Yesterday, as part of a equestrian program for the disabled, some friends and I acted as a color guard for the opening ceremonies. This was an interesting operations for several reasons. First, this is the first public event Max has been to since the somewhat disastrous experiences at teh Huntington Beach and Santa Barbara Parades so I was a bit nervious about bringing him out. Also, while the event was held at the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center and I could have ridden over, I decided to use the opportunity to practice my trailering.
It was an early day, especially since I had to arrive at the stables early enough to hitch up the trailer and load Max. I'd loaded my saddle and tack onto the trailer the night before so that was all ready. The hitching up process took less time than I expected so I wound up arriving at the Equestrian Center a bit early. I proceeded to unload Max (that's interesting doing that alone and a bit nerve-racking), tie him to the trailer and begin to groom him.
I groomed and tacked up Max and then dressed myself- the theme was the usual American Revolutionary theme. It seems to work. Just as I started to mount, my compadres showed up (they rode directly from home). The weather in the morning was perfect- cool with some mist (believe it or not!).
We proceeded to work the horses in a vacant arena and I have to say that was a pleasure to ride on an well-groomed surface. We cantered and and trotted and performed a number of manuevers. Not that any of this would be used for the opening ceremonies but we felt it would be good to get the horses loosened up and relieve all the tensions from waiting. Wow! Max certainly loved that and he was definately ready to work.
Although the opening ceremony was supposed to occur at 8 am, it was delayed and didn't get going until about 8:30. Max patiently waited with the other horses and we posed for many pictures. When we finally did go on, Max seemed to handle it well and the ceremony went off perfectly. It also helped that there was plenty of space around us and not a lot of people or noise. The audience was definately well-behaved.
Afterwards, we hung around for some more pictures and ate some breakfast. Max was mostly patient and stood with the other horses with no issues although towards the end, he was getting a bit impatient to go. Finally, I walked Max to the trailer and proceeded to get ready to leave. Loading Max up to go went with no problems and we then travelled home- a 10 minute drive. The only part I have to be cautious about is when unloading him when we get home- he tends to get impatient and there's the possibility of him pulling back. Fortunately, nothing happened.
Overall, it was good experience and it combined a lot of different, and somewhat new, things and while I didn't drive a long distance, it was still good practice.
It was an early day, especially since I had to arrive at the stables early enough to hitch up the trailer and load Max. I'd loaded my saddle and tack onto the trailer the night before so that was all ready. The hitching up process took less time than I expected so I wound up arriving at the Equestrian Center a bit early. I proceeded to unload Max (that's interesting doing that alone and a bit nerve-racking), tie him to the trailer and begin to groom him.
I groomed and tacked up Max and then dressed myself- the theme was the usual American Revolutionary theme. It seems to work. Just as I started to mount, my compadres showed up (they rode directly from home). The weather in the morning was perfect- cool with some mist (believe it or not!).
We proceeded to work the horses in a vacant arena and I have to say that was a pleasure to ride on an well-groomed surface. We cantered and and trotted and performed a number of manuevers. Not that any of this would be used for the opening ceremonies but we felt it would be good to get the horses loosened up and relieve all the tensions from waiting. Wow! Max certainly loved that and he was definately ready to work.
Although the opening ceremony was supposed to occur at 8 am, it was delayed and didn't get going until about 8:30. Max patiently waited with the other horses and we posed for many pictures. When we finally did go on, Max seemed to handle it well and the ceremony went off perfectly. It also helped that there was plenty of space around us and not a lot of people or noise. The audience was definately well-behaved.
Afterwards, we hung around for some more pictures and ate some breakfast. Max was mostly patient and stood with the other horses with no issues although towards the end, he was getting a bit impatient to go. Finally, I walked Max to the trailer and proceeded to get ready to leave. Loading Max up to go went with no problems and we then travelled home- a 10 minute drive. The only part I have to be cautious about is when unloading him when we get home- he tends to get impatient and there's the possibility of him pulling back. Fortunately, nothing happened.
Overall, it was good experience and it combined a lot of different, and somewhat new, things and while I didn't drive a long distance, it was still good practice.
The three of us ready to go...
Here I am...not too bad for a period I don't normally recreate.
Waiting...
2 comments:
I love those breastplates - are those really period? What's the deal with the hearts? Max sounds like such a good fellow. :)
As far as I can tell, the heart is a traditional decorative item for breast collars, probably because the leatherwork needed to join the three straps works out to looking heart-shaped. Also, the relative location on the chest (by human standards, anyway) also suggests this.
In my research, at no time did the US Army (or its predecessor, the Continental Army) ever issue breast collars so this would have been a private purchase item.
Basically, we use it for our shows because it looks good and helps reinforce the traditional look. :-)
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