John Smith’s Grand National, April 9, 2011
I challenged my good friend Arletta Dawdy to take the names of the horses entered in John Smith’s Grand National Steeplechase Blog and put them in a poem. First she laid horses names out like a play’s billing, then she composed the poem.
Characters:
Quolibet
The Tother One
Ornais (FR orner-to decorate, adorn)
Our Monty
Pomme Tiepy
Hello Bud
Grand Slam Hero
Ballyfitz
Big Fella Thanks
Royal Rosa
Le Beau Bai (Fr. Good bay horse)
Merigo
Places:
The Midnight Club
Dooney’s Gate
Arbor Supreme
Backstage
Ballabriggs
Skippers Brigg
Putney Bridge
Actions: Other:
Don’t Push It Niche Market
Can’t Buy Time Oscar Time
Becauseicouldntsee Bluesea Cracker
Roll Along Silver By Nature
Comply or Die Golden Kite
State of Play What a Friend
Character Building Always Waining
Belon Gale
Askthemaster
John Smith’s Grand National – The Poem:
By Arletta Dawdy © April 8, 2011
‘
“Twas a night like The Tother One,
All dark and drear,
When Pomme Tiepy
At The Midnight Club
Did first appear.
“You Can’t Buy Time,” said Our Monty Backstage,
“The State of Play
Is all the rage.
So, Roll Along now,
Comply or Die.”
Down thru Dooney’s Gate he did go,
In a Belon Gale
To Askthemaster
of Niche Market
For Grand Slam Hero.
“Nay, not here on this Ballabriggs night,
Try Putney Bridge,”
Said Old Ballyfitz.
“Big Fella Thanks,
What a Friend.”
“Hello Bud. Don’t Push It over.
Life’s a Golden Kite,
Yours for the askin’.”
“Get along you,
‘Tis but Silver by Nature.”
“P’raps Becauseicouldntsee ye,”
Pomme Tiepy cried,
And grabbed his coat-tail,
Before he ended
Deep in Skippers Brigg.
And now came Quolibet, Ornais and Royal Rosa,
Riding Le Beau Bai,
To the Arbor Supreme.
“Character Building?”
Asked sly Merigo.
“Nay, nay, “ thus answered Hero.
“Tis near Oscar Time.
We’ll meet at the Gate
With the bells Always Waining
To run a furlong or two for the training.”
Off they hurried, one and all
To Cheltenham’s stalls,
Their colors’ flying
For John Smith’s Grand National
May the winner take all.
Arletta Dawdy © April 8, 2011
How clever of the Word Press folks to mess with our “hits” scale today for April Fool’s Day. That brought a smile to me.
No kidding though, today I celebrate Willa’s birthday. So here’s her photo before I go saddle her up for a ride:
Willa
It’s no fooling though, that I really don’t know Willa’s birthday. A few years back I picked April 1st as the day to celebrate her birthday. I do know she is now nine years old and I’ve had her since she was a two-year-old. I picked April 1st for her birthday as it’d be easy to remember and, like most horses in N. America, she was probably born in the spring. I also picked it in honor of my mom’s old AQHA Champion stud, Sizzlin Hot. April 1st was his birthday and he was a great horse for Mom.
So happy birthday, Willa and happy birthday to the late “Siz.”
Now let’s go ride on this gorgeous spring day.
In recent correspondence with Phillis, we’ve been comparing rainfall. Here in northern California we’ve been running just ahead of “normal” rainfall, at nearly 40 inches. Phillis, says her area is running short on rain. Doesn’t it seem there could be a balance somehow? Although I remember a few years back we were in a 4-5 year long drought. So I don’t complain about our rainfall now.
Thank you to Phillis for the use this of part of her story. This exerpt outlines family events and water in their area:
Exerpt from From School Room to Plum Thicket, © 1981 Phillis Gibbs Ballew and ©2001. The following was written by Phillis Ballew as part of historical documentation for the Shattuck, OK area and family:
School was usually in session for only four or five months during the winter. By this time Kenneth (my Dad) was going to school and he remembers his dad (O.G., the schoolteacher) riding a saddle horse while he rode a donkey to the one-room Ivanhoe schoolhouse every day for two years. Kenneth’s donkey would let two or three big 15 or 16 year-old boys on its back and run the length of the schoolyard where it would abruptly stop and dump them off over his head. Drinking water came from Ivanhoe Creek.
One year the river was unusually high and the boys (Dad and brothers) went down and found some young mules in the flood and pulled them out with ropes. The mules had climbed up in the bushes and trees in order to stay out of the water. Sometimes the cows would have to be hauled out by the boys on horseback. The Gibbs lost one mare in a flood and once when Geoffrey and Dwight (brothers) were on the north side of Wolf Creek, they heard a roaring sound and ran back across just in time to beat the high wall of water as it was coming down.
Travelers many times would stop at the farm for a drink of water from the well. Indians would pass with wagons and on ponies going east and south for the winter. Choctaw and Cheyenne/Arapahoe probably would come out in the fall to hunt. One could also see bands of gypsies going by with their colorful wagons.
O. G. wore a handlebar moustache and was slender all his life. He also said the shortest “thanks” on record before meals. None of us quite remember the words, but it was SHORT! It may have been “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food”. Of course, that was okay by us, (the grandkids). He rode horseback nearly every day and his favorite saddlehorse was the white horse “Cuter”.
Kathy - Photo ©Kevin Moore 2010
It’s raining again, but I won’t complain. After about four years of drought a few years back, I don’t grumble when it rains….but it does make me wonder how far off spring is. The calendar says spring is only a week away, but still the rain spatters out there. Muddied waters roar down the creek. The river is running high. The birds scratch around on the ground and scout the corners under the porch roof for nest sites. Willa is looking rounder while munching on the green grass. Spring must not be far off.
I looked at my photos on the computer and came up with this photo of Kathy from last spring. It teases me into sitting at this computer to write while the rain comes down; letting the creative juices flow as heavily as this rain storm. At least all this rain means plenty of grass and wildflowers this year. It’s time to get them down on paper (err, computer).
Robin of Rockridge's Blog 