There’s a festival each year at this time that captures the imagination of those who yearn for an early spring. But the term “Groundhog Day” has also come to be synonymous with a movie made in 1993, called by the same name, based upon the Festival at Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, starring actor Bill Murray and actress Andie MacDowell. The movie has, however, as much to say about the difficulty of coping with a long winter and the possibility of personal renewal, as it does about a groundhog’s shadow. In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray plays the part of a Weatherman, named Phil, “like the groundhog, Phil,” for a Pittsburgh television station. Like the Groundhog, who is caught in a never...
My Mum, who I have had to live without for five years now, was always a voice of reason. I remember her talking to me about her end-of-her-life thoughts and I would tell her that I, in my fancy, didn’t want to listen to such foolish talk, that she was in fact going to live forever. In the months and years after her death, I often find myself going back and playing her comments about aging again in my mind. My Mum was busy doing things right up to the last week of her life. As my three sisters and I looked after her during her final days, I just couldn’t relate to a Mum that stayed in her bed....
The following is a presentation of an article that first appeared on 24 January 2019. In view of the beauty of its suggestions of the dance between rider and horse in the winter months, we thought it would be worth visiting once more. Herein Samantha King writes on what it means to work with a horse in a round pen. She suggests that the ultimate goal “should be to build a relationship of trust and communication with your horse.” We spend time feeding, brushing, leading and riding our horses, but there is also a lot of value that can be gained by working with them in a round pen or at liberty, or free work. There are many great trainers,...
As an instructor, I’m not supposed to have favourites. But I’ll admit, and I think any equestrian coach would admit, we absolutely do. Favourite students who are hungry to learn; favourite horses who are as dependable as the sunrise; and without a doubt, favourite lessons to teach. So, in no particular order, I want to talk about three of my favourite lessons to teach and what makes them so special and engaging. The Learn-to-Canter Lesson This lesson is a favourite simply because of all the buildup. Almost as soon as a kid sits on a horse, they want to learn to canter. It takes patience for a coach to temper that enthusiasm into a work ethic, leaving it to simmer....
Over the years growing up, my father would tell my sister and me one particular story that entirely captured my imagination. It was about getting ready to travel with his family by horse drawn sleigh. He would tell the story each year around Easter time. It was always the same story as I remember it. My sister, a little younger than me, remembers it rather differently, however, and to this we shall return to next time. In my recollection, the night of which my Father would reminisce, would always be cold, even though spring was on the doorstep. In fact, it was only upon reflecting upon the story as an adult that I even realized that the moment my Father...
