One of the old voyageurs, Jacques L'esperance, settled near Grosse Pointe on the Detroit River and became prosperous—not because he was a fur trapper, not because he was a farmer, but because he raised horses. He became one of the most famous horse breeders on the Great Lakes, and he won nine of ten races he entered.
He won the famous winter races on which the horses would pull a sleigh for miles out onto the ice of Lake St. Clair. A wrong turn, a snowstorm, a moment's lapse in judgment, and you might never see the shore again. But Jacques' horses never missed a step, and he always came home safely.
Jacques L'esperance's favorite horse was called Caribou, and he loved that horse like a mother loves her son. "Avance, Caribou," the people on the shore heard him yell as he urged the horse across the frozen lake. "Caribou can jump a crack in the ice twenty feet wide," he would tell the people in the old town of Grosse Pointe as he drank peach brandy late into the night. "Caribou can outrun the wind."
"You shouldn't talk about the horse that way," someone said. "Le Lutin will hear you, and want the horse for himself."
"That's nonsense," replied Jacques L'esperance. "Le Lutin is a story children tell. It doesn't exist."
So one night Jacques L'esperance went to the house of his friend Antoine, whose violin could make even the most unwilling feet chase flying time. After he danced until dawn, he went out to the stable to saddle Caribou, and found the horse covered with sweat and foam, her mane and tail hair tangled and filled with burrs. It was a breach of hospitality to let someone ride the horse of a guest, but Jacques said nothing and told himself he would bring a less valuable horse the next time.
But the next morning, he found Caribou exhausted once again, covered with sweat and foam, her mane and tail hair tangled and filled with burrs. This time Jacques resolved to lock the barn, but the next morning it was the same story over again. He tried to stay up to listen but fell asleep, and the next morning he found Caribou had been ridden once more. He put a circle of ashes all the way around the barn the next night, but at the next daybreak he found the ashes undisturbed, with no footprints, and Caribou frightened and exhausted, covered with sweat and foam, her mane and tail hair tangled and filled with burrs.
He told the people in Grosse Pointe what had happened. "C'est Le Lutin qui la soigne," a storyteller said. "Brand the horse with a cross and hang a medal of a saint around its neck. Do not go out without a pail of holy water. It will make the Lutin afraid."
"There is no Lutin," said Jacques L'esperance. "Le Lutin is a story mothers tell their children to make them quiet before they sleep. This is some enemy of mine who is jealous of my success."
So one bright moonlit night Jacques L'esperance determined to find out who this enemy was. He stationed himself at the edge of his plot of land, where he could command a good view of his barn without being seen himself. Armed with a rifle, he waited for his foe. Not a sound disturbed the night air except for the low murmur of lake against beach, the lone cry of a shorebird, or the howl of a coyote. The natural world seemed to sleep.
Suddenly he heard an alarming sound—the sound of a horse, but it was like the sound of a human scream. Keeping his eyes on the barn doors, he saw them noiselessly open and Caribou, trembling like a leaf, burst through. On her back was a creature that resembled a giant ape, with horns on its head, wild bristles of black hair, restless eyes of fire, and a twisted leer on its face. It held a whip, made from a branch of thorns. Jacques L'esperance was no coward, but he felt his courage oozing out at his knees, cold chills chasing each other down his back, and great beads of sweat on his forehead. The monster clutched with one hand at Caribou's mane, and with the other it urged her on with its giant claws. Riding without saddle or bridle, the fiend lashed the horse, catching the hair of her mane and tail with the whip or thorns.
Jacques L'esperance knew that his rifle was powerless against such a creature. Caribou, powerless too against the demon atop her, bore down on him with murder in her panicked eyes. But in a bright inspiration Jacques remembered the holy water, and he knew it was old way that the voyageurs would exorcise a demon. Dodging the mad horse and its dark rider, he ran to the hallway of the farmhouse and seized the font of holy water, one of which was always at hand for every habitant, you know, chère. He threw the water as hard as he could.
A demonic scream tore the air. The horse snorted, reared, and despite the best efforts of the demon, plunged into the chilly waters of Lake St. Clair. Jacques L'esperance rushed into the water in pursuit, but only circles marked the spot where the frightened animal and its fiendish rider had disappeared. Firing his rifle to awaken his neighbors, who rushed to find out what was the matter, Jacques L'esperance told his tale.
His disordered appearance, the absence of the horse, the broken fragments of the holy water font, and a branch of thorns dropped by the demon all confirmed his story. After that, Jacques L'esperance branded all his horses with a cross, and hung medals of the saints around their necks. And to this day the people of Grosse Pointe keep this custom. And whenever in the early morning they go to the barn and find a favorite horse reeking with sweat and foam, and with its mane all tangled as if by the claws of a beast, they shake their heads and say that Le Lutin has come again.
31 October 2010
03 August 2010
Thoughts on Jumping 8/3/10
"Straightness" is something we often refer to in the dressage world. It is one of the 6 elements of the dressage Training Scale. If something is wrong (not due to injury or psychologically) it is due to a weak area in the scale.
Let's face it. We don't all bring our horses along like they do in the classical dressage world. Prix St. Georges level dressage tests aren't everyone's (realistic) goal, but jumping is something that is done by a fair amount of horses and riders alike. I am not a professional trainer, but I offer an explanation of my perceptions and experiences in this blog.
Forward
It's hard to make it off the ground with the proper momentum to actually jump. Obviously! But we forget so much when we're coming to a fence. In fact, we can forget everything and often do! Here is a short list of things that will help you successfully get you and your horse over that fence if you're drawing a blank:
1) Do whatever you have to do to get your horse in front of your leg.
Keep her/him going forward. Don't be "working too hard" because it will make your release over the jump less fluid which could in turn throw you both off balance. A little tap with the whip or kiss might do the trick--but make sure you don't flatten out and run with your nose out at the fence.
2) Make sure your horse is straight.
Sounds obvious, but having your horse truly straight will help set you up for a successful take off. A horse can't clear a jump if his/her body is not straight. Think about it: could you jump something well if you aren't completely facing what it is you have to jump?
This doesn't mean their head has to be straight. Bend your horse's neck to the inside and outside to keep their attention and self-balance. Remember they, too, can get focused on the fence just as much as you can and forget what they're supposed to do. It's up to the rider to keep both brains in check! If your horse is aware of where his/her feet are he will be able to jump practically anything.
3) Get onto the haunches.
A form of collection--MUCH easier said than done but an essential part of jumping, especially as you start going over higher fences. Bending your horse to the inside and outside, floating your reins in intervals and making sure your shoulders are back will help pull your horse underneath him/herself and be traveling uphill.
These 3 things (and there are certainly more) have helped improve my jumping as of late. I have a green 6YO Thoroughbred who is building his confidence jumping. So if you're riding a green horse or training, do the best you can and as my friend Sandhya Johnson says: enjoy the small victories!
I'm also a firm believer that the more risk you're willing/able to take the more you'll succeed in future endeavors. So be brave and have confidence in yourself and your horse. If your horse feels that you're nervous they will try to "save" you and perhaps refuse a jump or make a decision they're not prepared to make themselves, so be assertive and deliberate and leave the important decisions to yourself.
Let's face it. We don't all bring our horses along like they do in the classical dressage world. Prix St. Georges level dressage tests aren't everyone's (realistic) goal, but jumping is something that is done by a fair amount of horses and riders alike. I am not a professional trainer, but I offer an explanation of my perceptions and experiences in this blog.
Forward
It's hard to make it off the ground with the proper momentum to actually jump. Obviously! But we forget so much when we're coming to a fence. In fact, we can forget everything and often do! Here is a short list of things that will help you successfully get you and your horse over that fence if you're drawing a blank:
1) Do whatever you have to do to get your horse in front of your leg.
Keep her/him going forward. Don't be "working too hard" because it will make your release over the jump less fluid which could in turn throw you both off balance. A little tap with the whip or kiss might do the trick--but make sure you don't flatten out and run with your nose out at the fence.
2) Make sure your horse is straight.
Sounds obvious, but having your horse truly straight will help set you up for a successful take off. A horse can't clear a jump if his/her body is not straight. Think about it: could you jump something well if you aren't completely facing what it is you have to jump?
This doesn't mean their head has to be straight. Bend your horse's neck to the inside and outside to keep their attention and self-balance. Remember they, too, can get focused on the fence just as much as you can and forget what they're supposed to do. It's up to the rider to keep both brains in check! If your horse is aware of where his/her feet are he will be able to jump practically anything.
3) Get onto the haunches.
A form of collection--MUCH easier said than done but an essential part of jumping, especially as you start going over higher fences. Bending your horse to the inside and outside, floating your reins in intervals and making sure your shoulders are back will help pull your horse underneath him/herself and be traveling uphill.
These 3 things (and there are certainly more) have helped improve my jumping as of late. I have a green 6YO Thoroughbred who is building his confidence jumping. So if you're riding a green horse or training, do the best you can and as my friend Sandhya Johnson says: enjoy the small victories!
I'm also a firm believer that the more risk you're willing/able to take the more you'll succeed in future endeavors. So be brave and have confidence in yourself and your horse. If your horse feels that you're nervous they will try to "save" you and perhaps refuse a jump or make a decision they're not prepared to make themselves, so be assertive and deliberate and leave the important decisions to yourself.
01 August 2010
Hunters vs. Jumpers
There are many differences between these two disciplines than timed (jumpers) vs. untimed (hunters).
Hunters:
We all have noticed that A-circuit show hunters are a bit snooty, but I have to say their sport almost requires them to be just so! I think it's quite an accomplishment to score well in the hunter ring. This discipline focuses on sweepy, ground-covering strides, the expression and temperament of the horse and his/her form over the fences. It can be extremely subjective. Imagine one of those paintings above the mantel of a fox hunt happening someplace in Great Britain. Those horses are jumping over small stone fences, fallen logs, perhaps a hedge or two--all while looking completely at peace in their environment. They have to remain calm, steady and be fit enough for a long day of hunting. This is the inspiration behind the hunter discipline.
All jumps in a true hunter ring are naturalistic in color (green, white or bare wooden). The courses are not as technical and the fences are not as high as jumper courses with tight turns or rollbacks, and--of course--you're not timed.
The horse is judged on:
1) How close the horse can get their feet to their ears over the fence
2) How consistent the horse is throughout the course, with respect to speed and tempo
3) How simple the horse looks to ride (the goal is that anybody’s grandmother could ride the horse)
4) Confirmation of the horse with respect to its age.
So basically, the most beautiful horse with the most effortless seeming round (without knocking any rails) will be the winner. No pressure there!
Learn all you'd ever want to know about how the rider is judged (and more) in the USEF Hunter Seat Equitation Manual.
Jumpers:
Alrighty. Jumpers. Higher jumps, tighter turns--a more technical ride indeed. This discipline is more of an equitation challenge for the rider. It's not as pretty but these horses and riders have to be super efficient while riding against the clock.
It's easier said than done, but to be a successful jumper you can't be afraid to go a bit faster--gallop! Well, not all the time. But the top jumpers go in with their feisty horses all strung out and galloping, then they collect the horse onto the haunches before the jump. There is no "auto pilot" for jumpers. They need to do more decision making!
In an ideal world training for hunters, jumpers or any discipline should be similar: striving for balance and an ample amount of forward impulsion while maintaining good communication with your horse. The best hunters, jumpers, eventers, reiners, dressage riders, etc. all have this in common. So if you as a rider can keep this in mind, it will set you up to have an effective and safe seat.
Hunters:
We all have noticed that A-circuit show hunters are a bit snooty, but I have to say their sport almost requires them to be just so! I think it's quite an accomplishment to score well in the hunter ring. This discipline focuses on sweepy, ground-covering strides, the expression and temperament of the horse and his/her form over the fences. It can be extremely subjective. Imagine one of those paintings above the mantel of a fox hunt happening someplace in Great Britain. Those horses are jumping over small stone fences, fallen logs, perhaps a hedge or two--all while looking completely at peace in their environment. They have to remain calm, steady and be fit enough for a long day of hunting. This is the inspiration behind the hunter discipline.
All jumps in a true hunter ring are naturalistic in color (green, white or bare wooden). The courses are not as technical and the fences are not as high as jumper courses with tight turns or rollbacks, and--of course--you're not timed.
The horse is judged on:
1) How close the horse can get their feet to their ears over the fence
2) How consistent the horse is throughout the course, with respect to speed and tempo
3) How simple the horse looks to ride (the goal is that anybody’s grandmother could ride the horse)
4) Confirmation of the horse with respect to its age.
So basically, the most beautiful horse with the most effortless seeming round (without knocking any rails) will be the winner. No pressure there!
Learn all you'd ever want to know about how the rider is judged (and more) in the USEF Hunter Seat Equitation Manual.
Jumpers:
Alrighty. Jumpers. Higher jumps, tighter turns--a more technical ride indeed. This discipline is more of an equitation challenge for the rider. It's not as pretty but these horses and riders have to be super efficient while riding against the clock.
It's easier said than done, but to be a successful jumper you can't be afraid to go a bit faster--gallop! Well, not all the time. But the top jumpers go in with their feisty horses all strung out and galloping, then they collect the horse onto the haunches before the jump. There is no "auto pilot" for jumpers. They need to do more decision making!
In an ideal world training for hunters, jumpers or any discipline should be similar: striving for balance and an ample amount of forward impulsion while maintaining good communication with your horse. The best hunters, jumpers, eventers, reiners, dressage riders, etc. all have this in common. So if you as a rider can keep this in mind, it will set you up to have an effective and safe seat.
30 July 2010
Mwahahaha FYI : This is a horse blog now
Yes, this blog has now been transformed into an equestrian-only area (USEA area 8, to be specific). And it has a really froofy new title! I thought I would keep with the French-esque theme. Plus I happen to love French; I lived in France for a semester and would most definitely consider myself a Francophile/Gallophile.
Anyway--hope you can learn, laugh and still love your own horse as much as I love mine reading this blog.
28 July 2010
Review: Voices That Matter web design conference 2010 - San Francisco
It's taken me a month now to write about the Voices That Matter web design conference which took place in the surprisingly chilly but majestically cultured city of San Francisco, CA.
The kick-off speaker, Jesse James Garrett (what a cool name--seriously), did a great job getting us all excited about what was to come. For a few moments I felt like I was tapped into the greater meaning of life and not just feeling like a frustrated Photoshop slave staring at bits of code for days on end. This guy is really cool, and when you Google his name there is a great cartoon of him on the first page of image results.
Tantek Çelik is also a very cool guy. I'm not even being sarcastic. His dress code is quite dapper. He somehow transcends the tech geek stereotype with his dark blazer and matter-of-fact yet enthusiastic mannerisms. Fact is: he doesn't need to act or dress cool. He just is. I'm fairly certain I developed a small crush on the dark-rimmed-glasses know-it-all over the course of 2 days. Back in the day, my coding instructor spoke of his work in class, so I was aware of his reputation. My colleague and I were interested to hear what Tantek had to say about HTML5. There has been lots of talk about this lately, so it was comforting to hear what The Dude had to say about it.
Denise Jacobs is a sparkling CSS chica -- and tall (well, compared to me being 5' 3"). I think she is in the running (alongside Paul Adams with all his MSN messenger-people diagrams and hideously cute accent) for being the most comedic presenter. She defended a photo of herself amidst a group of people: "We weren't drunk!" Am I remembering that correctly? I think I am. Anyway, as a female web dork, I find myself surrounded by serious web dudes all too often (post about "web dudes" yet to come). So I enjoy my moments to respect women colleagues and learn about the latest in CSS3.
Another female presenter with nice glasses and decals on her laptop, Emily Lewis got me all excited (again) about microformats. I really, really love the idea of microformats because they give human meaning to otherwise-droidlike lines of code. Meaning and organization are both good things in my book. I haven't written a book yet like the two ladies I just mentioned, but perhaps I will someday.
A third woman presenter (woo hoo!), Colleen Jones, gave us the all-too-painful reminder that as designers we have to think more about the content of the sites we build and not just plop text from the Word document we've been waiting 3 months for into the pages we mapped out in the 30-second wireframe "meeting" we supposedly had at some point in the past. Or thought we did. At least, I thought I did...
I don't know about you
but fonts are, like, one of my favorite things of all time. Lyndsay's Top 5 Things: eating, breathing, blinking, riding horses, FONTS (aka typefaces). Ok maybe blinking would be bumped out by something else, but you get my point. Jason Teague did a very satisfying job of bringing to light some of the sexiest web fonts and how we can incorporate MORE of them into our web universe and not be tied with our hands behind our backs to the same boring/familiar/safe ones. "Comic Sans. . .'nough said," says Jason. There are options out there, folks! Like TypeKit (if you didn't already know/use it) and Fonts.com's new service.
I first noticed Robert Hoekman on the shuttle from the hotel to the conference center. It was early in the morning and he had a coffee and I didn't. Later I realized coffee wasn't the only thing this man had up his sleeve. I would later hear his presentation on user experiences and marketing strategy. I even took some really enthusiastic notes:
(The sad bug character represented my mostly non-existent disappointment that there were no snacks at the time.)
Todd Parker and Scott Jehl were both extremely friendly. My colleague and I encountered them at breakfast on the first day. I didn't notice their "speaker" name badges at first but realized they had to be important when they opened their mouths! Smart dudes.
Khoi Vinh just has a really rad NYC UX/UI design job and is an accomplished artist. New York is also still the coolest and most difficult place to be a designer of any kind.
Maybe this is kind of silly, but Steve Krug was so adorably hilarious and insightful at the same time that I just wanted to hug him. He seemed so comfortable standing up there making us all laugh. His presentation was the most "interactive" I'd say because he live critiqued websites submitted by the attendees, which was really neat. I am deathly afraid of both asking and answering questions at conferences or networking events, but I always enjoy listening to Q&A sessions. One reason I like the web is because I can put on a face with it and hide behind it at the same time :)
I missed parts of presentations here and there (like, some of the morning ones), but all-in-all I was utterly impressed with both the information and inspiration I took away from this conference. It was only 2 days, but I felt like I had a chance (if I dared) to ask these top professionals questions and/or drink wine with some of them at the Hotel Palomar during the free-wine hour. Everything from the food, coffee and topics discussed were right on target.
Hopefully I will be able to go next year!
04 June 2010
Corn husks and Cauliflower | Design Inspiration 6/4/10
Today's inspiration (even though I found it rather difficult to be inspired on this particular day):
-the wooden decorative vase of my new succulent plant
-"All That Jazz" from Chicago
-a weird remix of "Home" by Michael Buble (bizarre indeed!)
-disliking Jack Johnson
-liking John Mayer
-the sound of typing
-maracas
-Dirty Dancing (film)
-Alfred
-salt
-resignment
-a cat's contentment
I was unhappy to be waking up for an 8:30 meeting this morning but glad to have a commitment that I HAVE to wake up for. Otherwise I'd be doing god knows what at home until 10:30. Making coffee? Pondering furniture? Pondering dressage saddles? Planning out my Paris birthday trip? Reorganizing my top drawer? Categorizing my jewelry? I can tell ya puttsing around at home has its advantages and disadvantages. I miss my Brickyard brethren but I will get over it. Just like everything else. You get over shit -- good and bad shit. Whenever I have to wake up I'm exhausted and unable to drag myself out of my comfortable bed. When I have the entire next day to do whatever I want I wake up at 6 and am working all day. Sometimes complete freedom can (unconsciously) make your brain revert to urgency/productive mode. This is a comforting thought.
defend the silver lining
John Mayer says he knows the heart of life is good. I believe this too (70% of the time). Right now I feel like I'm typing at the end of a Sex in the City episode but oh well. Today and this day forward I will make a concerted effort to take the good with the bad and visa versa. Does this sound like a diary? More like mental diarrhea. Yummy mental picture.
As much as I feel like I'm being a cheese ball, I feel more like myself every day. It's a weird feeling to be returning to yourself as you knew it before you gave it all up. Sometimes "giving up" just means you're moving onto a new phase in your awareness of yourself. It's not a bad thing. Letting go can improve other parts of you that you never knew existed. Of course this brings me to my latest dressage/life epiphany: getting my horse to let go and relax while keeping contact with his mouth. It has improved our communication greatly -- "communication" meaning being a little more receptive to my aids and not checking out the scenery (ie. the female version of his species who are possibly in season). He also has more fun when the rules are clear and we sail over jumps awesomely.
Battle Creek 1-Day event in July. That is the goal. Hopefully a future post will be about this day.
-the wooden decorative vase of my new succulent plant
-"All That Jazz" from Chicago
-a weird remix of "Home" by Michael Buble (bizarre indeed!)
-disliking Jack Johnson
-liking John Mayer
-the sound of typing
-maracas
-Dirty Dancing (film)
-Alfred
-salt
-resignment
-a cat's contentment
I was unhappy to be waking up for an 8:30 meeting this morning but glad to have a commitment that I HAVE to wake up for. Otherwise I'd be doing god knows what at home until 10:30. Making coffee? Pondering furniture? Pondering dressage saddles? Planning out my Paris birthday trip? Reorganizing my top drawer? Categorizing my jewelry? I can tell ya puttsing around at home has its advantages and disadvantages. I miss my Brickyard brethren but I will get over it. Just like everything else. You get over shit -- good and bad shit. Whenever I have to wake up I'm exhausted and unable to drag myself out of my comfortable bed. When I have the entire next day to do whatever I want I wake up at 6 and am working all day. Sometimes complete freedom can (unconsciously) make your brain revert to urgency/productive mode. This is a comforting thought.
defend the silver lining
John Mayer says he knows the heart of life is good. I believe this too (70% of the time). Right now I feel like I'm typing at the end of a Sex in the City episode but oh well. Today and this day forward I will make a concerted effort to take the good with the bad and visa versa. Does this sound like a diary? More like mental diarrhea. Yummy mental picture.
As much as I feel like I'm being a cheese ball, I feel more like myself every day. It's a weird feeling to be returning to yourself as you knew it before you gave it all up. Sometimes "giving up" just means you're moving onto a new phase in your awareness of yourself. It's not a bad thing. Letting go can improve other parts of you that you never knew existed. Of course this brings me to my latest dressage/life epiphany: getting my horse to let go and relax while keeping contact with his mouth. It has improved our communication greatly -- "communication" meaning being a little more receptive to my aids and not checking out the scenery (ie. the female version of his species who are possibly in season). He also has more fun when the rules are clear and we sail over jumps awesomely.
Battle Creek 1-Day event in July. That is the goal. Hopefully a future post will be about this day.
17 May 2010
There's a light here on the porch for someone | Tolerance
My cat has his paw softly on my right forearm as it rains and we listen to the new Band of Horses album "Infinite Arms." This band has released another quietly epic album that makes you wish you were driving high down the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way back from North Carolina. Or drinking a bottle of wine at dusk on the deserted coast of Nordhouse Dunes as you watch the grasses swish around in the breeze and think how scary Lake Michigan looks being so big and dark. Or listening to rain from inside a sauna in the Keweenau in the early evening. Little secrets that you and cats keep to themselves come trickling, then pouring, then tumbling. And you feel ok about it. Not sad.
I'm also thinking about the concept of tolerance. It's kind of like being able to grasp onto the non-tangible middle of something. Not going over and out, but not back and inward either. It might seem uncomfortable to exist near boundaries, but you've probably found yourself there for a reason.
find a boundary. explore and love it/them.
Albers had success doing just this, so come on! The closest example (literally) is my newfound/old cat. He sleeps with his little head up against my hip and his arm extends out to touch me; however, if I pet him on the side when he's in this state he'll wake up excited and bite me. I'd rather have a sighing, fat submarine furball cuddling his face into my side rather than yet another injury, so I appreciate and respect his boundary. With animals it's so much easier. Humans . . . not so much. Cats know who they are and they rarely change their minds. If they do, food is probably involved. I can identify with that though.
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