Horses & Other Interests
When people IRL ask me about Rodney & Milton, I don’t want to talk about it.
When people IRL don’t ask me about Rodney & Milton, I get annoyed that they are being overlooked.
My Gordian Knot of social interaction.
~~~
Gratuitous Cat Postcard
via Postcrossing
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Rome (1960) Rio (2016)
Oslo (1952)
LonDon (1908, 1948, 2012)
Nagano (1998)
LakE Placid (1932, 1980)
TokYo (1964)
‘
St. Louis (1904), St. Mortiz (1928, 1948), Stockholm (1956), Squaw Valley (1960), Sapporro (1972), Sarajevo (1984) Seoul (1988), Sydney (2000) Salt Lake City (2002), Sochi (2014)
Stockholm (1912, 1956)
Atlanta (1996)
Grenoble (1968), Garmisch-Partenkirchen (1936)
Athens (1896, 1906, 2004), Antwerp (1920) Amsterdam (1928), Albertville (1992)
~~~
Also: Paris (1900, 1924), Chamonix (1924), Los Angeles (1932, 1984), Berlin (1936), Helsinki (1952), Cortina d’Ampezzo (1956), Melbourne (1956), Innsbruck (1964, 1976), Mexico City (1968), Munich (1972), Montreal (1976), Moscow (1980), Calgary (1988), Barcelona (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Turin (2006), Beijing (2008), Vancouver (2010)
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Remember last year when a local blogger went national?
We – liberally employing the geographical we – did it again.
The 2016 Real Women Style Award Winners Share Their Secrets to Dressing With Total Confidence
Bertha Hidalgo, PhD, MPH
UAB Faculty page
Blog: Chic in Academia
Instagram, with her outfit of the day: chic_in_academia
I remain a fashion “don’t”, but apparently live in a fashion hot spot. I had no idea.
(I’m a fashion disaster outside of the show ring. In the ring, I’m looking sharp these days. [New Clothes, Photos] Granted, someone else had to dress me, but I’m the one in there workin’ it.)
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Update: An account of the photo shoot, I’m on the cover of Redbook Magazine!!
Now I have a galloping horse for my back-burner goal of entering model horse photo shows [New Book].
Sam by Breyer.
Bought from Carousel Tack Shoppe.
Modeled on La Biosthetique – Sam FBW. FEI performance record
Ridden by Michael Jung of Germany. FEI bio, Facebook fan page
According to Identify Your Breyer, the body is the Cigar model, introduced in 1998. The mold has been used for several racehorses – Cigar, Affirmed, Sunday Silence, Barbaro, & Seabiscuit – and two other eventers – Woodburn & Winsome Andante.
I also bought the model in honor of the Sam I ride [Sultan’s Miracle Man], who is awesome in his own way, and because some days you just wanna buy yourself a new toy.
Technical notes: Rain created an impromptu session of learning to shoot with flash. I put the camera back on auto 😦 and fiddled with the angles to keep the light off the shiny. Not a horrid result given my working conditions & current ability.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
It’s my own fault that I had to work last weekend [Caesura]. I had plenty of time. I had all the data. The task was well within my capacity.
I. could. not. start.
As with my horse show nerves*, the anxiety comes beforehand. Once I’m underway, I’m good. The manifestation was different, no dry-heaving, but the theme was the same. Fear of failure? Fear of success? Fear of getting off my ass & doing work? No idea.
It’s like this, at least for writing. I’ve been in this field since 1988. I’ve lived through most of the ways the wheels can come off. No amount of self-belief will compensate for the knowledge that shit happens. Shit that is a) bizarre & b) out of my control.
I finally got moving with a gentle kick in the pants from my ever-supportive spouse. I met the deadline with a professional-grade product.
Exhausting.
Yet, posts come pouring out day after day. This is by far the most non-paid writing I have ever done in my life. I have no explain for that either.
While I was busy being a hot mess, the boys did even less work than usual. I hope to have progress, or at least activity, to report next week.
(*The few times that nerves have bled into riding [April Update, More Mess] have been in non-show situations. Dunno if that means the show ring is my happy place or that the horses I show don’t stress me.)
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Coach Courtney tells me that if I would only move up to suit, I could leave equitation behind forever. I go back and forth on this question. [Form Follows Function vs Form Does Not Follow Function]
Why She’s Right
Equitation has become an end unto itself.
In a performance class, whether saddle seat or hunters, it’s about the horse. The judge doesn’t care if I stare at my lap, or stare off into space. No one checks the position of my pinkies. A saddle seat performance judge is not looking to see the underside of my boot (indicating a correctly flared leg).
Why She’s Wrong
Quiet riding is good riding. Being subtle means catching a problem before it goes public. Wildly waving hands or feet or upper body may or may not interfere with the horse’s balance, but they don’t help. No one will check the position of my pinkies, but if they are out of position, I am less effective.
Trainer riding is not bad riding. Trainers spend much of their time educating green horses or reeducating obstreperous ones. They develop a characteristic defensive posture. Saddle seat trainers hunch. Jumping trainers put their feet on the dash. Meanwhile, their balance, use of the aids, communication with the horse, etc., etc., are spot on.
I can’t ride like a man. I’m guessing here, but when I see an extreme trainer hunch in the saddle seat ring, it is from a male trainer. I’m thinking that saddle seat is, um, traditional enough that female riders must still look like ladies?
Fitting in is important. I’m betting that if I rode into a five-gaited class in a flawless hunter position, the judges would take one look and think, ‘She ain’t from around these parts.’ My position wouldn’t matter if my horse was brilliant. What if there was equally brilliant horse with a rider who looked the part? Human nature favors the familiar. Or perhaps not. That’s the trouble with subjective judging, one never knows for sure.
What say you, what effect does equitation have in performance classes?
Equitation on RS
Wherein I Reflect on the Questionable Utility of Equitation Theory
Three Reasons I Suck At Equitation
Equitation Counterpoint
Times Change
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
I wasn’t kidding when I said what we wanted was hard to find. [ISO Truck]
Dealers have found two, count them two, 2016 Ford F-250s with extended cabs. The one in North Carolina has a 6 1/2′ bed instead of an 8′ bed. Not optimal for carting hay. The one in Arizona – you read that right, Arizona – has enough bling installed that the price is beyond what we want to pay. Hint, we live nowhere near NC nor Arizona.
The 2017 is a complete redo. Therefore, we’d like to pat and feel one before we invest. These models will not be at dealers until September.
So we wait.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 