superior horses were needed, thus the demand for trotters, ambling not being a suitable gait for coach horses. In those days the trot was also the faster, and for the horse, the less fatiguing gait."

"...No doubt it was the growing demand for horses for the road that led to superior stallions being made available to all comers, together with the realisation that, under controlled conditions, a stallion might serve many more mares than had been supposed hitherto."

"...This horse, variously called Shales, Schales Horse, or Shields, was foaled about 1755, and it is from him that all modern Hackneys trace their descent."

END QUOTE

• The Hackney Stud Book was first published in 1883

• The origin of the breed goes back to the Norfolk Trotter in England
  The Norfolk Trotter had been selectively bred for both elegance and speed. In an attempt to improve on both traits, Norfolk mares were mated with Thoroughbred sires. It is thought the the first Hackney, as we presently know the breed, was "The shale's Horse," foaled in 1760.

• Tom Ryder's dissertation is the finest history of the breed in print:
  The High Stepper, by Tom Ryder [J. A. Allen, London, 1979 (reprinted many times]

Anne's mentor and dear friend, Cynthia Haydon,
is shown here driving a four of Hackney Horses
to a Park Drag.  Cynthia is a legend and likely the
finest woman four-in-hand driver to ever pick up
the ribbons and whip. Our youngest daughter is
named after her

CLIVE RICHARDSON ON THE HACKNEY HORSE

The following is by Clive Richardson, from his book, The Hackney
[ŠJ. A. Allen & Co., London, 1995]

"The Hackney Horse holds a unique position among the breeds of the world. Although essentially English in origin and character,... the Hackney is now recognisable all over the world... Strong and active with legendary stamina and the ability to trot long distances at great speed, these early progenitors of the Hackney were essentially riding horses with the low, ground-cover stride peculiar to that class of horse...

"But Hackneys were all all-around utility animals and would be expected to carry the farmer, and probably his wife too as a pillion, when he went to market or church or about his daily business, as well as occasionally providing a day's sport with the local hunt, and even taking a turn in the fields drawing a plough if the need arose

"When the development of a basic network of roads permitted the introduction of the mail-coach system a little over 200 years ago, Hackneys were employed in large numbers to horse the coaches. Even after the coming of the railways saw the demise of coaching, Hackneys were still the favoured breed for both private and commercial harness work on account of their stamina, speed and style."

[RETURN TO HACKNEY HORSES OF NATIVE OAKS FARM]