This is so embarrassing I don't even want to tell you which "horse theater Christmas show" this pony performed in. Can you imagine putting a wooly, winter coated, manure stained pony in a show in front of the paying public? Forget the feet that obviously need work, and weren't even cleaned for the show, as well as the chipped, unpainted pedestal. His harness is truly appalling. It is obviously hand made, and it looks like it was made at the last minute, with an old nylon surcingle, what looks like a tassled Wal-Mart curtain for a backpad, rope check reins covered with red electric tape, I assume for a "festive, Christmas look" and rope climbing/key chain snaps at the end attached to the side rings on a barn halter, not even having a headstall. Note on the left side it has been "knotted" to make is shorter, most likely to keep the dirty little tramp looking to the inside and lining up straight.
The Knie's, Krone's, Togni's, Casartely's, Richter's and Cavallia's of the world have to be laughing at the equestrian hillbillies here in the Colonies. Geez.........
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
American Showmanship and Pride!!!!
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
18 comments:
I know it's inappropriate but I actually laughed when I saw the photo under the caption.
Probably not QUITE as bad but I've seen ponies go in the ring on a number of different shows looking very close to that.
I recall one of the presenter's excuses for the appearance of his act was that he "didn't have the time to clean them up."
(His only job on the show was an animal presenter for a handful of acts.)
While on topic about crappy animal acts,I once saw a pony "liberty" act where three (looking like the one in your photo) ran the ring a couple of times physically tied to each other by their headstalls with a bit of rope.........and that was the act.
Some things you have to see to believe.
It definetly is embarrasing to see.
It's no wonder some people hold animal acts in low regard.
Don't they have any pride in what they present to the paying public?
Kelly M
Kelly,
It is not inappropriate to laugh. In fact like you, the normal reaction is to first laugh, and then feel embarrassed.
I wish I could have said it was an Aussie act, but the fact is it is a Yank production.
If the industry had done a better job of policing it's self, and either distancing themselves from things like this or eliminating it all together, regardless of whether it was someones friend or family, I don't think the animal industry would have suffered as it has, and the libbers would have been a small, ineffective group looking in from the outside. I don't know about down under, but in the Colonies we mobbed up with some of the worst offenders in our business to "fend off the libbers" and ended up making everybody look dirty.
Wade
Bad shows should be a crime here too. LOL
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12161449
Only too sad and seen too often when only a bit of time and a pair of clippers would have made that furry wretched pony a cute slick appealing character, not his fault. I keep thinking that maybe it"all about being a star" but that's not it, in that case you would want to be presented the best ever. I have made costumes and done it creatively with next to nothing but it included hiding that with which I started but this is appalling and cheapens the industry. How do they expect to do this show again without the appeal of repeat attendance. I would think it was attended by relatives and friends of the people in the show where they could be applauded and told they had the best show they have ever seen.
In case you were out sick that day in Junior High history class, there was a little thing called the Revolutionary War which lasted eight years, 1775-1783.
We won our independence.
It's disrespectful to refer to the United States of America as the
"Colonies". It doesn't sound international. It just sounds stupid.
Knock it off.
Anonymous George Washington,
You sound a bit like Kim Jong-il in your old age. If I didn't know better I would almost think you were telling me what to do or say. My right as an American citizen permits me to be a Colonist if I want, just as it permits you to be an asshole. I bet you got you skivvies in a twist in 1773 when a group of Boston colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded a ship and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston harbor. The political incorrectness of disrespecting and mocking Mohawk Indians like the nasty University of North Dakota with their name of Fighting Sioux must have made you almost swallow your ivory(that shit is illegal now Georgie) false teeth, when they could have just as effectively disguised themselves as a more "politically correct" circus clown. Some how I don't think a couple of dozen Lou Jacobs sneaking out of a little car and slapping across the deck in size 22 shoes would have had the desired effect and impact of a "bloodthirsty savage" dumping the tea. A misinterpreted bit of history is that Benedict Arnold's attempt to capture Canada for the Americans failed. Fact is we didn't want it, and he was told to just leave it alone and let them have it. Ethan Allen is still building furniture today. He's proud to be a Colonist, and so am I. I was fully awake, granted distracted by the popular fashion of mini skirts, in junior high history, regardless of what you want to think.
Wade
Wade - you and I have had this conversation a few times now and you've never given me a straight answer. How does the industry "police itself" and how does it distance itself from this type of crap?
How do you say to the public "this isn't real circus"?
Or how do you say to this owner/presenter/trainer "clean up your act mate"?
And how do you do all this without creating a police state?
We've had Circus Standards in this country for over 20 years and, despite them, Kelly has still seen examples of poor animal husbandry and presentation. If external regulatory authorities can't "police" our industry how do we do it ourselves?
I think Mlle Dianne has got it right. In a free enterprise society rubbish like this doesn't get much repeat business and eventually dies a natural death.
Steve,
Come on, you know better then that. I have never skirted anything and I have given you straight answer's. Maybe they weren't the ones you wanted to hear? I have suggested a grading system, similar to what the rodeo, movies, baseball, etc. etc. does. Even in something we scoff at as fake like "wrestling" when you buy a ticket for The Illinois Mid State Wrestling Association(IMSWA)card you know you are not going to a WWF or WCW card and arn't expecting to see Hulk Hogan. You get what you pay for.
Grade show's like eggs AA, A, B based on a set standard that has been voted on, like quality, costuming, size, venue. Form an association so respected for it's integrity that it endorses the best based on the standard, and by not giving it's seal of approval to a lesser production, will hurt that production and speed it's demise.
Speaking out when you see something that harms the industry, is a great way to start, regardless of whether it is friend, family or foe. Protecting/endorsing one bandit will do nothing except what it has historically done, damage the industry as a whole.
Wade
Mate - that's as far as we've ever got with this issue!
But who does the grading?
Who adjudicates the inevitable appeals?
Who decides what is "quality"? Do you want to be the one to tell Universoul that their cat act is crap because their regulation African-American presenter is not as good as the caucasian one that used to present the act before this booking?
Who judges the "costuming"? I wouldn't want to be on that judging panel!
Why should "size" be a criteria?
Or venue? Are you saying that building shows are better than mud shows or open-air arena shows?
Form an Association. Good idea, but who runs it? We formed one many years ago. Some shows wouldn't join it - not because they weren't good shows but because of long standing personal animosities. Then the Association hierarchy gets manipulated by the numbers game - and so it goes on. The Association was only as good as it's weakest member so we developed self regulating Standards They cost us members thousands of bucks in consultant and development fees. Of course, the Standards didn't apply to the non-members and even some of the members flouted them. So the government adopted them as law and, even though they've been law for years, Kelly can still point to embarrasing low standards of presentation.
Mate, you and I both want the same end result but I'm not sure just how to achieve it. Does Kelly M have any ideas?
From my viewpoint, at the end of the day, in a free enterprise society, it will be the paying punters who decide which shows [or acts] survive and which ones go to the wall.
In theory the grading of circuses is a great idea but I think it would be almost impossible to achieve.
Who would be in charge of grading shows?
You would need a number of people who actually knew what they were talking about and the likelyhood is that such people might have family/friend relationships to current shows,have worked with such shows or even have a grudge against certain people.
Bias would be guaranteed.
I agree that shows like the one pictured tend to die an often slow (but inevitable) death but there is always more crap to take their place.
Meanwhile everyone else suffers because AR groups and many of the public alike can't help but stereotype and tar us all with the same brush.
Only takes one bad apple to make everyone look rotten.
"we mobbed up with some of the worst offenders in our business to "fend off the libbers" and ended up making everybody look dirty."
So true.
They say united we stand,divided we fall but many took it too literally.
When it comes down to it,all people can do is lead by example and hope others follow.
Also never defend what isn't deserving.
I've been in that position before when MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC have told me about bad circuses they've seen and I have felt it best just to distance myself and say there's always good and bad in every industry.
Otherwise you lose credibility if you defend everything in circus just because it's circus.
Depite all this,unfortunetly I feel that many of the worst operators are either in denial or just don't give a damn,so will never change.
It's such a difficult problem,and speaking for Australia,we have too small an industry to all turn on each other so there's very little that can be done about it.
It's heartening to hear people interested in having standards for their industry and discussing the various merits and drawbacks.
I think I can see how a complete lack of interest in presentation can suggest a lack of caring in general.
At the same time it's puzzling that immaculately shown horses in non-circus horse shows(or racing) doesn't warrant the same attention when so much emphasis on appearance results in varying degrees of abuse that may even be endorsed. Like futurities for immature animals, and unexamined treatment or training methods.
All in the name of a perfect - read 'extreme'- carriage and presentation.
I hope that the emphasis on presentation doesn't result in the same tendency for the circus horse shows.
Having said that, I like the idea of grading to let people know what to expect. I believe we often do get what we pay for.
Unfortunately, we sometimes get much more than we'd like, which includes an attitude of 'whatever it takes to put on a big flashy show'.
Hopefully discussions like these can make an impact on that kind of attitude as well.
Personally, I'd rather see a shaggy somewhat unkempt pony than watching rather bizarre tricks like an elephant sitting on it's head.
The intelligent discourse here, rather than rabid defending of often polarized positions seems to be the best solution in the name of decent standards and humane treatment than anything else I've seen.
I ended up here by mistake but you people and this conversation has inspired me!
By the way, I've worked with large animals (as well as small) in a variety of settings and a couple of farmers have been among my best friends.
I don't appreciate the bandwagon approach that many animal welfare organizations take, and at the same time, I can see the role that they currently play to bring attention to areas that need to be addressed.
I've witnessed many people unwilling to take a look at their treatment of animals, more out of a sense of habit, than that it actually works best the way they might defend it as being.
I was taught to manhandle horses and dogs when first introduced to managing them, and it's been a process of finding more effective ways. Though, not necessarily using food for every little thing the animal does.
We all have room for improvement.
Personally, I don't take to treating animals as children, because they're not.
Neither are they just beasts without any feelings.
Hopefully more discussions like this will contribute to a balanced attitude all around.
I think much of the blame falls on the producer who over the years accepts less and less. How often have we seen a great show go downhill over the years because of eliminating expenses, eliminating the knowledgeable middle man, cutting corners instead of increasing quality and the biggest bug-a-boo the inexperienced owner of no knowledge taking hold of the reins. This is a self policing policy and if you are not good enough, can't come. Audiences do not return to see furry stained ponies and no content shows just as bad movies fall flat whenever they are screened. The public controls what is successful and if a poor show comes out it remains a poor show because it cannot generate enough income to exsist. On the other hand a well run entertaining show is hugely successful and able to invest further each year in excellence. Great shows remain however they are designed. Unfortunately when the public gets shown junk it is very difficult to pull that same audience into a show of qulaity because in their eyes they have seen that, been there. Cavalia is hugely successful but this year lacks some of the luster and I hope this is not the beginning of the end
Wade - I'm not sure if it's the same over in your Colony but here in ours a pony act like you have pictured would not be a booked in act. It would be cobbled together by the show owners.
Often the people who "train" and present the animal acts are family because they are locked in. They are not going anywhere. This is not necessarily a bad thing. If you have talented, committed family members you and your animals are on a winner. But if you have drones who would be unemployable in any industry then you have a self-perpetuating downward slide for the animals and for our industry.
This problem is not limited to animal acts. All too often clowns are sourced from within the family as well. Just take a family member who is incapable of doing anything else, slap some make-up [badly] on him/her and there you have it - instant clown!
I'm not sure that your idea of "speaking out" will work either. Very few people have the courage of their convictions [guts] to speak out. Even here on your Blog a lot of people hide behind anonymity.
Pointing out to people that there is good and bad in any industry, as Kelly has suggested, is a positive thing to do. None of us should defend the indefensible.
Dianne's comparison with the movies is an apt one. We don't grade movies but if a movie is a dud then the word gets around and it flops. ALL movies don't flop, just the duds.
Just a thought - perhaps it's the absence of one word of concern for the pony's welfare, and your worries about his feet needing work given equal billing with the chipped pedestal, that cause animal activists, and others, to tar the animal entertainment industry with one brush. You all appear to be far more worried about embarrassing your profession than about a possibly neglected animal.
To Anonymous, who apparently cannot be named. This issue is not about animal abuse, we were discussing poor acts. Obviously that little fat furry pony was not being abused as horses can go months without their chipped feet being trimmed without harm. So to you I say you might be one of the reasons that poor shows exist as you accept that it's OK to show them in their "natural state" as long as they seemly are "being free!" with no effort at all from the performer (I say that lightly) to show some pride. I at least am voicing my opinion and signing my name.
@Anonymous
If you would care to take a look back over previous posts on this blog and even this thread you would see that the issue of animal welfare/husbandry/standards is mentioned often.
However with the particular photo we are discussing,how can you actually tell it's level of welfare?
Yes the feet are a little on the long side but not the extent that it would cause the pony harm.
It is definetly not underweight but that is all we can tell from the photos.
What we CAN tell though is the complete lack of professionalism.
Which is what has prompted this discussion.
"You all appear to be far more worried about embarrassing your profession than about a possibly neglected animal."
Often on this blog the disussion is amongst industry insiders and we already know full well that there are welfare concerns amongst members of this industry.
I must stress that a neglected animal in entertainment is by far the MOST embarrassing thing for us personally and this industry.
So now please tell me,
What are people who are involved in the circus industry,care for their animals well and treat them well supposed to do about the bad offenders?
What can we possibly do?
Believe me it is an issue that causes a lot of stress for animal circus people but it's impossible for us to prevent.
Firstly (and most importantly) I don't like the idea of any animal anywhere being mistreated/neglected and secondly it makes life harder for everyone else who does the right thing but still gets "tarred with the same brush".
The idea of this blog (I believe) is to discuss EVERY issue regarding animals in circuses,zoos,etc.
Presentation is an important one of these.
Anonymouse - we are all painfully aware that a lack of presentation can indicate a lack of attention to husbandry in other areas of an animal's welfare.
There is no evidence of that here in these pics. As has been mentioned - the feet are not grossly overgrown, the animal appears to have plenty of condition on it etc.
I appreciate your concern for animals within our industry. Deb has mentioned the need for "balance" in our approach. What balancing thoughts can you offer us?
Post a Comment