theboondork's RV blog

I think I'll stay away from the border for a while

4/11/2021

Click the pic x 8

My favorite hot dog place here at the Fairgrounds. Rumor has it this is where, shall we say, horses that don't perform exceedingly well end up.

I hoofed it back over to the Hunter Jumper competition again this morning but only for a little while, I was more interested in watching the show than taking pictures this morning, and it gave me something relaxing to do.

My days here at the Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson Arizona, have wound down to a precious few and I'm now required to leave here on the 14th so I can be on time for my reservation at Elephant Butte State Park by the 15th. This is not the way I like to travel, but I will have to deal with this until I find a way to live the way I want, without having to decide when and where I want to be several weeks from now.

And speaking of when and where I want, I feel that if I can live in a smaller, easier to deal with, easier and cheaper to drive RV, I may be able to find more places I can stay, possibly without depending on the New Mexico state parks reservation system, and more time staying on BLM land.

Some news person on the Internet was making a point that bringing people from all over the world to Mexico and getting them into the United States, across the Mexican border, which is controlled by the Mexican drug cartels, has reached a point where it's almost as lucrative to the cartels as smuggling drugs.

Now I know that bit of information has almost nothing to do with me and my travels except that I don't see any time in the near future when I will feel safe and secure anywhere near the Mexican border. I know other folks want to go there, and I say more power to em. But for me, there are other places I can go so I don't need to take even the slightest risk of stumbling into drug smugglers or other nefarious types that are coming across the border in droves while the border patrol is tied up taking care of all the little kids.

Theboondork

Lunging a big Arab.

They start them young on the Hunter Jumper course, it's not quite as dangerous as some of the other horse sports

Hunter Jumpers live to jump. But they don't care about hunting even though that's half their name.

A picture from the old days? Could be. They dressed just like this when I was in high school resetting the jumps they knocked over.

There was a couple of womenfolk that looked a little long in the tooth, which is horse talk for "old as dirt."

I guess they're okay while their still on the horses back, but it's a long way to the ground when you're that age.

This is either the proper way to sit on a jumping horse, or me hanging onto his mane for dear life.

At least the girls don't have to worry about what to wear during these competitions. I think their grandmother can hand them down their old boots and jodhpurs.

8 Comments

Judith

4/11/2021 08:00:18 pm

Just occurred to me, that maybe "National Velvet" and Elizabeth Taylor are contributors to the female participation level...of course that movie is as old as me, but grannies might keep it going, as you say...If I'm remembering right, steeplechase in England is serious (and I won't watch it) and quite male dominated. Or was. Seems like Natl Velvet was about that.

Tom

4/11/2021 08:36:00 pm

I remember National Velvet quite well, I even read the book. I also remember when Elizabeth Taylor was a huge star, but that must've been at least 10 marriages ago. And interrupted by her death, and that of all her husband's.

Just guessing here but I would say all of these different types of jumping horses such as Steeplechase and Hunter Jumpers probably came from the old days of foxhunting in the English countryside but now bears no relationship to anything other than someone riding a horse and jumping over something.

That really is the odd thing about this whole Hunter Jumper competition and its lack of male participants. I'm not sure why that is maybe all the guys just wanted to be cowboys. But if memory serves me, there is a male Barrel Racer, which means it can't be limited to females only but apparently females are the only ones that want to participate.

Wait a minute! Didn't Superman break his back on a jumping horse, I think that's what happened.... But for some reason females are the only participants I see in local Hunter Jumper competition.

Tom

4/12/2021 04:45:21 pm

Aha. So there IS a male barrel racer. Or was. I suppose those gender designations are out of date, but I can't help it. As usual, there's a lot of stuff I don't know, like the categories of horses who do jumps. But all of it coming from fox hunting sounds right to me! The unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable.

4/12/2021 05:23:08 pm

Yep, I saw a male barrel racer on television a long time ago. I can't remember what he was doing there with all of those females, but they didn't appear to resent him in any way. It seems to me since the horse is doing all of the physical labor, it shouldn't make too much of a difference who is sitting on his back, just the opposite, it would seem like the lighter the better. So I'm not sure why a male Hunter Jumper, or barrel racer would have an advantage over a female.

And speaking of the unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible. I used to have a wild pet Fox when I was living in Woodland Park Colorado, and he was the smartest critter I ever met. One day I would like to tell his story, but even after all these years it's hard for me to think about. The Fox Tales logo at the top of my blog page is his picture.

Tom

4/12/2021 06:34:57 pm

Having a soft spot for most critters, I can understand not wanting to tell the tale. But I have wondered about your logo. And now I have the gist of it.

4/12/2021 06:53:08 pm

One day I might tell the story of Boots the wild Fox, but I still find it rather painful. If you would like to see another picture of Boots, he's the last picture on this page.

http://www.theboondork.com/mainphp/nothing-to-do-with-boondocking-or-the-arctic-fox

Tom

Franklin Souze

4/13/2021 03:40:58 pm

I once worked with a male colleague who lives on a nice piece of horse property in Theodore Alabama.
He also participated in barrel racing competitions and was an active member in several barrel racing organizations.
I'm not going to publish his name as I don't have his permission and don't know if he would approve of it.

4/13/2021 04:35:27 pm

Just about all I know concerning barrel racing is I enjoy taking pictures of it, other than that my familiarity is extremely limited. But in order to expand my knowledge I turned to the Internet as I usually do, to become more informed and ended up being just about as confused as when I started.

Here is what Wikipedia says about barrel racing and I quote "though both sexes compete at amateur and youth levels, In collegiate and professional ranks it is usually a rodeo event for women." And one of the things I find confusing about that is virtually all of my picture taken experience has been at "amateur and youth levels" where I've never seen anyone but females competing.

Something else that's confusing to me is the use of the word "usually" when talking about a women's rodeo event, and at the same time saying that the "Women's Professional Rodeo Association," WPRA, is the sanctioning body.

So the best I can determine is it's a female event but they don't mind if someone else competes in it, possibly because the person's gender makes little or no difference. But that's just a guess on my part, and I'm afraid that if I mentioned the other 67 genders it would just further muddy the waters

Tom

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I think I'll stay away from the border for a while

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