World." Besides Rex McDonald and other Saddlebreds, Bass trained the notable high school horse Belle Beach, who could bow, curtsy and dance. He invented a curb bit called the Tom Bass bit, which was designed to give the rider control without causing pain to the horse, but never patented it. The Bass bit is still in use. For his contributions to the state of Missouri, Bass was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians in 1999, becoming the twentieth person so honored. Bass also has exhibits in the American Saddlebred Museum in Mexico, and the American Royal Museum in Kansas City. Death and legacy Bass died of a heart attack on November 20, 1934, at the age of 75. His friends believed that grief from the recent death of Belle Beach, one of his best horses, contributed to his death. Bass is buried in the Elmwood Cemetery in Mexico, Missouri. His tombstone reads, "One of the World's Greatest Saddle Horse Trainers and Riders." Upon Bass's death, Will Rogers devoted an entire newspaper column to him, saying in part, "Tom Bass...aged 75, died today. Don't mean much to you, does it? You have all seen society folk perform on a beautiful three- or five-gaited horse and said, 'My, what skill and patience they must have had to train that animal.' Well, all they did was ride him. All Tom Bass did was train him. He trained thousands of horses that others were applauded on." His barn became a historic landmark in the area, and stood until it was burned by a 19-year-old arsonist on August 28, 1997. Notes References External links American Saddlebred breeders and trainers People from Boone County, Missouri African-American history in Columbia, Missouri 1859 births 1934 deaths 19th-century American slaves People from Mexico, Missouri Burials in Missouri 20th-century African-American people