PEDIGREE OF RYSDYK’S HAMBLETONIAN

This well-circulated photograph of Rysdyk’s Hambletonian was taken in 1860 when the stallion was 31 years old and had developed a somewhat sagging back. His huge pelvis, somewhat coarse head, substantial limbs and long neck are also evident. In next month’s installment I will present another portrait of this horse as he looked during the prime of his life.

Pedigree of Rysdyk’s Hambletonian

Color coding indicates tailfemale ancestry: light blue, Barb; yellow, Old Bald Peg (Hobby); green, Tregonwell’s Natural Barb mare (Barb); tan, Turkmene; dark blue, Norfolk Trotter; pink, Hobby; salmon, Canadian pacer. Blended colors indicate two preponderant strains in the tail-female. RH’s tail-female is approximately 27 percent Hobby, 40 percent Barb, 14 percent Turk and 19 percent Norfolk Trotter. He has a huge number of crosses to Old Bald Peg—at least 100; 30 crosses to the Godolphin horse; and four to Tregonwell’s Natural Barb mare. This kind of breeding guaranteed that RH would be what he was: speedy and tough and capable of passing these qualities on. Indeed, many of the mares he covered were of indifferent quality, and contemporary observers said of him that you could breed him to a boxcar and get a harness racer.