Archive for September, 2009

History is an inexact science to be sure, relying at least partially on hearsay and filtered through the political whims of its era. History is also old in the physical sense of the word, an unattractive quality to some.
But the past isn’t dead. As William Faulkner said, “it isn’t even past.”
Yes, the actors are gone, [...]

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Last weekend I visited our local Boston racetrack, Suffolk Downs, for an instant trip back in time. The white fences, the green landscaped infield, the mixed scents of horses, concessions and people, the growing excitement as a race approaches … it was a scene both nostalgic and modern.
Festivals and horses are an ancient tradition. Milling [...]

It doesn’t make sense, but (horse) Show Jumping is one of the world’s youngest professional sports. Organized jumping is barely 100 years old. It was not known that horses could jump large fences until the 18th Century, when fox hunting was threatened by the Enclosure Laws that fenced previously open land.
A century ago we seemed [...]