The New Horsy Set

Horses used to be something that blue-blooded adults owned and red-blooded children dreamed about. But the galloping U.S. economy has put people in the saddle who ten years ago could get no closer to horseflesh than the seats at a racetrack or the illustrations in Smoky. There are now 3.5 million "pleasure horses" in the U.S., compared with two million in 1953.

The change was reflected at last week's opening of the National Horse Show in New York. Once the private preening ground for Manhattan's well-groomed society thoroughbreds, this year's show was as well attended as ever, but by a somewhat different breed. Except for a few perennials, Society Columnist Joseph Dever noted that "society was conspicuously missing. On the normally chic north side, we counted less than two dozen white ties, and fash ion photogs were left with surplus film on their hands ... It looks like the National is being taken over by the real horse lovers."

A change had also taken place inside the ring. In the past, the only people who could compete were those who had grown up to the sound of the huntsman's bugle. No longer. Among the children in the show were the daughters of a Vermont district commissioner and a Pennsylvania farmer.

Horses to Spare. One reason for the change is the rise of the community stable. Families can now keep a horse in style for $1,000 a year, far less than the cost of building and maintaining a private stable. In southern California, where the climate is always mild, many families simply keep a horse in their backyard. Children can now get riding lessons for almost nothing. The United States Pony Clubs, which were formed twelve years ago and now claim 7,000 members in 25 states, will give lessons in grooming and riding for $4 a year, thanks to old-guard horsemen who teach for free. All the members have to do is bring a mount. If they do not own one, the Pony Clubs will help them find people who have ponies and horses to spare. Even children who can well afford private lessons join up with the Pony Clubs to take part in the camaraderie and games. When Jackie Kennedy lived in Virginia, Caroline was a charter member of the Middleburg-Orange County Pony Club.

The grass-roots itch to get in the saddle means that the hunt is more popular than ever. Some 35 new hunt clubs have sprouted in the U.S. over the last ten years, and children whose parents never heard the cry tallyho! are now riding to hounds.

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