Of all the domestic animals brought from England to Jamestown in the
early days of the settlement, the most expensive to transport and the
most useless after they arrived in Virginia were horses. The estimate
of the number in the Colony in 1649 is 200. There was no purpose for
them to serve. The fragile wooden plows of the seventeenth century
were of no use among the stumps and roots in newly cleared forest
lands. Horses were of no value for transportation as there were no
roads through the forests or bridges over the rivers. They were of
little use as beasts of burden as there were few burdens to carry. A
horse was no match for an able-bodied man on Indian trails through
timbered country. As late as 1671, the Batts and Fallam expedition,
consisting of five white men and seven Indians, who were the
discoverers of New River, had horses for the white men when they left
Petersburg. All of these animals were dead before they reached the
mountains.
The colonists did all they could afford to do with the horses brought
to them and that was to turn them loose to shift for themselves. In a
very few years there was a band of wild horses roaming the woods in
the back country. Eventually these wild horses provided a great deal
of recreation for the younger planters. Capturing and breaking to the
saddle wild horses became a popular sport. As soon as a horse was
caught and accustomed to a rider the most natural thing was to try it
for speed.
Horse-racing began with local contests but developed into a major
sport. King Charles II is credited with having imported Turk and
Arabian horses to England. Some of this blooded stock may have been
shipped to Jamestown. At any rate Virginia saddle-horses at an early
date began to attract attention because of their speed.
Two other colonies, Rhode Island and New York were famous for their
fast horses. Racing became an inter-colonial sport. The first regular
race course was the New Market on Hempstead Plains, Long Island.
There the fleetest horses of Long Island were brought together to
settle all arguments by actual trial. This famous race course was
described in 1670 by a contemporary, Daniel Denton: "Toward the
middle of Long Island lyeth a plain sixteen miles long and four
broad, upon which plain grows very fine grass, that makes exceeding
good hay, and is very good pasture for sheep or other cattel; where
you shall find neither stick nor stone to hinder the horse heels or
endanger them in their races, and once a year the best horses in the
island are brought hither to try their swiftness, and the swiftest
rewarded with a silver cup, two being annually procured for that
purpose."
Horse-racing became of economic importance to these colonies. The
sugar planters, in the Caribbean region, also became interested in
this "sport of kings" and sent agents to buy the fastest horses they
could find. High prices were sometimes paid for prize winning
animals.
Governor Francis Nicholson in 1690, "gave prizes to those that should
excell in riding, running, wrestling and cudgeling." Of these sports,
riding became by far the most popular. Interest in horse-racing,
fox-chasing, steeple-chasing, and riding tournaments has never
entirely died out in Virginia.