harmon showers
Only a few men are recorded as having a direct significant impact on the origins and career of the Standardbred foundation sire Hambletonian 10. These men include breeder Jonas Seely, owner William Rysdyk, and caretaker Harmon Showers. For their part in producing and promoting Hambletonian into the progenitor he became, both Seely and Rysdyk have been recognized as Immortals of the harness racing sport. Harmon Showers, despite his name being indelibly linked to that of the great stallion, has to date been overlooked for this honor.
Harmon Fink Showers, a man of mixed Iroquois and African lineage, was born in Orange County, New York circa 1828 to parents James and Rosanne Showers. Like his father James, Harmon began his work life as a farm laborer; however in a region in which trotting horses were an almost universal passion this meant also learning the ways of horses. When Hambletonian was foaled in 1849, Harmon Showers was living near the Jonas Seely farm and may have even worked alongside William M. Rysdyk there.
Rysdyk is often described in contradictory terms by commentators, there were those who lauded his horsemanship and knowledge of breeding lines as well as detractors who decried that Rysdyk didn’t know what “good blood” in a horse meant. What all sources seem to agree on is that for William Rysdyk, the success of his stallion at stud was of critical importance. By 1856 Hambletonian 10 had become a consistent source of income for Rysdyk, earning nearly $5,000 in two years, the equivalent of approximately $180,000 today. With this new found affluence Rysdyk hired Harmon Showers as the stallion’s caretaker, replacing the younger Guy Miller who for a short time lived-in and worked for Rysdyk, caring for Hambletonian.
Showers was a skilled horseman and remained Hambletonian 10’s dedicated caretaker for the next 20 years (1856-1876), maintaining his conditioning, driving and riding him under saddle and handling the stallion in the stud. Harmon developed a rapport so perfect and trusting with the stallion that according to John Hervey in his book The American Trotter, Hambletonian “would perform tricks and antics,” for him, “man and horse both entering into the spirit of their little games and playing up to each other like a pair of comedians.” It was a relationship that William Rysdyk relied on to keep the stallion under control when presented by Showers to the 1,609 mares booked to Hambletonian during this period.
By 1867 William Rysdyk was a very wealthy 62-year-old with expansive holdings of land and livestock. To aid him in the management of these assets Rysdyk hired his nephew, George F. Andrews to work with him on office matters including bookkeeping and correspondence. The following year, after 17 seasons of prolific breeding Hambletonian had to be withdrawn from service. With Harmon Showers’ constant attention, the stallion was restored to health and returned to the stud the following year.
Upon William Rysdyk’s death in April 1870, Hambletonian became the property of his widow Elvira Rysdyk, along with much of his estate. Mrs. Rysdyk made no major changes to Hambletonian’s circumstances, leaving George Andrews in charge of the stallion’s management and Harmon Showers responsible for his care and handling. Together the two men oversaw Hambletonian’s last six years at stud, which included 147 covers, resulting in 110 foals and $55,000 in income. During the progenitor’s final years he suffered from chronic respiratory inflammation, and it was this illness in conjunction with his advanced age that led to his death on the morning of March 27, 1876. It is noteworthy that although many accounts of the stallion’s death sited a general sorrow at the passing of the great horse, only Harmon Showers was said to be inconsolable.
Showers remained in the employ of Elvira Rysdyk until her death in February 1878. The first directive in her will was to give Showers ownership of the home he and his family had long occupied on the Rysdyk farm, and the second was to reserve in perpetuity Hambletonian’s gravesite. Harmon remained in his home in Chester for another twenty years and it became a favorite stop among horsemen who respected Showers for his years of dedication to Hambletonian. On March 12, 1898 Harmon Showers passed away and was buried at Chester, New York.