121 美国流行骑马运动和马车驾驶.pdfVIP

121 美国流行骑马运动和马车驾驶 Riding and Carriage Driving Catching on in US Mike Osborne Cannon County, Tennessee 7 Sep 2001 00:49 UTC Americans tend to put their own special brand on any foreign import and 1)equestrian sports are no exception. Its hard to imagine a horse show in Paris or Brussels, for example, opening with a 2)parade of 3)mule teams. American carriage 4)contests differ in more significant ways as well. Professional 5)athletes dominate European shows because of the large cash prizes, but American competitions are strictly for 6)amateurs. 7)Veteran pleasure driver Elizabeth Cole says it gives the shows a very different atmosphere. Granted, everybody wants to win a 8)ribbon when theyre in the ring, she said. But at night, we all like to socialize together. And its a different type of sport where people will help each other; if someone forgot a whip, or they forgot part of their 9)equipment, one of the other competitors will probably come up and say, Well, I have an extra you can borrow. Its a very friendly atmosphere. The 10)absence of big prize money also tends to draw 11)competitors of a different age. Jim Keithly, host of the Cannon Classic, says American carriage 12)enthusiasts are generally older than those in Europe. Our oldest competitor here, he drives two 13)ponies, and he is 78! When people are young, they tend to go out and ride hunter-jumpers, and do a lot of activities, said Jim Keithly. As the body ages a little bit, thats not as much fun as it once was, and so a lot of those folks learn to…hey, this carriage driving is 14)kinda neat. It doesnt hurt the body as bad as being thrown around on top of a horse. The horses themselves arent always members of 15)distinguished 16)breeds. At this years Tennessee Classic, the big winner was Linda Ward and her pony Casper. Casper has no known 17)bloodline and was 18)on the verge of starving to death when Ms. Ward bought him for $100. Four years lat