Narragansett Pacer

 

The Narragansett Pacer had a major influence on many American gaited horse breeds. It was especially associated with the state of Rhode Island in the early 18th century (1700s), but became extinct by the late 19th century.^[3] It was known as one of the first breeds of horse developed in America.^[4][5] The origin of the breed is unknown, but it was probably developed from a cross between English "ambling" horses and Spanish breeds. The horses developed from this cross were known for their smoothness and sure-footedness over poor terrain.^[3]

The English horses which contributed to the Narragansett Pacer may have been members of the Irish Hobby breed;^[6] another possible ancestor is the Galloway pony.^[7] A 2022 genetic study of the Paso Fino of Puerto Rico, thought to be descended from the Narragansett Pacer, also showed similarities to the New Forest Pony, which has shared ancestry with the Celtic-type Asturcón and Pottok ponies.^[8][9][2]

A popular tradition linking the ancestry of the New Forest pony to Spanish horses said to have swum ashore from wrecked ships at the time of the Spanish Armada has, according to the New Forest National Park Authority, "long been accepted as a myth";^[10] however, the offspring of New Forest mares, probably bred at the Royal Stud in Lyndhurst, were exported in 1507 for use in the Renaissance wars involving France and Spain, which lasted until 1559. The Royal Stud at Lyndhurst was also said to stand Spanish stallions at the time; and, like Pacers, the ponies were raced.^[11]

In the early 1700s, Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor William Robinson began the serious development of Narragansett Pacer breed with a stallion named "Old Snip", speculated to be either an Irish Hobby or an Andalusian (Iberian horse), and considered to be the father of the breed.^[12] As such, the Narragansett Pacer may be related to other gaited horse breeds descended from the Colonial Spanish horse, such as the Paso Fino and the Florida Cracker Horse, the later of which is supported by the 2022 genetic study. However, the study also noted that DMRT3, the allele that causes a pacing gait in horses, was "not common" in Iberian horses, theorizing that the gene came from "non-Iberian breeds".^[13][2]

In 1768, George Washington owned and raced a Narragansett Pacer, and Edmund Burke asked an American friend for a pair in 1772. Paul Revere possibly rode a Pacer during his 1775 ride to warn the Americans of the British attack.^[4] Scots-Irish judge and Patriot sympathizer^[14] George Grant McCurdy of Old Lyme, Connecticut^[15] also owned a Narragansett Pacer mare ("McCurdy mare"), whom McCurdy bred to the English Thoroughbred stallion "McCurdy's Young Wildair" to produce the "Samuel Burt mare", an ancestor of Tennessee Walking Horse founder Black Allan. The Narragansett Pacer would prove to be immensely popular in the 18th century, and dominated early horse races in Colonial America.

The extinction of the Narragansett Pacer as a breed was thought to be mainly due to two factors. The first of these factors was the introduction of the English Thoroughbred to the United States from England. The first Thoroughbred horse in the American Colonies was Bulle Rock, imported in 1730,^[16][17] and four more important Thoroughbred stallions were imported shortly after the American Revolutionary War: Medley in 1784;^[18] Shark in 1786;^[19] Messenger in 1788; and Diomed in 1798. Maryland and Virginia became the centers of colonial Thoroughbred breeding during the American Revolutionary War period, along with South Carolina and New York.

 

Messenger left little impact as a sire on the American Thoroughbred, but is considered a foundation sire of the Standardbred breed. Diomed, who won the Epsom Derby in 1780, had a significant impact on American Thoroughbred breeding through his son, Sir Archy, as well as strongly influenced the American Saddlebred through his descendant, Denmark.^[20][21] John F. Wall, a racing historian, said that Sir Archy was the "first outstanding stallion we can claim as native American".^[22] He was retired from the racetrack because of lack of opponents.^[22]

The center of Thoroughbred breeding and racing in the United States later moved west, with Kentucky and Tennessee became significant centers. Andrew Jackson, later President of the United States, was a breeder and racer of Thoroughbreds in Tennessee.^[23] Match races held in the early 19th century (1800s) helped to popularize horse racing on the flat in the United States. One took place in 1823, in Long Island, New York, between Sir Henry and American Eclipse. Another was a match race between Boston and Fashion in 1838 that featured bets of $20,000 from each side.^[24] The last major match races before the American Civil War were both between Lexington and Lecompte. The first was held in 1854 in New Orleans, and was won by Lecompte. Lexington's owner then challenged Lecompte's owner to a rematch, held in 1855 in New Orleans and won by Lexington. Both of these horses were sons of Boston, a descendant of Sir Archy.^[25] Lexington went on to a career as a breeding stallion, and led the sires list of number of winners for 14 consecutive years.^[26]

 

The Thoroughbred also supplanted the Narragansett Pacer as the favored horse breed of the United States Cavalry. Ulysses S. Grant, Union General and later President of the United States, rode a Thoroughbred named Cincinnati - a son of the Thoroughbred racehorse Lexington, who in turn was sired by Boston - and Grant also lent Cincinnati to President Abraham Lincoln to ride.^[27] Confederate General Robert E. Lee of Virginia also rode a gray horse named Traveller. While considered to be a Saddlebred by the American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA),^[28] Traveller was sired by a Thoroughbred stallion named Grey Eagle, who was linebred to Sir Archy (by Diomed), and out of a Morgan and Thoroughbred cross mare named Flora, also a Sir Archy descendant.

Through his dam, Flora, Traveller was descended from the Morgan stallion Blackburn's Davy Crockett (b. 1835), who was also considered to be a Canadian Pacer. Blackburn's Davy Crockett was inbred 3x to Justin Morgan (Figure), who had been bred to three separate Narragansett Pacer mares, who would later serve as foundation stock for the Morgan horse.

The second factor in the breed's extinction was that Pacers were sold in large numbers to sugarcane planters in the Caribbean, thereby severely diminishing the purebred stock in the United States.^[29] The few horses that were left were crossbred to create and improve other breeds, including the Morgan and the Standardbred, the latter through crossing Pacer mares to Messenger-line Thoroughbred stallions. Due to this, the pure strain of the Narragansett Pacer eventually became extinct sometime in the 1800s.^[30]

North Carolina also had breeders of the Pacer, as the breeding stock was brought to the area around 1790 by pioneers.^[31] The last known purebred Pacer is thought to have died around 1880.^[3] As no formal breed registry or studbook was created to record Narragansett Pacer horses, identifying them is done through cross-referencing historical documents, as well as instances of crossbreeding in early pedigrees.

 

The Narragansett Pacer was not exclusively a pacing horse, as evidence indicates that it exhibited an ambling gait.^[32][33] The amble is more comfortable to ride than the pace gait, and Narragansett Pacers were known for their qualities as riding and driving horses.^[32] They averaged around 14.1 hands (57 inches, 145 cm) tall, and were generally chestnut in color. However, later Narragansett Pacer descendants, such as Boone's Grey John (b. 1863) and Traveller (b. 1857), had gray coats, most likely from Messenger. James Fenimore Cooper described their conformation as such: "They have handsome foreheads, the head clean, the neck long, the arms and legs thin and tapered."

Dutson states: "They are very spirited, and carry both the head and tail high. But what is more remarkable is that they amble with more speed than most horses trot, so that it is difficult to put some of them upon a gallop." Other viewers of the breed rarely called them stylish or good-looking, although they considered them dependable, easy to work with, and sure-footed.^[34]

These characteristics also showed up in the Morgan horse, which is descended from Narragansett Pacer mares crossed with breed founder Justin Morgan (Figure), of English Thoroughbred stock. Compact and refined in build, the Morgan has "strong legs, an expressive head with a straight or slightly convex profile and broad forehead; large, prominent eyes; well-defined withers, laid back shoulders, and an upright, well arched neck". The back is short, and hindquarters are strongly muscled, with a long and well-muscled croup. The tail is attached high and carried gracefully and straight. Morgans appear to be a hardy and powerful horse, and the breed is well known as an easy keeper. The breed standard for height ranges from 14.1 to 15.2 hands (57 to 62 inches, 145 to 157 cm), with some individuals over and under.

Gaits, particularly the trot, are "animated, elastic, square, and collected", with the front and rear legs balanced.^[35] Due to their Narragansett Pacer ancestry, a few Morgans (10-20% of the breed) are gaited, meaning they can perform an intermediate gait other than the trot, such as the rack, fox trot, or pace. The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) states "a Morgan is distinctive for its stamina and vigor, personality and eagerness and strong natural way of moving".^[36] The Morgan breed also has a reputation for its intelligence, courage, and a good disposition, and were used as foundation stock for the Saddlebred, Standardbred, and Tennessee Walking Horse.

As of 2019, it is estimated that only 100 foundation Morgans with classical Narragansett Pacer traits remained in existence.^[37] This is due to the popularity of crossbreeding Morgan horses with Saddlebreds and Arabians, with the latter cross being used to produce Morab horses, as well as other gaited horse breeds.

The Paso Fino of Puerto Rico, another likely descendant of the Narragansett Pacer, tends to be refined, standing an average of 13 to 15.2 hands (52 to 62 inches, 132 to 157 cm), but is powerful for its size.^[38] It has a convex head, clean legs, and a relatively short back, with prominent withers.^[39] Cannon bones tend to be short; the hooves are hard; and the Paso Fino often has a thick mane and tail. It is found in all horse colors, and there are no restrictions by the various breed associations.^[40] The Puerto Rican Paso Fino is the only breed in which tiger eye was found, which usually lightens the eyes to a striking amber, yellow, or bright orange color.^[41]

Of the gaited horses descended from the Narragansett Pacer, the Morgan, Florida Cracker Horse, and Paso Fino were shown to be the most genetically similar in a 2022 study, whereas the American Saddlebred and Standardbred had more Thoroughbred influence due to higher amounts of crossbreeding.^[2]

 

The breed was used for "pacing races" in Rhode Island, where the Baptist population allowed races when the greater part of Puritan New England did not. Pacers reportedly covered the one-mile tracks in a little more than two minutes.^[3]

The Narragansett Pacer played a significant role in the creation of the Morgan, American Saddlebred, the Standardbred, and the Tennessee Walking Horse.^[29] The breed was also combined with French pacers to create the Canadian Pacer, a breed especially suited to racing over ice, and which also contributed substantially to the creation of the Standardbred.^[42]

In the early 19th century, Pacer mares were bred to stallions of the fledgling Morgan breed. However, the Morgan breed was selected for a trot as an intermediate gait, and thus ambling horses were frowned upon, so most Narragansett/Morgan crosses were sold to Canada, the Caribbean, and South America, so the bloodlines did not remain within the Morgan breed.^[43] Other breeds indirectly influenced by the Narragansett Pacer include the Rocky Mountain Horse, a gaited breed started in Kentucky;^[3] the Tiger Horse, a gaited breed with leopard complex patterning, similar to the modern-day Appaloosa, Knabstrupper, and Noriker;^[44] and more.

The Narragansett Pacer also served as foundation stock for the Canadian horse. In 1896, Leonard D. Sale wrote in The Horse Review of Chicago that an Assateague resident imported and released a "Canadian-bred pony stallion" in an effort to improve the Chincoteague Pony breed of Virginia. The resulting foals from the Canadian pony sire were also gaited, indicating the sire may have had Narragansett Pacer genes: "A few island ponies pace, but they carry an infusion of the Canadian scrub blood."^[45]

The Narragansett Pacer also influenced the Paso Fino and other non-American gaited horse breeds. Per the International Museum of the Horse, "The Paso Fino is a direct descendant of the Narragansett Pacer, and is probably almost the same horse."^[46] However, a 2022 genetic study showed that the Paso Fino likely descended from not only Narragansett Pacers, but various other Spanish and Iberian horse breeds, such as the Andalusian and Lusitano; also related were the Morgan and the Florida Cracker Horse.^[2]

• Edwards, Elwyn Hartley (1994). The Encyclopedia of the Horse (1st American ed.). New York, NY: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 1-56458-614-6.
• Dutson, Judith (2005). Storey's Illustrated Guide to 96 Horse Breeds of North America. Storey Publishing. ISBN 1-58017-613-5.
• Lynghaug, Fran (2009). The Official Horse Breeds Standards Guide: The Complete Guide to the Standards of All North American Equine Breed Associations. Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-3499-7.

• Facsimile edition of Dodge, T. A. (1892). "The Horse in America". North American Review, vol. CLV, pp. 667-683.
• Facsimile edition of Earle, A. M. (1890). "Narragansett Pacers". New England Magazine, vol. II March-August, pp. 39-42.
• Facsimile edition of Updike, W. (1847). "History of the Church in Narragansett". United States Magazine, and Democratic Review, vol. XXI, pp. 347-353.