Spouse(s) Angie Jewell Bass | ||
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Residence Mexico, Missouri, United States | ||
Tom Bass (January 5, 1859 – November 4, 1934) was an American Saddlebred horse trainer. Bass was born into slavery, but became one of the most popular horse trainers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Bass trained the influential Saddlebred stallion Rex McDonald, as well as horses owned by Buffalo Bill Cody, Theodore Roosevelt, and Will Rogers.
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Life
Bass was born into slavery on January 5, 1859, on the Hayden plantation in Boone County, Missouri. His mother was a slave and his father, William Bass, was the son of the plantation owner, Eli Bass. Bass was raised by his maternal grandparents, Presley and Eliza Grey. At age 20 he moved to Mexico, Missouri, and began a horse training operation. In 1882, Bass married a schoolteacher, Angie Jewell.
Career
Bass trained the influential five-gaited Saddlebred stallion Rex McDonald. He trained horses for notable people including Buffalo Bill Cody, Theodore Roosevelt, and Will Rogers, and also started the Tom Bass Riding Club. In 1892, Bass and his wife moved to Kansas City, Missouri to open a livery stable and eventually helped start the American Royal Horse Show, one of the three jewels of the Saddlebred Triple Crown. In 1893, Bass showed horses at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and won respect for his riding ability, besides winning the World Championship on the Saddlebred mare Miss Rex. Bass later moved back to Mexico, Missouri, and continued training horses. In 1917, it was estimated that over one million people had seen him perform with his horses. Besides Rex McDonald and other Saddlebreds, Bass trained the notable high school horse Belle Beach, who could bow, curtsy and dance. He invented a training bit called the Bass bit, which was designed to give the rider control without causing pain to the horse, but never patented it. The Bass bit is still in use. For his contributions to the state of Missouri, Bass was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians in 1999, becoming the twentieth person so honored. Bass also has exhibits in the American Saddlebred Museum in Mexico, and the American Royal Museum in Kansas City.
Death
Bass died November 20, 1934 at the age of 75. His friends believed that the recent death of Belle Beach, one of his best horses, contributed to his death. Bass is buried in the Elmwood Cemetery in Mexico, Missouri. His tombstone reads, "One of the World's Greatest Saddle Horse Trainers and Riders." Upon Bass's death, Will Rogers devoted an entire newspaper column to him, saying in part, "Tom Bass...aged 75, died today. Don't mean much to you, does it? You have all seen society folk perform on a beautiful three- or five-gaited horse and said, 'My, what skill and patience they must have had to train that animal.' Well, all they did was ride him. All Tom Bass did was train him. He trained thousands of horses that others were applauded on."
