NEWS &VIEWScontinued from page 8
of the manure and help participants negotiate a fair price. MDA serves strictly as an information exchange and does not participate in fi nancial negotiations. T e newly revitalized service precedes the adoption of new regulations governing the Phosphorus Management Tool,
however, Cavalia is on our side of the river! T is is not only a feather in Maryland’s
the
farm management tool that helps farmers determine how much phosphorus they can apply to fi elds. T e service helps farmers with high soil phosphorus levels comply with new requirements being implemented as part of Maryland’s commitment to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, and helps farm operations seeking manure resources to improve soil health and fertility. Maryland’s Manure Matching Service is
voluntary, free and available to both sending and receiving farms, and complements MDA’s recently expanded Manure Transport Program, which helps livestock farmers cover the costs of transporting excess manure off their farms. For more information on both programs, farmers should contact their local soil conservation district or MDA at 1-855-6MANURE (662- 6873). Information also is available online at
www.mda.maryland.gov.
Photo Caption Correction
T e photo caption on page 80 of Brooke at the USPC Champs was misidentifi ed. T e photo is of Brooke Bernhardt, who rides for Iron Bridge Pony Club.
The Circus is Coming! The Cavalia Cavalry sets up camp in Maryland
As regular readers of T e Equiery know,
Maryland is for horses. T e owners of Cavalia, the international equine Cirque du Soliel, apparently know that too. Seeing Cavalia in the United States is rare,
as it only plays in one or two U.S. cities each year. When Cavalia last toured the Washington Metropolitan area in 2009, it set its tents in Crystal City near the Pentagon. T is time,
cap, it is an immediate injection into Maryland’s economy, with direct and indirect expenditures of at least $10 million, which includes contracting with close to 100 diff erent local suppliers and vendors (equipment, stage and building materials, food and beverage,
transportation) and hiring between 150 and 200 local people to help with the site set-up, concessions, front of house, box offi ce, and stables. Cavalia’s 70 horses will stable on site, while approximately 120 of full-time employees and performers will be lodged for two months in local housing and hotels. But let’s talk about the show…the really big show, Cavalia’s biggest show ever, as well as the largest live entertainment show in the world: Odysseo!
Larger than the White House As you cross the Potomac River into
hotels,
Part of Cavalia’s advance team for show promotion,
Maryland on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, you can see the shiny masts reaching up to touch the sky, like a gleaming castle in a long-ago magical tale. T is tent, covering 47,000 square feet with the stage itself spanning 35,000 square feet, towers 125 feet high; by contrast, the White House is only 70 feet at its highest point (and no acrobats or equestrians perform in the historic house). In late September, Cavalia’s advance crew of about 120 people and close to 100 tractor- trailers arrive to set up the site. Visit equiery. com for a link to a time-lapse video to see just how those traffi c-stopping tents go up.
Spectacular Stagecraft Although technically a tent, the Cavalia
Big Top is unlike any tent you’ve seen. Inside, spectators lose any sense of a temporary structure as they’re transported into a three- dimensional live theatrical event that combines dramatics, high-tech eff ects and dazzling
National Harbor – It’s Easy! We know…Maryland horse folks hate going into “the city,” be it Baltimore or Washington.
Driving a dually through traffi c choked streets leaves us clammy. And National Harbor? What is that? Where is that? Is it in DC? Or PG County? Isn’t that near Southeast? Is it even safe to go there? T e National Harbor runs along the Potomac River, providing a picture-perfect setting for
the production, with over 300 acres of space and a blend of residential, retail, business and entertainment. T e drive to National Harbor is straightforward and decidedly unscary, not at all like driving into the city. On the Capital Beltway/I-495, there is a very clear exit sign for National Harbor, Exit #2A (be sure to stay in the “local lanes” when the Beltway divides). Once on site you’ll fi nd ample parking and shuttle buses. Plenty of room for that king cab, full-bed dually! T e harbor area is bright and airy, with plenty of lights at night. T e complex includes a scenic
marina, a permanent carousel, hotels, offi ces and high-end retail and specialty shops, plus a water taxi to Georgetown and the National Mall. See you at the show!
10 | THE EQUIERY | OCTOBER 2013
Sarah Kemerer (second from right) attended the Maryland Horse Council’s annual BBQ on Sept. 14 in order to meet various equine industry leaders as well as state politicians. Over 200 people attended the BBQ, including Lt Gov. Anthony Brown and, from the Governor’s offi ce, Ashley Valis. Pictured here from left: Ellie Trueman (Trueman Communications, Poolesville); Del. Guy Guzzone (Howard County); Royce Herman (vice president of the MHC PAC Fund), Sarah Kemerer (Cavalia), Crystal Kimball (Equiery publisher).
equestrian action. Cavalia was founded by Normand Latourelle, who was one of the original cofounders of Cirque du Soleil, and he brings to Cavalia the same stagecraft wizardry and magic as its other productions. Odysseo features a mountain range rising
above the audience, a lake suddenly appearing, mysteriously conjured from 80,000 gallons of recycled water, and a gigantic merry-go-round descending onto the stage.
T e Horses
Of 70 horses, including Appaloosas and Arabians, Oldenburgs and Lusitanos,
18
are stallions and the remainder geldings. Predominant color? White, with gray a close second. Forty horses perform regularly, with the rest in training or in the wings as substitutes. Cavalia horses tour for roughly six years, and their average age is about nine. Unless their performance schedule requires air transport, with a vet and support team on hand for the journey, the horses generally travel in fi ve customized trailers, all equipped with surveillance cameras. Twenty people, including a pair of vet technicians, a blacksmith and stable manager as well as grooms, tend the Cavalia horses, who enjoy a spa-style pampering each day, with personalized diets, daily showers, massages and workshops with their riders. Next time you groan at rising feed prices, imagine if your barn residents consumed what the Cavalia horses chow down on every year: 18,000 bales of hay, 37,400 pounds of grain, and 1800 pounds of carrots.
continued on pg 55 800-244-9580 |
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