Ten years in the past, Ron Schneider started a quest to search out Henri Delattre’s (1801-1876) oil portray of the celebrated Thoroughbred Lecomte.
Because the curator on the Previous Lecompte Excessive Faculty and Museum in Lecompte, La., the portray enticed him. He can be reminded every time he noticed the horse’s picture, which figures prominently on the central Louisiana city’s official flag in addition to the highschool’s yearbook.
Earlier than we get to that quest, some background.
Lecomte was one of many quickest horses within the 1850s, when horses ran four-mile heats with 45-minute breaks in between. There was an intense rivalry between Lecomte and Lexington (referred to as the best racehorse of his period). Each horses had been sired by Boston (1833-1850), who together with Lexington was an preliminary inductee into the Racing Corridor of Fame in 1955. Lecomte was owned by Gen. Thomas Jefferson Wells and was named after his pal Ambrose Lecomte.
Within the Nice State Publish Stakes of 1854 at Metairie (La.), Lecomte and Lexington can be amongst a bunch of 4 celebrated horses to compete. Lexington would prevail that day however, in keeping with a Sports activities Illustrated story, the locals mentioned Lecomte was compromised by an “off” observe. They’d meet once more two weeks later at Metairie on a quick observe and Lecomte would safe victory with wins within the first two heats.
Within the first of these heats, he beat Lexington by six lengths in a record-breaking time of seven:26. The Instances-Picayune of New Orleans mentioned of Lecomte, “We’ve witnessed one of the best race, in all respects, that was ever run, and that Lecomte stands proudly earlier than the world, as one of the best horse ever produced on the ‘turf.’ ”
Louisiana totally embraced the victory. In his honor, the residents of White’s Touchdown renamed their city Lecomte. Sadly, an error by a mapmaker for the native railroad added a “p,” misspelling the identify as “Lecompte,” which has brought about confusion.
Even at the moment, the riveting rivalry between Lexington and Lecomte has been chronicled in two well-received books: “Lexington,” by Kim Wickens, and “Horse,” by Geraldine Brooks. And each January, Honest Grounds hosts the Lecomte Stakes, an vital race on the highway to the Kentucky Derby.
One other celebration of Lecomte occurred in 1856, when equestrian artist Henri Delattre painted the celebrated Thoroughbred described within the Spirit of the Instances as a wealthy chestnut (15 hands-three) with a superb mood and a low, clean motion with a stride of 23 ft. “He had the structure of iron, the urge for food of a lion, and may stand as a lot work as a crew of mules … Consequently, he’s about as tremendous a specimen of a Thoroughbred as will be discovered on this or some other nation.”
The portray initially was situated in non-public properties after which at The Jockey Membership in New York. A few years later, Schneider would learn a narrative concerning the portray. His curiosity had been stoked and it could stay at the back of his thoughts, typically making it to front-of-mind as he made inquiries about its whereabouts through the years.
This yr a type of emails concerning the portray would show fruitful. In some unspecified time in the future, it had been moved to The Jockey Membership places of work in Lexington. Shannon Luce, The Jockey Membership vp of communications, would take up the search. She discovered the portray nonetheless being loved at the moment, hanging on a wall in one of many Lexington places of work.
Schneider’s search had ended and shortly he would see the portray in individual because the work can be headed to the state the place Lecomte was raised. The Jockey Membership agreed to mortgage the portray to the Alexandria Museum of Artwork for its exhibit “What’s in a Identify? Lecompte’s Equine Legacy.”
When the portray was unpacked, Schneider mentioned, “I used to be fully overwhelmed. For The Jockey Membership to mortgage it to AMOA, so that folks on this space might see the portray, is a good thrill. The picture and legacy of Lecomte to this neighborhood means a lot to our individuals.”
He remembers pondering, “Welcome house, little buddy,” and being struck by the great thing about the portray.
“The energy of the horse with the musculature, the shininess of his coat, the golden and honey tones of the portray,” Schneider mentioned. “Individuals had been completely satisfied to see it as a result of our heritage is tied up within the picture of Lecomte.”
Lecomte is a member of the Class of 2024 elected to the Racing Corridor of Fame by the Pre-1900 Historic Evaluation Committee and will probably be enshrined Friday, Aug. 2 on the Fasig-Tipton Gross sales Pavillion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
AMOA’s exhibit “What’s in a Identify? Lecompte’s Equine Legacy” will probably be on show till Sept. 6.
