Recently in Yeager Bombs Category

I was listening to Public Radio a couple weeks ago, and in between all the coverage of the primaries and subsequent political analysis and debate, came an interview out of the blue that really struck me. The subject of the interview was the total average joe American; a man, probably in his fourties or fifties from a small town in the center of the cornfield country, with a small family and house and an alright job. He was average and typical in every regard except one-- His New Years Resolution for this year was to complete every item on an extensive bucket list he'd been compiling for years of things he'd like to do before he, well, kicked the bucket. A few were seemingly pretty typical and easy to fulfill (Learn to ice skate, run a 5K, drive a motorcycle etc.) while a few were a bit more outlandish (Ride in a hot air balloon, ride a Gondola in Venice, visit Ayers Rock in Australia.) He'd been saving for years to afford to do everything on his bucket list and 2012 was going to be the year he set out to complete them all. 

As the calendar is getting closer and closer to the beginning of October, the summer of 2011 is becoming more distant of a memory. But before we start stuffing the turkey and decorating the tree, let's take a quick look back at one of our reader's summer adventures. If you'd like to submit an ears photo, please send it along with a caption describing it to: annieyeagerEN@gmail.com.
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Thanks for your profile Mark, what a beautiful photo! Be sure to check out Mark's website, which says that he will be at Full Gallop next and then the AECs.  Photographers, please send in your profiles by filling out this form and sending it my way.  And remember to send us links to your event photo galleries if you would like us to link to them.

Home sweet home--USA!  As much as I loved my trip to England, it is wonderful to be back in the States.  Before I find the nearest McDonald's, I wanted to post this training level helmet cam from over the weekend at the Maryland Horse Trials, sent to us from Brittanie.  You can also see the first ever Eventing Nation cross-country jump, built by Tyson Rementer, around 2:50 in the video.  And, I can't mention Maryland without giving a shout-out to Annie who placed 1st and 3rd in a training level and a JYOP division.



[Maryland Results]

I have one last connection flight and Coren has the morning post covered, but I'll see everyone right back here at Eventing Nation on Tuesday.  Until then, go eventing.

With the conclusion of the Royal Wedding, I think most of the world has finally withdrawn from the frenzied excitement and infatuation that the festivities put them in. I'm sure most of the world still wishes they were Kate Middleton, but life goes on. It's like that line Jimmy Wofford always has, "We can't all be heroes but we can stand on the sidewalk and tip our hats when they pass by." I, personally, didn't suffer much from this Royal fever as if I had been given the choice, I personally would rather be Zara than Kate. Call me biased. 

This week we have a very special 'View' photo.  It was sent to us yesterday evening from Lucy Beard and shows Jill Walton's My Sedona in their last few hours in California before making the trip to Rolex.  Thanks for submitting this Lucy and thanks for reading!
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From Lucy:

Not ALL the Rolex bound west coast horses have started their journey. My Sedona (Jil Walton) is counting down the final hours here in California. She flies out tomorrow morning, and will arrive in Lexington that afternoon, where we will stay at Cathy Wieschhoff's (thanks Cathy!!) until moving to KHP.

This week's ears photo is coming to us from the state known for its sunshine, vineyards, and beautiful mountains. You guessed it, California. Thanks to Honey for submitting, and thank you for reading. 

"Back in October during the WEG, my husband turned on FEI TV looking for coverage of the Games, and as it happened, the cross-country phase of Eventing was on. He called me in to watch it, hoping to illicit a "shock and awe" response. I remember his words to be,"These people are crazy! This looks terrifying!" I countered with, "No, it looks awesome! " A week and a half later, I had decided that not only did it look awesome, but I had a feeling I could do it, and was going to enter the Maryland Horse Trials to test the waters. After literally three hours of thought, much endured laughter from the many eventing students I teach, and a brief consideration of the 40 horses on the property, there was no doubt in my mind that "Muffin" was the only horse with the scope, gallop, movement, bravery, and stamina necessary to advance to a serious level on the 3-Day field. Even more importantly, I know her well to be of a highly programmable mentality, which would be necessary for any sort of a fast-track crossover."

A few days ago, I picked up a book in the library entitled, "Show Jumping: The Great Ones." The book was dated enough to have one of those fabric covers with that gold colored lettering, faded from sunlight and noticeably worn from years of study. As the title would suggest, the book dedicated each chapter to a famous Show Jumping rider, whom the author felt, whether by competitive results or possession of a less-tangible quality, that they were worthy of the title 'Great.' I don't know the history of Show Jumping all that well, but I of course I recognized the name Bill Steinkraus, as he's one of most famous riders in our country and I had read his book, Reflections on Riding and Jumping, many times. But what I gained from reading the chapter on his career, which I hadn't previously from his training manual, were the ways in which his personality affected his success.

In addition to being a world-class horseman, Steinkraus is also a proficient violinist. He felt that, "[The study of riding and violin] were not that different. With the violin there was manipulation of the hands, with riding the manipulation of the body of the horse and the body of the rider. Both demand the development of physical mechanisms, along with much practice and dedication." From reading the rest, it's clear that Steinkraus had a wiser understanding of the sport's intricacies than many other riders of that time did. Even today that special personality is possessed by only a handful of riders. It's difficult to phrase in words, but it's as if those individuals understand horses, and the riding of them, at a far more complex level than their peers and the rest of us do. Their understanding is not simply natural, but carefully practiced, thought-out, and taught.

Perhaps that is the true art of the sport, finding the perfect balance of thinking and feeling. We've all seen people who ride with such natural 'feel' they don't have to think about the technique behind it because they just make it happen. It seems like a blessing, and it probably is in a lot of ways, but to improve on what you already have requires that you are consciously aware of what it is you have and the aids you are applying to get it. Conversely, there are riders that think so much about the technique that they miss the moment for understanding the feel of it. For the 'great' riders, thinking and feeling are the same and they constantly bolster the other to improvement. It's hard to teach ourselves the level at which we should 'think' or 'feel', but maybe that really is the key to future success.

Thoughts? 

Before I tell you that I don't believe in numbers, let me start by telling you that I've never been very good with them. The relationship would best be described as tolerant, but when you live in a society that uses percentages and statistics almost as much as Paris Hilton uses the line "that's hot", you're bound to pick up on a few things. So, bear with me Eventing Nation as I share with you my mathematical research and theories. I don't know if it's the Eventing community or society in general, but I've noticed that we like to talk a lot about trends. Trends regarding the popularity of our sport, trends in course-design, trends in safety, and while many times they are accurate and statistic based, sometimes a little bit of "back-in-my-day" nostalgia slips in as well.