In early 18 th century America, the territory west of the Cumberland Gap was a raw land, heavily treed, with rolling hills and beautiful meadows underlain with limestone rock. As European immigrants moved westward into this road-less terrain, they did so on foot and horseback, traveling narrow winding trails carved through the wooded landscape. They brought with them agile, ambling horses from the European continent, small horses, often referred to in the old English literature of Chaucer's time as Palfreys. Within a few years, in the Narragansett Bay area of Rhode Island such horses were being bred in large numbers and were known as Narragansett Pacers. They were surefooted amblers, could live on spare rations, and had an almost eerie ability to cover a lot of ground rapidly without fatigue.These horses carried settlers to what would become widely known as the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky where successful farmers began to breed their mares to stallions of the Thoroughbred breed that were then being imported from England. The resulting offspring were larger, more refined, and many retained the ambling ability of the gaited horses. It was in this way that the American Saddlebred breed began, bringing to this part of Kentucky the reputation of producing the best riding horses in the country.

Early American horses had to prove themselves in many ways. The successful stallion attracted mares through the reputation of his offspring, a reputation carried by his colts and fillies as they worked their way to Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and other then remote regions. Stamina, energy, intelligence, tractability, speed, and beauty were characteristics that sold the horses that possessed them, and owners brought their mares from great distances to the stallions whose offspring were so admired.

The breed's battle for survival did not end with the War. In a relatively short time, the invention of the automobile posed an even greater threat. Why this new threat didn't succeed lies somewhere long ago in the shared psyche of the human/horse partnership. So instead of disappearing, the breed's traditional saddle and tack, its rider's clothing, and way of riding became idealized as though frozen in time. Like the American cowboy in following years with his Stetson, chaps, and heavy stock saddle, the American Saddlebred rider continued the even earlier tradition of the English saddle suit, derby, and flat saddle (which antedated the English forward seat saddle). The horse left the dusty rural back roads for the show ring, because that was all that was left to him and the people who couldn't imagine a time without him.

With this transformation, the old men of the breed retreated to the dark interiors of aging Kentucky tobacco barns, treasuring their breeding stallions and mares like jewels from the past, handed down through generations of their families. They had little regard for a horse that could only walk, trot, and canter. What they loved was a horse that could rack and slow gait, ambling gaits that reverberated with their memories of the past, the rhythmic four-beat staccato of the sound of a horse on a country road, and they painstakingly worked to develop and train these two extra gaits so the horse remained "true" and separated his gaits to perfection. They had another quality they valued from the past which was a horse's boldness and courage. The worst thing these men could say about a horse was that he was "gutless" or "chicken-hearted" because the best Saddlebreds were brave horses, fearless in battle, fearless in the backwoods, not due to dullness or stupidity, but because of their high intelligence and confidence in themselves. Today we find the same qualities in the best specimens of the breed. The trainers will say that such a horse "thinks a lot of himself".

With this attentive cultivation, the American Saddlebred breed grew slowly, with breeders unwilling to part with horses that carried this magic potion of characteristics. The horses were doled out to serious breeders and trusted buyers, so that by the 1920s and 30s, Saddlebreds were being shown in Louisville, Kentucky, St. Louis, and San Francisco, California under the farm colors of some of the wealthiest patrons in America. Francis Dodge of the Dodge Motor Company and Mrs. William Roth of the Matson Shipping Lines in San Francisco were just two of the many who spent years showing and promoting their horses from coast to coast, putting them on trains, criss-crossing the country, entertaining people who flocked to horse shows as Americans struggled to bear up under the cloud of the Great Depression and the turmoil of World War II. By 1950, horse shows had become such a big part of American society that the great Five-Gaited World Champion Saddlebred horse, Wing Commander, appeared in Life magazine as an example of a fine athlete, an American phenomenon, and perhaps also in the wake of the war, the country's living representative of a simpler time.

Today the ASB breed is still a small one. With its registry laying claim to being the oldest horse registry in the country with an official date of 1891, the American Saddlebred Horse Registry registers about 3000 horses per year. Rigorous performance has remained the measure of evaluation. In recent years, the Association has instituted a program to promote the breed's versatility, a path that is welcomed by some and mourned by others who lament any loss of the breed's traditions. One fact remains, and that is that the Saddlebred breed, unlike many others, retains its genetic diversity, its health, soundness, athleticism, and intelligence, characteristics which made it the pride of the Kentucky Bluegrass.

For more information on the American Saddlebred breed, visit the official website of the American Saddlebred Horse Association at: www.saddlebred.com.

Barbara Molland and her husband Michael own Far Field Farm, an American Saddlebred breeding and sales farm in Petaluma, CA. Visit their website at www.farfieldfarm.com.