Since the weekend I've been reflecting on the troubling events at Rolex. Like everyone elese, I want to understand what happened. I watched the video. I looked at the photos. Some of my questions about the facts and the circumstances of the falls are answered. But I still reflect on the loss of these beautiful animals and the psychological and physical damage to the riders and their families. In early April, I started to write a blog entry about my favorite poets--Maxine Kumin. MK writes poetry about horses, but saying this is like saying Moby Dick is a book about whales. Her writing has an authenticity that horsemen and women will feel in their gut, but the themes are broad: appreciation for the natural world; our connectedness to animals; and our responsibility to protect them. Her poems seem especially relevant now, so I'll share it with you. I'm including one of her poems in its entirety -- a violation of copyright that hopefully will go unnoticed or overlooked.
Maxine Kumin: A poet and writer
Maxine Kumin is a poet that I think all horsewomen should read. Kumin is a lifetime rider with a horse farm in New England. At 73 she severely injured her back in a near-fatal fall from a horse. She wrote about the experience in her book Inside the Halo. She writes about a physician who asks about her accident. When she describes her fall from a horse, he jokes that "the only fit place for horses is in an Alpo can." Kumin writes:
"I am still lying on the examining table and am perfectly positioned to kick this man in the groin. The intravaginal probe still in place restrains me from yielding to the impulse."
Her language is as sparse and practical as the crustiest of horsewomen I know, but it is also eloquent. Like Robert Frost, she uses plain language to evoke powerul thoughts and feelings. She writes a series of poems about her horse Amanda in the volume House, Bridge, Fountain, Gate.
My favorite of these is below.
Amanda dreams she has died and gone to Elysian Fields
This morning Amanda lies down during breakfast. The hay is hip high. The sun sleeps on her back as it did on the spine of the dinosaur the fossil bat the first fish with feet she was once. A breeze fans the deerflies from lighting. Only a gaggle of gnats
housekeeps in her ears. A hay plume sticks out of her mouth.
I have come calling with a carrot from which I have taken the first bite She startles She considers rising but retracts the pistons of her legs and accepts as loose lipped as a camel.
We sit together. In this time and place we are heart and bone. For an hour we are incorruptible.
My heart goes out to the riders and their families.
Here are some of the photos he took on our little digital camera. We weren't able to get as close as last year, but some of the images are still nice, if a bit fuzzy. If you know the horse/riders, let me know! I have to match up numbers on some of them.
Becky Holder and Courageous Comet, gorgeous in every frame from dressage to jumping
Teddy and Karen, post awards ceremony. Up close, when he's resting, you see how small he is. He looks much bigger when he's moving.
Teddy was eager and hothothot. A few of the fences were awkward, but he's such an athlete he gets himself out of it.
Teddy again, in more classic form.
Phillip Dutton on Connaught. He truly made it look easy.
Mr. Big at the creek oxer.
Why Cortaflx sells so well, note hind leg...
Why Cortaflx sells so well, note foreleg...
Dorothy Crowell on Radio Fyer
Now that I've won Rolex, can ya fatten me up a little?
Lovely leaps (above and below) Allison Springer on Arthur
Tara Ziegler and her Buckingham Place have a terrific partnership. They were eliminated for missing an element following a mishap. But they finished the course in good time, in good form.
Mr. Big jumps like a big flea (a compliment!!!), and I marvelled at how he negotiated this course. His form is different from the other horses but graceful and nimble. I'm so in love with this horse.
Tipperary Liahnam and Kim Severson
Dunraths Alto and Lauren O'Brien
Note: Bob's experience at Rolex Bob had a rough time at Rolex this year, he was at fence 13 when Quiet Man fell. By his account it was a wretched, heartbreaking scene. I was at the start gate, and he called me from the car to say he was done with Rolex. I asked him to come with me to the show jumping on Sunday. He did come and photograph "the ones who survived." He is going to write the USEA. It may or may not help the situation, but I know Bob will feel better. The weekend was troubling to both of us, but Bob saw it firsthand.
So Mr. Big was 7th in the order of go, and I waited impatiently at the creek oxer to see him. MB is the second smallest horse at Rolex and he really doesn't look much bigger than Teddy. I took some video of him over the creek oxer, here it is:
Show jumping footage from Youtube
Compare him to Teddy at the same fence (sorry for the video quality, it's my cellphone).
Teddy is little but he has a huge stride and boundless energy--he's a powerball and looks fully capable of jumping these huge fences easily. Mr. Big does not have the same way of going. His stride shuffles a little, he's older, and when I watch him I really ROOT for him, because as he approaches the fence he looks small, smaller than Teddy frankly. But he has a big jump that seems to come from nowhere.
Julia and Mr. Big finished the course! Yes, they had trouble at the duck combination, but a lot of other competitors did too. I've never met Julia or Mr. Big but I am so happy and proud for their accomplishments. Congrats to them!
There is a terrible rumor that Frodo Baggins had to be euthanized after his fall at the flower basket jump. I'm hoping against hope that it isn't so. Apparently he got up right away after the fall, then seemed to spook at something and fell. No official word, but as we left the horse park we noticed the flag was at half-mast. His rider, from the last report, was talking and moving her extremities but was medivac'ed to a hospital.
I've been looking at a lot of tack web sites lately. Is it my imagination or is tradition taking a back seat to trendiness? Some of the competition attire for horse and rider is reminiscent of Vegas Elvis.
I'm all for small doses of bling, as my posting on browbands will attest. But bling should complement the horse and rider. I'm seeing some items that could detract from the overall picture...
Jeremy&Lord metallic eventing bridle Consider the Jeremy and Lord Metallic Eventing bridle--thickly padded in pink or blue shimmery leather. At first I thought it was a typo, that it was actually an evening bridle. Sorry, I just can't imagine Amy Tryon wearing some candyass pastel-colored bridle cross country. I'll allow that eventers are not bound by the conservative rules of we mortals. It is not they who quake at the thought of a three foot oxer with spindly poles resting in jump cups. Last year at Rolex there was a rider with an orange saddle. Not orange as in not oiled, but a yes-I'm-riding-in-orange-tack-dammit saddle. Even in a sport known for flamboyant colors, pink lame' seems like an unlikely choice.
Update So here I am at Rolex. I walked the course this afternoon. Standing next to these massive obstacles, I'm in awe of the horsemen and horses who will be out careening around this course. I'm not sure where Jeremy & Lord did their market research, or what medications they might have been on. But just like there's no crying in baseball, I'm pretty sure there'll be no pink at Rolex either. If I'm wrong I'll let you know.
As a librarian, I'm interested in what keywords people use to pull up data. One of the perks of my blog is that I can view the keyword searches that pulled up articles in Behind the Bit. Do these folks find what they're looking for? Judging from the search keywords, I'm guessing not.
People have an unshakable faith in Google's ability to interpret whatever they type --and judging from the searches below, to solve their problems! Don't believe the hype--search engines are not intelligent. As wonderful as Google is, it's not omniscient.
Halt Near X (a terrific blog) gave me the idea to review keyword searches.
KEYWORD SEARCHES THAT PULLED UP MY BLOG: (my response in italics)
Keywords: my horse bucks at transitions when using dressage whip Patient: Doctor it hurts when I move my arm this way. Doctor: So don't move your arm that way. Lose the whip, honey.
Keywords: dressage it's like watching grass grow Hey, that's not a search, that's an opinion--get a blog!
Keywords: dressage very bouncy trot sitting improving I feel like we know each other...
Keywords: what is the nutritional value of carrot cake A cup and a half of butter and sugar, and cream cheese icing? What do you think?
Keywords: donnerhall and rubenstein are to dressage as is to jumping Are you taking the SAT right now?
Keywords: new horse at my barn disease quarantine mortality There's a story behind this one, for sure...
Keywords: What bit is best for a crazy thoroughbred Get thee to a trainer!
Keywords: I wrecked my mom’s car Sorry, nothing on this blog will help you out of it.
Keywords: report bad business practices barn horse riding Get thee to a lawyer!
Keywords: How to make money at a boarding barn Fortune cookie says: If you want to make a small fortune in horses, start with a large fortune.
And my personal favorite (drumroll)...
Keywords: Jan Ebeling and Stacey Kimmel Perhaps the only time in past or future that these two names will be linked in ANY WAY.
The special Rolex issue of the Chronicle came today, and I took time out from prepping for our breed show tomorrow to peruse it. Jimmy Wofford's rundown of the competitors is the best! Every year I study it closely to see what horses/riders pique my interest. Here are the "must-sees" on my list for this year (aside from Teddy and my most-favorite-Mr-Big).
Acapulco Jazz/Bonner Carpenter In the "unusual breed at Rolex" category, we have the Mexican-bred quarter horse Acapulco Jazz, ridden by Bonner Carpenter, age 20 (pictured left). AJ is an old campaigner who "clocks around" according to a Chronicle article from a year or so back. Bonner is a rookie who will do well, Wofford speculates, "if she rides the way I know she can ride." Carpenter will be one of the youngest riders at Rolex, and this is her first four-star, but she has amassed a good deal of experience at Advanced level. She sounds phenomenal.
When I read that about a quarter horse ridden by a native Texan, I imagined an unlikely, colorful past for them -- a barrel-racing, maybe, or calf-roping? Not likely, I know, and also NOT TRUE. And if you're looking for a rags to riches story, keep looking. Bonner is a University of Texas student who learned to ride horses at her grandparents' ranch. Her other grandfather, Dolph Briscoe, was governor from 1973 to 1979 and, with more than 600,000 acres, is the largest individual landowner in Texas. Nevertheless, I'm rooting for them and look forward to watching them.
Mikki Kuchta and Oz Oz is a 12 year old 16 hand U.S. bred thoroughbred. Jimmy Wofford describes Oz and Kuchta as the best-placed, least-known, horse/rider combination and he predicts they will win this year's "Who Dat?" award. Wofford has a fondness for this pair. "When you watch Ozzie go cross country, you will see why I love thoroughbreds," he writes. So of course I have to watch them. Here is a video of one of their past rides...
Tara Ziegler/Buckingham Palace Tara and BP, pictured right, won last year's Jimmy Wofford "Who Dat?" award. I went to her web site (http://zieglereventing.com//) to read about their Tall Maples Farm on ten acres in Pennsylvania. It's a mother-daughter lesson/training operation (Tara's mom is a lifetime eventer too). Tara trained BP from an OTTB six year old to his present status as a world-class eventer. I actually watched part of her ride last year, they were a joy to watch.
Shiny Objects category I'll mention that there is also a buckskin horse, Irish-bred Dun To AT, ridden by Jonathan Holling. Wofford predicts a "slow, clear round." Maybe I'll try to catch them too.
So there you have it. Teddy, Mr. Big, and these guys. Who else should I watch?
These are driftwood horse sculptures by Heather Jansch who live and work in Westcountry of England. Shamelessly stolen from another Web site: http://www.jansch.freeserve.co.uk/index.htm
Never a dull moment
In my equestrian life, there is never a dull moment. Harvey is gimpy, but for good reason: He's 21 and needs a break from riding. Every so often, his body tells me he needs a 2 week vacation. He always comes back strong.
Giving Harv a break, I have more time for Riley. And a good thing too. The other day as I was grooming him, I went to pick up his left hind. Looking down, my heart skipped a beat. WHAT'S THAT??? A crack. Not a small one. WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?
Etiology: Unknown
His feet have always been pretty strong, they don't chip much, and he's trimmed about every month. This last time we went six weeks. HOW could this have happened?
Getting good advice
I called my regular farrier and scheduled an appointment. I also emailed Harvey's vet, who also happens to be a farrier too. I emailed him pix, and here is his response:
The crack looks more benign than serious but is the result of the foot growth outpacing wear and the resulting imbalance has allowed the hoof wall to flair and pull away a little bit.
I would trim the horse more regularly than you are doing now - I would recommend every 4 weeks. Keep the toe shorter and the side of the foot with the crack I would trim or rasp back to relieve pressure. I would also groove the crack at the top and a bout a third of the way down to dissipate the pressure to widen.
On Wednesday my regular farrier came out. He was baffled by the crack, and he was sure there was no crack last time he trimmed Riley. He was far more concerned than Harv's vet.
We talked about several options.
Minimal option. Trim back, rasp back to relieve pressure, trim more frequently. The drawback to this is that the farrier does not think the crack will grow out -- as the hoof grows, it expands, and the crack will expand as the hoof grows. Bummer.
Shoes. It's awfully early to start shoeing, and even shoeing "full" it's likely to affect hoof growth. Riley isn't mature enough to handle the shoeing process, would need to be drugged. But it would stabilize the hoof and promote healthy, crack-free growth.
Lacing/stapling. My farrier didn't seem all that eager to go this route, but I don't recall why.
New-fangled technology and techniques. My farrier will consult with his farrier colleagues to see what products might be successful with this problem
Treatment plan:Start conservative and monitor
Our game plan is option 1 and option 4. Riley was trimmed on April 16, and the farrier "scored" where the crack ended. I noticed at the time that there were several marks, and the highest one, which was fairly light, was the top.
Today, when I checked his foot, it seemed the crack had grown. Or was it just that the scoring at the top was too light to see easily? ARRRGH!
Well, I'll keep you posted. I'm always interested in experiences and advice of others--leave a comment!
The naming of things When I bought Harvey, his name was "Sody" -- which was bad enough, I thought, until I learned his Jockey Club racing name: Sotally Tober. I renamed him Harvey in honor of the Jimmy Stewart movie (it was on TV the night the owners decided to sell him to me). I chose the name Harvard for his show name, which in retrospect is a little pretentious. I like names that are simple: Theatrical, Wishful, Mystify, Sinatra, etc. Later, when we started competing at recognized shows, Harv showed that he could hold his own -- at least at the lower levels -- with the big-moving warmbloods. I joked about changing his name to Why Pay More?
Racehorse names Racehorse owners seem to care about names, too, and they like to get creative. Sometimes a bit too creative--like the British horse named Hoof Hearted(watch the video or say it fast a few times), or the 1983 American Thoroughbred namedWrecked Em. A recent lawsuit that made the news concerned poor taste in naming a thoroughbred. The Jockey Club oversees and regulates the naming of horses. It's a hard thing to follow all the rules and there is even a company, Thoroughbred Naming Specialists, that will do it for you. The list of rules is long, but a few of their verbotens are...
Names consisting of more than 18 letters
Initials such as C.O.D., F.O.B., etc.
Names of persons unless written permission to use their name
Names of "famous" people no longer living (w/o approval from JC)
Names of "notorious" people.
Names clearly having commercial significance, such as trade names.
Copyrighted material
Names that are suggestive or have a vulgar/obscene meaning, or are offensive.
Fun Thoroughbred names You can browse or search active names at the JC Online Names Book. Here are a few names, anecdotes about racehorse names that I culled from the resources below...
A Simpsons episode featured Bart and his adventures with a race horse named Duncan. While they were at the track you could hear the announcer calling a race, and one of the horses was named Chockfullodrugs.
The shortest racehorse name in history is 'I' who raced in Argentina.
At an Australian racetrack, three horses broke away from the pack at the half-way mark. The horses were Nobody, Nearest and Nothing. The announcer called, "Nobody is Nearest to Nothing," and the crowd erupted in laughter.
Names are often derived from the parents.
Yes It's True is by Is It True
East of Reality by Proper Reality out of Far East
The filly Shopaholic is out of A Girl Needs Cash
Greenie is by Naturalism out of Ozone Friendly
Braless is by Showoff II out of Snuggles
Lip Gloss is out of Pucker Lips
Youcan'tteachheart by Lionheart out of Backwoods Teacher
Emotional Ending by End Sweep out of Gina's Temper
Watamichoppedliver by Chopper Charlie out of Libber and Onions
Blondeinamotel was sired by Bates Motel
Reignforest by Forestry, out of Golden Princess
No Slow Dancing by Slow Fuse out of Dancing Kate
Nosupeforyou by Super Fortunate
One name is a reference to the 18 character limit on a racing name: Eighteencharacters.
A lot of them are pretty sexist:
Oliver Klozov
Sexy Walk
Short Skirt Flirt
Yes No Yes
Date More Minors
No Fat Chicks
Bodacious Ta Ta's
She can't say no
OHBEEGEEWHYEN
She's Easy
Shefoggedmyglasses
Drinking-related names abound, but here are a few:
Anita Cocktail
Plastered, out of a mare called Tipples
Drink me pretty
Sheikh'nnotstirred
Alcohol-related
and of course Sotally Tober.
As a librarian, I love these:
Sexy Librarian.
Library Flirt
Studious by Muttering out of Fast Study
She's Well Red by an Illiterate son out of Red Journey
In the Library out of United Scholar
Search Engine
Study Hard out of Learning Curve
Sensible Shoes
Some made it through the checks and balances for obscenity:
Hardawn
Golden Showers
Cunning Stunt
Pleasure Me
Girls On Top
Ménage Á Trois
Strip Teaser
Rhythm Method
Jail Bait
Tit'n Your Girdle
Panty Raid
Some are basically jokes, at the expense of the horse:
A sucessful fledgling program enters its second year Last year, the USEA (US Eventing Association) started offering in-hand breed classes for event prospects, called the Future Event Horse program. The program helps breeders and owners of future event horses promote and evaluate their young stock from yearling to three-years-old. It also begins a performance tracking process that will follow the horse throughout his life. Denny Emerson promoted the idea to expand the Young Event Horse program to include in-hand classes in his Chronicle of the Horse article "Why Couldn't We Expand the Young Event Horse Program?"
The breeder perspective Around 10 qualifying competitions in Area II and Kentucky were held in 2007, and over 50 horses attended the championship/final even held at Morven Park. Reaction from competitors has been very encouraging. Marie Emrey (Lazy J Sport Horses) attended with LJS Achromatic, a 2005 black Knabstrupper filly. The filly took a first at Talbot Run, second at Fair Hill, and fourth the championships. "I love the series," Emrey said, "I plan on doing it again this year." She reflected that the judging is similar to USDF sport horse breed shows with a few differences. "I think they were looking for average size, decent movement with reach but not wasted movement--definitely a free shoulder is a must. They wanted impulsion but not out of control attitude. The horse should appear balanced from one end to the other." Emrey also appreciated that the judges wrote detailed evaluations of each horse.
On the Chronicle of the Horse bulletin board, Babette Jenn agreed that the judging was good. Her 2 year old filly Eire of Romance competed in classes. "I thought the FEH class was very educational for both owner and horse. They give very detailed and useful analysis of your horse's strengths and weaknesses, verbally and a written page you keep. They also work to make it a positive experience for the horse."
Megan Gillenwater from Kegan Sporthorses took her homebred yearling Paddy (Kegan MacCruise) to the Ark's FEH class. You can read her account of the event athttp://useventing.com/blog/?p=143
The USEA event planners are brainstorming how to make their new program even more relevant to their sport. Currently they are exploring ways to safely and fairly show/evaluate the canter. Currently the classes are run much like the USDF sport horse breed shows: stand horse in front of judge; walk the triangle, trot the triangle; stand the horse in front of judge. The score sheets stress the athleticism of the animal and conformational attributes that are predictive of future soundness. Correctness and efficiency of gaits is more important than flashy movement or beauty.
For anyone interested in learning more about this program, some links are provided below.The USEA contact is Wendy Weinstein at 703-779-0440. ext. 3017.
Disclaimer: Any similarity to an actual dressage magazine rider critque column is just the reader's imagination.
This contributor sent in a family photo for evaluation. We will start with the horse, who was apparently a Christmas gift. His conformation, and the fact that he is on springs, suggests he moves with elasticity and suspension. In fact he appears to be suspended. He seems to be a quarter horse type that, when viewed from the side, will look as if his front legs are in a 6" deep hole. He is utterly unsuitable for dressage, and the rider would do well to arrange a horsebuying trip to Europe in the near future.
In evaluating the rider, let us start with the positive attributes. Let's see... She is young...and, well... Um... She looks happier than her sister.
Now we must address the all-too-obvious problems. As always, I will point out things that offend my personal aesthetic. First of all, when riding, one's hair should never be worn "down." Ideally it should be swept into a smart blonde chignon with some cute earrings (author pictured right). The mother, shown adjusting the curtains, would seem to have an ample supply of of hair spray and bobby pins. Perhaps she could be persuaded to share some with her daughter.
Many riders school in informal attire, but a mu-mu should never be worn on horseback. And someone should tell this poor girl about horizontal stripes. George Morris and I agree on matters of rider physique. A good rule of thumb is that the rider should not outweigh the horse, and here we see a rider on the verge of breaking this rule. A note to the girl's mother: if you allow this child to eat two bowls of Captain Crunch every morning, she will be soon be built like an armoire.
While I cannot see the rider position clearly, because she is American we can assume it is incorrect. She appears to be developing a classic chair seat, with hips and toes rotated outward. I see little hope for improvement. Perhaps she should consider switching to ballet. I like to end every critique on something positive. The Danish modern couch is nice. Very retro.
I've lusted after this wool blanket from O'Halloran for years -- whether for horses or people, this is my dream-plaid. The price, though, is out of my league. Finding this blanket used, at a basement price, is a long shot, but it is my quest. I routinely check "my sources" for this, and other desiderata.
Where to find that "wonderful find" Ebay's equestrian sport category offers great variety but good deals are rare. The winning bid looks alot like retail price more often than not. There are other used tack Web sites. If they lack the richness and variety, the deals are better. Some good sources of used tack are local GMO newsletters (Region 6 has a a great used tack site), regional pubs like the Equine Marketer, and Craigslist.
Used Equestrian Equipment
Bits and Barter Board English and western bits, clothing, attire, mixture of mid-range (e.g., Devonaire) and elite (e.g., ariat, charles owens) type equipment, videos, etc. Great deals and trades.
Wwwarmbloods.com (sale and wanted boards) This is a super resource for deals, and a friendly board. I posted to the WANTED list for white breeches, explaining that I wanted to bring my TB out of retirement for one show, and didn't want to buy a pair that I'd use once. Someone replied, and sent me well-worn but perfectly nice white breeches for the cost of shipping.
BitsnBridles Great quantity of mid-range apparel items (Devonaire, Kerrits), nice saddles, bits, and other tack.
Chubby pony tack shop Love this one! Small but reasonably priced selection. Well-described items, reasonably priced.
Tacktrader.com Literally thousands of items, mostly mainstream saddle brands (0 hits for dominus, laser, county). Mid-range type breeches, etc., but there seems to be a ton of kids' clothing.
The horse on the left is not Riley. This is the best young horse at Upperville in 2007. A thoroughbred! And GOR-GEE-US. If you're interested take a look at the photos from the Best Young Horse final at Upperville.
Disclaimer: I'm writing on this topic because I'm going to my FIRST hunter breed show on April 20. Any observations are from reading and talking to veterans of the hunter world. My own perspective is well, shall we say naive? How are sport horse breed shows (SHBSs) different from hunter breed shows (HBSs)? I've been to SHBSs, but won't be able to speak about HBSs from experience until April 20, when Riley attends his first one. But from talking to folks and reading about HBSs, here is a list of basic differences.
SHBS judges must complete a form which outlines criteria for judging the horse. The breakdown is 30% conformation, 30% walk, 30% trot, and 10% general impression. Judges can add comments. HBS do not complete paperwork/forms, but competitors are judged on conformation, way of moving, quality, substance, soundness and suitability to become hunters (per the USEF rulebook).
At HBSs, all horses enter the ring at once. Unlike dressage breed shows, a handler can only show one horse (for obvious reasons).
Horses in HBSs are shown with front legs square, back legs "staggered."
Horses are lined up, then trotted individually. There is no "triangle," and the trots are frankly anemic-looking compared to the SHBS, where handlers go for the gusto -- judges want to see energy, engagement, flash. The hunter trot is more of a jog.
SHBS awards are calculated by taking the median score from a minimum of three different shows and two different judges. Hunter breed shows go by points.
Here is footage from a HBS
Some opinions If you read about any equestrian discipline, you'll run across critiques and discussion of what's not working well, and how it can be improved. Hunter breed shows are no exception. From reading bulletin boards and the Chronicle, I can summarize some of the observations on HBSs. For a fuller discussion, see the postings listed under Resources .
The point system compels exhibitors to "chase points," which may reward not the best horse, but the one that has been to the most shows.
Judge qualifications. The hunter breeding division requires a separate card from the hunter performance division. This is expensive and thus is a deterrent in a sport that already lacks hunter breeding judges. Judges with a performance card already judge conformation hunters, so why not breed show?
Some exhibitors lament that hunter breeding is political, and they argue that the competition should be more about the horse and less about who owns him. It's interesting to note that for the last 20 years, the samehandler/owner has had the top young horse at Devon. That statistic totally wowed me, but in talking to a breeder, I learned that nothing is as it seems, at least not completely. The exhibitor is a wealthy horse lover who does not breed, but buys, the best he can find. With money and a good eye, I guess it's at least possible to have a 20 year winning streak.
People comment that HBSs are more of a beauty contest than a judgement on athleticism. A veteran of HBSs told me that Riley may not do well because "his ears are too big."
Some exhibitors are overprotective of their hunter breeding youngsters -- they're kept in stalls and overfed. They aren't allowed to be young horses, and it affects their longevity/usefulness throughout their life.
What are the costs? Well, Riley will be showing at a local show on April 20 and at Devon on May 29. Just to give folks an idea of the costs, I'm going to note them here. For the record they're very similar to sport horse breed shows.
Devon, so far: $207 for one class, a stall for the day, and those overhead costs that accompany big shows (office fees, drug fees, etc.). Anticipated costs: handler fees (TBD), trailering ($225), braiding mane and tail ($75). Not included are various memberships.
Local hunter breed show, so far: $50 for class; $12 office fee; $10 other = $77. Anticipated costs: handler fees (TBD), trailering (est $100), braiding mane and tail ($75).
Okay, another video. And more mischief! I don't know this baby's owner, just ran across the video on Youtube. If you're feeling at all blue this should make you smile.
Aside from his general adorability, one thing stands about about this little guy. He's bold and brave! Most babies look to mom once in awhile, at least, but this one is one step ahead of her -- she can barely keep up :-). Lots of personality, lots of confidence -- do you think this will carry through in his adult personality? In my sample where n=1, Riley's personality at three weeks has carried through to adulthood. Opinions/observations on this subject are welcome!
We've all seen the marvelous footage of Teddy at his best in the dressage arena, on cross country, and in the jumping arena. Everyone has bad days, and here's one of his. His dressage score of 69.8 put him around third from last.
I'm not sure his riders/owners were too delighted, but it brought a smile to my face to see Teddy share his opinion of the whole dressage thing :-).
A year or so ago, I went to a local, unrated dressage show. I noticed a horse in the warmup ring [not the one pictured left]. The chestnut gelding was lovely--slightly built, a light mover, and maybe a little hot. His croup was a little flat, his tail was set high, and were his little sculpted ears pointed in? I almost--almost--went over to ask if he was a saddlebred. Later I found out he was by one of the top warmblood stallions in the country and out of a thoroughbred mare. Although the question should not be taken as an insult (IMHO), I am glad I kept my mouth shut!
Actually, the chestnut horse seemed a whole lot cooler, and more special, when I thought he was a saddlebred. Dressage does not mean magical mystery dance, it means training -- other breeds can do this too! And warmbloods may be conformationally made for dressage, other breeds are competitive. The upper left picture is a saddlebred, for example. I posted a query to the Ultimate Dressage Bulletin board and got some pictures and video links to non-warmbloods in dressage. Below is a video and picture compilation of breeds competing in dressage and doing very well, thank you!
Audacity and Cindi Wylie Morgan competing at Grand Prix
Scrabble ridden and owned by Samantha Hodgson Grand Prix Arabian Sport Horse
Harry Callahan ridden and trained by Chrissa Hoffmann 8 year old Saddlebred
Stravinsky, Thoroughbred Prix St. George dressage and breeding stallion
WA Aaron and rider Kelsy Smith Haflinger at Prix St. George
Cashel's Rock of Ages and rider Emily Tears Connemara pony at Prix St. George
Against All Odds ridden by Courtney Fraser Grand Prix Dressage Belgian Draft / TB / Quarter PMU foal
Seldom Scene and Lendon Gray Connemara Thoroughbred cross??
Hilda Gurney on Keen, a thoroughbred Olympic competitors!
Apaloosa at Grand Prix, on Youtube (no other info)
PaynGo (see Web site) ridden by Pam Fowler Grace Apaloosa Grand Prix horse
J.B. Andrew and Kelly O'Leary American Mustang schooling Grand Prix
Glitter Please Grand Prix thoroughbred palomino
On the left is Crescendo (Lipizzan/Appaloosa) w/Sharon Rowe, 1989 GP HOY Open USDF; scored *9's* on his piaffe. On the right is Kaiser's Realm, a quarter horse and 1988 USDF GP Open 13th, also with Sharon.
Correct Connect helps you develop better contact with your horse. The reins/gloves were developed by Olympic eventer Jill Hennenberg and endorsed by recognized trainers. Read about them!
Maxine Kumin: A poet and writer
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