Friday, July 19, 2013

Peggy and Mack



I have quoted many times on the blog a comment from one of my dad's letters to Chappie Fox in response to who the best elephant trainer in America was.
"Today there are two great trainers Mack MacDonald and Hugo Schmitt, the rest are a pretty sorry lot!"

Posted by Buckles at 7/19/2013 05:28:00 AM

2 comments:

Roger Smith said...

When I see Mack and Peggy's photos, I keep reflecting on what she told me during a visit Bill Johnston and I made to her home in New Braunfels. She stated that everything she and Mack used--stakes and chains, practice rigging, bull tubs, a ring curb, all their bullhooks, even the truck, was still right outside in the barn. Amazingly, no one had ever asked for a single item. Today, I still wonder what became of it all, after Peggy was gone.

20 July, 2013 00:03
John Herriott said...

I always enjoyed watching Mac work his eleohants because of the perfection of n6their routines. No cheaters allowed and we know too well how that can happen to the best of us. AN EXAMPLE IS THIS PHOTO WHERE invariably some would come out of that sit up nbefore the command was ngiven and if allowed even once would lead to them doing it all the time and almost impossible to stop. This is true in other routin4es as well and obviously Mac was aware of it and his training was emphatic not to allow that cheating to creep in. Over the years Mac trained a great number of elephant acts and single elephants as well. Up into his eighties. He worked as a youth for Deafy Denman way back on RBBB. Quite a guy and an all time great trainer. johnny

20 July, 2013 09:24

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