A salute to the noble horse

Do you like horses, as I do? I’ve always considered them the noblest beasts of all, not counting a few dogs out of my past, which considered themselves my best friends. And I think horses have proven themselves, since time out of mind, worthy of that designation.

Friday’s Register Citizen carried a front-page story by Margo Killoran announcing something called a “Canadian Horse Expo,” to be held Oct. 13 at the Harwinton Fairgrounds. (The Harwinton Fair is scheduled to run the weekend before, Oct. 5, 6 and 7).

After reading the RegCit story, the horse expo appears to be a good way to spend a day. But then, I like horses.

On Thursday, the mailman delivered another horsey item, a 2019 calendar from the “Young America’s Foundation” featuring, on the cover, the late Pres. Ronald Reagan, in western work garb, seated on a horse. Reagan was a talented horseman whose California ranch, called Rancho del Cielo, was the western White House during his two terms as president in the 1980s. There are several more photos featuring Reagan with his horses throughout the calendar.

George Washington, we can all agree, was the most able horseman of all the presidents, and probably the best all-around athlete. He was said to be the best horseman in Virginia and the best dancer. He wasn’t a bad general, either.

If there were other presidents whose horsemanship was considered top-shelf, I haven’t uncovered them, although I know Lincoln did a lot of riding. And it stands to reason that U.S. Grant must have been easy in the saddle, too, as was his Confederate counterpart, Robert E Lee., whose favorite mount, Traveler, was much admired. We can’t put Calvin Coolidge in the “horseman’’ category because, while he was a frequent rider, he never left the White House when he rode. His horse was mechanical.

It was Reagan who said, “There is nothing so good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse.” It was also Reagan who appointed Sandra Day O’Connor to the Supreme Court, the first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. And it was O’Connor who said, and I’m paraphrasing, “There is no better way to relax than to spend some time on the back of a good cutting horse.” She was a much-admired westerner who grew up on a ranch.

My favorite famous horseman ever is the late Malcolm Baldrige, killed in a rodeo accident in 1987. A Connecticut man by way of Nebraska, Baldrige served as Reagan’s Secretary of Commerce. I met him on the ground floor of the Hartford Civic Center one evening during a rodeo.

He was standing all alone, holding the reins of his horse and waiting for his turn to enter the ring to compete in the calf roping. I had intended to hurry by, but he hailed me, asking, “Do you have change for a quarter?” and I recognized him. Turned out he wanted a coffee from the nearby machine and didn’t have the needed change. I had it. There followed an unforgettable conversation between a thrilled Hartford Courant sports columnist and the Secretary of Commerce of the United States.

Baldrige, who was president and CEO at Scoville Manufacturing in Waterbury when summoned to Reagan’s Cabinet, was so friendly and accommodating answering questions, that the interviewer almost forgot to take notes.

The cowboy Cabinet member was beyond friendly. He was the kind of interview reporters dream about. He related the details of the call from the White House that invited him to become Commerce secretary shortly after RR took office.

“We were roping down in Woodbury,” he said, chuckling. “And a call came out. ‘Hey Mac, the president’s on the phone for you.’ I just laughed and said, ’sure he is,’ and kept roping. Well, he persisted and in a minute I realized he was serious, and I made for the house as fast as I could.”

Baldrige was a good, classy man, a strong man, a World War II combat veteran and a patriot who served the country well, as he had served private industry, the city of Waterbury and Connecticut.

His death was a shock and a sorrow. The Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame welcomed him as a member in 1988.

The horse he was holding that night in the Civic Center was called “Skippy,” a good roping horse. By this time, Skippy is in horse heaven. And I like to think that “Mac” is holding the reins, or up on his back, ready to rope.