Tails From Provence

Tangalo!

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of travel, excitement and a major sleep deficit. I had been toying with the idea of giving the horses the month of August as a holiday and came to the conclusion last week that it was a really good idea. Aero had had the osteopath just before we went to the Championnats and I had a little bit of physiotherapy to do with him afterwards, so I finished that and then rode him twice to get a feel for how straight he’s going. He’s bending left a good deal easier, but he’s still not convinced about it. It’ll take time before the muscle memory is corrected, so I’m leaving that for when we restart in September.

The Boys enjoying a holiday scratch

Now that the horses are on a break, it’s time to start catching up with my blog reading! I’m waaaaay behind! I might not leave comments everywhere but I will get to you all, I promise. Meanwhile, here’s what happened last weekend.

First of all, I was on the receiving end of a whole lot of courgettes and cucumbers. Some of them were eaten straight away and some of them were pickled. This is a brilliant recipe for pickled cucumbers, Bread and Butter Pickles, that I found via Yummly. They ready to eat almost immediately and are delicious!

I spent most of Friday pickling, then I spent most of Friday night being sick. I just hope the two weren’t related. I spent most of Saturday feeling a bit washed out, especially after doing two hours gardening in the morning, so I took it easy for the afternoon because MC and I had plans for the evening – we were driving to the little village of Boulbon to see a show called Tangalo.

MC loves dancing, especially Argentine Tango, and used to dance a couple of nights a week up to five years ago, when her hip started causing her grief. She also loves horses, as you undoubtedly know by now if you’re a regular reader. Tangalo is a blend of Tango and horses “where the horses tango and the riders piaffe” so it’s right up her alley. I was keen to go along too, just to see what it was all about.

We knew it was being held in an equestrian centre, but we didn’t know what to expect. Would it be indoor or outdoor? Horses tap dancing on wooden floors or dancers vaulting on and off horses? They had said that people were welcome to arrive early and have a look around the stables, so we did.

The horses were all tied up in their boxes, being beautified for the performance. We were surprised that they were tied up, but I guess if I had the public coming into my yard for an evening, I’d make damn sure no-one was going to get nipped.

They were all Spanish horses, and most of them were stallions, which I found interesting.

Performing horses are huge on the continent – it’s just another branch of the equestrian world over here.

It’s not pure dressage, but it’s nice to watch.

The performance was to be held in a large circular arena, with high stone walls, like a bull-fighting ring. There was a square platform of boards set out on the sand in the centre and seating for about 700 people. We took our seats early so we’d be ringside and we had a great view of everything!

I wasn’t expecting live musicians, I assumed there’d be a recording. These ladies were top class and MC found out afterwards that they are very well known Tango musicians.

We started off with two dancers on the platform.

They were joined by first one horse and then another.

There was lots of Spanish walk – well, what do you expect from Spanish horses!

The male & female riders performed a sort of pas de deux while the dancers continued to dance, cantering…

rein back…

and piaffe…

The performances got better as the show went on. Next in was a lady in a flame coloured costume, who danced by herself first of all…

until she was joined by a horse and rider in a matching costume.

This time, the dancer literally danced with the horse.

Very nicely choreographed and lovely to watch.

You may have noticed a softness to my photos which you don’t normally see. This is because the light was fading fast and I’d made the mistake of bringing my zoom lens, thinking we’d be some distance from the action. I also assumed there would be artificial lighting – there wasn’t, apart from a few spotlights directed at the wall to enhance the mood.

I kept taking photos for as long as possible. Next in was this guy, Vincent Liberator – now there’s a stage name if ever I heard one! He’s along the lines of Jean François Pignon, who I saw at the RDS two years ago.

This guy was good – not as good as Pignon, but good just the same.

His cues were, for the most part, very subtle.

Each horse knows its name, and when he calls them, they step forward to do their job or, if it’s a correction, they sheepishly stop what they’re doing.

They were all thrilled with the sand, and every single one of them had a sneaky roll when the boss wasn’t looking. They also sampled the decorative flowers that were placed around the arena, to the delight of the crowd if not their boss!

The light was nearly gone at this stage, but I snapped a few photos of the next performance, once again a pas de deus, although with the lady riding side saddle and with some more advanced movements this time…

like pirouetting around each other and lots of flying changes.

There were a few heart stopping moments when the grey horse took fright at something – I’ve no idea what. He galloped flat out around the area for a couple of laps before the lady got him back under control and resumed the performance as if nothing had happened. The show must go on!

After that, it was too dark for photos. In fact, by the time the show finished, we could barely make out the performers. That would be my main gripe about the evening – if it had started even half an hour earlier, it would have been much better. Or if they had had a couple of spotlights!

I did find a short video on YouTube which summarises the whole show. Here it is, if you’re interested.

It was quite surreal to be watching such a polished, well produced show while sitting at the side of an arena in an equestrian centre which is literally in the middle of nowhere. The other strange thing about this place was that it has a Salon de Danse – a little ballroom! After the performance, there was to be dancing there, for those who wanted (not me! I was blessed with two left feet at birth!) MC was dying to dance – it’s been five years, and she wanted to find out if her new hip and her arthritic knee could cope with the Tango once again. As soon as we walked in, she met a man she knew and was whisked off onto the dance floor. And yes, she can still Tango. She was very, very happy and very, very reluctant to stop dancing…

Eventually I dragged her off the floor, bundled her into the car and drove home. We got back a little before 1am. Yawn. I’m back in sleep deficit once again.

Tags: Tangalo

The Piano Party

Intro music :

Months ago, if not months and months ago, I got an email from the Sis pointing out that Granny would be 80 this year and suggesting that we should Do Something.

When Granny turned 70, we all (eleven of us) rented a house near Apt for two weeks. This was one of life’s big coincidences, by the way. At the time, we didn’t know that we’d end up living 15km down the road. Anyway, for Granny’s birthday treat, we all went up in a hot air balloon.

Or rather, most of us went up in the balloon. The Eldest Daughter decided that she was afraid of heights and didn’t go, but she looked after her Dad for the day. He had been foraging in the fridge the previous day and found some delicious fish-flavoured chicken. It did cross his mind that chicken isn’t meant to taste like fish, but he ate it anyway and his body spent the next 24 hours forcibly ejecting any possible bits of fish-flavoured chicken from his digestive system. So he missed the balloon ride. Which was a shame, because it was really nice.

So how do you top a birthday balloon ride? It’s not easy, but the Sis came up with an idea. Granny loves classical music and has been a piano teacher all her life. How about a Music Party, suggested the Sis. We could have a meal in one of the local hotels, followed by a private recital, just for us. All we had to do was find a performer…

Well, the Sis and the Bro-in-Law just happen to be friends with one of Ireland’s top classical pianists, Hugh Tinney. Hugh, like many other people, is very fond of Granny and he said he’d be delighted to perform at her party. We booked a room at the local posh hotel, Dromoland Castle (it’s VERY posh. I wouldn’t dare go in there in mud-splattered jodhpurs).

Then we decided we’d better tell Granny what was going on. Surprise parties are not a good idea for eighty year olds. She was delighted and enthusiastically set about creating a guest list. The Eldest daughter designed the invitations. A grand piano was booked. Hugh decided that he needed a bigger piano, so a different grand piano was booked. A cake was ordered from an old friend of mine who has set up a business making bespoke cakes. We were all set.

Last weekend was party time. The LSH and I once again left our dogs in the tender care of John the Dog-sitter (he’s wonderful and he has a book coming out soon!) and caught the Ryanair flight from Nice to Shannon on Friday. The piano was to be delivered to Dromoland on Saturday evening. Hotel staff had told us that there were five or six steps leading up to the room we had booked and we had told our piano rental guy about this. Not a problem, he said, so long as there’s three or four lads around to give me a hand. Three or four ‘lads’ were lined up – the LSH, the Bro, the Bro-in-Law, the Nephew and the ED’s boyfriend was available too, if needed.

Late on Saturday afternoon, we all arrived at Dromoland to find that the ability to count is not an essential skill in the hotel management industry. This is how many steps there were :

Twelve, counting the bottom one. Twelve steep, wet, slippery steps. Hotel staff were very reassuring, especially a guy called John who lives in the village and remembers the days when Granny used to play the church organ every Sunday. He assured us that we would have as many lads as necessary to get the piano up the steps.

Piano Guy arrived exactly on time and his face fell when he saw the steps. We were afraid that he was going to say “NO! It can’t be done” but I don’t think that thought ever crossed his mind.

“I’d have brought different lifting gear if I’d known,” was all he said.

And that was as irate as he became. He had a quick scout around to see what the alternative access was like and came to the conclusion that the twelve stone steps were the only option. Extra lads were drafted in from the bar and the kitchens, and they cheerfully awaited their instructions.

Mind you, I’m sure I heard somebody ruefully muttering “I was meant to knock off at six!” when the piano guy said that they’d be lifting 400kg!

The first glimpse of the behemoth :

A trial lift just so everyone knew what they’d be carrying, and to allow the Bro in Law to remove a roller bar from underneath…

and away they went!

They made it look easy. I’m sure it wasn’t.

(Huge thanks to all the ‘lads’ who helped!)

The piano was set up and tuned, and it did look and sound wonderful.

Roll on the party – lunchtime on Sunday!

Guests arrived in dribs and drabs. Tansy serenaded us all as we mingled and chatted, which was very pleasant and gave me a chance to hear some of her music which I hadn’t heard before.

It also gave me a chance to take what I’m sure would be a fabulous album-cover photo :

Lunch was served – I joked about doing a Thank Friday it’s Lunchtime report on it, but I was in holiday mode and not really thinking about blogging. Suffice to say that the food was really, really good. Granny changed tables between the starter and main course and had great fun catching up with all her friends, especially the her old friends from Shannon!

Then the main musical event followed, with Hugh playing the Moonlight Sonata, the Rustle of Spring and excerpts from Pictures at an exhibition – all Granny’s favourites, and some of which she used to play.

After the performance, it was time for cake. And oh how my friend had done us proud! The music at the front of the piano was even the music for Happy Birthday!

Granny did the candle thing :

and we all sang Happy Birthday and then devoured the cake, which seemed a shame, but it was delicious! Raspberry and white chocolate – Yum! Thanks Deborah, it was a big hit!

After that, the piano once again had to be disassembled :

and carted down the steps, with Granny supervising anxiously :

But is was easier going downhill, thank goodness, although it got kind of wedged at this point :

and two of the Dromoland managers had to get stuck in :

Finally, it was tucked away back in its white van. If you ever want to rent a large grand piano and need it carried up and down an indeterminate number of steps, I can heartily recommend this guy, Ciarán Ryan :

Some time later, we made our way back to Granny’s house, where we sat around drinking, talking and eating all the O’Donnell’s crisps we had bought.

And that’s why I didn’t bring any crisps back to France with me. Sniff.

Closing music :

Thanks again to Tansy and Hugh for playing on the day. Also thanks to Dromoland staff for giving our mother such a pleasant afternoon, to Deborah for the cake and to Ciarán Ryan, the very tolerant provider of the piano! Also thanks to the LSH and the Sis-in-Law for the extra photos. Most of all, thank to the Sis for starting the ball rolling on this way back when.

Tags: Cakes by Deborah, Dromoland Castle, Hugh Tinney, Tansy Greenlee

Championnats 2014 – Sunday

Our programme for Sunday was much the same as Saturday. Alexandrine was first in action with Max, with an even earlier start time than Saturday. We all got up at about 5.30am. Alex, MC and Fabfan set off at about 7.00am and the LSH and I mooched around for a while before following with Boy and Girl and the ponies. But Boy was limping a bit – he’d been playing soccer the previous evening with some other boys on the campsite and had been injured. Would he be able to do the running required by some of the tests?

We arrived just in time to watch Alex and Max go. The first test was Reverse/Advance, but some evil genius came up with the idea that the elite competitors had to do this while remaining seated. The hardest part is always getting the horse to stop in the correct place when he’s finished. Can you see the rectangle outlined in front of the chair in the photo below? The horse must start and finish the exercise with his front feet inside that rectangle. And if he steps too far forward, he’s eliminated.

Max and Alexandrine made this one look easy and we were all hoping that things would continue to go smoothly and that they’d make up some ground. It was not to be, unfortunately. The next test was lateral movement. This is usually done over ground poles, but to make it more difficult, the elite horses had to move sideways over two low jumps, as well as ground poles.

Poor Max just did not believe that this was possible, and he never got past the point you see in the above picture. Zero scored.

The next test was a four-leafed clover – but the elite horses had to pass through a curtain after each ‘leaf’. Max did this perfectly, but too slow – another zero.

By now, Alexandrine knew she was well out of the running, so she opted for ten points for the last two tests. The penultimate one went ok, but the last one was a treble, with the third jump set off to one side. Max refused to believe that he had to go over all three – another zero scored.

Team Pimayon was off to a bad start. The kids were up next. Our hopes were pinned equally on their little shoulders. Could they improve on their 4th and 5th placings?

Boy and Spirit went first, but Spirit’s heart wasn’t in it. At the very first test, Reverse/Advance, he uncharacteristically ignored Boy and just wandered out of his ‘zone.’ The next test was pivot, or pirouette, which went well, as did the four-leafed clover. After that, there was the circle – basically free-lunging, two circles in one direction followed by two circles in the other. This was easy, but Boy was hobbling badly at this stage. The last test was a double of jumps. Would he be able to run alongside Spirit as he jumped?

Yes he would – but not fast enough to keep level with his pony. Spirit veered out of his zone after the second jump – eliminated.

What I love about these two kids is that they never get frustrated with their ponies. Spirit got a hug just the same as he would have if he’d done it perfectly. Boy must have been very disappointed – we all had high hopes for him – but I think he’ll be back at the Championnats even stronger next year.

Girl was next to go, right after her brother. Reverse/Advance – piece of cake.

Pivot – easy peasy, ten points for a quarter turn. The four-leafed clover went like clockwork for fifteen points, with Neros trotting obediently at her side throughout. He gave her some anxious moments in the circle exercise, proving difficult to turn and to stop, but they got their fifteen points. Finally the double.

Girl went for the fifteen point option, where she would have to stay 1.5 metres away from the pony as he jumped. They were perfect – apart from knocking a cone in the ‘arrival zone’ which gave them a two point penalty. Still, she was delighted with how she and Neros had finished and we were all pretty certain that she had achieved her goal of ‘Not Last.’

Flurry and I were next to go. Thankfully I had my brain engaged – but Flurry was only interested in one thing – finding carrots on my person. Uh-oh.

Reverse/Advance is something we’ve really worked on since our regional championships. He’s very good at it now. I was torn between going for twenty point or staying safe and going for fifteen points. Reason prevailed, and I went for the fifteen point option, where Flurry would have to back up four metres and then come forward and stop with his feet in the ‘end zone.’

I put him in position, and asked him to reverse. And he chose that moment to have one of his Slack-Jawed Yokel moments. He gazed at me, utterly bewildered.

Hunh? What you want, Mum?

Can I has carrot? No? You sure?

Duh… you want I go sideways? No?

Um forwards? No???

Carrot? Carrot? No? Really?

Umm you still asking me to do something… oh well, I’ll try backwards so..

He duly backed up the required four metres and I asked him to come forward, but then the Slack-Jawed Yokel made another appearance.

Oh, you want me to circle? Sure!!

He happily meandered out of his zone – zero points. GAH.

I will happily take the blame for all the mistakes on Saturday, but Flurry is taking this one on the chin! Not My Fault!

All hopes of improving our position flew out the window at that stage. Now I just wanted to Not Completely Disgrace Ourselves. We went on to do the pivot, which both of my horses usually struggle with. I really focussed and held the rope close under his chin, which makes it easier to adjust his balance if I feel he’s going to take a step forward. He was completely absorbed in trying to eat my hand, but he did start to turn… one foot stepped out, just at the end of his quarter pirouette, for a two point penalty, giving us eight points.

The four leafed clover was next. I’ve been building up to doing this at liberty at home and had been planning to go for the fifteen point option, where the lead rope is attached via an elastic. Flurry had been so disinterested in the warm-up, though, that I decided to stay safe and stick to ten points.

I looked on it as a schooling exercise and made a point of not pulling him, even when he tossed his head around at one stage.

After that, we had the circle. I was aware of the time limit, after my debacle in the embuches on Saturday, and I decided to get him cantering to speed things up. So this meant I had to canter, too. Ah, all those times I pretended I was a galloping horse as a child are finally coming in useful!

At last, he was paying attention to me and turned when asked and stopped when asked – without putting a big hairy hoof into my control zone. Phew. A clean fifteen points!

Last of all was the double. This is something I have to work on. To date, I’ve only ever done this running right beside the horse, limiting us to a ten point contract. We had also been told that the horse must not drop below a trot – if he walks or halts, it’s considered a refusal and you must go back to the start and do the whole lot again.

Flurry was prefect, trotting evenly down the line and popping the two jumps, so we finished on a reasonably good note. Unfortunately, thanks to our bad start with the Reverse/Advance, we slid down a few more places, finishing up 45th out of 62. Next year…

MC and Quieto were still to go. Quieto was incredibly well tuned into MC – finally, he has learned to keep his focus in a strange environment! Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of them from Sunday. I wanted to watch MC go, so our very own Paparazzi (the LSH) was busy holding Flurry for me.

They scored twenty at the reverse/advance, fifteen at the pivot, fifteen at the four-leafed clover, twenty at the circle. Just the double left… At home, he jumps at liberty, but this wasn’t an option and he had to stay on the long lead rope. But normally, MC cannot run fast enough to keep up with him – she’s had a hip replacement, after all! She slipped the rope out as he got ahead of her and he jumped the jumps easily, but he drifted out of his zone at the end – exactly what had happened to Boy and Spirit. Eliminated.

What a shame, we all agreed, especially when we saw the scores later on. MC and Quieto had jumped nine places, finishing fourteenth overall. If he had stayed within the lines for that last test, they would have finished seventh!

But the pony results – what about the pony results? I’ll let the pictures do the talking :

A podium finish! One very happy Girl and one very proud trainer!