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Booktalk
#1
The Horse
The Colt was a descendant of
the great Man-O-War. The colt's body built low to the ground had all of
the properties of a cinder block. Where his sire had been tall and sleek,
his son was blunt, coarse, rectangular and stationary. He had a sad little
tail, barely long enough to brush his hocks. His stubby legs were a study
in unsound construction. With squarish asymmetrical "baseball glove" knees
that didn't quite straighten all the way, leaving him in a permanent semi
crouch. Thanks to his unfortunate assembly, his walk was an odd straddle-legged
notion that resembled lameness. His favorite pastime was sleeping. His
name was Seabiscuit.
The Owner
Charles Howard was eastern
born and bred. In 1903 he left for California from New York with only 21
cents in his pocket. He begged and borrowed enough money to start a bicycle
repair shop. He tinkered with the bikes, but he was waiting for something
interesting to come his way. The horseless carriage was coming to San Francisco,
and people were staying away from that devilish contraption in droves.
Charles Howard saw an opportunity. His bike shop became an automobile repair
and he was on his way. In 1935, Charles started in horse racing by buying
a modest stable of horses, and hiring a crack trainer. Horse racing was
a hobby but then he became a fanatic.
The Trainer
Tom Smith was a man of few
words. With people Tim was bristling and curt. With horse he was gracefully
at ease. By the turn of the 19th century, he has already been a deer hunter
a sheep ranch foreman, a mountain lion tracker, and tamed countless mustangs.
At thirteen, he was already a skilled horse breaker. He rode to Grand Junction
Colorado, and won the job of the foreman of the Unaweep Ranch. He stayed
20 years. He spent years breaking study little cow ponies, treating their
injuries and illnesses. He lived day and night in their company. But the
day of the horse was coming to an end. Tom Smith found work with Cowboy
Charlie Irwin, who ran a Wild West Show in the summer, and racing in the
winter. It was a rough life for man and beast. Tom slept and ate in the
horses' stalls. He was taking care of over fifty-four horses. He shoed
the horses, patched the horses together, soothed their ailments and learned.
In watching thousands of match races, he learned that the horse that broke
first would win. Soon he became a trainer for Irwin and was very good.
He lived by one creed. " Learn your horse, each one is individual, and
once you penetrate his mind and heart, you can work wonders with an otherwise
intractable beast." The cow ponies, the broncs, the show horses and the
weary racers all help craft Tom Smith into the complete horseman. At the
Agua Caliente track in Mexico, Tom Smith met Charles Howard.
The Jockey
Red Pollard was born in Canada
in 1909. He started riding quarter horses as a kid. Then he moved to thoroughbreds.
He lived a rough and brutal life. And he also was learning. Red pollard
had a rare skill. He rode horses that no one else would go near. He had
learned to keep his whip idle, compensate by riding with longer stirrups.
He horses responded to his kind handling. After winning his first race
in 1926, it seemed that Red was going to make it as a jockey. He was riding
at Agua Caliente when he met Tom Smith.
Everything was in place - the
horse, the owner, the trainer, and the jockey. History was going to be
made. From 1936 to 1947, the scruffy little horse would spark the imagination
of a whole country and the four would become the stuff that legends are
made of.
Marilyn Bunker for The
Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award
Booktalk #2
Seabiscuit just happened to
be a descendant of the famous racer Man O" War, but he didn't look like
much. He was small with knobby knees, a crooked foreleg and a lazy streak.
What did he have going for him? He liked to win; had a big heart; a reclusive
trainer, Tom Smith; ad down on his luck jockey, Red Pollard; and a rags
to riches owner, Charles Howard.
Karen Kargel for The
Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award |
