Documentary Journeys and Equestrian YEG-GA
Prologue: Journeys through Records and Recording Travels
The rock for the carving called Equestrian YEG-GA was found in and around the environs of the North Saskatchewan River in late Spring, 2016, just when most birds began to migrate Northward for the warmth and extended light of a Canadian Summer. The piece draws direct inspiration from patriotic Canadian tales of equestrian pursuits in and around the Edmonton area by K.H., an Honours Student in History currently navigating original manuscripts and associate scholarship pertaining to the patriarchal family unit and inter-ethnic relations in Colonial Mexico. The unique character of the rock also seemed to suggest well-worn leather of a saddle to the School of One Carver as the sculpture unfolded. Hence, it should be no surprise that the Equestrian YEG-GA is dedicated to the individual historical agency, accomplishments and contributions of daughters and mothers, past, present and future, especially those who remain committed to the advanced study of History. As most Albertans will recall, Summer 2016 was "pretty soggy" with uncharacteristic, endless rainfall during July and August. Serious evironmental change, moreover, was also evident in 2016 with severe drought and one of the worst natural disasters in the Province's history during the Spring, the moment when K.H. and Equestrian YEG-GA began their travels together.
Chapter One: Spring to Summer Travels, 2016
While K.H. is preoccupied with extensive journeys through original records and stacks of scholarly books, a significant amount of her "spare time" is devoted to her horse, her dogs and her family. The first chapter of the travels K.H. and Equestrian YEG-GA clearly demonstrate her passion for animals, including her support for Animal Rescue organizations and the "Puppy Lady". One of the vignettes documents the road to rehabilitaion followed by her horse and K. H.'s own personal "journey of recovery" after a serious equestrian accident. Family travels during the Summer 2016, moreover, included a visit to a central site for the production of Western Canadiana Folklore and History, a place which is treasured very dearly by the zealous, "sportive pilgrims" known foldly by many people in Canada as the "Rider Nation".
Waiting for Rain
May 4, 2016. 16°C
Although it rained for a bit this morning it is far from what we need. Personally, I love hot weather and this hot, dry Spring now underway is lovely to those of us that are city dwellers. But it is bad news for people who own farms, and, most certainly, terrible news for Fort Mcmurray, a city that is facing one of the worst crises in the History of Alberta. Without the usual rainfall early on in the Spring, the chance of a good harvest decreases in our province. I, too, can be affected by the amount of hay that my stable grows. If the stable is unable to produce enough hay for their forty or so horses that are boarded there, prices will rise and my bill will increase. But my increased expenses from higher hay prices unquestionably pales in comparison to the plight of those people who have lost their homes due to the raging wildfire in the North. This is worst wildfire in recent memory and it has devastated the lives of the people who were forced to abandon their homes in a moment's notice. I cannot imagine just how hard that would be especially for those people with young children. People from the area of "Fort Mac" as well as owners of family farms found throughout the Province of Alberta are in desperate need of about a week of solid rain, so, hopefully, we will see some in the following weeks.
The Importance of Animal Rescue in Alberta
June 6, 2016. Around 20°C
Over this past weekend my family played host to four foster puppies named Kramer, Lily, Gabriel, and Gidjet. The puppies are only eight weeks old. Over the last two years my family and I have formed a deep-seated bond and commitment to the "Whelping Fosters" program of the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS). The AARCS does amazing work for abandoned and orphaned dogs of Alberta and, sometimes, homeless Saskatchewan canines. During the Summer, Theresa ("The Foster Lady", or "The Puppy Lady" as my family knows her) travels around Alberta on weekends with the Spay and Neuter Task Force to, as the name obviously implies, spay and neuter dogs and cats for free. To help her out we occasionally babysit puppies under her care. The Task Force also takes in "surrendered" animals or those found just roaming around. The Spay and Neuter Task Force travels to the different First Nation communities found throughout Alberta to provide free veterinary services as well as education on the proper treatment of animals."The weekend with the puppies" is always fun, and they run around and play with our two dogs before passing out for a typical puppy nap. This was the sixth time we have babysat puppies for Theresa, so we are pretty good at taking care of them. This time, however, was different. Kramer, a Rottweiler-Shepherd-Lab "cross" managed to steal the hearts of my entire family and he quickly decided that our place was going to be his home, forever. As my dad said, “We aren’t adopting Kramer, he’s adopting us”. We still had to go through the proper channels to make him our official foster dog before he is able to be formally adopted. One of the great things is that AARCS and many other rescue organizations in Alberta spay or neuter the animals under their foster care program before they are formally adapted by people and families. This also decreases the risk of dogs getting pregnant and creating a litter of unwanted dogs. These organizations also undertake "home checks" and require references in order to make sure the animals are placed in loving environments with responsible people. If you are volunteer from one of these rescue organisation reading this narrative, I really want to thank you for all of the hard work and love you provide the animals and for making sure that they live full and happy lives.
Links:
For information about the "Whelping Fosters" program of the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society, please see, AARCS
Rehab and Recovery on All Fronts
June 26, 2016. 23°C. Sunny with some clouds.
Well, my lovely horse Allegra has hurt herself again... and I have yet to find out what is wrong with her this time. The vet is coming tomorrow morning to check her out so I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that it is nothing serious. Today, sadly, all that she can do is walk around on a lead rope, something we in the Horse World call "hand walking". As I write, I realize that I should define some terms which might not be familiar to many people and a few things about myself before getting into the background of Allegra’s past "histories". First, the term "lame" is used instead of "injured" for horses, while another is "to jog a horse", or when someone holds onto the lead rope runs as the horse "jogs" beside them. Also, the term "rehab" (after an injury), usually includes hand walking which, eventually, will lead up to "full work" again, meaning that the horse is fully recovered. Lastly, "stall rest" means that the horse cannot go outside because of injuries and only gets to hang out in their stall with daily hand walks.
The list of terms for equine injuries and rehabilation is central part of my personal vocabulary. I have been riding for about nine years now and I am semi-competitive show jumper. Allegra came into my life in the fall of 2014, and she is the first horse I have owned in about five or six years. During that "in-between" period, I leased different horses, which also meant that I had to pay for their board (not too distant from renting a house) and I had a different horse every year. Although I wouldn't change my experiences with these horses for anything, this type of relationship makes it very hard to advance in the jumping universe. At the beginning of each season, I had to first get to know the horse and learn their special traits, and when I finally got Allegra I thought that (finally) I would stop having to start over every year. Unfortunately, we have not been so lucky. For the past two winters she has gone lame with serious injuries that required several months of rehab. During our first year together, she fractured a bone in one of her back legs that almost required surgery, and, in Year Two, she sprained a ligament in one of her front legs. Sadly, as of last week, she is lame again. As far as horse jumping is concernced, Winter is not the worst time for rehab because it is not during the show season, but now is not the greatest time for an injury since it is in the middle of our competition schedule. While highly competitive jumpers might get frustrated by endless injury disruptions, I am definitely "pretty chill" when it comes to Allegra, although at times it just seems like neither of us can catch a break.
To be sure, the reason I entitled this vignette "Rehab and Recovery on all Fronts" is because at the end of May I fell off Allegra at a horse show and landed on my back on a pole pretty hard. I remember that I could not really move. The show medic was worried about my spine as well as my hips, and, as a result, I was taken away to Leduc Hospital after I was secured on a backboard. A doctor checked me out and thankfully nothing was broken so I hobbled back to the horse show (complete with pain killers and a badly bruised back) to watch my friend ride Allegra around for the remainder of the event. Shortly thereafter, I started going to physiotherapy twice a week and put myself on "stall rest" for about ten days. During those ten days my movements were limited, and, of course, that weekend the foster puppies mentioned above had arrived. So, imagine having a house full of cute puppies that you cannot bend down to pick up because of the pain. These ten days were hard because I couldn’t ride and I was struggling with my confidence (as any rider would after a major fall). I am almost back to my "ole self" physically, but, undoubtedly I am still dealing with the "confidence issues". With time, my self assurance will undoubtedly come back. Prior to Allegra's recent injury we were able to jump and it went well, even with a rocky start which further prompting my I descent down a rabbit hole of self doubt. With persistence, I was able to overcome my aprehension and continue and on that day we had some really good jumps. While I still have a way to go to restore my confidence completely, I am making strides. It is unfortunate that Allegra has gone lame when I need her the most.
YEG-GA in the Crowd: Equestrian Rider Pride?
June 30, 2016. Looks cool.
Tonight, "The Family" and I attended the Roughriders' home opener. The Family entourage that attended the game consisted of twelve individuals: my boyfriend, my sister and her boyfriend, my mom and dad, my aunt and uncle from Regina (we are staying at their house), my uncle and my nephew from Calgary, a family friend and his son, and me, the "Horse Jumper History Student". This was the first time that I have ever attended a Rider game in their home stadium, and, on previous occasions, I had only watched them play the "Eskies" in Edmonton. As most people know in Canada, the Saskatchewan fans are crazy about their team, and the atmosphere at the stadium was like nothing else I have ever experienced. People were dressed in different types of "patriotic" Rider Nation green costumes. One man hand on only green overalls, while another came to the game in a green morphsuit.
Canada Day in Regina
1 July, 2016. Warm enough for a beverage, or two.
Canada Day celebrations for my family included a bocce ball tournament. While my uncle smoked pork, teams of two were randomly selected for the "tourney" and each team played a "round robin", with the top four remaining teams destined for playoffs in order to determine the champions of the patriotic family endeavour. True to proper family-member form, one person threw their bocce ball and it landed on a rock so perfectly that the ball split in half. Now, since we had not decided on a trophy yet, the natural conclusion was to figure out a way "upcycle" the two pieces into a prize. My uncle does a lot of craftsmanship in his garage and he was able to find additional materials to make a trophy, which, in the end, turned out very well, complete with the bocce ball pieces integrated into its base and "crown" (unfortunately not visible here, but maybe next year?). Equestrian YEG-GA can be seen here in front of the trophy. The championship match was a hard-fought battle between my uncle and myself against my dad and my sister. Sadly, they proved victorious and had their names inscribed on the trophy. And as the winners, they got to take it home with them until next year. Thus, the trophy and Equestrian YEG-GA marked the birth of a new patriotic family tradition, one I really hope to revisit in Regina next year on Canada Day.
The Joys of Packing for Both Human and Horse
August 14, 2016. 23° C.
Ahhh packing!.... Am I forgetting something? Do I have everything? We all experience these sentiments when we pack for a long trip away from home. However, this packing adventure also requires that I make sure that I have everything for the horse. Can’t forget my helmet or saddle because I can’t exactly replace either of those so easily. I am packing for a two-and-a-half week trip to Langley, BC, where Allegra and I will be competing at Thunderbird Show Park. As someone who procrastinates, I left my “human packing” until the night before leaving (actually, the departure is scheduled for 4:00AM) so I pretty much threw some clothes in my suitcase and zipped it up. And, of course, I had to pack my “showing clothes” (breeches, show shirts, Hunts Coats, etc.) as well as “everyday wear”, the garments I like to call “normal human clothes”.
While I might be slow with my own travel prep, I certainly did not procrastinate for the “horse packing”, which definitely shows my bias and priorities. One of the images seen here finds Equestrian YEG-GA inside a pair of horse boots while waiting outside of a tack shop. Packing, for me, undoubtedly seems to include the eventual realization (travel epiphany?) that you do not have everything you need for your journey. Packing for the horse is always significantly more organized and deliberate than packing for myself, and her needs will always come before my own.
Well, the human “is packed” and the packing needed for the horse is complete. Now, all that’s left is to wake up at 3:00PM, drive to the barn, load Allegra onto the trailer, and drive fourteen hours to Langley BC . . .
Links:
If you wish to know more about a beautiful site and a lovely place to spend a summer’s day, please visit: Thunderbird Show Park
Chapter Two: Fall Back, 2016
Back to School and Back to the Books
September 23, 2016. 16° C. And chilly!
University. The place where we are told dreams can come true (only if you dedicate more time to it than you do to sleep?). As a fourth-year undergraduate enrolled in the Honours History Program, my course load is heavy and I have started my thesis. I already have twenty-five books checked out of the University’s Library and the term has barely begun. And this treasure trove of tomes does not include various scholarly articles as well as other books that have been loaned to me. I have even taken over my sister's old room home and converted it into my book treasury. Her bed has become my own personal library and thank goodness she moved out last year! My first meeting with my supervisor for my thesis at the beginning of next month will be, undoubtedly, a “fun dialogue” from a personal tale to recall in the future: “Did you do research over the summer?” . . . “ No.” . . . “Do you know where you want to start?” . . . “Nope”.
The large research project comprising a thesis seems intimidating at this juncture, especially since I have to work on it all year while addressing the requirements of my other courses. Sometimes, I question myself: Why did I choose to do this and put the extra stress on myself? But the answer is simple: I love History and I love the subject of Latin America, in particular. I have loved reading History ever since I was very young. Latin American History didn’t come into my life until I was talked into taking a course about one aspect the topic by a certain professor who has also helped shape my academic trajectory. I am very grateful. Meanwhile, as a child I took a book out from my elementary school library entitled “Mary, Bloody Mary”. Given the title, it was probably another negative account about poor Queen Mary Tudor, but I do not really remember its finer details. Nevertheless, the slender tome can be characterized as my own “watershed” or the starting point that marked when I fell in love with History, including the History of Tudor England. My personal passion for English History remains situated in the realm of the fantastic while my vocational goals and academic devotion is located within Latin American scholarship and original manuscripts. This month I begin my journey towards the completion of my fourth-year Honours Thesis, a process that will be distinguished by cognitive travels and critical approaches to sixteenth-century parish registers from New Spain and associate Mexican Inquisition records. Wish me luck!
