Trotting Horse Museum

The Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in Goshen, NY will use grant funds to conserve two paintings from the museum’s collection of equine art, Rysdk’s Hambltonian, Albany, NY 1878 and Hambletonian, 1934. Painted by father and son artists Thomas van Zandt and William G. Van Zandt more than fifty years apart, these works capture the power of American Standardbred foundation sire Hambletonian, and illustrate the long-term cultural and historical importance of this American equine hero. Conserving these two paintings will provide an opportunity to remind the community of the heritage behind the images of horses on display on shops, restaurants, and homes around town that serve as community identity. It is a history not only of a sport or a single breed of horse, but of the cultural traditions of a region and the transportation history of a nation.