True Grit

OK, just to catch up from last week's report, still working off "Hal" the old and possessed computer for these blog posts, but I am making slow but steady progress with starting to understand the new computer and the new Photoshop program, so last week's sense of despair has receded considerably. Thank goodness.

As usual, a lot has happened since my last post, mostly on the horse front. We've just gone through a muggy, hot and windy (sometimes in turn, sometimes all together) three days of horse shows at Ebon. This year the annual Midsummer Masters Horse Show was combined with the Warmblood mare and foal evaluation and riding horse test, which has hitherto been held a few weeks later, in early September. Folding these two shows into one event was a challenge for all concerned, me included, since I was on tap to do photos for a *lot* of clients at both.

When you're camped out at these shows for most of the day, you see a lot of horses and riders and how they interact, with the many little dramas that accompany these events. Since it was so hot, I spent quite a bit of time doing photos from the judge's booth in the jumper ring, as it is raised up and can catch whatever breeze is happening, has a good view of the entire ring (well, as the judge's booth it pretty well has to) and has a roof over it so there is shade. From this vantage point, I observed and photographed a display of grace and courage on the part of one of our young Ebon riders.

This is a girl who has ridden at Ebon for a few years now. Although she is young enough just to be entering high school this year, she is quite a seasoned rider, with a history of good training and the desire and discipline needed for her chosen area of show jumping. Around the barn she is quiet, serious and business-like in her approach to her riding, although I suspect there is a lighter side that we adults don't get to witness.

Her horse is a quality European bred Dutch Warmblood, who is talented but has a few issues, especially when it comes to jumping. They have worked on this for the past couple of years and when I took my first outdoor shots of them this spring, I was struck by how much this horse had improved in his gaits and his attitude. They were both really clicking in lessons and at the schooling shows, and it was a pleasure to see them working so nicely as a team and achieving success in the ring. Until the "big" show this weekend. Hunter ring with the slower pace and lower jumps didn't seem to be a problem. Ditto for the flat classes. It was in the jumper ring that the wheels fell off, with the horse suddenly, unexpectedly (to viewers, anyway) and rather violently resisting jumps partway through his course. This happened several times over a couple of days, with his reaction growing more violent each time.

The final blowup was pretty extreme and it was impressive that the rider managed to stay on his back. What was even more impressive to me was the fact that once she got her horse back under control, having been eliminated from the class by his refusal, she proceeded to the judge's booth to request a "courtesy" fence. This is common in the jump ring so that the rider can end the ride with a positive experience for themself and for the horse, and so that the horse understands that extreme bad manners and misbehavior don't get you out of the job at hand. It would have been totally understandable if she had just opted to get out of Dodge before her horse finished her off, but not only did she request the extra jump, she actually said "may I have a courtesy fence, please?" I think it was the "please" that most impressed me. This is one well- brought-up kid with a huge amount of fortitude. We could all take a lesson from her self-possession and control in the face of potential disaster.

One of the little tasks I have assigned myself this year is to keep on shooting no matter how wrong things are going in front of me. My natural instinct is to stare aghast at whatever wreck is happening, but often these are the shots that the riders want, and I've been schooling myself to keep on shooting no matter what. Since the action came pretty well out of nowhere, it took me a few seconds to get focussed, also it was pretty far away from me so I was at the extreme end of my zoom. Riders note: if you want really good shots of your wrecks, try to have them not too far from the photographer and without a lot of jumps in the way. The first shot is as a result a bit on the blurry side. I was doing a bit better by the second. These are two of a number of shots I was able to get, as he had a couple of go-rounds before he conceded defeat. Shot number three shows a more typical moment of good form and success, which in truth is vastly more typical for these two.

For a change of pace and to allow us to catch our breath, the fourth shot shows the Warmblood yearlings and handlers seeking the coolest available spot in the ring during the evaluation. It was darn hot and breathless for this part of the show and conditions were a trial to horses and humans alike.

A quick update from a previous post. I was interrupted halfway through writing this by the delivery of the Northern Shrike (from the vet college where it was undergoing treatment) that I had rescued from the barn a few weeks back (see post of July 28, Bird Rescue) . It is now fully recovered from its injuries and was ready to be released. I had to hustle right out to the barn to return it to its' home territory since the sun was getting pretty low in the sky and we were losing light fast. I wanted it to be able to see where it was going when it finally got out of the box. Of course no good deed goes unpunished and I was in such a rush that I forgot my camera. I consoled myself with the thought that the sky was pretty darn grey and boring over the city so it wouldn't matter, but of course by the time I was driving west and home from releasing the shrike, I was looking at an achingly beautiful sunset that would have been fabulous to capture. Dang. No matter, we had a happy ending with this one, so one more individual of an endangered species has been restored to the wild. I just hope he/she has learned the lesson about barn cats.

Day after this posting--small species correction here on the bird. I was at the zoo this morning with my grandson doing some photos when the wildlife vet wandered past. I was pretty sure she was the one that dealt with the shrike, so I stopped her to report on the release. She thinks this was a Loggerhead Shrike rather than a Northern. I'm not a birder myself so I stand corrected. 

PS--I have written about our young rider with her and her parents' knowledge and consent. I won't write about identifiable individuals (espeically minors) or use their pictures without their say-so.