Back to the Jumps

The highlight of the horse show is still the jumps, and the contestants were back at work after the hounds left. Here are two more leaps in action.

Team Jumps

After the three members of a Fox Hunt Team each jump the fence from the ring, they take a lap around several other jumps and line themselves up for a team jump. Lots of interest in watching the staging of the three riders and the three horses to the unison needed for this jump.

Jumpers

One of the things I found out was that the large group of riders in a fox hunt is made up of hunt teams, groups of three who join together. At times, the teams will leave from a riding ring, taking a loop around the ring and jumping a hedge arrangement to join the hounds. Here we see two of the horses clearing the jump and leaving the ring.

All Ages Welcome

As befits an activity steeped in tradition, equestrian events include participants from a wide variety of ages, with the traditions thus handed down from generation to generation.

To the Ring

On the way toward the ring, I saw equestrians of all ages headed to the competition, working through their paces, preparing for the competitions. The color, the tradition, the raw beauty of the horses all contribute to the irresistible attraction of the show.

Dunham Woods Horse Show

Along the route from home to Church is Dunham Woods, host to the oldest Horse Show in the State of Illinois. On the search for some good Fox Hunt images, I dropped by the Dunham Woods Horse Show, having been told that a hunt was on the schedule.

While as it turned out there was no hunt, the visit generated several strong images. During the course of the show I learned a lot, saw several jumps and demonstrations, watched a tailgate competition be judged . . . and found out when to come back for the fox hunt.

In the next several posts we will look at images from the 2010 Dunham Woods Horse Show.

Another Jumper

As promised, here we see the second horse running through the paces at the jumps. As you see the horse standing still, then beginning to move into the jump and finally launching itself above and across the barrier, the power and grace are just phenomenal. After the horses warm up, the first jumps are low and narrow, but they become wider as well as higher as the demonstration continues.
The ease with which these wonderful animals jump and land, powering their massive bodies over the barriers along with their riders, was the most memorable moment of a fine Sunday afternoon at Danada. Our next post will be there for one more look.

Stars of the Show

While the entire Fall Festival at Danada was delightful, and while there were so many sights to see they cannot all be listed here, there was a clear star of the show to my eyes. My eyes including the lens of my Nikon, of course.
Finding the right location to sit or crouch or stand is the first basic in all pictures, of course, and steeplechase-style jumping is no exception. Once in position, though, the photographer is guaranteed action in a pre-determined location. Just be ready and the horses will show you exactly what you are looking for. At the Festival, two horses took turns doing their routines; one is shown here and the other will be featured in the next post.

Majestic Striders

One of the demonstration events at the Danada Fall Festival was a variety of horses with different abilities in strides. Two horses in particular, showed a class and majesty that is worth a closer look. Today's photos show the proud neck and the precision movement of the legs in a performance quite easy to enjoy, whether horse and rider were crossing your vision or whether they were headed straight toward you.

Another majestic strider in the next post.

Visit the Stables

Visit the stables at the Danada Fall Festival and have the chance to see the horses up close. Many of the trainers and owners (often the same person) are present and more than willing to talk about the animals and their events. It is easy to see that these magnificent horses are loved and well cared-for.

More views of the horses in the next post.

Horses Everywhere at Danada

Horses everywhere. It was a wonderful afternoon, seeing show horses and draft horses and riding horses and cart horses. The grace and beauty of these animals, many large but other small or amazingly small, is clear. At an event such as the Danada Fall Festival, so much action of so many kinds is jam packed into an afternoon that the scope becomes truly awesome.

And one of the horses dominating the afternoon from me was not there physically but in spirit and in bronze-plaque-marker. Lucky Debonair, winner of the 1965 Kentucky Derby, was trained at Danada and owned by Ada Rice. I worked at a school about four miles from there from 1969 until 2007 and I never knew that until my visit to the Festival. Reminds me again of how young I can be as long as I still seek out new things and new information and new ideas.

More images from the festival in the next post.

A Higher, Taller Viewpoint

Two related plaques on a wall of one of the farm buildings at St. James Farm indicate quite a different feeling than simply the steeplechase and dressage activities that filled weekends at the farm.

We learned that among the common events over the years was a series of opportunities offered to teach children with various handicaps how to ride horses. Looking at the graphic plaque and reading the poem nearby, one wonders how these children felt having this wonderful and enjoyable activity. To give a wheelchair to a child who cannot walk is a great thing, a chance to move about reasonably well in the walking world. But to put a child on a horse would be giving him legs that work, feet that glide across the ground, and a viewpoint higher, taller than others.

These plaques memorialize one of the best events at St. James Farm. When you visit there, be sure to read the plaque!

Bridge and a Fence

Some of the best vistas at St. James Farm, the sights that clearly memorialize the equestrian history of the farm, can be seen in bridges and fences. The pedestrian bridge shown here was apparently a portion of the dressage area, a footbridge over an access area. In the morning sun, it looked absolutely inviting and allowed the viewer to picture the entrants walking under the bridge as the spectators crossed over. The bright white corral-style fence, stretching far into the distance, looked ready for the next van to stop by with horses ready for the steeplechase.

Another bridge in the next post, looking quite different from the weathered wood seen here.