Valesman, Jack Goddard and Mr Musters

An inked inscription verso in a period hand identifies the horse as Valesman, the rider as 'Mr Musters' and the man standing on the left as 'John Goddard.' The inscription also gives the date, 1870.

An article in the Nottinghamshire Guardian (25 February 1870) makes it clear that 'Mr Musters' is the keen huntsman John Chaworth Musters (1838-1887), who was for a while master of the South Notts and Quorn Hounds.

The same article also mentions 'Jack Goddard, huntsman to Mr Clowes' and Valesman 'who can hold his own with the light weights over the grass.'

An earlier article in the Illustrated London News (12 February 1870) mentions that 'Mr Musters has quite decided to give up the mastership of the Quorn Hunt at the close of the season. Jack Goddard, who has been acting as his stud groom,is anxious to take a huntsman's place again.'

On the same day Sporting Life reported that 'The Mastership of Quorn is vacant once more. [..] Jack Goddard, who has for two seasons acted as "master of the horse" and presided over "the Long Stable" at Quorn, is again on the look out for a huntsman's place.'

Two weeks later the Illustrated London News (28 February 1870) reported: 'We hear that the sale of Mr Musters's hounds and horses will probably take place on the Friday of the Two Thousand week, early in May. Mr Musters has a very fine lot of horses, of which the pick are perhaps Valesman and Warrior.'

John ('Jack') Goddard was baptised on 9 May 1817 at Holy Trinity in Stratford-upon-Avon. He died, aged 63, on 14 August 1880 at Lowdham in Nottinghamshire, leaving an estate valued at a £4000, a considerable sum for a huntsman and stud groom to have accumulated during his career.

Photographed by Richard Allen and Son of Nottingham.