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WHITBY FREE PRESS, Thursçlay, November 18th, 1971, Page 3 2ND. WHITBY HORSE SHOW DRAWS 'CONFIDENCE' CHAMPION HIGH JUMPER OF.THE WORLD 'OLD TYMER' A step into the past If one cou id step back intime - to one half decade, plus seven years ago, into that memorable week between Aug- ust 13th and 20th, 1914, what an electric atmospherecould have been found in the County Town. For between those spec- i f i c dates in our history, Whitby was e x p e r iencing the sol id success of the 2nd Annual Whitby Horse Show. In the heat of lazy August afternoons, parasol led ladies, gayly gowned in white swiss dot organdy of that era, with their dapper, high-hatted escorts, filed past w h i t e picket fences along maple treed streets in carriages or elaborate auto- m o b i les to the Town Park, a scene of happy activity indeed. in the evenings, when the first after dark fireflies could be seen, from how manyWhitby porches could be heard the tinkle oflemonade glasses, while amidst the sweetwaftof pipe smoke, a fond re- telling of the afternoon's events would be recalled? 'Confidence' Through a sense of deep-seated civic pr ide, nourished by a keen spirit of I o calism, Whitby was able to make the 2nd Annual Whitby Horse Show, a thing thatwould be remembered in the area for many years to come, andwith its promo- tion, was able to attract such horses as "Confidence", t h e renowned champion high jumper of the world. Bel ow , from the pen of an early j o u r nalist with the old 'Chronicle and Gazette', flows an accurate account of Whitby's 2nd Annual Horse Show. Account in 'Chronicle & Gazette' "T h e h o r s e is king in Whitby this week and none is too high or noble to do him reverence. People from every part of t h e County and a number from more distant parts of the Province made Whitby their Mecca, all because of the p r e.s e n c e of man's friend, the horse. An d w el I1 might the.y do so, .since the class of animais exhibited here has not been surpassed at any Horse Show this y-ear. To say that the Sifton, Pellatt, C row & Murray, Sunnybrook Farms, Cumberland, Meadowbrook, andLangton stabl es-were Ilargel y.represented is suf- ficient indication of the top notch quai- ity of the h or s es. In addition to these entries, however, were a large number of smal ler stables, which swelled the r an ks o f t he contestants to a goodly number in each event. The efforts of the officers have been urntiring to secure the best possible for the sho w . Everythingwas done on a larger scale than Iast year (lst annual Whitby Horse Show). There were three d ay's instead of two, there were more prizes offered. The grounds The grounds were most artistically d e c o r a t e d . The entrance arch from Brock Street was a bower of evergreen intertwined with the Horse Show colours p u r p le and gold. The judges' stand in in the centre -of the ring was also dec- orated with the colours. In front of the stand was an array of cups given in v a r i o us events. The grand stand was fitted LIp with fifty boxes and accommo-- dation for about 500 seats in addition. Music was suppl ied by the 34th Regimen- tal Band, and a refreshment booth was conducted by Charles Tod. The hunters The classes that proved most interes- t i n g on Wednesday were t h e hunters. The last event on the program, open to a il , was c on te s ted by twenty-seven horses, and this display alone was well worth the price of admission. Thirteen Sifton horses noted over the continent for their jumping ability, and nine Kil- gour (Sunnybrook Farm) horses were the contestants. "The Wasp", a Sifton entry was the winner. Only five horses went over the entire course without touching thebarriers, and of these three Sifton horses were awarded places. Touraine, winner of the Heavyweight Hunters was warded only third place in this event. The High Jump In interest to the spectators, the high jump f ar surpassed any other class in the t hree-days-program. There were èight entries and the event occupied an hour. The jumps commenced at four feet six in:hes, and were raised six inches at a time up to six feet. Over this mark the height was increased by smal ler dis- tancé's.,~he Sifton horses, Confidence, Skyscraper and Hercules,. and Crow & Murr.aY's Strathclair very soon out- classedtheothers, and the contest was left to them. Confidence is the champion highjumper of the world, and the Wasp is also "some jumper". Strathclair, of whom little had been heard, proved the surprise and delight of thespectators, however. At six feet eight inches all of the horseshad difficulty inclearing, but eventually succeeded in doing so. When the jump was raised to six ten, some of them balked, and absolutely refused to j ump. Strathclair star of jump Confidence made the attempt twice but carried most of the bars witW him. Before he did this however, he broke a nu m b e r o f bars and take-offs. Stra- thclair, the dark horse had meanwhile at the first attempt, cleared the height beautifully, being greeted with the en- thusiastic cneers of the spectators, and the delighted smiles of the owner. The jumping caused unbounded interest, ow- ing to the element of danger involved. And although no accidents occurred, there was suffi cient trouble given by the horses to satisfy the most ardent lover of excitement. The finest cup presented during the show was given by W. F. Eaton, for the best performance over six jumps. The cup was an immense silver one, valued at $100. The winner wa.s Liberty, of Sunnybrook Farms, Joseph Kilgour's beautiful place atEglinton. Mr. Eaton's daughter presented the cup. continued on page Il TUING TUFIT WIIULDNT t came from across the sea. Quietly. Timidly. UnassumingIy. It grew. Suddenly there were 4,000,000 of then. It was attacked. Detroitlings flung secret weapons at it and not only did it survive, but was fortified. See this omazing thing now running at your Volkswagen dealer. Continuous performances since 1952. Pickering Car Centre Ltd. 942-1881 AJAX Baseline and Pickering each Rd