The Eloquent Equine | No. 1, Eloquence

In this Issue of 3 Spotlight

The lazy days of backyard grazers, Jack and Darby.

5 The Unexpendable

The glory of summer camp horses and the things we learn from them.

7 The Library

Void Rider, a short emotional story about the terrors of our environment.

8 Best in Show

Merlin: The Pony King

1 The Eloquent Equine

Welcome!

The

Eloquent Equine

Hello and welcome to the first official issue of The Eloquent Equine!

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer months, and I hope you all enjoy this issue just as much. Since this is our first publication, it is simply a brief taster of what we hope to have in store for our readers in the coming issues. We are open and looking for submissions for the issues to come, so please send us your stories, poems, pictures and articles.

So what does this issue have in store? Our spotlight features two rescue horses, Jack and Darby, who now enjoy life as backyard grazers, relaxing in the sun (page 3). Since summer is still in full swing, this issue we are featuring the horses of Camp Ponacka in our article on the glory of summer camp horses (page 5). Our Best in Show award (page 8) this issue goes to Merlin, aptly named King of the Ponies, another much loved summer camp horse that seems to have been around forever. Finally, on page 7, you’ll find a short fiction piece entitled ‘Void Rider’, which attempts to evoke the emotion and power of trusting your horse as you navigate the terrors of your environment.

I want to give a quick ‘Thank You’ to everyone who has supported this crazy plan and allowed us to get this magazine up and running as smoothly as possible. The team here at The Eloquent Equine hopes you enjoy our first issue and all the issues to come!

Issue 1

Editor Krista Rivet Assistant Editor Kim Calder Creative Director Samantha Wild

Contributors Krista Rivet Advertising, Submissions, & General Inquiries theeloquentequine@gmail.com

Online Website: www.theeloquentequine.webs.com Email: theeloquentequine@gmail.com

Subscriptions Free!

On the Cover Darby, a bay Standardbred owned

by Roxanne Rivet.

Photo by Krista Rivet The Eloquent Equine is a quarterly publication, producing four issues a year Reproduction of any material from this issue in whole or part is strictly prohibited The Eloquent Equine welcomes all submissions and suggestions. Please feel free to email us.

Meet the team Editor-in-Chief

Creative Director

Krista Rivet has a Master’s Degree in English Literature and is currently working on a Diploma in Equine Studies. She has ridden for over 10 years and has worked in the horse industry in various disciplines. She currently rides Dressage.

Samantha Wild has a degree in Design and Advertising and has a passion for horses.

While not a rider herself, Samantha is inspired by the power horses possess and the beauty and fierce loyalty they possess.

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The two horses featured in this issues spotlight are Apple Jack (Above) and Darby (Below Left). They are both rescue horses.

Both horses are owned by Roxanne Rivet, photos were taken by Krista Rivet

Apple Jack, aka Jack, is a chestnut grade gelding who was resuced from a feed lot as a foal.

Darby is a bay Standarbred gelding.

Retired from his previous racing career, Darby now spends his day enjoying the sun and grass of the pasture.

The Unexpendable Summer Camp horses are invaluable assets when it comes to keeping a camp riding program running, but they are also special individuals that enrich the lives of campers and staff alike.

Dalton is always playful and is one of the younger camp horses

The air is cool, each breath misting in small puffs with every exhalation.

At 7 am the sun may be up, but it is far from warm out yet. The horses stand clustered together in front of the feeders, munching casually at the bits of hay that remain, basking in the small clusters of sunlight streaming through the tree tops. It is a moment of peace before the chaos of the day begins.

Every day in the barn is a busy one, and staff often find themselves scrambling about trying to get everything done. Yet while the staff are praised for their efforts and the campers for their achievements, the horses, on whose backs the riding program is actually built, often seem to go unrecognized. I had the luxury of knowing some of these great camp horses in the four years I worked within the barns of Camp Ponacka. The camp itself is located on the sunny shores of Lake Baptiste, near Bancroft, Ontario. Founded in 1947 by Bruno and Gwen Morawetz, and now run by Don Bocking and Anne Morawetz, the camp has been flourishing for 66 years. It is a privately owned boy’s camp that has a variety of activities to offer, one of which is horseback riding. While the riding program may not be as substantial as other camps, especially those that focus on riding specifically, the horses that reside in the Ponacka barn are as integral to the camp experience as any other facet. Whether a camper takes riding lessons or not many of them know, and even visit, the horses within the barn.

So what would you find if you were to meander through the aisle way of the Camp Ponacka barn? Well, that depends on the day.

The number of horses found within the barn often varies over the years, but there are typically 10 to 11 horses each summer. The horses (and ponies) vary in age, size, breed, and temperament, and all of them are invaluable for their own reasons. Working in the barn one quickly learns which horses are the best for which campers; for example, which horse is best to boost the confidence of a fearful rider or which horse is best to challenge the skilled rider.

Getting to know the horses themselves is perhaps the best insight into why they deserve recognition and the power they exert over those who know them.

Dalton is a chestnut Arabian gelding who was added to the herd in 2008 as a 4 year old. While it may have taken a few years to get him ready to be ridden by campers, Dalton’s personality and antics have always entertained those who like to visit him. His penchant for chewing on campers helmets has served as an endless source of entertainment for many a camper, even if it isn’t the greatest behavior to endorse. Dalton has been the lead horse on trails for many years, and he has a heart of gold. His quirky attitude and willingness to learn is a great trait to inspire campers to try something new.

This horse will do anything his rider asks of him, from navigating a dusty trail to complex maneuvers in the riding ring, even though he himself is still

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learning.

Allegra is a chestnut Arabian mare, approximately 18 years of age, who comes from the same breeder as Dalton. Likely one of the steadiest mounts in the barn, Allegra is great for teaching new campers the basics, while also being able to help advanced riders further their jumping skills.

Then there is Sadarr (aka Sadie), a grey Arabian mare, who is approximately 17 years of age, and who is half-sister to Allegra. Sadie is a more reserved horse by nature, but repeatedly proves invaluable in teaching rider’s confidence and the patience to encourage her forward when she hesitates. She is a great trail horse, especially because she teaches the campers the importance of focus and discipline when she decides to divert her attention to nearby foliage she finds incredible appetizing.

Stella is the youngest horse of the barn, though you wouldn’t know to look at her. An appendix quarter horse mare, she stands approximately 16.2 hands high and is solidly built. More whoa than go, Stella is great for teaching campers the

value of leg strength and persistence. It takes a strong and motivated individual to encourage Stella to do just about anything, but like Dalton, will willingly do anything you ask, once she realizes you mean business.

Duke is a bay Standardbred gelding who is approximately 20 years old and the favorite horse when it comes to jumping. Duke will jump almost anything put in front of him, from small jumps to large fallen logs out on the trail. He may be an older horse but, when allowed, has the get up and go to cheerfully gallop down the trail.

Also, one cannot forget the three ponies that round out the herd as I knew them in my years at Camp Ponacka: Purdy, Reba, and Merlin.

Purdy is approximately 9 years of age, and this palomino pony is still a handful. Purdy is great for humbling even the most experienced of riders, as her attitude can often try even the most stolid rider’s patience, though everyone still loves her. Her extremely choppy pony stride is a great way to teach camper’s balance and strength, as it continually proves almost impossible to sit a trot on her back. Reba is bay welsh cross pony who is approximately 9 years old and was added to the herd in 2011. Not unlike Stella, Reba is great for teaching riders the importance of leg and a bit of patience, as this pony enjoys a slow and steady pace on all occasions. And then there is Merlin. Much can be said of this feisty little pony that has been around for ages, but since he is this issue’s Best in Show, why not flick over to page 8 to read more about him.

All of these horses are quirky in their own way, and each of them teaches the rider something different. Getting a chance to ride each of them in turn can prove an invaluable experience in adaptability. That isn’t all that makes them great, for while they may not be pampered show horses, the endurance and stamina each one of them possesses makes them champs. Each summer these horses endure the weather, from hot spells to perpetual rains, as well as the long days spent in the saddle. Yet even then they rarely become ill-tempered as the summer progresses, and each year they return to their summer home with what I would like to think is a smile on their faces.

For many, these horses become close friends for the summer months, and for the barn staff they are like a part of the family. Perhaps the hardest part of the job is that moment when you have to let go. Making the decision to retire a horse due to age is always difficult, even though they always go to loving forever homes where they can live out their lives

Trigger was always a favourite amongst the campers

as a companion or light riding horse. Knowing that a horse will not return to the barn the following summer is always hard to cope with. Sometimes, unfortunately, the loss of beloved friend will also occur. Such was the case with Trigger, the beloved thirty something Quarter horse gelding that spent a large percentage of his life at Camp Ponacka. One of the camper’s favorites, Trigger was the horse that was willing to do anything, from cart around a beginner rider to jump a course with an advanced rider. He could be ridden bareback, without a bridle, and was very attentive to voice commands from instructors on the ground.

While he may have been old, Trigger never let his age show, even in his final years, and perhaps that is why, when he passed, everyone who knew him was shocked.

While he passed peacefully overnight one evening at his winter home, his loss was and is still felt by all the campers who knew and treasured his presence.

Though, like the horses that came before him, Trigger’s presence will be remembered by all the campers who rode and visited him within the barn, and his name will live on in memory as his name plaque (as is tradition) was mounted on the wall of the barn with all the other horses who have retired or passed away.

Campers, and even horses, may change over time, but I believe one thing will remain constant, and that is the power of these horses: to inspire confidence and determination within all those with whom they come into contact .

-Krista Rivet

Stella (left), Dalton (center), and Sadarr (Right) enjoying some time in the pasture

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The Library VOID RIDER Fog, like fractured skeletal

fingers, grasp for purchase within the void, searching to swallow the space that is deviated by movement and feed it to the blank canvas of space and time. This night feeds on the living, their subtle screams, like ghosts of battle, groping for air under the weight of the sheet that has become their tomb. The psalms of nightingales solemnly pierce the vale and serve as hope for the imprisoned to be free of the jailer’s bonds. The grayed waters writhe towards sandless shores that deny the movements of those that roam upon its surface, displacing but minutely, pebbles under which spiders and beetles make their nests. No prints, no mark of the presence that shifts the rocks with subtle sounds like crackles of dying embers will ever remain. The crow cries and the ochre eyes of lupine spies bare their silver fangs and edge closer to the beast that seeks to defile their sacred territory. Fearful and foaming it runs from the eyes that spy its presence within this abyss, muscles pounding to the beating of the heart’s

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drum, the weight it bears sitting deftly, legs clenched to the barrel that ratchets horizontally with the force of expanding lungs as they both stumble further into the unknown without a star to guide them. They cannot escape the filial bonds of the skeletal fog that bore and birthed them into this place of absence, a darkness so thick it hangs like drapes that bar the sun’s entry. Not even the sword of finest steel tied to the hip of the lithe warrior will pierce the hide of this enemy that swallows sight. They charge ever and further forward across the shifting stones that spit sparks when iron clad hooves at speed mate with the rigidity of this earth’s surface. Running blindly through the night, into the teeth of the beast that has killed so many men without ever once raising a hand in violence against them.

VOID RIDER written by Krista Rivet

MERLIN

The Pony King

He’s small, fuzzy, and slightly gray around the eyes,

Age Gender Breed Color Owner(s)

Approx 31 years Gelding Shetland Pony Dark Bay Don Bocking and Anne Morawetz of Camp Ponacka

but don’t let his wizened appearance deceive you. While he may be over thirty, this pony has a fiery personality that can sometimes make you want to rip your hair out. Yet Merlin, aptly deemed King of the Ponies by a hand crafted sign (painted by one of his fans), is forever the favorite amongst the horses of Camp Ponacka.

Merlin is the pony who likes to make his presence known. Around meal time he will bang and whinny until fed and at turn in time he will be the first horse at the gate and the first horse in his stall (whether you want him there or not). His hobbies include rushing gates (to which no human cunning can avoid) as well as his daily ‘walk’ as the staff of 2011 deemed it. Each afternoon, an unsuspecting camper attempting to tack up Merlin would end up with an escaped pony gaily trotting around the barn. His first few escape attempts resulted in a great deal of running for the staff, though we all soon learned that all Merlin wanted, it would seem, was a brief change of scenery. He would promptly trot his way around the barn and then casually return to his stall as if he had never left. Much time was (and is still) being spent trying to train this habit out of Merlin, but this feisty pony has only served to prove that sometimes the pony wins.

Merlin, time and time again, proves invaluable in teaching campers the art of patience and persistence, as well as the importance of steering. A constant source of entertainment in lessons, Merlin often refuses to go anywhere but the center of the arena, much to the chagrin of the camper upon his back. Even with constant coaxing, and a bit of dragging, it takes a focused rider to keep Merlin on track and moving in the appropriate direction.

Merlin may prove more than a handful on a daily basis, but it is his strange habits and quirks, alongside his adorable and fluffy image, that make Merlin the favorite horse of many of the campers and staff at Ponacka. His longevity combined with his fiery attitude make him a pony that is hard to forget.

-Krista Rivet

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Our next issue! Due out NOVEMBER 2012

The theme for Issue 2 is:

ATHLETICISM

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