Race Day -The New Zealand Cup,International Rodeo Competition- Want to be a cowboy?

Race day

Horses are one of New Zealand biggest livelihoods- be it breeding(yes many a Saudi prince has come here), Olympic equestrian events(remember Mark Tood),eventing, racing,or just the use of horses for mustering cattle on vast 'stations'-the equivalent of extremely large ranches in the USA.The fact is, in NZ...horses are a way of life.

As anyone who is aware of my work on Lord of the Rings..I am keenly aware of good horsemanship, treating horses well.

I would like to be able to side with the few of those who protest racing and the rodeo(the latter I think is probaly far rougher in the USA - and I did see some TV footage there years ago, from rodeos there - footage that was questionable)..but in this instance from what I saw - I saw animals well cared for and treated well, with reverence.

For the rodeo the horses may have been in discomfort for thirty seconds..but as soon as the rope was taken off by the riders in the ring(excellent horsemen by the way) off the horses were, back to normal as though nothing had happened. The horses seemed well cared for, healthy in size and tone ,no marks on them, and beautifully groomed.

Now I know racing is considered dubious around the world- here too in NZ I am sure - however -  what I knew of what 

Race day 2

But I digress from the stunningly clear summers day of the New Zealand Cup,set against the backdrop of the snow capped peaks of the Southern Alps, a week or two ago.(yes  I am a bit late getting this story out!). NZ Race Day -the NZ Cup -may appear a very peroquial localised and tiny Ascot or Melbourne Cup- but the NZ racing industry is huge- it is one of NZ's few billion dollar industries.Perhaps the only one.

Princess Anne did attend later on in the day I understand as part of her Royal Show Week(see prior postings).

The members area at the races was far more civilized than what was encountered in the non members area - scores of drunken youths drinking  -but at least they are having fun and its something to do and get dressed up for, their first years out of high school . Ladies Fashion in the FieId was just annoying and somewhat sad.

The latter seemed to work on the principal that the more frothy, meringue like and outrageous your costume was..and I do call it 'costumes', it was about as Fancy Dress as you can get-complete with a brash bawdy voiced presenter . The more 'fancy dress' your 'costume' was - the more likely a finalist you would be.

If you are going to play that game,and set up Fashion in the Field -There is no excuse in these days of globalization where most people in the west travel or have access to magazines.Whatever happened to good taste and elegance-oh yes there was that there-in the Members Stand-the older crowd-but finalists?(There was an inventive original creative clever and wearable outfit by one of the youngsters-again, not a finalist.) Those game  and elegant enough  to try the Fashion in Field were promptly discarded for the fancy dress. A bit hard to watch after the refinements of NY and London Fashion Week and elsewhere- certainly not a patch on Style at The Melbourne Cup ,Ascot, NY or elsewhere. It's a pity really,as NZ tries to build at least a small name for itself for fashion and textiles such as merino wool. Apparently Fashion in the Field is awful around the country. Therefore ,avoiding those two uninspiring things- the public stand, and Fashion in the Field, -  enjoying the delightful Mayor's High Tea and the Members Stand seemed to be the best and better option for a few hours.And my young American friend and I did have fun.

At the end of the day...people had a great local day out-and that's what counts.I am glad to see NZ's youngsters kicking up their heels.There is also something exciting about seeing the horses thunder by the finish post.

Cooling down horses after race

  I loved going out the back to the jockeys area...and seeing the race horses.The horses were all tiny, perfect,  muscular and healthy - in a perfect way .The thouroughbreds were smaller than I expected  - they reminded me of TV stars in LA- perfect little mannequins and none of them  over 5 foot 6 and size Zero. Though the horses were fatter -more well fed-not anorexic -watchable another words! TV stars are  small,tiny,mannenquin like creatures- whereas film -we

Cooling down horses

The end of the day finished with the rodeo.It was professional ,polished and International standard. We were well fed with an excellent  buffet and some good wine.Always a pleasure to see high standard in local New Zealand.I only stayed for an hour,half of it- but it was interesting, it was entertaining for a bit.Good to see all the cowboys from all over the world in their jeans(there is something about a man in Levis!)They ahd womens barrel racing as well.  The rodeo is an historic sport and something novel to see perhaps once in your life- not necessarialy to support it-but its like the British and their hunting- its as old as the hills-(and no, I dont like the fact something gets killed in hunting)

Rodeo -Is it right? Well that's  a bigger question but again, from what I saw,I saw mild very short temporary discomfort(not pain,just like having your arms tied behind your back for thirty seconds). I didn't have the time to research the world of rodeo further (nor have I been asked to).I have done my dash for now on animals in NZ(what with LOTR- ,and on top of that never getting paid -a few weeks is fine and well and good in a good cause..but it took more than two years and it made a lot of money-these films werent a non profit thing-as everyone knows)

 What I saw at the CHCH Rodeo were horses well cared for ,in good condition, and treated with respect and excellent horsemanship.  I guess each individual rodeo may haves it's own eccentricities. Up to the cowboys really. Are they good(and sensitive) cowboys ?

Cowboys

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A line up of cowboys from all over the world-take your pick!

Rodeo

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