Hambletonian 10 (original) (raw)

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Standardbred foundation sire

Hambletonian 10
Rysdyk's Hambletonian 10
Breed Standardbred
Gait Trot
Mile record 2:48 1/2[1]
Sire Abdallah
Grandsire Mambrino
Dam Charles Kent Mare
Damsire Bellfounder
Sex Stallion
Foaled 1849
Died 1876
Country United States
Color Bay
Breeder Jonas Seely, Jr.
Owner William Rysdyk
Honors
Hambletonian StakesHarness Racing Hall of Fame Immortal (1953)

Hambletonian 10, or Rysdyk's Hambletonian (May 5, 1849 – March 27, 1876), was an American trotter and a founding sire of the Standardbred horse breed. The stallion was born in Sugar Loaf, New York, on 5 May 1849.[2] Hambletonian has been inducted into the Immortals category of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame.[3]

Origin and early years

[edit]

Hambletonian 10 was bred by Jonas Seely, Jr., on his farm at Sugar Loaf in Orange County, New York. He was sired by Abdallah, a grandson of the hugely influential Thoroughbred 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.[4] Hambletonian was inbred to Messenger (GB) (1780) in the third, fourth, and fifth generations.[5]

Seely'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. Seely finally agreed, and for $125, William Rysdyk took his prize possessions home.[6]

Hambletonian had an unusual build, being low at the withers (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.

Hambletonian 10, from his Standard registered number,[7] 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. 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.

Plaque in Goshen, NY commemorating Hambeltonian's success as a sire

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.[8] 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.[6]

Sire line descent tree
Hambletonian 10[9][10][8][11] Abdallah[12][11] Major EdsallRobert McGregor[13] Cresceus[14] Shark Major Winfield[11] George Wilkes[15][16] Red WilkesAshland WilkesJohn R Gentry[17] OnwardAllandorfBlack Allan Anderson WilkesSingle G[18][19][20][21] AlcyoneMcKinney[22] Zombro[23][24] Belwin[25] Patchen WilkesJoe Patchen[26] Dan Patch[27] William LAxtell[28] Axworthy[29] Volunteer[11] Bodine Gloster Driver Powers Alley St Julien[30] Domestic Hambletonian Second Dexter[31] DictatorDirectorDirect[32] Directly Directum Kelly Direct HalWalter DirectNapoleon Direct[33] Billy Direct[34] Ensign HanoverEnsign LadRambling FuryRambling Willie[35] Tar Heel[36] Directum[37] Jay Eye See[38] Happy Medium[39] Pilot MediumPeter The Great[40] Peter Scott[41] Peter Volo[42] Peter The Brewer[43] The Laurel Hall[44] Electioneer[45] Palo Alto Chimes[46] The Abbott The Monk The Abbe[47] Abbedale[48] Hal Dale[49] Adios[50][51] Good Time[52] Fast Clip Dale Frost[53] Meadow Skipper[54] Bert Abbe May KingBingen[55] Todd[56] Uhlan[57] J Malcolm Forbes[58] Arion[59]

Hambletonian monument in Chester, on Hambletonian Avenue just northwest of Oakland Avenue

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.[6] William Rysdyk is buried in the Community Cemetery on the Old Seely Ward Farm in Chester, New York.

The Hambletonian Stakes 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.

Hambletonian 10 is considered a foundation sire of the Standardbred due to his pervasive influence on modern bloodlines.[1] 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, Canadian Pacer, and Hackney Horse.[60] 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.[61]

Pedigree of Hambletonian, bay horse, 1849[5]

SireAbdallah 1823 Mambrino† 1806 **Messenger***† Mambrino
_Turf Mare_†
_Sourcrout Mare_† Sourcrout†
_Whirligigg Mare_†
_Amazzonia_‡ 1810 Dove† Saratoga†^
_Expedition Mare_†
Fasdown **Messenger***†
unknown
Dam_Charles Kent Mare_ 1834 Bellfounder‡ 1816 Old Bellfounder§ Pretender - Wroots§
_Smuggler Mare_§
_Velocity_‡ Haphazard†
unknown
One Eye 1815 Bishop's Hambletonian† **Messenger***†
_Pheasant_†
Silvertail **Messenger***†
Black Jin (breeding unknown)

*^ Hambletonian 10 is inbred 3S × 5S x 4S x 4D x 4D to the stallion Messenger, meaning that he appears third generation, fifth generation (via Saratoga)^, and fourth generation, once each, on the sire side of his pedigree, and fourth generation twice on the dam side of his pedigree.

† Thoroughbred
‡ Norfolk Trotter
§ Hackney

  1. ^ a b "HAMBLETONIAN". www.harnessmuseum.com. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Hambletonian". National Museum of American History. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  3. ^ "The Horse Immortals: Gr-Ni". harnessmuseum.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  4. ^ Hayes FRCVS, Horace M. (1969). Points of the Horse. London: Stanley Paul. p. 425. ISBN 0-09-038711-2.
  5. ^ a b "Hambletonian Standardbred". www.allbreedpedigree.com. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  6. ^ a b c "Hambletonian". harnessmuseum.com. Archived from the original on 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  7. ^ Summerhayes, R.S., “Horses and Ponies”, Warne & Co, New York, 1948
  8. ^ a b THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE IN AMERICA
  9. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Hambletonian {archive}
  10. ^ Springfield Museums: The Celebrated Trotting Stallion George Wilkes By Rysdyk’s Hambletonian, Currier & Ives
  11. ^ a b c d Reminiscences Of Rysdyk’s Hambletonian, Orange County, New York
  12. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Abdallah
  13. ^ Robert McGregor 2985
  14. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Cresceus
  15. ^ Harness Racing Museum: George Wilkes
  16. ^ In Memory of Allan F1
  17. ^ Harness Racing Museum: John R Gentry
  18. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Single G
  19. ^ RetroIndy: Single G, the horse that time forgot
  20. ^ Single G: The Horse That Time Forgot — His Connection to the State of Maine
  21. ^ Single G Remembered
  22. ^ Harness Racing Museum: McKinney
  23. ^ Harness Racing Museum: San Francisco
  24. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Zombrewer
  25. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Belwin
  26. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Joe Patchen
  27. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Dan Patch
  28. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Axtell
  29. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Axworthy
  30. ^ Harness Racing Museum: St Julien
  31. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Dexter
  32. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Direct
  33. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Napoleon Direct
  34. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Billy Direct
  35. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Rambling Willie
  36. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Tar Heel
  37. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Directum
  38. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Jay-Eye-See
  39. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Happy Medium
  40. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Peter The Great
  41. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Peter Scott
  42. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Peter Volo
  43. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Peter The Brewer
  44. ^ Harness Racing Museum: The Laurel Hall
  45. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Electioneer
  46. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Chimes
  47. ^ Harness Racing Museum: The Abbe
  48. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Abbedale
  49. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Hal Dale
  50. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Adios
  51. ^ SC Rewind: The Last Adios
  52. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Good Time
  53. ^ Harness racing Museum: Dale Frost
  54. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Meadow Skipper
  55. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Bingen
  56. ^ SUKOPOSTI Torg
  57. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Uhlan
  58. ^ Harness Racing Museum: J Malcolm Forbes
  59. ^ Harness Racing Museum: Arion
  60. ^ "Standardbred racing - Club Jockey du Québec". Club Jockey du Québec. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  61. ^ "Abdallah Standardbred". www.allbreedpedigree.com. Retrieved 24 March 2017.