Here’s the email we received from the Toronto Cat Rescue:
Just wanted to send you a big Thank You from everyone at TCR! We all had a great time on Sunday and the grand total we raised was $1319!!
TCR can only keep doing what we do thanks to generous people like you!
p.s – hope the image below shows up – our youngest, most enthusiastic volunteer!
More stories about the Fund raiser:
-When we were putting together a list of the possible acts way back in August the Hula-Hoop routine was discussed. One person suggested that everyone had seen it. I answered that each time we do it, it’s a bit different. Sometimes Bill forgets which way to go, other times we don’t catch a hoop and it falls to the arena floor. I suggested that we keep the hula hoops IN and add two more horses. Two riders/owners volunteered. Someone else commented that we needed new music. Our tune is “Catch a Falling Star”. A kind person even forwarded a different song about heavens and stars, but it fell on deaf ears.
As the weeks/months passed the additional horses had a few problems with the flying hula hoops. Ron found some new hoops that had two colours spiraling around them and no beads inside to annoy riders and horses.
Bill and I continued to practice and it became clear that WE were the act and no one would be joining us. So we dreamed up a new toss which had me in front and Bill behind tossing to me. We’ve tossed from front to back and towards each other at the walk and trot.
Our first four practices were a bit frustrating. Try as we might, we kept dropping hoops. The last time we performed this act was in May and I don’t recall very many misses. Bill corrected me! My catching problem was the hoop would come into my hand and bounce out before my 64 year old fingers could close around the hoop. I finally settled on using both hands to catch that falling “star”. I never missed. However, Zelador quite enjoyed me dropping the reins on his neck. He knew what I was trying to do and sort of continued along the line of travel. But once he heard me catch the thing, he veered to the left (or right) to check out something that piqued his interest. (Very helpful, that horse.)
Show day Kenneth Hodges was our M.C. He had a wonderful time with the routine. Some of his comments were: “Isn’t that just like a woman. She gives you something, then wants it back. Now she’s telling him where to go and what to do. Oh, no, now they’re fighting over it! This could be grounds for a divorce.” He also commented on the two six-year-old Lusitanos calmly walking and trotting with hoops bouncing off them, landing on them, sailing past them. Got to love those boys!
