|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
U.S.E.T. - the first 25 years, November 15, 2003
This book was published in 1976 to commemorate the U.S. Equestrian Team's 25th anniversary, and so extends only through the 1975 North American Fall Circuit victories. Nevertheless, there are some fascinating personal accounts of the U.S. Equestrian Team's (USET's) greatest moments by the equestrians who lived them, including Bill Steinkraus, General Jack R. Burton, Neal Shapiro, and Kathy Kusner. As Bill Steinkraus says in his introduction, this book "is neither an objective history, a collection of personal reminiscences nor a book of instruction, yet it includes elements of all three.""The USET Book of Riding" is divided into three sections: "Show Jumping;" "Combined Training" (three day eventing); and "Dressage & General Considerations." There is also an Appendix of USET results in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, and Nations Cups up through 1975. After you finish the "Foreword" by Whitney Stone and the "Editor's Introduction" by Bill Steinkraus, you might want to skip to the last chapter of the book and read the charming "An Overseas View of the USET." Its author, English show jumper Douglas Bunn created the All-England Jumping Course at Hickstead, and he was fond of inviting his American counterparts over for a few rounds of competition or training. His anecdotes of USET in the 1950s are both lively and affectionate: "The Americans showed us that you could still ride like an Englishman (or indeed, like a gentleman) and win big classes." The history of showing jumping, eventing, and dressage in this country (or at least in this book) begins with the Horse Cavalry. One of the authors, who was a member of the U.S. Army Olympic equestrian team in 1948, rode horses that were 'liberated' from the enemy during WWII. The military origins of combined training as an exercise for the cavalry horse are covered by ex-Army riders Arthur J. McCashin and John W. Russell, who both made the transition to USET in the early 50s. Descriptions of riding styles, equipment, and courses, plus stories about the individual horses and riders are what make this book so interesting. One of my favorite chapters, "The Horse with the Flying Tail" is narrated by Hugh Wiley, rider of the famous Palomino show jumper, Nautical. Wiley didn't meet up with Nautical (a.k.a. Injun' Joe, a.k.a. Peter de Oro) until he watched him at a show in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Nautical "didn't win, but some of his jumps were unbelievable. He could leave out strides and be 2' over the biggest oxer." The horse was a crowd-pleaser, but scary to ride. In fact, Wiley says "...he seemed to me to be a complete nut." If you've seen Walt Disney's "Horse with the Flying Tail," you should definitely read this true account of Nautical's bumpy rise to stardom. This rider's last paragraph about his great Palimino's demise will leave all horse-lovers misty-eyed. Anyone who has ever completed a circuit of jumps on horseback, has studied the demanding art of dressage, or has cursed the networks for not showing enough of the Olympian equestrian events on T.V., will be deeply engrossed by this book.
|
