Jingle Bells

This is a lovely rendition of the James Lord Pierpont's One Horse Open Sleigh, as the song was originally entitled when it was published in 1857.  Although not a hit from the start, it was renamed Jingle Bells two years later and lore has it that it was the first Christmas song recorded in 1889.  No evidence exists to support this theory and the more accepted date of recording was 1898 by the Edison Male Quartet.

The lyrics circa 1857 were slightly different than those we sing today:

Dashing through the snow

In a one-horse open sleigh

O'er the hills we go

Laughing all the way.

Bells on bobtail ring

Making spirits bright

Oh what sport to ride and sing

A sleighing song tonight.

[Chorus]
Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way!

O what joy it is to ride

In a one-horse open sleigh.

A day or two ago

I thought I'd take a ride

And soon Miss Fannie Bright

Was seated by my side.

The horse was lean and lank

Misfortune seemed his lot

He got into a drifted bank

And we — we got upsot.

[Chorus]

A day or two ago

The story I must tell

I went out on the snow

And on my back I fell;

A gent was riding by

In a one-horse open sleigh,

He laughed as there I sprawling lie,

But quickly drove away,

[Chorus]

Now the ground is white

Go it while you're young,

Take the girls tonight

And sing this sleighing song:

Just get a bobtailed bay

Two forty is his speed

Hitch him to an open sleigh

And crack! You'll take the lead.

[Chorus] 

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

www.hossbiz.com

The Black Brigade: Funeral Horses of Victorian London

The following are excepts from one of my favorite writings on Victorian London: The Horse World of London, by W. J. Gordon, 1893 about the funeral business which is charming and amusing...

"A GOOD many of the coal horses are blacks and dark bays, and by some people they are known as the 'black brigade'; but the real black brigade of London's trade are the horses used for funerals. This funeral business is a strange one in many respects, but, just as the job-master is in the background of the every-day working world, so the jobmaster is at the back of the burying world. The 'funeral furnisher' is equal to all emergencies on account of the facilities he possesses for hiring to an almost unlimited extent, so long as the death rate is normal. 

 Dottridge's are 'at the back' of all the big funerals in London. They buried Mr. Spurgeon; they buried Mrs. Booth; years ago they buried Cardinal Wiseman, the biggest 'black horse job' ever known, for the Roman Catholics will always have black horses if they can get them. 

Altogether there are about 700 of these black horses in London. They are all Flemish, and come to us from the flats of Holland and Belgium by way of Rotterdam and Harwich. They are the youngest horses we import, for they reach us when they are rising three years old, and take a year or so before they get into full swing in fact, they begin work as what we may call the 'half-timers' of the London horse-world. 

 Here, in the East Road, are about eighty genuine Flemings, housed in capital stables, well built, lofty, light, and well ventilated, all on the ground floor. Over every horse is his name, every horse being named from the celebrity, ancient or modern, most talked about at the time of his purchase, a system which has a somewhat comical side when the horses come to be worked together. Some curious traits of character are revealed among these celebrities as we pay our call at their several stalls. General Booth, for instance, is 'most amiable, and will work with any horse in the stud' ; all the Salvationists 'are doing well,' except Railton, 'who is showing too much blood and fire. Last week he had a plume put on his head for the first time, and that upset him.' Stead, according to his keeper, is 'a good horse, a capital horse - showy perhaps, but some people like the showy; he does a lot of work, and fancies he does more than he does. We are trying him with General Booth, but he will soon tire him out, as he has done others. He wouldn't work with Huxley at any price!' Curiously enough, Huxley 'will not work with Tyndall, but gets on capitally with Dr. Barnardo.' Tyndall, on the other hand, 'goes well with Dickens,' but has a decided aversion to Henry Ward Beecher. Morley works 'comfortably' with Balfour, but Harcourt and Davitt 'won't do as a pair anyhow.' An ideal team seems to consist of Bradlaugh, John Knox, Dr. Adler, and Cardinal Manning. But the practice of naming horses after church and chapel, dignitaries is being dropped owing to a superstition of the stable. 'All the horses,' the horsekeeper says, 'named after that kind of person go wrong somehow!' And so we leave Canon Farrar, and Canon Liddon, and Dr. Punshon, and John Wesley and other lesser lights, to glance at the empty stalls of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, now 'out on a job,' and meet in turn with Sequah and Pasteur, Mesmer and Mattei. Then we find ourselves amid a bewildering mixture of poets, politicians, artists, actors, and musicians.

'Why don't you sort them out into stables, and have a poet stable, an artist stable, and so on?'

'They never would stand quiet. The poets would never agree; and as to the politicians - well, you know what politicians are, and these namesakes of theirs are as like them as two peas!' "

To read the article in its entirety:

http://www.victorianlondon.org/publications6/horse-11.htm

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler

The Story Of My Life In A Photo

Timeless: Tyngwndwn Lovespoon of Here Be Dragons Welsh Ponies and me on the 2011 Metamora  Pleasure Driving Show Country Drive.  Photo by Peter Gilles

Every once in a while, something perfect happens.  

In 2011, I journeyed to Metamora, MI to show a pony for Martha Stover and Cynthia Laurence of Here Be Dragons Welsh Ponies www.herebeponies.com

Tyngwndwn Lovespoon, aka Lisa, and I had a very good show with several memorable moments.  I had only driven her a handful of times before the show, but she was a great partner.  On the cones course, there was a small failure of communication between us and instead of trampling the left hand cone on a right hand circle, Lisa saved the day, jumped over the cone for a clear round and much cheering from the spectators.  What a pony!  We very proudly presented Here Be Dragons with a reserve championship ribbon.

But that is just the beginning of the story.  Local photographer, Peter Gilles www.metamoraphoto.com was on hand at the show, snapping mementos.  After the show, he chose the above photo, his "very favorite", to put on show at the Merge Gallery in Oxford, MI.  This autumn, when asked to donate an auction item to the Metamora Driving Club's annual event, he chose the mounted photo again.

Long Story Short: Cynthia and Mack Laurence [co-owners of Lisa] were at the fundraiser and bought the photo, which they in turn sent to me as a gift.  I generally regard sentimentality as an affliction, but when I held the photo in my hands, I cried.  The combination of the memories of the show, my affection for Lisa and her owners, the Laurence's generosity, the virtuosity of Mr. Gilles' lens was a perfect storm of sentiment. 

If one photograph can tell an entire story, it is this one.  It is a sublime representation of why I drive and show horses: a beautiful summer day, a happy pony, moving gloriously through time.  One hundred years from now, I will not be surprised if people are cooing over it on whatever social forum exists for driving enthusiasts.  But it tells a still bigger story.  Lots of people do lots of really brilliant things for me, and I try to be worthy of all of them.  If you are one of those people, gaze upon this photo and see your own reflection in it.  Whether you have lent me a book, helped me unload a carriage, given me a kind word or saved me from certain death: you are in this photo.  This photo is for you.  This photo  is something perfect.

I wish you all enormous returns on the riches you have bestowed upon me.  [And... if you are looking for a present for a horse lover, you just might find something perfect from Peter Gilles' camera.]

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

www.hossbiz.com

Late 20th Century Driving

David E Saunders and HRH Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh

Carriage Driving's friend, historian and former royal coachman, David E Saunders [http://www.davidesaunders.com] has shared this lovely video of Prince Phillip and Sandringham Horse Trials from 1983.  In it, the Duke of Edinburgh guides the viewer through the steps of driving with an excellent demo on rein handling of a four in hand.  The rest of the footage follows the Prince, Karen Bassett [http://www.karenbassett.co.uk], and Andy Mills through the driving trial.

Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TRx502JW1k&feature=relmfu

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhA0XB9R64A

Part 3:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mo32FE0zbKQ

The moral of the story is to be found in how much has changed from last century to now: style of vehicles, design of driving events, speed through obstacles and what has remain unchanged: passion for the sport, the traditions of driving itself and the spirit of competition.

It is my ardent hope that 30 years hence, we will find the sport of carriage driving thriving in the 21st Century through innovation infused tradition with the propagation of fine deportment as evidenced by the modern sport's patron, Prince Phillip.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
www.hossbiz.com

Life Gives You What You Need

Life is like training a horse: a general idea of what needs to be done to achieve the goal, whether it is teaching a horse to pick up it's feet or training for top level competition.  The art of life and horse training is developing skills to achieve the best possible result.  Some people are better at life and horse training than others, but we can all improve.

Today, I stumbled on a brilliant website and blog detailing just this theme.  It is a horse related life coaching dream fulfilling treasure and I can't wait to start spending it's riches, so I'll start by sharing:

http://www.bighorsedreams.com/2012/05/2-ingredients-to-help-you-achieve-your-potential/

I hope it resonates for you as it has for me.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
www.hossbiz.com

Happy Mistakes

A View To A Thrill
photo by Robert Mischka

I started driving at the age of 14 under the watchful eye of my grandfather.  My family had just embarked on the World of Morgan Horse Ride: purchased a young show prospect, sent her to a very reputable trainer.  I learned to drive in a jog cart staring at said mare's behind.  I wasn't enthralled.

Twenty years later, I was introduced to carriage driving and EUREKA!  I was hooked.  Not having a carriage, I decided to start back in the aforementioned jog cart and work my way up to a better view.

The tangled mess of 20 year old harness got cleaned and oiled, jog cart's tires got pumped up, trained horse got harnessed, put to, and off I drove around the arena.   For a month or so.

So excited was my progress, I organized a driving fun day for the local Morgan club, set up some cones and various other obstacles, gathered refreshments.  Attendance was marvelous, including Bob Riley, life long mentor to a very long list of people, including my mother and trainer of the horse I was driving.  I was proud as a peacock as I drove towards the arena.

Bob sauntered over to me and asked me if I didn't think I needed traces.  "Traces?" I asked, completely oblivious.  He explained.  "Oh!  Those long pieces!  I couldn't work out where they went."  Bob suggested he'd hold the horse while I went to fetch those long pieces.

Mistakes are how we learn.  In this instance it was a happy one, no harm done, lesson learned.  Bob Riley spent many long a hours after that next to me in the jog cart, while I learned, safely, how to train a horse and how to drive.

If you are new to driving, find a mentor.  Or an instructor.  Make happy mistakes.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
www.hossbiz.com

Carriage Driving Garden Party

The Major General: I Like Shows.  I Love Parties.

Last night Major and I hosted a carriage driving demonstration for 18 members of the Eastern Iowa Dressage and Eventing Association.  I set up a dressage/cones/section E obstacle/gambler's choice in my 30m x 60m grass arena.  I am nothing if not creative with small spaces.  I polished the marathon vehicle and the gig, dressed for turnout, printed course maps and designed a short dressage test for the participants to score.  I put folding chairs in the back of my ancient truck for the 'judges'.  I laid out my patio table with magazines and info from the ADS and CAA, picked a vase of nasturtiums, made some foccacia and lemonade to welcome our guests.

Following a brief social half hour, during which Don Pecos, Ace and Kitten bleated pathetically at the guests that they were weak with hunger since I was starving them, I brought Major out of the barn to hitch.  "That's a stallion!" One of the guests exclaimed.  "Why, yes," I answered.  "He is."  Many more compliments followed: he is so quiet, so black, so beautiful- all of which Major soaked up like spring sunshine.

We proceeded to the dressage test, after a three minute warm up, which anyone with a forward, V8 engine-d Morgan will shudder to think.  Of course there were flaws, that the crowd all but forgot when Major powered into an extended trot on the very short diagonal, and then purred right into a collected trot to the finale.  He came to a square halt and stood quietly in front of the guests for more cooing from them, while I explained there are usually not trees at the end of competition dressage fields and how we would attempt to drive my very tight cones/section e/gambler's choice course.

I had utilized A, B, C, and E from the dressage markers, added in a D and 1-9 for the gates.  I added three half full water bottles on fence posts as a nod to Mike Rider's gambler's choice obstacle. Everything went very well until the last gate, 9, when I eliminated myself on my own course by driving it backwards.  Well, you show the good and the bad.  We still got cheers and applause and that is really all that matters.

Then the real party started.  I unhooked Major, put the lead rope over his back and turned him loose.  He pulled up a big creeping weed, started shaking it up and down and presented it to one of the ladies.  Being a good sport, she held out her hands and he dropped the weed into them, ever so pleased with himself.  Then he wandered off to a little boy holding a half eaten cookie and started tickling him.  "He is after your cookie," I told the wee lad, which sent the little one running off to protect his treat.  Oh Good. Tag. I Love Little Humans.  Major jogged after him.  Suspecting there might be an altogether easier way to get a cookie, Major gave up pursuit and returned to the party to inspect the table, where he found the source of the cookies.  "MAJOR!"  I darted after him, abandoning what was probably a really important conversation about a potential training horse.

"If I give you a cookie, will you leave the table alone and go and behave like a normal horse?" I asked him.  He looked at me with those melt your heart eyes.  I gave him a chocolate chip cookie and he showed his gratitude by leaving the table alone, albeit not behaving like a normal horse.  Instead, he mingled about the group, snaking in between all the guests, listening to their conversations, generally enjoying the networking opportunity and delighting the company with his character. When a couple guests took their leave, he escorted them to their cars and thanked them much for coming.  He wrapped himself around the lady he presented the creeping weed to and tried to sit in her lap.  He even upstaged Lucy, which is a considerable feat of itself.

I think it not a stretch to say this 18 year old Morgan stallion won the hearts of many more fans and hopefully helped convert them to the idea of driving.  After all the guests had departed, I sat down at the table, quite exhausted, but pleased and he came up and blew in my ear: We Should Have More Parties, My Human.  Then he pulled up a creeping weed and put it in my lap.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com