One For The Horse Lovers

OR: Another Reason I Stunk At The Three Day Event.

To be successful at the Three Day Event, (Dressage, Cross-country, Show Jumping) you needed to have one really big weapon in your arsenal. A good horse. Considering the two main horses I rode were Lemon, a palomino-Appaloosa cross that often lived up to his name, and Fun City, a Standardbred cross with feet the size of dinner platters, a heart of gold but a ‘fraidy cat disposition, was it any wonder I often crashed and burned the first day?

In dressage, you have to look good. The horse has to look good. Together, you have to look damn good. Try looking impressive on the equivalent of a Lemony bleach blonde.

(Me on the infamous "Lemon Drop")

Fun City was a big handsome bay, but I am short legged and we looked mismatched. Not to mention getting a horse with dinner platter feet to do a half pass without tripping over himself. Which he did, once. I could sympathize. Dressage wasn’t our forté. But the big boy could jump. In the arena, out in the fields, over picnic tables and parked cars… ahem.

Lemon could jump, but hated to work at all, resulting in me spending my riding time wondering when the sneak was going to duck a shoulder and plant me face first into a jump. And I’m sure having a horse heave a monumental sigh of boredom then a monumental blast of gas in the middle of the dressage competition didn’t impress the judges either.

But some people do it right. The video shows how the combination of great rider and great horse results in magic. The horse loves her work, without a doubt. This is Danish rider Andreas Helgstrand and his mount Blue Hors Matine. Try and ignore the commentators, who didn’t know when to shut up and just let us watch this horse practically dance to the music. (Video discovered courtesy of Donna G.)

Further Proof...

That Our Ancestors Weren't Stupid

Just because the Greeks didn't have cell phones and iPods, doesn't mean ancient civilization was barely one step above pond scum. A neat picture on the Astronomy Picture of the Day website shows the Antikythera mechanism in all its encrusted and corroded glory. So what is the Antikythera mechanism? an ancient mechanical analog computer. Take that, Bill Gates.

You can read all about it on Wikipedia HERE and on the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project Home page HERE .

I'd say the Antikythera mechanism is a great example of math in practical application. So why aren't school kids studying this instead of how to calculate ratios of M & M's? Oh yeah, I forgot, M & M's are more relevant. Pretty. Yummy. I sure would have been more interested in science if it hadn't been presented to me as A) only for the mathematical geniuses among us, B) interesting, C) tied to our history, and D) Not taught by those with no interest in anything outside their narrow field. Once they started uncoupling the disiplines from one another, everything went to hell. No disipline is an island. Heck, maybe I need to revisit Venn diagrams too.

Rant for the day is over, you may return to your regularly scheduled indifference now.