Monday, March 31, 2014

War Horse (On Stage) - See It If You Can


If you have not yet had the opportunity to attend War Horse on stage, it is truly a spectacular show for both equine aficionados and those who have never had the opportunity to be around a horse.


Good News:  If you live in Albuquerque, Austin, Houston, Irvine, Kansas City, Madison, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Omaha, Salt Lake City, or Winnipeg, you are in luck.  There are shows in your area beginning April 1 through June, 2014.

The artistry, evocative emotion, and puppetry skill (thought to be dated back over 3000 years) is truly a sight to behold and experience live.  The study, development, training, hand-crafting, assembly and re-creation of life for these equine puppets touched the lives of many. 

Here is a fascinating view into the factory of Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler of Handspring Puppet Company in South Africa, and the residents whose lives have changed because of War Horse.  The workers learned a precise skillset and were proud to be a part of the creative process of these world-traveling on-stage horses. 

 
The Orpheum Theater announced the show's run in Memphis, Tennessee, and introduced Joey in his final, stage-ready form to the public with his three puppeteers and their technique that bring him to life. 



Enjoy!

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Throwback Thursday - Gentle Giants Throwing Harness

We applaud Gentle Giants hosts Pam Minick and Kadee Coffman for their wonderful on-screen ability, but we decided our Throwback Thursday should highlight their harnessing skills.  

Show collars are a lot heavier than they look, but when Sandy (our show mare) invited the ladies to dress her in her show clothes, they certainly passed muster; check out Pam's expression while hoisting that collar for the first time.


She Did It!   Now What?


Kadee lends Pam some muscle . . .


While sweet Sandy gently helps by putting her nose
through the collar with a little coaxing by Brian Coleman.


Ta Da!
Who says gorgeous women aren't tough?
Three sweethearts, Kadee Coffman, Eaglesfield Lexandra, and Pam Minick 
are Flanked by a Beaming Brian Coleman. 


Well Done, Crew!


Friday, March 21, 2014

Gentle Giant Sea Horses

Photo Credit:  Jurgen Dewitt

During the months of February through May, and again in September through November, the "Paardenvissers" or fishermen on horseback from Oostduinkerke, Belgium have taken their Belgian (Brabant or Brabançon) horses, planks and nets into the breast-deep water of the North Sea trolling for shrimp since the 17th Century. 

Bernard Debruyne astride his draft horse in Oostduinkerke, Belgium
 
Sturdy and steady and willing to work is the name of the game when chosing a horse to perform the task while the tide is out. 

The skill of this method of fishing is handed down from father to son through the generations, and there are only a few left continuing in this tradition. 


As the planks and net are dragged, the noise and vibration alert the grey shrimp, causing them to wiggle their way up through the sand under the shallow waters, and ultimately snagged in the netting. 


This method of fishing has become a town council touristy celebration of "man and horse power from days of yore" lasting approximately three hours.  The bounty harvested is generally 8 kilograms (+17.5 lbs) of shrimp per demonstration. 


Women traditionally do not mount horses in search of shrimp but they do drag their nets through the waves by hand. . .just like they did when the men used to spend half a year catching fish off Iceland.


Oostduinkerke has cherished the shrimp fishers since the 1950s, and has been buying up land to facilitate pastureland and to provide a location for the museum devoted to the fishermen on horseback.

 
In exchange for keeping this tradition alive, the horse owners are provided free use of the pastureland owned by the town.




There are various stone tributes to the fisherfolk on the beachfront and a large topiary which has been clipped into the familiar shape by a local expert.


 
Typical Day:

 
An interview with one of the last horse fishermen of Belgium:
 

 

Friday, March 14, 2014

Animari: Wind Powered Gentle Giants



Kinetic Dutch sculptor, Theo Jansen, began developing in 1990 his own species of animals called Animari.  These creatures built of PVC walk in herds on beaches powered only by wind.  Some of the Strandbeests (beach animal or beast) are able to capture and store the wind with the aid of their wing-like-assisted reservoirs in recycled plastic bottles.  These keep the Strandbeests moving for extended periods of time.  Some Strandbeests have the ability to automatically anchor themselves when the high winds threaten to blow them away thus engaging in a mode of "active self-preservation."  All are able to determine if they are near water or sand dunes, and will turn away, remaining safe in those in-between areas.

Jansen, once a student of physics, began working with inexpensive tubes of PVC in the 1970s.  He built a helium filled UFO that caused quite a stir in Delft when it took flight in 1980.   Jansen later went on to become a painter, and developed a handy painting machine.  In 1990, he found a happy medium between his love for physics and art with the birth of Animari.  The number and length of the Strandbeest's PVC tubes determines the genetic code on how it moves and interacts with the surroundings of each breed.  To experience these amazing creatures in their native habitat, enjoy the video below.   

 And his "more technical" presentation on the Strandbeests at TED in Monterey, California: 



Monday, March 10, 2014

A Fitting Gentle Giants Invitational Tribute



We appreciate the talents of J. Ann Brodland.  Her photography captures best features, personalities, and the emotions going on at the time of the "snap."  This allows us to be right there at the competitions even though we may be hundreds of miles away.  For this, we (and our friends and family) are thankful. 

Enjoy!

Friday, March 7, 2014

Come On Summer ~ It's Time for Field Days!


One of the best kept secrets in Alberta is Ray and Anna Stanton's Double Tree Village Museum near Spruce View, Alberta.  The town of Double Tree was founded in 1997.  This couple began collecting items of the "old way of life" of living off the land since their marriage in the early 60s.  The "U-shaped" town of Double Tree, founded in 1997, has grown to feature over 25 businesses and homes.  A stopping house, dress-up shop,  school, church, general store, bank / post office / library / switchboard operator, dentist / barbershop / laundry, hotel, tool shed, wagon sheds, blacksmith, Thompson House, Northwest Mounted Police, cook car, bunk house, print shop, a teepee are just some of the sights to see and experience!


Our family is fortunate to live so close to this venue where people of all ages can come to appreciate the trials and tribulations of our ancestors in their settlement efforts and the importance of horse power in their day-to-day living.  Ray and Anna's love for horses (Ray, driving his Belgians and light horses while Anna enjoys riding sidesaddle) provides a perfect setting for The Wild Rose Draft Horse Association's annual Field Days in June.


On June 7 and 8, 2014, The Wild Rose Draft Horse Field Days
will be held at the Double Tree Village Museum.   

The photo above depicts Brian with some of our draft hitch horses on a single bottom sulky plow a few years ago.  The "more sophisticated" sulky plow is simply a riding plow drawn by three horses.  The sulky plow got its name from its similarity to a Standardbred racing cart by the same name -- but its similarity ends there.  The ingenuity of the mid-19th century farmer led to the addition of wheels and a seat so the plowman could ride the plow.  Some viewed this method as the lazy way out; however, when settlers moved west and encountered the vast wild west of unfilled land on the Great Plains, the old single-bottom walking plow was woefully inadequate. 

This day, activities also included working the horses in the foreground which were owned by Fred McDiarmid and Tom Wright of Veteran, AB. 


Those horses were hooked with 3 others (3+3) to a hitch cart that pulled an 8' double disc.  We used the rope and pulley system to equalize them. 
  

Above is a four up of Percherons equalized on the 8' disc.  Farming should always be precise! 
Below is the same setup with four Belgians.  

Come join fellow draft horse enthusiasts at The Wild Rose Draft Horse Field Days Antique Festival.  Gates open at 9 a.m.  Activities will include seeing horses working in the field, wagon rides, handiwork, pack horse and side saddle demonstrations, and more!  Bring your musical instruments, your singing voices, cowboy poetry and dancing shoes as there will be jam sessions both Saturday and Sunday.  Cowboy Church at 9:00 a.m. Sunday.  Admission is $5 per person, per day or $20/family per day. 


Visit Double Tree Village Museum at:  http://www.northernhorse.com/doubletreevillage/index.asp?btype=about   and click the flyer below for more information:

http://www.wrdha.com/news-events/events/