Spanish Riding School 2005 American Tour

When it was time for the performance to begin, I went to my seat high in the stadium. I was surprised to be seated next to a young boy, about 10. He was antsy and didn't seem very happy to be there.

He was about to start misbehaving so he could make sure his mother didn't get to focus on the performance. I knew it would be a long evening for me, too, unless I could get him interested.

Then I saw my chance.

As the horses trotted by on the loose rein, I asked if he could tell which horse was really different from the others. He scrutinized the saddles cloths, the rider's uniforms, asked about tail color. Then I pointed out one horse and said, "What about him, is he the same as the others?"

Each time the horses came by, he strained to see the horse I had pointed to.

It was his mother who figured it out, "Is he blind?" she asked.

The little boy didn't believe it. How could a horse do all that? with only one eye?

I am still working on researching this horse more but thought I'd include this photo to show all that it is true. He had only one eye but he never missed a cue. I feel an interview with his rider is in order, don't you think?

Just an example of all the stories still to be written!

Labels: Equisearch, Fran, Jurga, Riding, School, Spanish, Tour, USA, Vienna