| Sardar | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Sex | Male |
| Foaled | c. 1952 |
| Died | Not known |
| Color | Chestnut |
| Owner | Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis |
Sardar (Urdu:سردار, born around 1952) was an award-winning PakistaniThoroughbred[1][Note 1] jumping horse belonging toJacqueline Kennedy Onassis. He was gifted to her in 1962 byMuhammad Ayub Khan, the then president of Pakistan, during hergoodwill tour, when she wasFirst Lady of the United States.[2]
Sardar arrived atAndrews Air Force Base in the US in April 1962, spent 34 days in quarantine and then took up residence at the Kennedy country home Glen Ora inMiddleburg, Virginia.
In her memoirs, Onassis called Sardar her "favorite treasure".[3]
Sardar was born around 1952 at the Aga Khan Studs,[Note 1], then owned and promoted by the British-educatedAga Khan III,[Note 1] and became an award-winningjumping horse.[4] Abaygelding, he was chestnut in colour with a white diamond spot mid-forehead.[4] At the age of 10 years, on 22 March 1962, the then president of Pakistan,Muhammad Ayub Khan, gifted the horse toFirst Lady of the United States, then known asJacqueline Kennedy.[4][5][a] Kennedy'sgoodwill tour of India and Pakistan had coincided with Pakistan's annual Horse and Cattle Show.[4][5] At the show, Khan had escorted Kennedy onto the grounds and upon presenting the horse said "My dear Mrs. Kennedy, on behalf of the people of Pakistan, I present to you 'Sardar'. It is my hope that every time you ride Sardar, you will remember with fondness the time you spent in Pakistan", to which she replied "He is magnificent".[4] According toClint Hill, she "was stunned" and "it was love at first sight".[4] She told him that "Mr. Hill, Sardar is mine, all mine. No one is going to be allowed to ride him except me", and then postponed the next morning's schedule so that she could ride him.[4] In atelegram to her husband,John F. Kennedy, she tried to persuade him to arrange skipping the 30-day quarantine Sardar would have to complete upon arriving in the US.[4]
In April 1962, a couple of weeks after Kennedy's return to the US, Sardar and his trainer travelled to the US byMilitary Air Transport Service, which was typically making regular flights to Pakistan.[6] They landed atAndrews Air Force Base,[6][7] Sardar was quarantined for 34 days atFort McNair, just outside Washington.[8][9][10] In May he was taken to the Kennedy Glen Ora country home in Middleburg, Virginia.[8][9] Denied military air transport, the Republican congressmanWalter L. McVey Jr., complained about the influence of Sardar in travelling on an Air Force plane, though shortly apologised to Sardar for his comments.[11][12][13]
In September 1962, Khan visited Kennedy at Glen Ora and rode alongside her and Sardar.[14][15] In her memoirs, she called Sardar her "favorite treasure".[3] Initially unkeen on spending time at the President's holiday retreat,Camp David, Kennedy had stables constructed there, which allowed her to keep and enjoy Sardar there.[16]
Following thedeath of John F. Kennedy, some newspapers reported Sardar was the prancingriderless horse behind the gun-carriage athis funeral.[3][17][18][19]Pamela Turnure, Kennedy's press secretary, shortly told reporters that she was incorrect in naming Sardar as that horse, andPierre Salinger confirmed that it was actually the army horseBlack Jack.[3][20]
It is assumed that Sardar spent the rest of his life with Kennedy, at the Kennedy's home, Glen Ora, Virginia,[11] and then moved with her when she left.[21]
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