Sport: Back in the Saddle

Having decided in 1942 that horse cavalry was obsolete, the U.S. Army in due course applied the inexorable logic of its decision to its military riding teams: after the 1948 Olympics they were disbanded. That left the U.S. without any trained riding teams to enter in international jumping competitions, so for two seasons, U.S. riders watched cavalry teams from Mexico, Britain, France, Ireland, Chile and Canada jump off with all the prizes at the U.S.’s own National Horse Show. This year the International Equestrian Federation came to the rescue by ruling that civilians are just as eligible for international competitions as cavalrymen. Accordingly, as the 1950 horse show opened in Madison Square Garden last week, the U.S. was back in the saddle again.

The chief surprise was that after combing the country for show-caliber riders, the U.S. had settled on a first team of one man and two women: Arthur McCashin, a gentleman farmer of Pluckemin, N.J., Norma Mathews, a California ranch girl, and Mrs. Carol Durand, a Kansas City housewife.

Knockout Roar. Against topflight international competition, including members of the Mexican army team—which has dominated the show for three years —the girls did better than well. In the first event of a three-day low-score competition, first Arthur McCashin, then Mrs. Durand turned in faultless rides. The British and the Mexicans, whose team included the skilled woman rider, Lieut. Eva Valdes, hung up low scores too. That left it up to “Anchor Man” Norma Mathews, top-ranking U.S. rider, to bring home the ribbons. The crowd edged up on their seats as the blue-eyed blonde came into the ring astride heir pinto mount, Country Boy.*

With gentle urging, but always keeping Country Boy in easy, deliberate hand, Norma cleared jump after jump cleanly, guided willing Country Boy to a flawless ride—and the first U.S. team victory in the National in two years. The appreciative roar from the usually staid crowd would have done credit to a fight mob cheering a knockout.

Bars Down? Norma dismounted and hustled Country Boy to his stall. The big (17.1 hands, 1,450 Ibs.) nine-year-old gelding, worth an estimated $20,000, had kicked himself going over a jump. For the better part of an hour, worried Norma played nursemaid (ice baths, salve, liniment and heavy wrappings) to Country Boy’s bruised left fetlock. Such concern was only common sense to Norma: “After all, the horse is 60% of my success.” Her own 40% contribution is “rhythm” and “getting to know” Country Boy, plus 22 years of riding experience in a 27-year lifetime. Norma prefers geldings for a very sound reason: “They haven’t anything else on their minds. It makes them honest jumpers.”

As the U.S. team of Mathews, Durand and McCashin went on to win the three-day low-score competition this week, it was pretty clear that U.S. amateurs could hold their own with anybody’s cavalry. Heretofore, women have been barred from Olympic jumping competition, but if the U.S. delegation has its way in Olympic Committee meetings this spring, the bars will come down in time for the 1952 Olympics.

* Originally from the stable of the late C. S. Howard, Country Boy is the result of a mistaken mating between Howard’s personal riding horse, a half thoroughbred and half Morgan, and an Irish steeplechaser, originally imported to be bred to Seabiscuit.