FDR’s Birthday Horse Show
All Proceeds to Infantile Paralysis Charities
Errol Rode White House Horse, “Badger”.
“FIRST LADY PRESENTS TROPHY. WASHINGTON, D.C. JANUARY 25. ERROL FLYNN, STEPPING OUT OF HIS ROLE AS MOVIE STAR, TURNED HORSEMAN, AT THE FORT MYER PRESIDENT’S BIRTHDAY HORSE SHOW. MRS. ROOSEVELT PRESENTS THE HACK CLASS TROPHY WHICH HE WON”
— Tim
Last night we attended the horse show at Fort Myer, which was given for the benefit of the Infantile Paralysis Fund. The President seemed to enjoy the jumping, the musical drill done by one of the cavalry troops stationed at Fort Myer, and the artillery drill. My enjoyment is always tempered by a certain amount of fear. People are sure to fall off during the jumping and I am always afraid someone will be seriously hurt. The artillery drill also gives me some moments of apprehension. The musical drill, however, and the class for hack horses, in which Mr. Errol Flynn riding our son, John’s horse, “Badger,” attracted great attention, were pure pleasure.
The above comment is from Mrs. Roosevelt’s newpaper Column “My day” .
What a great quote from the First Lady’s column! Thanks for sharing, Maria!
Thanks, Maria. I didn’t know Badger was John Roosevelt’s horse. I believe he (John, not Badger) went on to be the family’s only Republican, even very enthusiastially supporting Richard Nixon against his Mother’s strenuous opposition. Equally disturbing to the family, he also reportedly sought to file for conscientious objector status in WWII. Can you imagine how that would have went over with the public and FDR’s political adversaries back in ’42! Perhaps the name “Badger” has some connection to his owner’s personality/disposition. (A couple of years earlier he had a very notable run-in with the Mayor of Cannes, too.)
books.google.com…
Oh, those Roosevelts. … Looks like John (allegedly) roughed up the Mayor of Cannes with a bunch of flowers.
news.google.com…
To be fair:
James Roosevelt summarized his brother’s service: “John was the only one of us who had no opportunity to lead a fighting unit, yet he, too, served under fire. Assigned as a lieutenant in the Navy Supply Corps, he persuaded father to get him transferred from shore to sea duty. He served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Wasp in the war zone, winning the Bronze Star and promotion to lieutenant commander for his actions while his ship was being gunned.”[7]
You are right, Maria. It’s always important to be fair. I suspect John was heavily persuaded, maybe even coerced, into serving. I wouldn’t be surprised either if he got special consideration with regard to his assignments and treatment in the Navy, where his Dad had extraordinary respect, influence and power. The Bronze Star may have evolved from that, BUT I certainly don’t know, and such nepotism/favortism was not limited to Roosevelts. LBJ’s phony medal is a glaring example. The Roosevelts definitely had some courageous family members, including TR, Quentin, and FDR himself. Eleanor, too.
news.google.com…
news.google.com…
Ironically, FDR, though he finally approved it very late in the War, FDR was largely against the Bronze Star, because he worried it could be/would be cheapened through abusive/questionable awards.
[img
[/img]
news.google.com…
December 23, 1036
Hmm ..This could have ended badly for Errol!
Absolutely, Maria. Riding President-connected Badgers can be quite dangerous, especially for nearby clowns and majorettes. Consider, for example, the highly distinguished President Taft on the badger below:
[img]http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53c6fb7ce4b08a64ba1e8c42/t/55665779e4b091320576cc25/1432770507799/[/img]
The place was Utica, New York. The time was May of 1910. Taft, our nation’s heaviest president sat aside a rare giant badger and rode the beast through that city’s largest thoroughfare during a local parade. It was an awesome sight and the raucous crowd felt silent when the POTUS passed. Tragedy struck hours later, long after the president boarded a train for Poughkeepsie, when the badger grew enraged and savaged two clowns and a majorette.
Badger riding, a brief fad in the 1910s, was deemed cruel and dangerous. In 1972, the last of the Giant Eastern Badgers died and the species was declared extinct.
Well I am glad we do not have to worry about that anymore!