This photograph from around 1940 shows a saddle pacing race, with the riders seated on the horses' backs. Saddle trots were the earliest type of trotting race in most parts of the world, but by the time trotting became popular in New Zealand in the late 1880s, carts or 'sulkies' were commonly used. Some early races allowed either method in the same race. The occasional saddle trot or pace was held as recently as the 1960s.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Alexander Turnbull Library, Making New Zealand Centennial Collection (PAColl-3060)
Reference:
MNZ-2375-1/2-F
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
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