Spotted Pony: A Song History
"Spotted Pony" is a title shared by more than one old-time tune. The Traditional Tune Archive lists two different tunes under the name, and it ties both to Missouri fiddling.[1][2] The first is credited to Lyman Enloe, a fiddler with ties to Miller County, Missouri. R. P. Christeson printed it in Old Time Fiddler's Repertory, vol. 1 (1973) from the playing of Tony Gilmore of Jefferson City, dated 1953. The title also turns up on a list of Ozarks fiddle tunes that Vance Randolph published in 1954. Drew Beisswenger has suggested that this tune may be a mistitled version of "Oklahoma Redbird."[1]
Frances Benjamin Johnston, Archie Roosevelt on pony “Algonquin”, photograph, about 1902. Library of Congress. No known restrictions on publication. A spotted pony of the era; the photograph is not connected to the tune.
The second "Spotted Pony" is a reel in D, also known in some sources as "Snowshoes." Phillips's Traditional American Fiddle Tunes (1994) gives it as played by Missouri fiddler Pete McMahan. Recordings listed for it include those by the Dutch Cove Old Time String Band on Sycamore Tea and Bob Carlin on Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo (1980).[2]
Mountain dulcimer players will find "Spotted Pony" in Stephen Seifert's Join the Jam collection for DAD tuning.[3]
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