War Horse Wednesday

Leo was recently featured at part of Horse Racing Alberta's "War Horse Wednesday"!

I was so excited to hear from them, and am grateful for their support! They've done a beautiful job of representing Leo and I as a team. You can read the article on their website.

War Horse Wednesday – West Point (Leo)

Written by Julie Brewster

What's in a name? "Sulky"

As some of you who know me know, my minor for my degree is in Classics. Classics is essentially the study of classical cultures. Ancient Greeks, and Romans and the other cultures surrounding that time. (I know, Anthropology major, Classics minor, good life plan Char.)

For one of my classes I gave a lecture on chariots and modern racing for my term project. It was called, “Insights into Chariot Racing from Modern Harness and Chuckwagon Races.” My class really enjoyed it and had a number of questions about modern racing and my thoughts on ancient chariots.

One of the questions I found most interesting was from my professor who asked where the name ‘Sulky’ came from when referring to the race bike used in harness racing.  I honestly had no idea and had always just accepted that was what it was called. After sending a couple text messages to people I knew in the industry, and some Googling, I came up with an answer.

The term ‘sulky’ is meant quite literally. That is to say, since the race bike only carries one person, the driver, that person must be sulking and therefore prefer to be alone. Which is why he would drive that type of cart instead of one that could carry a companion or multiple passengers.

I ran this information past someone I knew in the harness industry here to see what he thought.  He didn’t agree with it. He didn’t liken driving a ‘sulky’ to being sad, but rather to freedom.  This is similar to how I feel while riding. For those few minutes you can’t worry about anything else. You can only worry about what’s right in front of you. It was also pointed out that you’re not alone. Your horse is there with you, constantly interacting and communicating with you. Sometimes that communication is a little more tense than others and sometimes it’s flawless, but you’re certainly not alone.

It’s an exhilarating break from everything else going on in the world with one of the best companions you can find.  Unfortunately, ‘sulky’ is the nickname that stuck to describe something so few people truly get to enjoy.

Standardbred Article

The Underestimated Standardbred Article

This is a great article and addresses many points I've noticed since I've had Leo.  Even when I'm placing higher and putting in better scores than the Tbs, Warmbloods, and other breeds, I still hear that Leo is 'pretty good for a Standardbred'. It should be 'pretty good for a horse.'

I especially like the end of the article that states,

"As a general rule, Standardbreds may not gallop as fast as a Thoroughbred.  Standardbreds may not make the reining horse a Quarter Horse will make.  They might not jump as high as a Warmblood.  That's not to say a Standardbred won't gallop as fast as a Warmblood. It's not to say a Standardbred won't make the reining horse a Thoroughbred could be.  It's not to say a Standardbred won't jump as high as a quarter horse.  The Standardbred is a horse; Accept it as one."

After all, like this article says, they have four legs and a tail too.

Charlene & West Point on Raise Your Standards Blog

Earlier this week, Leo and I were featured on Go & Play Stable's Raise Your Standards blog.
Check out it along with write ups on all the other applicants here!

Welcome!

Hello from Charlene & Leo and welcome to our blog! We decided to start this following being selected as 2016 Ambassadors for Go & Play Stable.

Keep an eye here for little updates and things as well as on Leo's Facebook page.

We'll be doing monthly blog posts with Go & Play Stable, so go to their page to check out those, and the other ambassadors chosen for 2016!

Happy Trails!