The girls are now eager to see the 1963 Walt Disney movie, "The Miracle of the White Stallions," which depicts the story of General George S. Patton saving the breed at the end of World War II (it's a fiction rendition but based on the true story).
The girls favorite part of the show was the, "Airs Above the Ground" segment when the horses did some jumping and rearing. The host explained that these moves were part of the classic training horses received so they could protect themselves and the riders during warfare. The girls learned the names of the manuevers - Mezaire, Courbette, Levade and Capriole - and after the demonstration, the girls were in awe of the Capriole. That's when the, "stallion leaps into the air, drawing his forelegs under his chest at the height of elevation, and kicks out violently with his hind legs."
G. was very happy to hear the host announce at the beginning of the show that although no video recording was permitted, people were welcome to take as many photos as they'd like. G. took that encouragement to heart and took tons of pictures of the horses. The lighting wasn't so great and our digital camera is not an SLR (no manual setting choices to balance the lighting issues) but G. still managed to get some nice pictures of the action. G. definitely enjoys taking photos of live-action shows (which started with the Synchro Nationals earlier this year) and told me after this show that I needed to find another event for her to attend to do this sort of photography again.
OK boss, I'll work on that.
G. took photos of the riders on the horses but this photo was more typical of her cropping choices. The horse was the focus and the rider was simply secondary.
When I took this photo I made a Tweet that G. was in her glory doing what she loved best - taking photos and being around horses.
A couple of years ago we spent a very enjoyable hour watching the Royal Canadian Mounties Musical Ride show at the Cumberland Fair. There were many more horses in that show and the focus was more on synchronized/precision riding rather than classical dressage like the Lipizzaner show. G. took video of the Mounties' show and she and her sister watched it again yesterday to compare the horse's moves between the two shows and what they liked about each one.
If you've got a horse-enthusiast in your family, taking in a horse show can be a very enjoyable experience. The kids are so genuinely excited it really can be worth the ticket price. (And thanks to the Girls Scouts of Maine, we took in the Lipizzaner show for less than $35 for both of the girls and myself with the special discount tickets they offered - and the seats were great!)
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