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Touching videos on Valegro’s retirement
I bet the biggest news for equestrians in 2016 is Valegro’s official retirement from competition. Having won four Olympic gold medals for Britain and loads in top European and world shows with his rider, Charlotte Dujardin, the legendary gelding was decided to be withdrawn from competition at the very peak of his international dressage career. Valegro, a KWPN foaled in the Netherlands in 2002 and shipped to Britain as a three-year-old to Carl Hester’s yard, did not look very promising at the beginning, due to his small height and over-active motion, making Hester unsuccessfully pursue his sale. In the end, Valegro was proven to be a big star, as he…
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Christmas advice to Cretans who live with their mother
Merry Christmas, everyone! This is you, who have been fasting for over a month This is a lovely bunch of buttery, sugary, traditional kourabiedes, to which you have been looking forward like crazy These might be your poor mother and grandmother, who have been preparing the house for the Christmas celebrations -on top of their day-work. And every little part of their body is hurting due to exhaustion. This is a plate, which you should hold under your chin while you are eating your kourabiedes, so that you don’t drop them -or parts of them- on the floor This is the carpet of your living room This is…
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War and Civilization, Episode 3: Horse Warriors
As you might know, except for an equestrian, I study to become a warfare expert, so when I found out about the 1997 documentary series “War and Civilization”, I got excited and the episodes are already in my playlist. The documentary is based on the lifetime study of military historian John Keegan and is narrated by Walter Cronkite. It is based on a 5,000-year history of war and explains how warfare has shaped our way of living today. It’s a big project filmed in Mongolia, Japan, Europe and the Americas, in order to reproduce the battle scenes and the environment in which civilizations grew through the centuries. You know, we always…
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Braiding and decorating the mane of a shire horse
Hi! I admire some people’s patience when it comes to heavy braiding! In some cultures there are events where heavy decoration is the norm. I watched this video of a lady braiding the mane of a shire horse for an event and, indeed, I can say that this requires high skill and yeap, big patience!