America: Flag is up Farms – Monty Roberts

As a child, Monty Roberts witnessed horses being "broken" by traditional, violent methods and also experienced abuse from his father which led him to look for kinder ways to deal with horses.

He spent a lot of time studying how horses behave in the wild and how they respond in the herd situation.

This led him to experiment with using the horse's natural instincts in ways that he could start to build an understanding and communicate with the horse in its own language - which he terms "Equus" and which earned him the title of the horse whisperer.

His 1996 autobiography, the man who listens to horses, became a best seller. He wrote that by personally observing horses in the wild, he learned to listen to their non-verbal language; that when horses understood that they can trust you, they will decide to be with you. His book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for fifty eight weeks.

His “Join-Up” method developed from this and he has been internationally successful in demonstrating this way of starting and re-starting horses.

Here is a video of Monty’s method “Join up”. Here he breaks a horse and saddles him for the first time in less than ten minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dx91mH2voo&feature=fvwrel

America: Maryland - Cigar

Cigar's fame comes from a race record that is just unbelievable. In the middle of his career he won an astonishing 16 straight races, and had an undefeated 5 year old campaign, tying him for the most consecutive races won.

The legendary racehorse of the 90’s was foaled on the 18^th of April 1990, at Country Life Farm situated in Maryland. At the time of his retirement, The Champion racehorse had the largest career earnings in the history of Thoroughbred horseracing.

The Show Place Arena:

Not far from Cigars home stud is the famous - Show Place Arena. The Show Place Arena is a 5,800-seat multi-purpose arena in Upper Malboro, Maryland. It is currently home to horse shows, computer shows, train shows, concerts, religious events, cultural festivals, trade shows and graduations.

Many equestrian events take place annually in this arena. Some of these include:

Maryland National Horse Show

Maryland Special Olympics Horse Show

Monty Roberts

Potomac Valley Dressage Association

Southern Maryland Horse Association

Southern Maryland Quarter Horse Show

Congressional Cup Grand Prix

Dubai: Meydan

Nestling only four kilometres from the mouth of Dubai Creek, Meydan is founded on the simple guiding principles of partnership, community and sporting excellence. 'Meydan' is translated from an Arabic word meaning 'a meeting place' and in keeping with this philosophy, Dubai has created an interconnected cityscape of four distinct districts where the worlds of business, sport and cosmopolitan-living merge.

Meydan is a purpose-built development that aims to set new standards of living, build an inspirational business culture, and offer spectacular quality in entertainment and lifestyle.

The Racecourse:

At the heart of Meydan City lies an architectural masterpiece that is the iconic Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse. With a capacity of 60,000, this landmark stadium houses the world's first luxury 5-star trackside hotel, The Meydan, peerless breeding and training facilities, world-class amenities, and an exciting mix of food and beverage establishments. It also houses the Meydan Museum and Gallery, an IMAX Theatre, the Dubai Racing Club and Emirates Racing Authority offices, and can comfortably accommodate 8,600 vehicles in its majestic Falcon Car Park.

Currently the new home of the world's horseracing elite, Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse has marked a defining moment in the sport's global history by hosting the richest, most illustrious race - the Dubai World Cup. This icon is also the world's largest integrated racing facility, which comprises of a 1,750m all-weather Tapeta surface track and 2,400m turf track, providing unsurpassed standards in racing facility and technology for the ultimate horseracing experience.

Dubai World Cup

The Dubai World Cup is a horse race held annually since 1996 and from 2010 at the new Meydan Racecourse in the city of Dubai. The race is operated through the Emirates Horse Racing Authority (EHRA) whose Chairman is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs of United Arab Emirates.

The race's first winner was the United States thoroughbred,Cigar, owned by Allen E. Paulson. A plaque honouring their win hangs outside one of the barns next to the racecourse.

Geography of Equestrianism

Dublin: Show jumping – RDS

Since it was first held in 1864 the Horse Show has become a Dublin institution. A celebration of Ireland's relationship with the horse, from the best show horses to the best international show jumpers. It is one of Ireland's largest events, a highlight of the summer, each year welcoming tens of thousands of people from Ireland and all over the world. The Horse Show is one of the world's best show jumping events. No lady was allowed to ride in any jumping competition until 1919 when a novelty class for women was introduced. In 1920 women were able to compete freely.

In 1976, after 50 years of international competition, the two grass banks in the Arena were removed so the Arena could be used for other events. The continental band at the western end of the Main Arena was added later. Shows have been held annually except from 1914-1919 due to World War 1 and from 1940 - 1946 due to World War2. The Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show is Ireland's largest equestrian event, and one of the largest events held on the island. The show has the third largest annual prize pool for International Show Jumping in the world.

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=43514

The Aga Khan

In 1926 International Competitions were introduced to the show and it was the first time the Nation’s Cup for the Aga Khan trophy was held. This trophy is known as the “Nations` Cup”. Six countries competed in the first international teams competition for the trophy - Great Britain, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Ireland. The Swiss team won the first title on Irish bred horses. Ireland won the title in 1937 and in 1979, Britain in 1953 and 1975. Since its inception, nearly 50% of the horses that took part on victorious Aga Khan Teams were Irish Bred.

Each country was represented by a team of four horses, with the best three counting at the finish. Speed competitions that were so popular on the Continent, became a feature of the Khan Trophy in 1951, when a time limit was introduced. To win the Aga Khan Trophy, the team must have won the title three times in a row.

With wins in 2002 and 2003 France were in contention to win the Aga Khan Trophy in 2004. If victorious this would have been the first time in 25 years the cup had been won. However, Ireland won the 2004 Aga Khan Trophy and this spoiled France’s chances of making it a 3rd consecutive win and taking home the trophy.

Great Britain won the Aga Khan Trophy in 2005

Germany won the Aga Khan Trophy in 2006 and 2007

Great Britain won the Aga Khan Trophy in 2008

Italy won the Aga Khan Trophy in 2009

The Netherlands won the Aga Khan Trophy in 2010

Book Review - My Sister's keeper.

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate.

Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable. A decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. From readind the novel, I believe My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person.

The novel is very emotional, sad, triumphant, passionate yet heartwrenching and an extremely powerful story. It is ultimately, a story of two sisters, the unbreakable bond they share and how totally entwined they have been all their lives until a crucial decision threatens to tear them apart and ends up changing all the lives forever.




The Fitzgeralds - Brian, a firefighter and avid amateur astronomer, and Sara, a stay-at-home mother and ex-lawyer - have the perfect suburban family, but life changes irreversibly when Kate, now sixteen, is diagnosed at age two with leukemia. She develops what looks like "a line of small blue jewels" down her spine, and her mother knows immediately that she is not seeing normal bruises. The family doctor wants the tests repeated in the hospital hematology/oncology department. There, after a series of painful and invasive procedures, they learn that Kate suffers from "APL, a subgroup of myeloid leukemia. The rate of survival is twenty to thirty percent, if treatment starts immediately." The treatments keep the disease at bay for about five years, until Kate's body explodes with runaway cancer cells. She desperately needs a bone marrow transplant or she will die. Her determined mother, on the advice of the doctor, persuades her husband to try for the "perfectly engineered baby."
Their other child, Jesse, is not a match, but now at thirteen, Anna has always been aware that she was born for a specific purpose, to help fool Kate's body into thinking it’s healthy. Anna obediently steps in.

Everytime Kate is hospitalized so is she, which means Anna can never go away to soccer camp or even to college.

Until now, Anna has never questioned her role in life. But she says that "lately I have been having nightmares, where I’m cut into so many pieces that there isn’t enough of me to be put back together."

Jesse is the wild kid who does drugs and plays with matches, gets arrested for stealing a judge’s car and is generally hopeless. But he is acting out this because he feels he is worthless, unable to help Kate. He calls himself "a lost cause."
After the countless surgeries, transfusions and shots, Anna is now required to give a kidney, which her mother Sara, so intent on saving Kate, doesn’t think is a big deal.

Kidney donation us considered a relatively safe surgery. But the pamphlet that Anna reads explains that "when you donate a kidney, you spend the night before the operation fasting and taking laxatives. You’re given anesthesia, the risks of which can include stroke, heart attack and lung problems. The four-hour surgery isn’t a walk in the park either you have a 1 in 3,000 chance of dying on the operating table, if you don’t, you are hospitalized for four to seven days, although it takes four to six weeks to recover…"

She has had enough. She loves her sister fiercely but she can’t go through with the kidney donation, so she sues her parents for the right to make her own medical decisions.



When you reach the end of the book after following Anna through her journey, you realize that there are no easy or even right answers. There isn’t one person who can be judged for what they think is moral or ethical, or even justifiable.

Sometimes you don’t know what the right thing is but as a mother, as a doctor and even as a sibling, you do what you think is right for you and for everyone else.

Picoult has done an amazing job of presenting the dilemma. She takes this conflicting issue and handles it with compassion, sensitivity and an infinite amount of grace. It may be cliched to say that this is "a must read," but it’s true. I really enjoyed reading this book and would recomend it to anyone in their teens or older.

Gaisce Hike

On the first day of April i set off to wicklow along with fifteen other girls from TY and two teachers, Ms Huse and Mr Corrigan. We left the school at about half one and got into a mini bus. We had such a laugh on the way down playing music and talking. When we arrived at the Knockree Hostel, we were soon givin our rooms. I was in a room with Zoe, Laura, Patricia and Niamh. The rooms were soooo cool. They had an upstairs and a downstairs. Straight away , Zoe, Laura and I grabed the upstairs beds haha. After about an hour we had to be changed and ready to hike. We were braught out into the mountains by our guide, Bill. It was really windy and we were exhausted. We walked 20 kilometers up the side of the mountain and back to the hostel. It took us about four hours befor we were back and able to change and hae showers. After we all got cleaned up we had to get our dinners that we had packed and bring them to the kitchen to be cooked. I braught rice and it was delicious. We also braught loads of sweets so we were constantly eating them. When everyone had cleaned up after dinner, we went back to our rooms for a while.
There was another girls school who were staying in the same hostel as us and they thaught they were amazing dancers haha. They ran around the corridors screaming, blaring music and ambushing girls from our school haha. However we just ignored them and went to the common room :)
It was nice because all eighteen of us sat down together sharing sweets and drinks and wathced "50 first dates". The movie finnished just on time for bed, at 11 o clock. Although it was bedtime, no one really slept haha. We stayed up for hours chating and messing.
Morning soon came and we were woken up by Ms Huse at 7 o clock! We got dressed and went down for breakfast. We only had 5 more kilometers to complete so we wernt really under preasure. Instead, we got the chance to to orianteering, archery and team games. At the start we were split into two teams. I was the captain and our team won in the end. We had such a good time and i would o back in a flash! Cant wait to start doing my silver award for gaisce :) x