My Early Days with Friesians, p4
Show Time
The next day, after our usual duties, we got prepared for the show. We had found a list of classes available and had entered most of them. We were able to use the landau for the classes that included pairs, fours and a configuration I had not seen before — they call it a unicorn. You hooked the wheelers and then just had one leader up front. However, we couldn't use the landau for the singles or for another hitch I'd never seen done before: the tandem. So Frank sent one of his boys after a two-wheeled carriage we had back home called a Tilbury.
The first class we entered that night was the pair class — very exciting. Under the lights, the horn blower from the race track called us in. The judge and his helper were all dressed up standing there in the middle of the arena. I made sure to go into the arena sort of in the middle. It was one of those times where you have no idea what to do and you keep a close eye on everyone else and try to do the same. It was an interesting mix of seven or eight entries with a lot of nice horses and some carriages I was not familiar with. As we went around the arena, with me playing 'follow the leader,' Hanske and Jelske worked together with their standard perfection.
We all lined up, the judge looked us over, asked us to back, made his decision and… we won! And then we went on to win just about everything else for the next three nights. It was difficult to challenge those stunning black horses that worked like clockwork.
Every night after the show we were up late talking horses with the other carriage people. We suddenly became unlikely celebrities. We were intoxicated on it.
After the show we made a point to give the judge a visit and ask for some criticism. He had plenty. We found out that the rope traces and lines were not the way to go. And those pirate pants… Unbeknownst to me, while sitting on the carriage, my knees peeked through between the tops of my boots and the pirate pants. The obvious cardboard-made top hats were mentioned as well…
During those days we met a few knowledgeable carriage people who took the time to show us the light: where to get the clothes, what carriages to use, and most importantly, etiquette.
Among them were Richard Robinson and his wife Ronnie. Richard was an American Driving Society judge who was working there with his pair transporting the race officials at the track. Being stabled side-by-side, we had the chance to spend many hours visiting.
He taught us a great deal about the carriage world. We became great friends. In the years to come, I always reported to Ronnie asking her to inspect my tie prior to a show for good luck. Another man I came to have great respect for was Jud Wright. His enthusiasm for the sport was infectious…
The next day, after our usual duties, we got prepared for the show. We had found a list of classes available and had entered most of them. We were able to use the landau for the classes that included pairs, fours and a configuration I had not seen before — they call it a unicorn. You hooked the wheelers and then just had one leader up front. However, we couldn't use the landau for the singles or for another hitch I'd never seen done before: the tandem. So Frank sent one of his boys after a two-wheeled carriage we had back home called a Tilbury.
The first class we entered that night was the pair class — very exciting. Under the lights, the horn blower from the race track called us in. The judge and his helper were all dressed up standing there in the middle of the arena. I made sure to go into the arena sort of in the middle. It was one of those times where you have no idea what to do and you keep a close eye on everyone else and try to do the same. It was an interesting mix of seven or eight entries with a lot of nice horses and some carriages I was not familiar with. As we went around the arena, with me playing 'follow the leader,' Hanske and Jelske worked together with their standard perfection.
We all lined up, the judge looked us over, asked us to back, made his decision and… we won! And then we went on to win just about everything else for the next three nights. It was difficult to challenge those stunning black horses that worked like clockwork.
Every night after the show we were up late talking horses with the other carriage people. We suddenly became unlikely celebrities. We were intoxicated on it.
After the show we made a point to give the judge a visit and ask for some criticism. He had plenty. We found out that the rope traces and lines were not the way to go. And those pirate pants… Unbeknownst to me, while sitting on the carriage, my knees peeked through between the tops of my boots and the pirate pants. The obvious cardboard-made top hats were mentioned as well…
During those days we met a few knowledgeable carriage people who took the time to show us the light: where to get the clothes, what carriages to use, and most importantly, etiquette.
Among them were Richard Robinson and his wife Ronnie. Richard was an American Driving Society judge who was working there with his pair transporting the race officials at the track. Being stabled side-by-side, we had the chance to spend many hours visiting.
He taught us a great deal about the carriage world. We became great friends. In the years to come, I always reported to Ronnie asking her to inspect my tie prior to a show for good luck. Another man I came to have great respect for was Jud Wright. His enthusiasm for the sport was infectious…
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