According to Downey, Tom Bass once said, “Columbus discovered America, and I discovered Columbus.” This demonstrates how intensely Tom felt about his great white high school gelding. Tom Bass trained this wonderful horse and from the entry of Columbus into the show world until the day he died, this horse was believed to be one of the most talented and remarkable animals of his time. No one seems to know quite when Tom first started with Columbus.

Buffalo Bill Cody

However, by 1897, the most famous purchase of Columbus had already occurred. Buffalo Bill Cody visited Tom’s stable in Mexico in search of a well-trained white horse. Columbus was his choice, and before long Buffalo Bill owned the finest white horse in the world. Buffalo Bill, with his flowing white hair, mustache, and goatee, rode Columbus as a major attraction in his Wild West Show.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (not Columbus)

Columbus was apparently not with Buffalo Bill for long because the next year, he was back in the Tom Bass Stable. At the 1898 Kansas City Horse Show, “Columbus, Tom Bass’ beautiful white high-school gelding looked like a Cameo in bas-relief against the brown tanbark.” Columbus created one of the biggest sensations of the week, with his perfect steps in the haute ecole “ballet of horses” according to Horse Show Monthly. Columbus was making so much progress that it became “the intention of Thomas Bass to keep and educate his handsome white saddle gelding for the Paris exhibition being held in 1900.” (Gaited Saddle Horse). This meant that Tom had about a year and a half to perfect Columbus’ already astounding movements.

Tom continued to show Columbus around the Midwest. At the second annual Jefferson City Horse Show in 1900, Tom showed Columbus. Columbus was noted for his graceful suppleness in the show ring.

Training for Paris continued. However, one day, “Columbus looked so handsome, being almost a pure white, doing the haute ecole, with usual grace and skill” (Horse Show Monthly) that a buyer must have made an offer Tom couldn’t resist. It was quite a surprise to Tom’s friends, when Columbus was purchased by C. T. Walker, of Denver, Colorado, for $600.00. Therefore, Tom and Columbus never made the Paris exhibition. Horse Show Monthly gave details of the sale, “Among the horses sold by Thomas Bass to C. T. Walker, of Denver, recently were the white gelding Columbus, a high-school horse of note; Le Rose, Jr. a walk-trot animal of resources; a cross country horse, Dr. Halley, and the trotter Henry Rysdick by Robert Rysdick.”

Columbus

Walker purchased the horses for purpose of beginning a riding school in Denver. Horse Show Monthly, noted that “Denver is to have a riding school, organized by C. T. Walker, well known in the city, who visited Kansas City some weeks ago, with the idea of starting one there, but had to give it up on account of no suitable place to hold one. Mr. Walker is well qualified to teach the art of equitation and will largely favor the walk, trot and canter horses in his academy, but a choice lot of gaited horses will be kept on hand for those who prefer them”.

After Columbus was sold, he stayed in the spotlight in western shows. He also learned some new tricks, such as the cake walk. At the Denver Horse Show, Columbus was one of the special features. Mrs. B. B. Chase rode Columbus as they demonstrated the cake walk. Also during the Denver Matinee, “Between the first and second heats of the handicap Charles Walker gave an exhibition on his famous saddle and high-school horse, Columbus” (Horse Show Monthly).

Although Columbus was owned by C. T. Walker, by October 1901 Columbus was back in Tom’s stable in Mexico. It was during this time that Tom was nearly killed. It has been claimed by some that Tom was in a performance when this near-tragedy occurred, but actually, Tom was alone when the accident happened. Tom was training Columbus for the Kansas City and St. Louis horse shows at the fairgrounds in Mexico. Tom was trying to teach the 1100-pound Columbus a new move when the horse essentially did a somersault and fell, landing on Tom. It was said that Columbus tried to help Tom. In fact, Tom later told that he would never forget the look that Columbus gave him as they lay on the ground. The horse sprang up and tried to lift Tom by his coat. Columbus worked with Tom for some twenty-five minutes before a passing farmer found Tom and hauled him to his home in northwest Mexico. “He is suffering severely this afternoon and it is impossible to tell just how badly he is injured internally” (The Intelligencer, October 24, 1902). Tom wasn’t alone during his healing period, Tom’s friend and companion horseman, D. L. Harris of St. Louis, was by his side as soon as he heard the news of the accident. Tom had to cancel show appearances for a few months, but he recovered more quickly than had been expected. (Horse Show Monthly, 1901)

The 1902 Horse Show Monthly told that C. T. Walker had sold his “prize winning high-school saddle gelding, trained by Thomas Bass to a remarkable finish as a performer of these difficult movements. Columbus is well known on Western tanbark and is now owned by E. R. Sims, of Chicago.”

Not long after the tragic fall of Columbus on Tom and the transfer of ownership to E. R. Sims, he was once again in Bass’ care. It appears that at some time during Columbus’ stay back at the Bass stable, Tom regained ownership of him.

There is uncertainty as to where Columbus was during the next few years. However, sometime before 1910, Columbus was leased to California Frank’s Wild West show and was exhibited in circus and theatre attractions around the U.S. and Canada. Columbus was shown (and perhaps owned) by Ada Sommerville in the California Frank's show. Ada was the wife of famous cowboy, Bee Ho Gray.

Columbus and the rest of the California Frank show were housed in winter quarters near Augusta, Georgia. One day in March 1910, a fire broke out in the stable and Columbus died. This came as a terrible disappointment to the many admirers of Columbus, Tom Bass in particular. (Mexico Weekly Intelligencer, March 24, 1910)

Photo Credits:

• Horse Show Monthly
• Irwin Collection

This page was designed by Lacy Swiney under direction of Dr. Lyndon Irwin