F. Ambrose Clark
Encyclopedia
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
.
Clark was the son of Alfred Corning Clark
Alfred Corning Clark
-Biography:He was born on November 14, 1844 to Edward Clark, a founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He married and had as his children: Edward Severin Clark, Robert Sterling Clark, Frederick Ambrose Clark and Stephen Carlton Clark, Sr....
and a grandson of Edward Clark
Edward Clark
Edward, Ed or Edmund Clark may refer to:* Ed Clark , American politician, Libertarian presidential candidate in 1980* Ed Clark , American baseball player...
, a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and later 50% owner of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. Brother of Edward Severin Clark
Edward Severin Clark
Edward Severin Clark , along with his brother Stephen Carlton Clark, built a number of large buildings in Cooperstown, New York, including the Otesaga Hotel and the Alfred Corning Clark Gymnasium. He was one of four grandsons of Edward Clark, one of the founders of the Singer Sewing Machine...
, Robert Sterling Clark
Robert Sterling Clark
Robert Sterling Clark , heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, was an American art collector, horse breeder, and philanthropist.-Biography:...
, and Stephen Carlton Clark
Stephen Carlton Clark
Stephen Carlton Clark, Sr. DSM, was an American art collector, newspaper publisher, benefactor and founder of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.-Biography:...
.
Family
Married in 1902 to Florence L. Stokes who died October 2, 1950. According to Time Magazine she was regarded "a model sportswoman" for her zest and attitude. Her horse Kellsboro Jack carried her colours to victory in the 19331933 Grand National
The 1933 Grand National was the 92nd renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, in 1933.-References:http://www.sportsbookguardian.com/horse-racing/grand-national/winners...
English Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
. He remarried November 9, 1952 to Constance Augusta Miller who died December 20, 1981 Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
, London, England. His only child, Ethel Stokes Clark, never married and predeceased him.
Activities
Referred popularly and with affection as “Brose” he was perhaps not only the quintessential equestrian sportsman of his generation, but perhaps in all of 20th century America. Brose was indelibly linked with horses throughout his life until his ailing heath in 1963 marked the disbanding of his horse stables after 60 years of racing the light blue and yellow silks.Visually it was often quoted that he looked to be a man who stepped right out of a 19th century sporting print. He was almost always seen in a tweed English cap, waistcoat, breeches
Breeches
Breeches are an item of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles...
and tall boots throughout his life in person and in captured images.
Never having attended college he did however pour himself into his passion for all things equestrian. He himself a gentleman rider who owned, bred and trained horses for steeplechase
Steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* SteepleChase, a Danish jazz label* Steeplechase , a 1975 arcade game released by Atari...
, polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
, flat racing, driving, show jumping
Show jumping
Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...
, and fox hunting.
Properties
He owned a 5000 acres (20.2 km²) estate in Cooperstown, New YorkCooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
known as Iroquois Farm, a 400 acres (1.6 km²) estate
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
in Old Westbury, LI known as Broad Hollow, an apartment in the Manhattan, New York building The Dakota
The Dakota
The Dakota, constructed from October 25, 1880 to October 27, 1884, is a co-op apartment building located on the northwest corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City...
built by his grandfather, a sprawling estate in Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken is a city in and the county seat of Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. With Augusta, Georgia, it is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. It is part of the Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area. Aiken is home to the University of South...
(acquired in 1929, known as Habersham House, and had a seasonal residence at Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
He privately published in 1958 a limited catalog of his sporting paintings: The F. Ambrose Clark Collection of Sporting Paintings Which included select works by artists Sir. Alfred Munnings
Alfred Munnings
Sir Alfred James Munnings KCVO, PRA was known as one of England's finest painters of horses, and as an outspoken enemy of Modernism...
and George Stubbs
George Stubbs
George Stubbs was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses.-Biography:Stubbs was born in Liverpool, the son of a currier and leather merchant. Information on his life up to age thirty-five is sparse, relying almost entirely on notes made by fellow artist Ozias Humphry towards the...
among many others.
Ambrose was master of hounds for the Meadow Brook Hounds in the 1920s. That hunt annually held a well-attended steeplechase race meeting on Mr. Clark's property, Broad Hollow in Westbury (Long Island), starting in 1919. Always the consummate horseman with a disdain for automobiles, famously Brose would not allow NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
radio to drive their equipment truck onto the estate to broadcast the races. Rather they had to use a team of horses to haul the equipment in.
Mrs. Clark owned Foshalee Plantation
Foshalee Plantation
Foshalee Plantation was a large quail hunting plantation located in northern Leon County, Florida, United States.First called Incochee, it was purchased in 1824 by Hezekiah and Ann Graham Ponder. Hezekiah and Ann are buried in a cemetery near U.S. 319....
, a 11456 acres (46.4 km²) quail hunting property in northern Leon County, Florida
Leon County, Florida
Leon County is a county located in the state of Florida, named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. At the 2010 Census, the population was 275,487. The county seat of Leon County is Tallahassee which also serves as the state capital. The county seat is home to two of Florida's major...
just north of Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
from 1938 until 1949.
Noted horses
The most famous horse under Brose was a geldingGelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
he sold to his wife Florence for $5.00 (1 pound) at the time just prior to the 1933 English Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
was Kellsboro Jack (Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
). Trained by Ivor Anthony, the American-bred horse would become, at the time, just the 3rd American owned horse to win the grueling English steeplechase race at Aintree Racecourse
Aintree Racecourse
Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England.It was served by Aintree Racecourse railway station until the station closed in the 1960s....
. In the same race Ambrose had entered Chadd's Ford who finished next to last. Kellsboro Jack's time of 9 minutes 38 seconds set a new record for the event.
Inducted into the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum
Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum
The Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1977 as a tribute to the famous flat racing and steeplechase Thoroughbred horses that trained in Aiken, South Carolina....
, January 23, 1977, was his horse Tea Maker who raced from 1948 to 1953 and was bred by Mrs. F. Ambrose Clark. Tea Maker, at the age of 9, won the 1950 Vosburgh Stakes
Vosburgh Stakes
The Vosburgh Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Run at the end of September/early October, it is open to horses three-years-old and up of either gender...
and American Legion Handicap. He earned the top honors as 1952's American Champion Sprint Horse.
Legacy
Brose would upon his death be buried beside his beloved Kellsboro Jack just outside the village of Cooperstown, NY on a hillside overlooking the community. Since 1927, he had employed Laura Stevens at his Iroquois Farms; she was the wife of the aeronaut A. Leo Stevens, then living in Fly Creek, NY.Today the very selective F. Ambrose Clark Award is highest honor given in steeplechasing by the National Steeplechase Association. A coveted award, it is give to “individuals who have done the most to promote, improve, and encourage the growth and welfare of steeplechasing.”
Upon his death, his estate donated Broad Hollow to become the State University of New York at Old Westbury
State University of New York at Old Westbury
The State University of New York College at Old Westbury is a university college that is part of the State University of New York system. The college is in Old Westbury, New York, with portions in the neighboring town of Jericho, New York...
. Its main sports venue, the Physical Education and Recreation Center, was renamed for Clark in 1988. The Clark Center is the home of the Old Westbury basketball programs and the Nassau County
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
men's high school basketball championships.
Iroquois Farm remained with the Clark family, Habersham House (bought in 1929 by Clark and renamed Kellsboro after the Grand National victory) in Aiken went to nephew George H. "Pete" Bostwick
Pete Bostwick
George Herbert "Pete" Bostwick was an American court tennis player, a steeplechase jockey and horse trainer, and an eight-goal polo player.-Biography:...
. The bulk of his financial estate remained with the family trusts:, The Clark Estates and Scriven Foundation.
The manor house at Iroquois Farm was razed in 1981 to make room for what was planned to be the relocation of the Clark Sports Center. Final changes resulted it being located in 1983 on what was the training track of Iroquois Farm. His significant collection of tack and historic carriage were put into The Carriage Museum of Cooperstown NY held in the Clark's Elk Street stables which closed in the late 1970s.