Sunday October 15th we held a fundraiser for The Horse Sanctuary, raising over $900. The event was initially scheduled in September. However, five days before the fundraiser the weather forecast included a humidex of 40. We postponed the show until October. AND, wouldn’t you know we ran into another weather challenge.
During Dora’s act the calm day with cloudy skies started to change and the weather took a turn. It began to rain with winds developing from the northwest. About 15 minutes later as we led Zelador the 80 metres from the lower barn to the arena the storm screamed to life. We met 90km bursts of wind and a waterfall of rain. Ron was leading Zelador and I was tagging along. The winds were so powerful I don’t think we were able to breathe the entire distance. Heading north on the farm laneway all three of us were instantly drenched on the left side. I actually had dry patches on my right side. In retrospect it’s amazing that the horses were able to focus on me and play our games. Here are some videos from the event. Enjoy!
Dora:
Zelador:
The first game Zelador played was “Find Mickey Mouse.” Zelador waited on his pedestal while I hid the toy behind the far side of the other large pedestal. When I asked him to find Mickey Mouse he high-tailed it to the far end of the arena and had a luxurious roll…or three. When he got up I reminded him to find the toy. He did a joyous leap and trotted to Mickey Mouse. He picked it up, twirled it around and took it to Ron. I had to laugh. Mickey Mouse had been used by Ron in his games with his Canadian, Pax, earlier in the show. I believe that horses have an incredible sense of smell. When Zelador picked up the toy he smelled Ron and returned the item to him.
Pax:
Noel:
Garrocha:
Whisper and Robin:
Angel:
“Men Doing Dressage”:
Over the years the men at Winsong Farm have performed their “Men Doing Dressage,” act which evolved into “Decrepit Men Doing Dressage,” then became “VERY Decrepit Men Doing Dressage.” At that point they announced that they were retiring. (Note: the men did dressage on stick horses). We’ve survived a few years without their wonderful performances. A week before the October 15th fundraiser Allen and Bill asked if they could revive “Men Doing Dressage.” My answer, “Of course!!!” The audience enjoyed their latest rendition. I hope you do, too.
Here is Zeloso at his finest. He’s full of energy, creativity, spontaneity, joy. Although the winds were only “strong” when he came into the arena and the rain only “pouring” Zeloso was a whirlwind.
