WEEKEND AT THE FAIRGROUNDS

An All American Place

Even this far corner of McArthur, California recognized the grief from the Boston terror bombing. 

Life goes on though. First to stir are the horses.

Then cowboys begin to warm up their stock for some practice roping.

Later in the day little leaguers slug it out.

Only the distraction of an out of town photographer broke this man's concentration on the game.

Late afternoon sun softens the lines of this old steam-driven workhorse.

At the end of the day, man and beast take a break and enjoy some quiet time.

YO! CHICO!

Walking The Dog

Young Cory here is a yo-yo master. Winner of a number of national competitions, he is also an employee at the National Yo-Yo Museum. 

Who knew this almost hidden delight existed in Chico, California, as part of a larger toy store.

Home to thousands of varieties of yo-yos including the worlds largest (and working) yo-yo, which weighs in at 265 lbs. 

Surrounding this monster are cabinets full of yo-yo's, some dating back to the first yo-yo made in the 1920s. 

In the 1950's the name found on most yo-yos was Duncan. Today, practitioners apparently go for the Kuhn brand. Colorfully named models now proliferate: No-Jive Rainbow, Tom Cat, Flying Camels, Quetzal Mandala and Sleep Machine. Some of them can be found on this clever takeoff on the traditional periodic table of elements. This would have been much easier to memorize in high school.

Backstopping some of the yo-yo trophies kept in this nationally recognized museum are some of the basic tricks that many of us learned (or tried to learn) as kids, including "Walking The Dog." I was pretty proficient in most of them (except "Around The World"- the yo-yo usually beaned me when I tried it) but the tricks that can be performed today are nothing short of amazing. 

Here Cory demonstrates a new type of yo-yo, the aptly named "Off String". This 7 second clip is the first video I've used in the blog and am not sure how well it will work. Please et me know.

PALM SPRINGS #3

Space Port? No, Sport of Kings!

So this is what a top notch polo facility looks like today. I was told that it is the largest polo facility in the world. There are 13 grass polo fields - you are looking across two of them in the image above. There are tack rooms too numerous to count and 2 "exercise fields" and a 5 story tall "tent" for private events. This is also the site for the Coachella Valley Music Festival, which is a notable event in itself. Spread over 2 weekends, the Festival draws 40,000 folks.

Rider and horse seem as one as this player is off and running. Individual fields are the equivalent of 3 football fields long and a 160 yards wide. The futuristic structure in the background (& in the image above) is where the big money sits. For $1,400 a season you can get your name on a plaque and the use of a "VIP Cabana" for 12 Sundays.

Teams are comprised of four riders and mounts. Total games can go two hours but they are broken down into 7 minute "Chukkas" or periods. At each Chukka break, horses are exchanged. It is not uncommon for players to bring 8 horses to a match. Didn't bring enough horses? You can rent one for $125 per Chukka.

Polo is not a sport for lefties. For safety reasons, all polo is played right handed.

Polo is Persian in origin and can be traced back to almost the 5th century BC. 

For many hundreds of years the lion, seen above, was the featured royal emblem of Iran.

Riders use an English saddle (no pommel) and this guy provided a quick chuckle for me - he needed a little boost to climb onboard.