And Now for Some Art - Part II

Here's some more artwork of a more military nature nature. And yes, it combines three of my favorite things: The West, Horses and The Army.

Charles Schreyvogel (January 4, 1861-January 27, 1912) was a Western illustrator, probably not as well known today as Charles Russel and Frederick Remington although he was their contemporary. Ironically, he was born and raised in New York City and did most of his work there. His subject matter tended to be Indian Wars-related of a heroic nature.

While perhaps the subject matter is somewhat dated by today's standards, it still goes along way to depict two cultures in conflict and the fact that the West was a rough place and death ever-present, far removed from many of the policy-makers who set things in motion.

The Duel


My Bunkie



In Safe Hands



Breaking the Line


Saving the Lieutenant


The Slienced War Whoop

And Now for Some Art - Part I

OK, I've always liked equestrian-themed artwork. Here's one by an illustrator named Edmund Havell who worked during the mid to later 19th Century.

Cold War Memories: The Fulda Gap & Reforger

Some 30 years ago, the Fulda Gap (pictured below) was one of the major avenues of advance for any potential Soviet/Warsaw Pact invasion of Germany. Today it looks peaceful and it's located in the middle of Germany but back during the Cold War, it had the potential to be one of the most bloody battlefield in modern times. Defending "the Gap" was the 11th US Cavalry.

The 11th Armored Cavalry was considered expendible, its real mission to buy enough time for the rest of NATO and elements of the US V Corps directly to the rear to assemble fro mtheir far-flun garrisons and forma viable defensive line. Less charitably, the 11th Cavalry was condidered a speed bump for any Warsaw Pact advance. Either way, it was expected that the 11th Cavalry wouldn't survive more than 48 hours, at the outside.

Fulda Gap looking east.

Insignia of the 11th Armored Cavalry.

In an effort to provide timely reinforcements, the US created REFORGER (Return of Forces to German) where troops flown in from the US would merge up with pre-positioned equipment stored at various secure sites (aka POMCUS). Naturally the Soviets were well aware of the locations of the POMCUS sites so it's questionable how successful this would have been in a real war. To test things, every year from 1969 through 1993 NATO would put have a REFORGER Exercise. Below is a picture that was taken at one of the REFORGER exercises in the 1980s.

Labor Day Weekend

As is typical for Southern California this time of year, Labor Day weekend tends to be very hot with temperatures going into the high 90s/low 100s. Also, it seems that this year there's been a lot more humidity than usual which makes things even more uncomfortable.

Riding-wise, I really did't accomplish much this weekend. With my truck dead, I have to borrow my wife's car and I'm not always able to make it to the stables as early as I'd like so by the time I arrive, it's warming up and that's no real incentive to do much extensive trail riding.

Friday, I managed to get in a nice evening ride and did my usual circuit around the Hanson Dam Equestrian Center and vicinity. I usually do this at a fast trot/canter in most places (when feasible/safe) and I do this primarily to give Max a moderate work-out. After not having ridden for four days, it's a nice way to get back into things.

Saturday morning found Max and I practicing with the Warhorse & Militaria Heritage Foundation at Gabriellano Park. It's been awhile since Max and I have worked in formation and Max was excellent, although a bit on the low-energy side (which I attributed to the heat). Max was well-behaved and we even got in some cantering in formation. It's nice to get back to that again. :-) Afterwards, we practiced the musical ride some- I'm anticipating that we'll be doing more of this as the Fall progresses; I've been informed that there are several events coming up.

Sunday, Max and I had our lesson. Max was acting pretty pokey so I really had to wake him up- something he doesn't always appreciate. As we've been doing for the past two months, we worked on flying lead changes. Overall, we're progressing pretty good although we both have a lot to learn. For Max, it requires a lot of physical effort so he's slowly learning how to position his body and understand my cues. For myself, I need to be better aware of my cues plus make it easier for max to do his thing. The downside is that now with every turn, Max assumes that a flying lead change is in order, even when it's not so we also had to practice holding the counter-cnater. Unfortunately, Max still kept changing leads and it was frustrating. I can't say I wasn't warned though- my trainer did tell me that like collection, max will use flying lead changes at the most inopportune moments.

Ultimately, the solution is that I need to be VERY clear with my cues and hold Max to them. Well, there's always something that needs doing with Max. :-)

I took Monday off and since I had a day off on Tuesday, Max and I rode up Little Tujunga to the Oaks in early evening. Parts of the trail are really overgrown, which can be a real pain at points because of the low-lying branches, and either the trails aren't being ridden as much or not getting cleaered as much (or a combination of the two). It was meant to be an easy ride (OK, we trotted and cantered at various points) and it was cooler than in canyon than in most other places.

That pretty much was my weekend. Lately, there's been a lot of distractions on the home front (like broken plumbing) so I haven't been to the stable as much as I'd like but I struggle on... :-)

No School This Semester...

Although I've been attending Pierce College for the past two years, I'm going to have to take a break this Fall semester primarily due to transportation difficulties combined with scheduling problems with some of the required classes. I've especially had a lot of fun working as a Teacher's Assistant for the riding classes but it's frustrating that some of the required classes are scheduled at times that make it impossible for me to arrange my work schedule around (and I have to work- no choice there!).

Hopefully, the situation will improve in the future.

WWI Party at 94th Aero Squadron

Recently, my WWI living history group met for a dinner at the 94th Aero Squadron, a WWI Aviation-themed restaurant. This was a relatively informal event and while there were only a few members present, we still had an excellent time and the restaurant provided a wonderful setting. It also gave people the opportunity to wear their better uniforms, free from mud and dust of the trenches. :-)

Unfortunately, Max had to stay home... :-)

Group shot of the Great War Historical Society.



Me and my compadre Robert.

A couple shots of me in my officer's uniform. Don't get to wear it too often... :-)

Morro Bay 2011

Well, Max and I are back from our yearly pilgrimage to Morro Bay...four days of riding pleasure while camping at Montana de Oro State Park which, so far, has been spared from the threat of being closed like a lot of other California State Parks due to budgetary shortfalls.

This year was especially good and the weather even cooperated. Although it was overcast and foggy for the first two days, it was much better afterwards and the skies would clear out by the mid to late afternoon. Nothing like sun and surf!

Max and I arrived relatively late last Thursday and by the time I'd set up camp and fed Max, it was too late to do any riding. However, a friend and I got an early start the next day. We decided to ride in the mountains so we selected a trail- this time the Bloody Nose Trail (because of the height but don't let it scare you! :-)).

We picked up the trail outside of camp and after descending into a small valley, we rapidly began to climb, the trail turning into a series of long steps at several points. Max was a bit excited to get out and he definitely wanted to keep up with my fiend's horse- my friend and I ride a lot of trails together and his horse tends to be the Alpha and Max is content to follow along.

After about an hour or so, the trail had progressed to a ridgeline and it gave us some wonderful views of Morro Bay and the surrounding contrydie. The trail finally ended by a cove and we followed another trail that roughly parallels the one major road leading through the area and has a panoramic view of the ocean. Unfortunately, my crummy cell phone camera wasn't working so I wasn't able to get any pictures here.

Basically, we followed a loop and after about three and a half hours, we made our way back into camp. Overall, Max did very well and while he'd gotten a workout, his physical conditioning was excellent and had prepared him well for this challenge.

The next day, we headed to the estuary located behind the beach and then followed one of the access trails onto the beach. The sand on the access trails is pretty deep and we tried to select the one trail that was the easiest on the horses (but they're all pretty deep- horses are gonig to get a workout no matter what.

U expected Max to be a bit antsy about the beach, especially since we did very little beach riding last year but I needn't have worried- Max was pretty jaded about the whole thing and his only reaction was to try and sniff the water more closely. My friend's horse was a lot more hesitant about the water so I rode Max closest to the water. What was funny was my friend's horse kept trying to get close to Max, which meant that he was getting closer to the water. Go figure. :-)

After walking about a mile or so on the beach, we headed inland again and gradually made our way back towards our camp, taking the long way through the estuary. While people may think that the estuary is boring, I find it relaxing and peaceful and the dunes provide a sound barrier so you can't even hear the surf.

The nex day found ourselves, along with most of the group I was camping with, down on the beach again. Everyone took the opportunity to acclimate their horses to the surf and I have to say that Max performed flawlessly, I even trotted and galloped through the surg and got in deep enough to cover the toes of my boots. The galloping part was especially exiciting and although the waves were breaking close to shore (it was high tide), Max wasn't fazed one bit. Go Max!

Overall, this was one of the best trips I've ever had and it seems that Max is finally settling down- although sometimes he'd want to not stay in one place, I forced him to stand in place on the beach and he ultimately complied (it's all in the seat!). Also, absent was any jigging, even in a large group of horses and even when some were getting upset over the surf- and I was gratelful for that!

As an aside, it was interesting to watch Thor get his first introduction to the surf- he wasn't a happy pony but he made some progress.

I look forward to returning next year. :-)

Looking down on Morro Bay on Max.


The group heading to the beach- Max and I rode drag going down to the beach.


Max and I on the beach- it had started to cloud over when this pisture was taken.


More on the beach with Max...


A better look at Morro Bay.


On the Cable Trail heading towards the beach...





Start of the Bloody Nose Trail- we came accross a couple of deer here.


Max eating after a long day on the trail.