Belmont: 'Plain' To Extraordinary

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE nowadays to fully appreciate the importance of the horse in colonial America, not only as a beast of burden and a means of transportation, but also as a source of entertainment and competition. Teenagers would race horses in impromptu matches, and pride in one's town was often expressed in races that matched the fastest local horses against those of a nearby community. Literally everyone, whether or not they owned horses, came into contact with the animal as part of daily life.

By Paul Moran