Record crowd of 73,736 attend Canadian Show Jumping Masters

Spruce Meadows arenaThough horsemanship is ancient, Show Jumping itself 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 to be at the end of our ancient partnership with the horse, since the animal’s use in transportation was made obsolete by the invention of the internal combustion engine. Today there are more horses than ever, largely due to equestrian sport and recreation … and one of the big drivers of that growth is the international sport of Show Jumping.

So it is great news to hear of the sport’s continuing success as a spectator attraction, as was seen last week at the Canadian jumping hot-spot of Spruce Meadows in Calgary. A record crowd of over 70,000 spectators attended the closing Masters competition, many waiting in lawnchairs at 6:00am to secure the best seats. Congrats to Spruce Meadows for its great work, and for proving that Show Jumping can be a spectator sport for the future.

Eric Hoffer Award: “Thrilling and intelligent fantasy”

The following is the Eric Hoffer Award review of Eclipsed by Shadow that was featured in the 2009 edition of the US Review of Books.

[See featured review]

Eric Hoffer Awards | Emily Hinton

eric-hoffer-award-banner“Meagan heard shouting behind her as Promise reached for the safety of speed… Wind rose in Meagan’s ears, and time stretched into a series of still photographs as the young thoroughbred gathered and stretched. The ground blurred and together they lifted into the air.”

Eclipsed by Shadow, the first installment of Royce’s Legend of the Great Horse trilogy, transforms a majestic beast into a thrilling and intelligent fantasy. The story focuses on Meagan, a twelve-year-old girl, and her foal, Promise. As the two grow older, it becomes clear to Meagan that Promise is a horse of legendary potential, and when ridden, Promise takes Meagan on a journey through time. Meagan must use her knowledge of horsemanship to survive as she joins in periods of remote human history and sees the roles horses have played. The Great Horse is actually a Pegasus who drops her into ancient history to fend for herself. Perils await a young girl with no money, no family, and only her wits and knowledge of horses to help her survive as she battles to return to her own time.

Royce is targeting teens, but the story is accessible to a wider range of readers. The action and thrills of the story are subtly interspersed with colorfully drawn history lessons perfect for engaging readers, and the writing delivers such elegant turns of phrase as to keep teens and adults intrigued. Royce is even makes a quiet ploy for the mainstream teaching of Latin, but in a way that makes the language vibrant. As the summer gets underway, Royce has provided a great blend of academic and adventurous reading that is beach-ready.

graphic image of knight chesspiece

Eclipsed by Shadow is the first book of the award-winning fiction trilogy, The Legend of the Great Horse, a journey through history–on horseback! The story follows the time-travel adventure of a modern horsewoman lost in the distant past.

Further information about this unique and imaginative ‘creative non-fiction’ novel can be found at TheGreatHorse.com.

Wherein I Observe that Blogging is a Sink -or- Swim Business

Soga-Goro-Gallops-Bareback-Okay, my blogging is a mess. There, I said it. And once you slow down it gets hard to go again …

I think I have the problem of Stephen Leacock’s rider who “flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions.” In posting about horses and history, as well as information about my book trilogy (the supposed reason for this whole enterprise, quiet as it’s kept) I’ve mixed a bowl of porridge.

And it’s going to get worse, I’m afraid. I made the attempt to run separate blogs, which translated into lots of techie fudging about without much writing, and got very bogged down. Bogged in a blog.

So I’m throwing it up into the air: any sense that is to be made of this space in the future will proceed from these thoughts…

a) Horses and human history are inextricably intertwined…

b) Progress in horsemanship mirrors progress in human society…

b) I suspect this is not a coincidence, and I’m curious about it.

Because of my curiosity, I came to write a work exploring horsemanship using factual history wrapped into a fiction adventure story, a trilogy, to which this blog is dedicated.

In between hot news flashes about the books of the trilogy, this blog is subject to the author’s ranging interests on horsemanship and history–neither of which topics are less than vast. I hope people will join me for the ride as I saddle up for the new season; yes I will probably use horse-puns and such. It’s hay-larious! (Okay, I won’t use that many.)

So Welcome, autumn in New England, as well to any fans who’ve met Meagan and Promise and found an intriguing bit of fun and even magic in their literary journey.  Maybe we’ll find some interesting truths in the wind of a gallop and the ancient rhythms of hoofbeats …

The Great Horse “Incitatus”

chariot-racing-coinA new review by Mara Dabrishus of the blog Whitebrook Farm mentions Incitatus, a famed Roman chariot-racing stallion favored by the third Emperor Caligula (24-41 AD) to the point of obsession.

The book passage mentioning Incitatus comes during a visit to the strange library of Mrs. Bridgestone, an eccentric woman who has made a collection of evidence about the “Legend of the Great Horse.”

Meagan was stopped before a crumbling box mounted on a low pedestal. The object was corroded and gray from age.

“It doesn’t look it, I know, but that is said to be the remains of the manger of the Roman Emperor Caligula’s favorite race horse, Incitatus. Caligula had a stable of marble and gold built for the stallion, complete with furnishings and servants. Though horses are strict vegetarians, Incitatus was fed mice dipped in butter and marinated squid.” Mrs. Bridgestone added more quietly, “Of course, the man was considered dangerously insane.” [pg 48, Eclipsed by Shadow (pbk)]

Incitatus was said to have never lost a race, and was showered with gifts and honors by the Supreme Leader of Rome. The stallion was given a stable of marble and a manger of ivory, and is said to have been been fed an extreme diet of delicacies (though he reputedly ate only from his bowl of barley mixed with gold flakes.) Dignitaries were “invited” to dine with Incitatus, whose palatial home was furnished with fine art.

Troops were stationed in the neighborhood of Incitatus‘ marble stables before a race to ensure the stallion’s rest, and the Emperor was said to have conducted a long household debate as to whether to marry the horse to secure his dynasty.  In a final insult to the Senate, Caligula planned to make Incitatus a consul of Rome.

After Caligula’s timely death from assassination, Incitatus was reportedly down-graded to a stall in a regular stable without complaint (and probably much relief). Unfortunately Caligula’s corruption was an omen. Rome was able to rid itself of the megalomaniac leader, but never could return to the citizen government of the Republic and escape the insanity of absolute rule.

Naufragia!

Naufragia was the name Romans gave to crashes during a chariot race, the shocking pileups of man, machine and thrashing horses. Naufragia is the latin word for “shipwreck,” which conjures the shocking destruction and tangled ruin that so dismayed—and ultimately delighted—the screaming spectators of the Circus.

Naufragia-stoneworkNaufragia was ultimate disaster, an end not only to hopes of victory but to lives, careers, destiny. A favorite champion could be undone in an instant—every moment of a chariot race was fraught with potential disaster. The extremes of emotion provoked by collisions and near disasters shocked spectators into wild states of euphoria and despair.

A crash was the ultimate calamity for a chariot, but with the growth of the spectator sport Rome twisted the calamity into attraction. The shock of destruction that punctuated the spectacle drove spectators into frenzy, and became a catharsis for the tensions surrounding the race. Spectators grew addicted to the emotional drama of the Circus, filling their increasingly empty lives with it’s loud distraction as their society declined.

Fate was capricious and all of life was subject to naufragia! Honor, duty, love, courage, all one’s hopes, all effort, all resources—naufragia!—gone in an instant.

Naufragia was the point of distraction. As the lives of ordinary citizens were drained of promise by their darkening Empire—they cheered for naufragia! Deprived of property and rights, they cheered—naufragia! And in the end, distracted, frenzied, caught in its own social dysfunction and spectating madness, Rome itself became the grand metaphor of its own distraction—naufragia!

History Repeats

zpage239In our modern society we have celebrity athletes of different sports, but this is not simply a continuation of historical tradition. Rome was the society that first grew athlete-superstars was Rome. After their collapse, Europe endured a period of centuries known as the Dark or Middle Ages in which there were no celebrity athletes. It was not until the Industrial Age and the organization of modern sports that athletes began to again capture the popular imagination as celebrated stars.

Rome was the first Republic and the grandfather of Western culture. It was a society that flourished as a “melting pot” of peoples with citizen representation in government—and grew the world’s first Middle Class—before corrupting into a tyranny that ended in the destruction of human consciousness. There were two Romes: the long period of growth during the Republic, and its shorter stagnation and decline as an Imperial power.

Celebrity charioteers were a feature of Imperial Rome, and it is Imperial Rome that holds the common imagination today. There has been a reawakening in modern times of ancient forces, whether these forces are (or can be made) positive or not. The destructive element of Rome’s manic celebrity was the power of distraction. Chariot racing was the “circus” of Juvenal’s famous quote about “Bread and Circuses”:

…for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.

The Charioteers of Rome

Oh no! He’s taken the corner wide!
What are you doing? The next chariot is crowding you.
What are you doing, you idiot? You’re going to lose what my girl’s prayed for!
Pull, please, PULL left as hard as you can.
We are rooting for a bum.

–Ovid (43 BC – AD 17) Roman poet, Amores

This poem from circa year Zero is recognizable today. Rome was very modern, though more primal and untested, civilized thought existed then. We can feel the connection.

The idea that human nature does not change has been part of human culture since at least Aristotle’s claim that “All men by nature desire knowledge.” Repetition of historical events across cultures—revolution, poverty, despots, war—could be evidence of an unchanging basic human nature. Our ideas and knowledge have advanced, but there is a part of humanity that still shouts on the bleachers in Rome.

charioteerreliefUnpredictable new things have occurred in society, or at least have emerged in forms unrecognizable to that which has gone before. Such is the case of the charioteer in Ancient Rome.

Top talent on the racing circuit of antiquity attracted throngs of followers, including dignitaries and high officials, wealthy sponsors and fanatics (fans) of all levels of society. The adulation of a sports figures is familiar in our televised age, but in Rome’s day it was something new.

In earlier Greek sport, charioteers were honored along with other athletes (and poets) but Rome twisted the premise.  Roman charioteers were professionals. Instead of glorifying the charioteer for achievement, Roman racing grew into a “win at all costs” spectacle that favored violent confrontation and cutthroat tactics. Ironically this escalation of conflict gave advantage to the lowest levels of society, who would take risks avoided by those of more privileged rank. (This gave no clue to the Roman elite.)

charioteer_mosaicFor their part, charioteers gradually developed an impunity to societal laws and accepted conduct. The profession became synonymous with thuggery, cheating, bribery and other “low” behavior, to the point Emperor Nero “forbade the revels of the charioteers, who had long assumed a license to stroll about, and established for themselves a kind of prescriptive right to cheat and thieve, making a jest of it.” [Suetonius, “The Lives of Twelve Caesars”]

Greek’s held the reins in their hands, but Roman charioteers tied them around their waists which (deliberately?) dramatically increased the danger and fatality of collisions as the pilot was subject to being dragged unless he cut his reins in time.  Whether the spectacle of chariot-racing was a symptom or a cause, Roman societal attitudes became increasingly fatalistic and competitive, and finally merciless and capricious. And then … nothing.

The Greek view of awarding athletes “honor and glory” was replaced in Rome with the material rewards of fame and wealth. We don’t know the names of many Greek chariot-racing heroes; we know more about the celebrated Roman charioteers. However, while Greek racing flourished and developed into a new form, there was no second act for the Roman Circus.