Peter Barrett (B. 1935) "Quarter Horse" Signed lower left. Watercolor on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. 22c Quarter Horse stamp issued September 25, 1985. The most numerous of all American horses -- and possibly the first breed developed in North America -- the Quarter Horse was first bred in the early 1700s in colonial America. This muscular and compact horse was developed out of the English colonists' love of racing. Breeders crossed their swift British stallions with the best Spanish mares. The offspring of these two hardy breeds were gentle animals with a chunky and muscular build. They proved to be excellent saddle horses and performed well under the heavy work of the harness. But their greatest fame came from their extraordinary ability to make quick starts and run at incredibly fast speeds over short distances. Indeed, the colonists soon found that these compact horses could race over the roughest tracks at amazing speeds. However, the new breed could only race at these great speeds for short distances and was therefore seldom raced more than 440 yards, or a "quarter" mile -- hence the horse's name. With the development of the Thoroughbred, capable of running longer distances, the Quarter Horse was temporarily forgotten as a racer, and accompanied the pioneers westward where the horse became an indispensable partner to the cowboy and farmer. Today, the Quarter Horse is an all-around pleasure horse and the star of rodeos everywhere. With nearly one million registered Quarter Horses around the world, (more than any other breed) this gentle and sturdy horse is the world's most popular horse. Image Size: 8.5 x 11.75 in. Overall Size: 13.5 x 16.5 in. Unframed. (B09723)