(no subject)

[rm]

I have to ride today, in what apparently feels like 29-degrees with the wind chill. Now, I ride in the indoor ring, so things will be a little better, but among other things, I'm getting over a cold and hardly have the clothes for it. Also, Benny, is so Benny. Last time we trotted (which still involves my instructor ordering him where to go and me holding on for dear life), I felt him trying to do his "I'm gonna turn around in the corner!" thing. At speed (trotting is speed for me) this freaked me out badly, and although I was able to get him not to do it, it didn't do wonders for my trust factor. With the weather, and the fact that he apparently kicked my instructor last week (although it was her foot that got hurt so maybe he just stepped on her?), I'm expecting a bit of drama with him today.

Riding is always a psychological battle, both over my own crap and the horse's, but there's the added fact that Benny doesn't just like to test you ("do you really have authority over me?"), but also is notorious for making new riders stop being lazy or afraid ("you can ride better than this, let me do something annoying to prove it to you"). He's a fantastic horse to learn on, but it's a little like learning to drive in Manhattan or fly out of Teterboro -- it'll drive you nuts, it'll take twice as long, but you'll actually know what you're doing when you get there.

This is where I'll be riding in Australia: http://www.centennialstables.com.au/index.php which is _such_ a change from ghettobarn (tm), I won't know what to do with myself.

Finally, Giant Squids Are Taking Over the World. No, really.

Comments

[daverhodester.livejournal.com]

I've always been a little intimidated by them myself, and have followed your riding adventures with interest. When filming a scene for "Seabiscuit" at Santa Anita, there were about twenty of us standing around in a paddock area.. extras were recruited to play owners, trainers and groomsmen, but the company had real jockeys up on the horses for obvious reasons. Even though it cost them more, it was best to have pros up on the thoroughbreds at all times (besides, the REAL owners insisted on it in the contract).

I was a "trainer" and was standing near a huge thoroughbred that started to act up. The extra who was playing the groomsman assigned to that horse had told the CD he had horse handling experience, and he'd been boasting about it to us while the scene was being set up. He spoke of having worked on his Uncle's ranch and how they used to handle boisterous horses all the time. This guy was about six feet something and weighed maybe 240, but it didn't make a damn bit of difference to the horse. It started kicking up on it's rear legs and pawing the air while neighing loudly. The groomsman/extra kept trying to reign him in but to no avail.. the harder he tried the more rambunctious the horse became.

After about a minute of this, a jockey named Danny Sorenson climbed down from his mount, walked over and grabbed the huge thoroughbred by the reigns, shouting, "Whoa NOW! That's ENOUGH! NO BOY, DOWN!" Of course Danny is about five feet tall and maybe weighs around 105, if that. But the horse calmed right down and Danny handed the reigns back to the groomsman, saying, "You HAVE to let him know who's boss. Don't show any fear and don't be afraid to yell at him".

[britgeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

Indeed, showing the horse who's boss is important and challenging. I was doing great until I had to try riding dressage on a *western* saddle horse. Never trust riding schools in LA that aren't within sight of a race track... *mutter*

[daverhodester.livejournal.com]

A friend of ours rides dressage (that DOES mean sidesaddle, right?) and she's about 260 pounds. I've never seen her do it, she's only told us about it, but I can't imagine. She also is an ex-Brit, who was born here, but British heritage is strong in her family. Her Dad's name is Clive and she call's her Mom "Mummy". Their lifestyle is very much like "The Remains of the Day", except Clive isn't THAT rich.. he's only semi-rich. Definitly upper class. Actually, our friend (Elizabeth, of course) is in London on Holiday. How about that.

I read a few of your posts and decided to add you because your info said I could without asking permission. Very entertaining!

I was Navy for a few miserable years and for six months my ship was at Hunters Point in SF, just across the bay from Alameda. I'd get over to Concord a lot for some reason I can't remember (it was 1978 fer heavens sake). A girl I went to HS with, well, her Dad was one of the principle designers of BART.. so if you want, I'll look him up and either thank him or cuss him out for you. Whichever you want.

[britgeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

I believe there's a sidesaddle flavor of dressage, but what I used to do featured a regular seat (also known as "English hunt seat" over here, I think). God knows, I wouldn't have been able to stay on board without a leg on either side of the animal. ;)

Otherwise, dressage is that fancy-pants school of riding which features getting the horse to describe tiny little circles whilst hopping on two legs and the rider juggles flaming torches sort of thing. Well, the torches are optional unless one is working for Barnum & Bailey....

NP on the friending, I'll toddle on over to your end of LJ, shortly.

[daverhodester.livejournal.com]

Ah, shows what I know about riding.. which is nothing. But during the aforementioned filming of Seabiscuit I did befriend a few of the Jockeys and learned a few things. Also, since I was playing a trainer at one point, Chris MacCarron (who is a hall of fame Jockey and currently GM of Santa Anita Racetrack)showed me how to "leg up" a Jockey onto a horse so I could do it in a scene and look convincing.

When I tried it in rehearsal I almost flung the poor little guy I was with completely over the horse, but he knew I was a novice and compensated for it. Those Jockeys have made an art form out of learning to compensate for anything and everything in their lives.

[britgeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

*chuckles* indeed. Before my final growth *finally* kicked in, my riding teacher was making a lot of broad hints about giving amateur flat-racing a try but there was no way in *hell* I was going to get up on a racehorse!

[daverhodester.livejournal.com]

Yeah, those thoroughbreds at Santa Anita aren't ridden by ANYONE who isn't a pro. Good way to get killed, and quickly.

[fleur.livejournal.com]

Ghettobarn. heh. There's some fantastic mental imagery happening for me with that.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Our jumps are made from traffic cones and PVC pipe. While the PVC pipe was lawfully acquired from Home Depot, there are persistent but of course unverified rumours that the traffic cones were illegally liberated from their duties to the City of New York.

[fleur.livejournal.com]

They do get ingenuity points.

[roy-batty.livejournal.com]

I need to make calamari a more regular part of my diet, it seems.

Pardon my tangent....

[monkeycurious.livejournal.com]

There is a short story that I believe was called, "Fuck you, Andromeda!", which I think was by Kurt Vonnegut.

The story: In the future, people decide they want to load a rocket with the semen of all their greatest (obviously, male) minds and shoot the rocket to Andromeda. "Fuck you, Andromeda!" becomes the rallying cry, but it isn't meant to disparage our closest galaxy in any way. Everyone swears like that in the future. They, as a culture, just want to fuck Andromeda with their large, semen-filled rocket. I mean, how's that for obvious symbolism?

At any rate, at the end of the story a 30-foot lamprey crawls out of Lake Michigan and eats a police chief.

For some odd reason the article reminded me of that story. Probably only because of the old sailor's tales about giant squid that devour ships at sea. Also, the idea of so much of what we do is done on such an enormous scale and almost without any consideration as to why or the consequences.