Sister Corita Kent's rules for students of life

I saw this today on Maria Popova's wonderful site Brainpickings. If you don't already get her weekly curated newsletters full of wonderful readings, go sign up now!

Today is the first day of class for many university students locally. I'm making it my first day of class too - working on my PhD as a student of "flow" and finding the time to do all the many things I want to do while also being in and celebrating the present moment. 

This list of rules will help. 

Colleen Kelly steps up for Parzival

Last week I saw an article about Parzival and his Olympic rider, Netherland's Adelinde Cornelissen, and her decision to pull Parzival from Olympic competition. The story at that time was that he had suffered an insect bite, had experienced severe swelling and fever, and had then been cleared by veterinarians for competition. But AC decided at the beginning of the ride that he was just not quite right - so she pulled up.  I immediately shared the article and praised her for being a gold medal rider - for doing the right thing for her horse.

Sadly what appeared to be a loving rider and partner standing up for her horse wasn't the entire story. As the drama unfolded photographs from the warm-up just prior to that short Olympic ride began to appear. In the photos Parzival had spur marks, nose pulled into chest, a wild pained eye, and a mouth so foamy white it looked like someone had fed him soap.

I continued reading and learned that AC is the rider who has repeatedly ridden horses in competition with bloody mouths. Her use of rollkur is well established and documented. 

Yes, I still think she did the right thing by stopping the Olympic ride. But to do so after a horse suffered a fever 24 hours earlier and after tacking up and warming up to compete (and the warm-up photos revealed how very hard she pushed him, not to mention the outright abuse he suffered from spurs and hyperflexion) is not the mark of a good rider. I had to post a retraction of my own words!

Since then the story has continued to unfold. Now it is being said that the Olympic veterinary record says he was examined and found to have a hairline fracture of the jaw. This is one of the things that can happen when using rollkur due to extreme hyperflexion of the head and neck. 

Questions began to be asked. Was there ever even an insect bite? A round of responses came out - the hairline fracture story was said to be a vicious rumor. 

I don't know what exactly went on with Parzival. It is clear he has been ridden harshly and with cruel methods for years. That AC rode him hard after either an insect bite or a hairline fracture or both to see what he could do in warm-up before pulling him from competition speaks in my mind to the worst kind of horsemanship. Treating him as a machine instead of a living, sentient being. 

Today, Colleen Kelly posted that she is tapping into her retirement income to personally sue AC for animal cruelty. You can read more here:

https://colleenkellyriderbiomechanics.com/2016/08/15/netherlands-adelinde-cornelissen-in-lawsuit-over-alleged-animal-cruelty-to-parzival-in-rio/

Her willingness to stand up for Parzival in what is sure to be a complicated, costly lawsuit is a reminder to us all. When we see cruelty to animals, even in the Olympics, where one would hope the utmost integrity would prevail, we have to stand up and speak out. Colleen Kelly has taken on this fight. Let's all vow to take on the fights for horses we see in our own communities. When we speak up for cruelty to animals, we're shining light on a dark shadow. Whether or not we fix things for that horse, we are educating everyone who sees. And eventually that will make a difference. 

Early morning, Cades Cove

We got up at 5:45 to get to Cades Cove by opening of the gate. (we were in the cove last night until dark!) The first thing we saw was the huge herd gallop in from the far pasture for breakfast. Seeing close to 50 horses gallop in, in small waves, was stunning and such a gift. We were able to identify the same small groups within the larger herd and we had to smile when the last straggler, a chestnut with a white stripe, meandered in until he realized he was truly the last one in sight and then he picked up a gallop and caught up with his herd.

There were bears, deer, crows, a few goldfinches, and one very sad dead coyote who we think had been hit by a car.

Cades Cove is such a wonderful place. It's been years since I was here and it's so nice going multiple times this trip. Mid-day, sunset, sunrise, and tonight we'll go again. 

feet in the river

Dear daughter and I are taking a long weekend pre-fall semester getaway in the Great Smokies. We're going to ground ourselves with rock, center ourselves with rushing water, and enjoy two of our favorite places on the planet, Cades Cove and Elkmont.

First thing we did upon arrival was stop and put feet in the river. See you on the other side. 

Santa Cruz: Natural Bridges State Beach

Back to travelogue posts for a bit. We spent some time on the beach our last full day in Santa Cruz. Everyone recommended Natural Bridges and it was lovely. The sky and water were so blue.

I love the gulls and how they lined up along the water's edge. 

And how they perched on the huge rock.

As a girl I read and loved Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I haven't read it since then and don't recall much about the writing style or the story itself, but it left me with a sensation that gets evoked whenever I'm close to gulls. I was very drawn to this one.

The beaches in North Carolina don't have these amazing rock formations and this one with the opening was mesmerizing. Watching the waves break through the opening was magical.

This looked very much like the doorway to another world to me. 

Leaving the beach I noted all the footprints criss-crossing and that too looked like something from a different place and time.

One of the best things about travel is seeing places that look different from those with which we're familiar. It reminds us how big the world is and how many things there are to see and experience. And what has become everyday to us fades as we see new and different things. It does something to our perspective, in good ways.