An Amazing Story from America’s History
By mosquito
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20th Jul 2010 •
4,362 views
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2 comments
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American Saddlebreds are an amazing breed, and they have a rich heritage grown out of America’s southern states. Their history is one of southern elegance and determination, and although they may not have made their mark outside of America yet, pretty much every horse lover would know one if they saw one – you just can’t miss that high stepping gait. That southern heritage has a surprising twist though – did you know that one of the greatest Saddlebred trainers and breeders – and one of the founding fathers of the American Saddlebred, was actually a black man, and the son of a slave?
Tom Bass is the commonly called the ‘King of the Saddle Horse’. Born sometime in the 1850s – no one knows exactly when – to a slave girl and a white man on the Bass Plantation in Missouri, Tom was born into a time when slavery was still in practice in America, although the divisions between south and north were already beginning. Tom’s father was the son of the plantation owner, Eli Bass, who had a real passion for horses. This was good news for Tom, because it meant that he had plenty of opportunities to work with some of the best gaited horses in America.
Tom was fortunate – being the son of a plantation owner gave him more privileges than most born to slave mothers, and Tom’s rapidly spreading reputation as a genius with horses helped him too. By the 1890s, Tom was one of the most sought after horse trainers in the South, traveling freely across the states to work with gaited horses. He was never able to make much money though, although he never became angry about the injustices and inequalities he faced. All he wanted to do was work with horses, and he felt lucky to be able to do that. Tom had a natural gift with horses, and was known to be gentle and kind to them, never forcing horses to do anything or handling them roughly – some say that his own background as a black man in the time of slavery showed him that the best way to get results (from a horse or a human) was through kindness and not abuse.
Tom was associated with some remarkable horses. The famous snow-white Columbus is considered by some to be the best Saddlebred of all time. Tom trained Columbus from the day he was born, even though Columbus had several owners – including the famous Buffalo Bill Cody. Cody bought Columbus and rode him himself as ’the finest white horse in the world’ in his famous Wild West Show. Columbus was even selected to travel to Paris for the Exhibition in 1900, although by then Columbus was back in Tom’s hands and he soon got an offer for the horse that he couldn’t refuse, although Columbus did continue to travel America as a famous exhibition horse, showing off his many unusual gaits and paces. Columbus seemed to pass in and out of Tom’s hands over the years – always coming back because Tom just couldn’t be without him. Even after a terrible accident when Tom was teaching Columbus a now pace, and the horse fell on him leaving Tom unable to ride for many months and having to sell Columbus again, he still wanted him back. Tom joked about how after the fall, Columbus sprang up, and tried to lift Tom back onto his feet by his coat!
Tom has some enduring legacies today. He was the founder of the American Royal horse show, initiating it as a fundraiser for the Kansas City Fire Department way back in the 1890s. While living on his own stables in Kansas City, Tom had the opportunity to train Miss Rex, the 1893 world champion, and this success brought him a lot more business things were looking up for Tom. Tom was also the trainer of the famous Miss Rex, Limestone Belle, and one of the founding sires of Saddlebreds, RexMcDonald.
Another venture that we can thank Tom for today is the design of his bits. Always a sensitive horseman, Tom noticed that other riders were having trouble handling their horse because they were getting a lot of resistance. He thought the harsh bits they were using might be the reason, and Tom didn’t see any need to hurt a horse’s mouth to get a good performance. Tom designed a new curb bit for saddle horses, and pioneered the use of copper to soften a horse’s mouth. Tom Bass bits are still mad under his name today, and are one of the most popular bits for saddle horses even now. As Tom said ‘my bits are my gift to my horses’.
Tom went on to train horses for many years, including riding horses for several presidents. He kept going until his death in 1936, after which his original, and humble, stable was made into a museum. Sadly, it was destroyed by arson in 1997, but it safe to say that Tom’s legacy lives on with his bits, his horses’ descendants, and in his reputation as one of the gentlest yet most successful horse trainers in history. Most of all, Tom deserves to be remembered forever for – as the Busch family said when Tom came to train horses for their famous brewery – ‘Tom competed in a white man’s sport at a time in this country when that was just not done.’ |
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T W I
Great article! Well worth the read. :)
Great article! Well worth the read. :)
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Jul 21, 2010
• 3,820 views
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