Cavalia’s Odysseo: Galloping into our Hearts!

Cavalia’s Odysseo: Galloping into our Hearts!

By Erin

Disclosure:received media tickets to attend the VIP tweet night in Burbank. I was not compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

D you know anyone who loves or admires the beauty and free-spirit of the horse? If  you are as horse crazy and love horses as much as I do, then you’ll want to go and see anything Cavalia does. Artistic director and creator Normand Latourelle has created another masterpiece with a dreamlike setting that mixes inspiring acrobatics and high-tech theatrical effects. Cavalia’s “Odysseo” is an odyssey to different enchanting lands. It’s like a Disney Movie, but even more magical with all the colors and dancing ponies that prance into your heart. The show opened in Burbank, on  February 27th,  2013 and runs until March 31st, 2013. I was ever so lucky to be invited out to their VIT (Very Important Tweep) Night on March 13th, 2013. You can bet I was beyond ecstatic to find out that after only dreaming of being able to go see this show, it was now becoming a reality, AND I was getting to go as a VIP? A week later, it still only seems like a dream! Lucky for me, I have many pictures (500ish)  from this magical night to show that indeed this most special night DID happen. 😉

Here is a mini version of our night, and what you can expect as a Rendez-Vous VIP with Cavalia!

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The 10-story, 110 foot tall White Big Top as seen from the 5 freeway in Burbank. We were so excited to see this, that we even missed our exit! Opps…

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Day 14–Jumping

Day 14–Jumping

By Erin

One of my most favorite things to do on this planet is riding horses, especially jumping competitively. I do miss this terribly! Taking lessons and showing have been a big part of my life.  I really hope to be able to afford my own horse someday that has the ability to do what I want to do as you are only as good as your horse, since you can’t exactly jump these jumps for your horse! Your horse has to have the ability, talent, scope, heart and desire to jump what I’d like to do.  I’d love to at least show in a mini grand prix someday and try some more medal classes. Until then catch riding what I can will have to do.  Jumping with a horse is like flying without wings. It’s an amazing feeling.  😉

Here are some other horse quotes that I love. 😀

There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.  ~Winston Churchill

Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.  ~W.C. Fields

Riding:  The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground.  ~Author Unknown

It is not enough for a man to know how to ride; he must know how to fall.  ~Mexican Proverb

The wagon rests in winter, the sleigh in summer, the horse never.  ~Yiddish Proverb

Many people have sighed for the ‘good old days’ and regretted the ‘passing of the horse,’ but today, when only those who like horses own them, it is a far better time for horses.  ~C.W. Anderson

No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.  ~Winston Churchill

People on horses look better than they are.  People in cars look worse than they are.  ~Marya Mannes

Horses and children, I often think, have a lot of the good sense there is in the world.  ~Josephine Demott Robinson

It’s always been and always will be the same in the world:  The horse does the work and the coachman is tipped.  ~Author Unknown

Heaven is high and earth wide.  If you ride three feet higher above the ground than other men, you will know what that means.  ~Rudolf C. Binding

He knows when you’re happy
He knows when you’re comfortable
He knows when you’re confident
And he always knows when you have carrots.
~Author Unknown

The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse’s ears.  ~Arabian Proverb

Ah, steeds, steeds, what steeds!  Has the whirlwind a home in your manes?  Is there a sensitive ear, alert as a flame, in your every fiber?  Hearing the familiar song from above, all in one accord you strain your bronze chests and, hooves barely touching the ground, turn into straight lines cleaving the air, and all inspired by God it rushes on!  ~Nikolai V. Gogol, Dead Souls, 1842, translated from Russian (above is combination of translations by Bernard Guildert Guerney, Richard Peaver, and Larisa Voloklonsky)

To ride a horse is to ride the sky.  ~Author Unknown

There is no secret so close as that between a rider and his horse.  ~Robert Smith Surtees, “Chapter XXX: Bolting the Badger,” Mr. Sponge’s Sporting Tour, 1853

A horse loves freedom, and the weariest old work horse will roll on the ground or break into a lumbering gallop when he is turned loose into the open.  ~Gerald Raferty

I bless the hoss from hoof to head –
From head to hoof, and tale to mane! –
I bless the hoss, as I have said,
From head to hoof, and back again!
~James Whitcomb Riley

Horses are uncomfortable in the middle and dangerous at both ends.  ~Attributed to both Christopher Stone and Ian Fleming

It’s a lot like nuts and bolts – if the rider’s nuts, the horse bolts!  ~Nicholas Evans

A lovely horse is always an experience…. It is an emotional experience of the kind that is spoiled by words.  ~Beryl Markham

Thankful Thursday

Since the title of my blog is titled “Horsing Around In LA” I thought it only fitting to say something about horses and how thankful I am to have them in my life. 🙂

With all the hustle and bustle of the city, and hurry hurry get this and that done, traffic, stress, overabundance of people, and other things that come from living in a  big city, it’s nice to get away for a while to a quite peaceful country like place where none of this exists; the barn. It’s the perfect little mini escape.

Horses are very beautiful, majestic, athletic, creatures that are just amazing to watch and get to know. The bond a girl & her horse(s) can make are priceless. Often times when no human understands you, your horse just seems to get it and vice versa. I also think this goes for most other animals we keep as pets. They just seem to have a sixth sense about these kinds of things, if you’re in a bad mood or had a horrible day. They just know how to make it  all better. 🙂 <3

They give a girl someone to trust when they feel their whole world is falling apart. A mane to cry in, a wise eye that will never judge, unconditional love, and a boy who will never, ever talk back. 😉

Mister hugs after he came back to us from a not so nice place.

Mister having fun in the turnout.

Shadow & I at a Schooling Show at home.

 My cousin  with Moon, a very sweet pony!

Most of us can remember clear as day the first time they sat on a horse. Maybe it was an old, arthritic ornery pony not suitable for anything more than the occasional lead line ride or a hot Thoroughbred racehorse whose trainers were insane to put a 5-year-old on its back. Whatever the case it was a memorable experience because it was unlike anything else. Horses are big and they offer a whole new view of the world. A little girl all of a sudden gets a lot taller when she’s hoisted onto a horse’s back, she’s now on top of the world!  This feeling, along with the feeling of going faster than she could on her own two legs, is very addictive, especially when you throw some jumps in there. Then you really feel like you are flying!

Confidence. Responsibility. Dedication. Respect. Compassion.  All very important attributes one will learn when taking care of a horse and learning how to ride.

Whether you are  6 or 66 you can get on an animal that outweighs you ten times, make the animal walk, trot and canter quietly, and maybe even convince it to jump over something, all the while making it look effortless. Horseback riding, like most athletic activities, is much harder than it looks. What you don’t see as a spectator is how much muscle control, strength and balance goes into even the simplest of movements. Horses don’t naturally move in straight lines and pretty perfect circles. They don’t naturally lower their heads, collect and trot daintily around an arena. The rider is making all of that happen. As a person continues to advance as a rider, you will see their confidence grow. Riding is HARD work and like any other sport takes lots of practice and dedication!

Horses also teach responsibility. If you haven’t noticed, they’re alive and have minds and personalities of their own. They are very much like large,  heavy, overgrown toddlers that poop a lot and make a mess when they eat. Riding horses and taking care of them is very labor intensive. This includes grooming, bathing, mucking stalls, hauling water buckets, unloading hay and other feed, unloading shavings for their stalls, cleaning tack, repairing fences, cleaning the barn, making sure your horse gets out for exercise, and the list goes on. All of these chores have to be done on a daily basis. Kids and others who are involved with horses learn to work hard and take pride in their work; another valuable lesson for life!

You can blossom into a confident, capable and outspoken rider and horseperson simply by hanging out with horses and learning how to ride. When first learning to ride, you may be able to get away with being a passenger at first, but soon you will have to take charge. There are many naughty ponies and horses to thank for timid little girls learning to quite literally take the reins and take control. In the horse/human relationship, the rider is dominant and has to be for their own safety. Riding teaches kids & adults alike to take control and lead, to make quick decisions and to trust their instincts. You may think you’re taking a riding lesson, but really  taking a lesson in life.

I don’t have any little girls myself yet, but I really wish my own parents would have seen the value of this when I was growing up.  In such a vain society where girls are taught that their core value lies in how they LOOK,  horses teach you to place value on what you can DO. Would you rather your pre-teen spend her afternoon wandering around the mall looking for the latest make-up fashions and push-up bras and hanging out with boys or master her position and equitation as she flies over a 3′ jump on horseback? I wonder which one will instill perseverance, diligence, and confidence in her ability to set goals and reach them? Hmmmm that’s a hard one! As little girls grow into teenagers, having horses around can be especially helpful. Your teenage daughter can’t get wasted or high at her friend’s party because she has to be up at the crack of dawn to trailer to a show. She certainly can’t get pregnant if she’s spending all her free time at the barn with the horses practicing and taking lessons. If her boyfriend dumps her, so what? Her horse is cuter anyway. Horses give teenage girls something to think about beside boys, parties and all the myriad superficial things our consumer society is selling.

Best of all, it’s never to late to get started. Wether you are 10, 20, 30, 50, 70 or older, it’s never too late to take up riding! I LOVE that Japanese equestrian Hiroshi Hoketsu qualified for the London Olympics at age 70, although it’s not yet clear if he will actually compete in the 2012 Olympic games this summer. 70 YEARS OLD and he can go to the OLYMPICS if he so chooses to actually compete! So I know there’s still hope for me yet! 😉

I am convinced that horses give back far more than they cost in ways that are immeasurable and priceless. Simply put, horses are good for the soul, and for that I am thankful. :-)

*Shadow & I, Champions in the Modified Division at our first show of the season. :)*

Speaking of horses, my friend came with me to the barn a couple of times this past week to photograph these magnificent creatures, and she has made a post dedicated to them, go check out some of the beautiful shots that she has captured and shared with us!!! Thanks Jamie!

 Horsing Around at the Barn