Midwest Horse Fair
Apr. 18th, 2010 07:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
truepennyI have recently begun taking dressage lessons, so on Saturday, I played hookey from OddCon and went to the Midwest Horse Fair. I caught the Friesian exhibition, in which my instructor was riding, and which also included a man driving a chariot with a four-horse team. And that? Was INCREDIBLE. Aside from the basic fact of the guy standing in the chariot controlling four horses, his control was good enough for tight turns: the inside horse was basically turning in place, while the outside horse traveled. I know my jaw was hanging open. Caught a little of Steffan Peters' clinic, which was right at the very outer edge of what I can even knowledgeably spectate, but was fascinating. And then I spent the rest of the afternoon just looking at horses.
Friesians, Icelandics, Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses, Norwegian Fjords, Halflingers, Arabians, Morgans, Morabs, Gypsy Cobs, Tennessee Walking Horses, Appaloosas, Saddlebreds, Standardbreds, Quarter Horses, Paints, Andalusians, Mustangs, Peruvians, Missouri Fox Trotters, Thoroughbreds, Ponies of the Americas, donkeys, and some very handsome mules. There were an astonishing number of Miniature Horses, as well as Miniature Donkeys. I entered the Viroqua Wild West Days raffle, not because I want the colt, but because apparently I have a real weakness for old cowboys. I saw the World's Tallest Horse. I saw an extended horse penis--a Gypsy Cob stallion was hanging out, so to speak. I learned that not only are blue-eyed horses a priori disconcerting, but also, full-face, they look alarmingly like Marty Feldman. And the whole time--
You have to understand. When I was between eight and thirteen, I was as stereotypically horse-mad as any prepubescent girl. It wasn't something I could pursue, and so I put it away (high school, college, graduate school, etc.). But when I turned thirty-five last November, something kicked over in my brain and said, "Dude, if you want to do something, you'd better get moving on it." Hence the dressage lessons. And it's like I just picked up my love for horses right where I left it when I was thirteen. So, all afternoon, there was a part of my brain that was just going, "Pony! Pony! Pony!" Absolutely thrilled to death just to be there looking at horses.
In the evening was the Nutrena Show Jumping Grand Prix. You could not pay me enough money to do show jumping, but it's great to watch. And it was a fun and exciting end to a really pleasant day.
Friesians, Icelandics, Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses, Norwegian Fjords, Halflingers, Arabians, Morgans, Morabs, Gypsy Cobs, Tennessee Walking Horses, Appaloosas, Saddlebreds, Standardbreds, Quarter Horses, Paints, Andalusians, Mustangs, Peruvians, Missouri Fox Trotters, Thoroughbreds, Ponies of the Americas, donkeys, and some very handsome mules. There were an astonishing number of Miniature Horses, as well as Miniature Donkeys. I entered the Viroqua Wild West Days raffle, not because I want the colt, but because apparently I have a real weakness for old cowboys. I saw the World's Tallest Horse. I saw an extended horse penis--a Gypsy Cob stallion was hanging out, so to speak. I learned that not only are blue-eyed horses a priori disconcerting, but also, full-face, they look alarmingly like Marty Feldman. And the whole time--
You have to understand. When I was between eight and thirteen, I was as stereotypically horse-mad as any prepubescent girl. It wasn't something I could pursue, and so I put it away (high school, college, graduate school, etc.). But when I turned thirty-five last November, something kicked over in my brain and said, "Dude, if you want to do something, you'd better get moving on it." Hence the dressage lessons. And it's like I just picked up my love for horses right where I left it when I was thirteen. So, all afternoon, there was a part of my brain that was just going, "Pony! Pony! Pony!" Absolutely thrilled to death just to be there looking at horses.
In the evening was the Nutrena Show Jumping Grand Prix. You could not pay me enough money to do show jumping, but it's great to watch. And it was a fun and exciting end to a really pleasant day.
