Riding Crop
PeriodCirca 1890 - 1900
Place MadeNew York or New Jersey, U.S.A.
MediumLeather, wood, waxed cording
Dimensions21.63 × 0.63 in. (54.9 × 1.6 cm)
ClassificationsHorses and Horseracing
Credit LineGift of Therese Campagna, 1998
Object number1998.6
DescriptionA short riding crop of wood tapered from handle to tip, the lower 7 1/2 inches covered with a brownish red leather grip, capped with braided waxed cording. the upper section above the handle grip is covered with dark brown braided waxed cording. The top of the riding crop includes a reddish leather loop bound to the tip with waxed cording.NotesThis riding crop was owned and used by jockey William Simms (1870 -1927), winner of two Kentucky Derbies in 1896 and 1898. Simms was the first African American admitted into the New York Jockey Club. Born in Augusta, Georgia, Simms worked as a stable hand as a young boy, then began riding horses as a young teenager. In 1896 Simms rode the horse Ben Brush to victory in the Kentucky Derby. Two years later, this time riding Plaudit, Simms won the Derby a second time. In 1897, he traveled to England, where he won the Brighton Handicap on Ben Brush, becoming the first American jockey to win this particular title riding an American horse and using American racing methods. According to his obituary, Simms invested his winnings carefully, and by his death at 47 had amassed a sizeable fortune. He died of pneumonia at the home of his mother in Asbury Park, Monmouth County, New Jersey in 1927. An 1898 newspaper article noted that Simms "possessed...sound judgement, excellent foresight, and undaunted courage."
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