6
EQUESTRIAN
MV summer in FRANCE
My husband Lenny, father Brain, and
I spent 3 weeks traveling and site-seeing in
France during the month of June. Ahhough the
trip was mostly vacation oriented, I did some
research for a possible Short Overseas Travel
(ShOT) Course and trip to France.
I came up with the idea of leading a trip
to Europe from the History and Theory of Mod
em Riding Class. The trip would include a stay
in Paris visiting the Palace of Versailles, The
Louvre Museum, and The Eiffel Tower. Side
trips from Paris are planned to Givemy which is
where Monet lived and painted, and the Cha
teau and park at Chantilly which also features
the Museum of the Living Horse. Time spent
in Paris will be a great opportunity for students
to observe the famous city and get a taste of
Parisian culture.
In contrast to the hustle and bustle of
France's capitol city, Saumur oflFers travelers an
opportiuiity to observe a quieter more rural side
of life. Saumur is the home of the Cadre Noir
(or Men in Black) which is the French National
School of Equitation. The school evolved from
the French cavalry school and is now dedicated
to training students for upper level competition
in the Olympic sports of dressage, show jump
ing and three day eventing.
Saumur and the surrounding area is
home to limestone caves that are used for aging
wine, growing mushrooms, and were used as
living quarters by troglodytes. The town holds
daily markets in various places, has numerous
museums and is steeped in history.
The trip is still in the planning stages and needs
to go through the proper channels for approval,
lentative dates are for the two weeks after
graduation in May 2008. If approved the Short
Overseas Travel (ShOT) Course and trip to
France will be open to current students, alums,
college stafiF and faculty. More details will be
released once the trip has been approved.
A trip to France is an amazing experi
ence. Paintings and artifacts in the Louvre date
back to the time before the birth of Christ!
French lifestyle and culture are steeped in tradi
tion. Yes, all the stores close for two hours for
lunch on weekdays! Meals are made with fresh
ingredients, and put together with French flair.
Bread is baked 3 times a day to ensure fresh
ness. The variety of foods available is astound
ing and affordable. (On their trip in June the
Dwelle family cooked escargot on the camper’s
gas stove) The culture, the history, the art, the
food, the wine, the French lifestyle — have to be
experience to be believed.
1 first started riding horses when 1 came
to this school three years ago. My first time on
a horse,there was only English style of riding
which was taught to all beginners. English,
more specifically hunt seat,has the rider sitting
forward on the saddle and not being in the
saddle, as much as Western. For the first two
years I was here I rode English. English
taught me a lot about being comfortable in the
saddle and being able to balance myself, plus
having a certain amount of control over the
horse.
Last year I started riding horses in the
Western style. In this style of riding you sit
more on the pockets of your jeans and sit all the
gaits of the horse. Gaits of a horse are the
speeds that he goes. Slowest to fastest, the gait
s are a walk, jog, trot, lope, canter, and gallop.
A western rider sits all of those gaits and uses
his/her body weight and legs to tell the horse
what the rider wants it to do.
The Therapeutic Riding program Ride
Like A Knight is getting new helpers for the
semester, in the form of the men’s baseball,
women’s lacrosse, and the IDA teams. There
was an overwhelming response to the program
this year, and because of the overwhelming
response the program needed more volunteers.
The men’s baseball and women’s lacrosse
coaches asked Pebbles Turbeville, (director
Ride Like a Knight) if they could do anything
and, so each player went through training and
will be helping once a week for sessions that
last 9 to 10 weeks. Have any questions how
you can get involved in Ride Like A Knight
get in contact with Pebbles Turbeville at
turbeville@sapc.edu
Western vs. enqlish
BY: ALICIA TOKE
Going from English to Western was
not too hard of a transition, except learning to
sit ever>'thing. I feel more comfortable riding
Western than I did when riding English. West
ern saddles are more comfortable than English,
partly because with the Western saddle there is
a horn you can hold on to, whereas in English
there is not a horn to hold orfio. W6stem to me
is better becau.se it is more relaxed than English.
English is used mostly for sport, while Western
is more towards pleasure rides.
English and Western styles of riding
teacli you to trust the horse and yourself. There
really is no better style, it is all in the preference
of the person riding the horse and what they
feel comfortable doing. I feel more comfortable
riding Western, but that was after trying to ride
English. Before anyone decides to say one style
is better than the other 1 strongly suggest you
NEW HELPERS FOR TR
BY’: ALICIA TOKE
ride both to see which one feels more comfort
able.
SUPPORT yOUR FELLOV^
EQUESTRIANS BVCOM-
INQ OUT
TO THE IHSA AND IDA
SHOWS
THIS SEMESTER!!
m.