Page 10 - July2011

116 July 2011

-!letters to the~ditor

MONKEY BUSINESS and the crouch became the extreme for-
& MORE ward seat seen in today's horseracing. It's
What a wonderful feature Barbara odd that fictional characters in human
form are considered human, but cartoon
Barrans wrote on Non-Human
human characters are caricatures. Well,
Transportation! [May 20 II] It is a
OK ... Thanks for a great article.
very tricky subject and she explained
it perfectly. - Ann Wilson, New Jersey
I was fascinated to see a monkey
riding a dog, super-imposed over a
COLOR-CODED COVERS
horseshoe! Of course
Thanks so much for always having NBS
the dog looks like
NBS awards in a green edged and green
a horse and the
backed bulletin. I can go right to those
monkey wears
bulletins when I am searching examples
a jockey cap.
of past awards! (and current ones too).
What a clever
design. It -Barbara Hefner, Texas
recalls the
following: during DECCAN BUTTON ARTICLE
the 1890s the ON BEAD & BUTTON WEBSITE
American jockey Tod Sloan realized
The latest article has been published in
by leaning forward his weight would
the Bead&Button online community
be taken off the horse's back, allowing
forum for NBS. Maryalice Ditzler has
it to run faster. In October 1897 the
explored Deccan buttons and illus-
English press, anticipating Sloan's ar-
trated her article with buttons from her
rival, first called his style "the monkey
collection. It can be seen at http://www.
on a stick" describing it as "preposter-
beadandbutton.com/en/Communityl
ous." Until that time, English riders
ButtonO/020Corner/NBS%20Articlesi
had always sat upright. Then in 1898
2011/0S/DeccanO/020Buttons.aspx.
Sloan won 43 races out of 98 run, an
Thanks, Maryalice.
astounding 44 per cent, and British
-Nancy Fink, Maryland
jockeys began to imitate his style.
Gradually the stirrups were shortened