Mrs. Dibble's Drive

Mrs. Florence Evans Dibble is a friendly, blue-eyed member of a prominent Boston banking family who fell in love with horses 20 years ago when presented with one by her Cambridge physician. Endowed with independent means, she bought more horses, persuaded one-time wealthy Horseman Thomas Fay Walsh to help her pick the best. First important Dibble acquisition was Flowing Gold, who set a record for saddle horses by winning 18 championships in one year. Six years ago Mrs. Dibble purchased a 2,400-lb. cream-&-red coach called Valiant, built 75 years ago in France for the late William Tiffany. Unfortunately Mrs. Dibble's desire to be the first U. S. woman to drive a coach-&-four in competition was discouraged at first by managers who welcomed the contraption to their horse shows but did not let her sit on the box.

This annoyed Mrs. Dibble. So did the widely-held opinion that bobtailed, high-stepping English hackneys are more suited to coaching than U. S. standard-bred trotters. Mrs. Dibble discussed this with Trainer Walsh at her 18th-Century man sion near Newburyport, Mass., at her stables in Lenox, Mass., in Lexington and Harrodsburg, Ky. Together they recalled that in 1910 Tobacco Tycoon Paul Sorg had made a record trip in coach-&-four from Manhattan to Atlantic City in 12 hours, 18 minutes. He had used 64 English hackneys, posted along the route two weeks before the run. To beat this time with U. S. trotters would be simple, said Mrs. Dibble and Trainer Walsh. To do so they proposed to use just three teams of four in stages of 20 miles each.

Last week Mrs. Dibble was ready for the test. At 7 a. m. after breakfasting with her party at Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria, she climbed to the Valiant's box, clad in an immaculate grey top hat, yellow stock, coaching coat, blue jodhpurs, and red-&-white apron. Her companions included Trainer Walsh. Ernest K. Fownes, veteran of the 1910 run, and Chairman Gustavus Town Kirby of the U. S. Olympic Horse Show Committee who. as official timer, carried six watches. A minister blessed the equipage. At the brake, Eddie Dugan, resplendent in scarlet coat, tootled a few notes on his brass coaching horn without which no fashionable affair of this kind is complete. Mrs. Dibble twirled her whip, and the coach tooled gaily toward Fifth Avenue.

Although Mayor LaGuardia had not granted it a police escort, the coach ignored traffic lights. At Fifth Avenue & 30th Street, site of the old Holland House whence Tobacconist Sorg started his run, Mrs. Dibble set a smart pace. The Valiant clattered through Manhattan traffic to South Ferry in 29 minutes, sailed across to Staten Island, changed horses, took the Tottenville Ferry to Perth Amboy. N. J.

Taking the express highway familiar to thousands of motorists bound for South Jersey's shore resorts, the Valiant turned down U. S. Route No. 9, preceded by an automobile to clear traffic. The coach tooled along at a fine rate to the leafy little hamlet of Marlboro, site of the second change. At Freehold the party paused for luncheon, just two miles short of the best hamburg stand between Newark and Cape May. Tearing through Toms River, but not fast enough to become enmeshed in the speed traps just south of that place or embroiled with the neighborhood's notoriously strict taxidermist-justice of the peace, the Valiant reached Beachwood, stopped for the day. Actual driving time: 6:31:24. Average speed: 11.11 m.p.h.

Next day the first change was made at Barnegat. Past the Radio Marine Station at Tuckerton the coach swayed along, just missed a beer truck before arriving at Absecon. There, in sight of her goal across the causeway, Mrs. Dibble again took the reins. Averaging 16.2 m.p.h. for the four and a half mile stretch to the city line, the coach rolled up to Haddon Hall at 6:10 p. m. to be greeted by fire bells, a siren, the Mayor's secretary, officials of the Atlantic City Horse Show, for which the drive was a resounding advertisement. Running time for the 118 miles was 10:04:23, breaking the Sorg record by more than two hours. Exclaimed Mrs. Dibble: "Isn't it wonderful?"

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