Our 26th President, ‘s , wasn’t just a mover and a shaker in the political world. He had a wide range of interests, and one of his big passions was horses. During his tenure as President, he had many horses in his stables (including the famous Bleistein) and he could often be found riding.
Thanks to a preserved document from Henry Sutterby to Trumbull Cary, generated in 1902, we know that Renown was a bay hunter with a small star. He was 16½ hands high and of him Sutterby remarked that he was “A splendid specimen of his class.” Cary went on to sell Renown to the President for $600, after Roosevelt tested both Renown and another horse and liked Renown better. (If you’re curious, the horse that was rejected was named “The Philosopher.”)
Renown was apparently afraid of automobiles, though. In a letter to his daughter Ethel, dated June 19th, 1902, Roosevelt writes: “Renown is even quieter than Bleistein, but he still has fearful doubts about automobiles, and stands on his hind legs….when he meets one of unusually awful appearance in a solitary road.” According to later letters, Renown was eventually able to overcome this fear, however.
It is unknown what happened to Renown. Judging by Roosevelt’s love of his horses, however, it is likely that he retired with the President or that Roosevelt secured him a good home post-Presidency.