After a whole life with horses; I have a lot of stories! I've owned over 160 horses, known & schooled hundreds more... the big dogs were playing just now, raising a huge cloud of dust. I thought about a time way back when a friend's mare was to be used in the shooting of a TV ad for our renissance fair at the park with huge sweeping, hilly lawns. I was asked to help and arrived early that morning with the mare, Candy. A young man in knight's costume was to ride her and his lady was on her own horse (she was an acomplished rider). He, however, had never ridden a horse. I got him mounted (Candy was a big, sweet quarter horse) and tied a knot on each rein, telling him to hold a knot in each hand. We did the "pull the right rein gently to turn right, left to turn left, both to stop... etc." Candy liked staying beside the other horse, so the couple rode around the filming area and it was looking fine. The film crew and director had them ride down a hill toward the cameras, stop and stand beside each other and kiss. It was working! I was just behind the scenes, talking to Candy and advising the rider. When they were ready to film, the director called out, "Start the fog machine." Fog Machine!! Suddenly, a hissing sound screeched from the bottom of the hill and great billows of white fog with a sickly sweet smell rolled across the hills. My knees buckled as I watched Candy and the fellow trot, then canter down the hill into the fog with the lady right beside him, her horse doing a pretty decent passage! The guy was smiling ear to ear. Candy stopped right on cue. The couple kissed... I finally took a breath. It worked! Bless Candy, incredible mare. I was exhausted. It had taken the entire day. I watched the next week for the ad on the TV - it aired with scenes from past fairs and all of 5 seconds of the horses appearing from the fog bank. But, man, did I appreciate those 5 seconds!
