Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Big Ben

Calm, Forward, Straight (who by the way is having a contest so check it out!) did a post on the Olympics and it started me thinking about Ian Millar and Big Ben.  The links below are of a documentary that Spruce Meadows did on Big Ben. What a team they were.  Both elegant, both approachable and both enjoying their work.  Their mutual respect and dare I say, affection, for each other is evident.  I found it interesting that Big Ben could perform with the crowds yelling and clapping, and not bat an eye.  Yet, put a garbage bag in front of him and he would spook.  :-)  

I have visited the statue of Big Ben and Ian Millar in Perth, Ontario many times.  Emotions bubble to the top when you see it; admiration, awe and pride.  Here's some pics from my last visit.















 Each video is about 7 minutes long.  Enjoy!

Part One
 

Part Two




Part Three


Part Four


Part Five


Part Six


11 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing Big Bens' story! As I write this there are tears dribbling down my cheeks. I wish I could have met that big guy. What a wonderful horse!

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    1. You are welcome! I got choked up a number of times when I watched the videos. :-)

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  2. They were such an amazing team. Once in a lifetime.

    Loved the videos... so touching. I think that's how Americans feel about Secretariat. Thanks for posting.

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    1. How lucky they both were to have found each other....a once in a lifetime partnership, for sure.

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  3. A fabulous statue for a legendary horse and rider! I loved watching the construction.

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    1. I found the statue construction very interesting, too, especially since I have seen it finished. It's beautiful and so detailed.

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  4. Big Ben was an awesome horse and Ian Millar a talented rider. Thanks for the videos. I've always been a big fan of Ian Millar's and was so happy he got to compete in the Olympics again and I got to watch his rides. I was secretly rooting for him to win...oops not a secret anymore I guess.

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    1. Big Ben was 17.3hh...the same as your beautiful Erik, right? I like Ian's style...he's a gentleman. :-)

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    2. Erik was that big and a handful at times. I like Ian's style too. Very classy guy.

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  5. Big Ben was my FAVORITE horse when I was a kid! It's what made me want to start jumping! (still waiting to get into it though ;-))

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    1. Mine, too! I loved how quiet the crowd got as he went around the course and how they exploded when he had a clean run. :-)

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