ceebeegee | Entries tagged with horses

So the Belmont Stakes was a complete bust, sadly. Obviously the main reason being that California Chrome did not win--frankly I could've overlooked everything else had we all not been disappointed AGAIN. Coburn got a lot of crap for speaking out--and certainly his timing was bad--but he was absolutely right. Don't expect us to continue to give a crap about the triple Crown when we're currently in the middle of the longest stretch ever without a winner, and the system gets more and more stacked against the favorite. It's appalling. No horse should be at the Belmont who hasn't at least run in the Preakness. As far as I'm concerned, Tonalist did not deserve the victory and everyone around me felt the same way. No one gives a shit about your empty victory, Robert Evans.

That said, Belmont Park is a disgrace. When we finally got there (we left around noon but traffic was HORRENDOUS, it took us 3.5 hours to get there), we were able to squeeze into a parking spot along the side of the road, facing against the traffic. We walked up to the entrance and once we got in, the crowds were unbelievable. Record crowds, they said, and they actually closed the lot after a while. The lines were so long for everything--15 deep for food and upwards of 30-deep for cocktails--and it was so difficult to move around, I said to hell with it. Our seats were terrific though, front row of the second tier. Time and I decided we would try to get something to eat or drink after Race 11 (THE race--there are two more races after the Belmont Stakes) to give the crowd some time to dissipate. It was hopeless, though. We walked around the facilities for a while, fruitlessly searching for something to eat. Every single booth was closing up and all these lazy shitty temp workers just shrugged. Remember, there are still two races to run so there is absolutely no excuse for their refusal. Finally we gave up and decided to brave the crush in the parking lot. We were able to find our car and then we sat there because it was way too crowded to try to turn around. Finally Tim sort of begged other drives to give him room and we were able to enter the packed mass of cars. With all that it took us nearly an hour to exit the lot because Belmont Park provided neither employees nor police officers to try to direct traffic. The truly hilarious--and by hilarious, I mean it makes me want to scream in frustration--part is that the Belmont has a DRESS CODE. UGH. This pretentious pile of bricks has the audacity to expect us to dress up and in return they refuse to feed us or help us exit the park in a timely fashion. By the time we got back to the city I was going on over 12 hours with no food! I was RAVENOUS. And at this point a lot of restaurants had stopped serving as well. Finally we found a 24 hour diner and I was able to eat. Interestingly a couple of customers came in who'd also been at the Stakes--they noticed our lanyards with our tickets and said hi. They told us that the train was even worse--they were waiting on the platform for [b]hours[/b]. Guys, you've had over a hundred years at this--you really should know how to handle the big crowds better than this. Triple Crown threats happen all the time, they're not uncommon at all. Get your shit together, especially if you want us to dress up.

Tim and I decided that if we go next year, we get there at the crack of dawn and eat at the Clubhouse. And park in valet parking so we can get out easily.

Crossposts: http://ceebeegee.livejournal.com/721256.html

Had a fun weekend, filled with sports. Friday night my Dolphman team had a game and I got there super-early. I figured I'd either catnap or get picked up for a game and either would energize me for my game. The latter happened--in fact two teams were short their required number of female players so they both approached me. Yay, got to pick up an extra game! Then it was time for my own team's game which we won quite handily, 4-0. I scored the first goal, quite inelegantly (Brian threw in the ball and the goalie was out of position--the ball was bouncing kind of high so I just kind of...walked through it. Inelegant but it still counts :) Then I assisted on the next goal--Zach and I were driving toward the goal, I passed it to him, he scored. Nice and easy. Loving it because this is our best season ever--we're undefeated with a huge goal differential--after our worst season which was this past winter. Not sure why since we have basically the same players but there it is!

It's a good thing that game went so well because I had another one Saturday morning for a team that needs females and offered me a shirt. This team--oh my Lord. We were SLAUGHTERED. Absolutely horrible. 13-1. We have some decent players but, unusually for this league, some genuinely terrible ones. There's one girl who just does not belong on a soccer field. And there's one guy who's pretty awful as well. Just cannot kick the ball. I relieved some of my frustration by throwing body checks all over the place but frankly I'd rather we not lose so badly!

Saturday afternoon I played softball, and then I had another game yesterday evening. Oh, and Saturday evening I went down to a place way downtown called Whiskey Tavern to cheer on California Chrome for the Kentucky Derby. Lots of sports!

Had a great weekend, BTW. Saturday morning I went over to Long Island City to play a pickup game. Three 30-minute games in upper 70s heat--I was desperate for water and a couple of English guys helped me out. Then I went back into Manhattan, back to Central Park to play softball. One of my Dolphman/soccer team mates, an Australian guy named Sam, wanted to play as well so he joined us and did very well. He and I worked some drills with my soccer ball after the softball game. We left around 4:15 and as I walked back to the 81st St subway stop I passed through one of those bridge underpasses where a cello and a violin/viola were playing "Eine Kleine Nachtmuzik." The violinist needed to tune up a bit! That's the thing with that instrument, sometimes you have to tune up right in the middle of a performance.

I wanted to find a place to watch the Preakness so I went over to the bar/restaurant where Griffin works and got there juuuuust in time. The race was AWESOME! I'll Have Another was in 3rd or 4th place for most of the race and on the last leg just kept inching closer and closer. I was literally jumping up and down, I was so excited! So now I'm goin' to Belmont Stakes with Tim--pleeeeeeeeease let us have a Triple Crown winner this year! It's been so long, over 30 years--please!

I had more softball yesterday, including a game with the Michigan Business School team, which I had to leave early so I could make it to my soccer game in time. This is the team with the shortstop with whom I have a curious rapport. He talks a LOT to me--which is generally to be expected (SSs and 2nd basemen are a team) but he is constantly offering feedback. He is a terrific player for sure but sometimes I have to tell him "okay, I really don't need to hear how I shouldn't have made that play or what I did wrong kthxbye." He is SUPER cute though, I'm sorry to say :/ Yesterday we were the first team in the outfield and I made a silly error--basically fumbled the throw to first. I felt horrible but SS said no worries, just do better next time. Well I DID--a couple of batters later, we had runners at 1st, 2nd & 3rd. The ball was hit to the 3rd baseman who scopped it up and flipped it to me--I got the out and then noticed the 3rd base runner booking for home, so I whipped it home. BAM! Catcher grabs and gets the tag. BAM! A double play! SS (and really, all the guys) were showering compliments. I was just glad I'd redeemed myself!

A little while later, when we were up to bat, I asked SS for clarification on an earlier remark that he'd made that I couldn't quite remember. He said "Are you asking me if you made a good play? [He was kidding, it was clear I was asking him something else.] It was a great play, it was an awesome play." So cute!

And in our last regular season Dolphman soccer game, we won, so we are definitely going to the playoffs!

So, this past week has been a bit stressful--we got the study sheet for the final last Tuesday and it was really no help. Basically it was "go over everything we studied in class." We studied at least 1000 pages of primary sources, not to mention at least that much of secondary sources! And the man really does lecture VERY quickly. But at least this time we didn't have to identify actual passages from the sources (he did that for the midterm, VERY HARD). The TA ran a study session that confirmed my hunch that going over the themes of the class would be a useful way to break it down. Last week I made up a study guide--25 PAGES LONG. It took so long to type, I actually didn't finish typing it until Friday night, when I no longer had access to a computer at work or home. (I actually have a home printer but it's crap, doesn't feed very well. I really just keep it for a scanner.) I figured I might be able to send it to a printer on the campus network, but I read how to do it on the Columbia site--it's sort of complicated, there are queues and a quota. I wandered around my neighborhood Saturday morning and found a UPS "store" that also offers office service, including printing, and for much less than I'd feared. So banged out that job! I stayed in my apartment for most of the weekend, going over this material. OY. So much more stressed for this final than my others--I really, really do not like this final format. I was not that worried for my finals in Roman History or Medieval Intellectual Life, I felt very prepared for them. Oh well, if I was worried, I can only imagine my classmates were as well.

The exam. I probably got a 95% on the first section (reverse identifications) and I know I nailed the middle section. He gave us a document that we hadn't studied--we had to pick it apart as a source, looking at the language, possible bias, try to figure out who wrote & when, find contradictions, etc. I had a blast with that, especially when I snarkily pointed out a contradiction that reflected some ass-kissing on the part of the chronicler. The third part--that was hardest and naturally it was worth the most. I thought I did okay, but not as well as the middle section. I finished up pretty well though, I wrote how "the canon texts of the Laws of War of the High Middle Ages were like so many distant mirrors, reflecting the giants who had preceded them and and each other, building" blah blah blah--basically the point was that these pieces drew on each other and the past [very medieval, they all made constant reference to previous writers, especially Aristotle and Augustine]. And shoutouts to Baabara Tuchman* can only help! Anyway, I sat there for at least a couple of minutes before I came up with that last concluding line--extemporaneous eloquence is not easy!

When I turned in the blue books, I asked about our papers--we were supposed to get them back after the final. Jay (TA) has suggested before the final but Professor Kosto vetoed it--I said to Jay "probably for the best. Can you imagine being in a classroom trying to concentrate on your final while someone next to you is silently weeping or angrily scratching in their blue books? Bit distracting!" Anyway, Jay whispered to me that I'd gotten an A--I made him repeat it! I was thrilled, not least because I got an A- on my first paper--and I still don't know why, because they seemed to love it! Nothing but compliments. Anyway, very happy about that, and then later Jay mailed our papers' comments to us.

Jay'd said : Very nice intermingling of cultural/military issues, perceptive reading of sources, and lovely writing. Good work!

And Kosto said: I wasn´t sure where you were going with this, but it turned out very well. Super readings of the written sources, and a nice use of the visual ones. You don´t blindly apply the models of chivalry, but extract a model of moral behavior from your own reading of the sources. Well done.

Eeeeehhhhh! I love this because--when I first discussed the topic with them (the role of the cavalry in the Battles of Hastings (1066--the Normans invaded England) and the Golden Spurs (1302, Courtrai--the French cavalry were smashed by a bunch of Flemish burghers and peasants))--*I* wasn't sure where I was going with it! I had an idea about the imaginative connection with the horse, but I didn't have this firm thesis I was definitely going to prove. I just had a feeling, and followed my instincts, exploring through my writing. I'd wanted to use as one of my sources the Bayeux Tapestry--Kosto said that I should use another additional source to explicate the tapestry, so I used William of Poitiers's Gesta Guillelmi, and for the Battle of the Golden Spurs, a Flemish source. But I knew--somehow--the Tapestry would be useful, I could do something with that--and in the end, the piece also talked about the power of the imagery of the Tapestry (which I wrote in my last entry).

*Her A Distant Mirror is a classic in this field--EVERYONE'S read it. And it has a whole delicious chapter on the Black Death!

This just breaks my heart. I read about this yesterday and started crying at my laptop.

Eight Belles places in Kentucky Derby, and then breaks her ankles as she's running off and is immediately euthanized. Right there on the track.

Aw, man. Why? Just...why?

I don't know that much about horse racing--the kind of riding I do is very different from jockeying, which is much more about racing technique and balance than horsemanship. I do know a little about the technique. I've been to Belmont Stakes several times, and I always cheer for the fillies. They don't win that often, you know. The ones that are entered have the hearts of champions--they're so brave and gallant, they'll do anything for their riders.

Aw, man. That beautiful, pretty little girl.

rest in peace