Enchanter
Fire Show by Caroline de Bruin
Growing up as an only child, I spent many hours at our local riding school. My first pony was a little Anglo Arab called Habibi. We shared many special times together and he was the first pony that I taught to bow, paw and rear on command. At the time I am sure many showing judges were horrified at the little 11yr old who would often perform circus tricks in a working riding test….in those days you were allowed to make up your own test. Habibi lived with me till the ripe old age of 34 and I fondly remember him still asking for treats at the end.
I have always enjoyed the working classes and especially the working riding class. My first adult working riding horse, San Marco was also very apt in learning tricks, although it did take him a little longer.
Enchanter, who has now acquired the nick name of the ‘fire horse”, is a 17hh Grey crossbred gelding out of a TB mare and a part bred pony stallion. He has been competing for many years in working riding classes and has represented the Eastern Cape on several occasions.
In 2010 a friend of mine, Kevin Knock with his fire dancing crew Claire Crompton and Janine O’Hagan ,put together a show that incorporated a mesmerizing fire dancing show with the grace and beauty of a horse.
At first I was not sure if Enchanter would be prepared to go near fire, let alone carry a Fire Poi or jumping over a burning cross bar. Horses are naturally fearful of fire I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
I first introduced him to the smell and the sound of an unlit Fire Poi (Fire Poi is a bundle of wicking, soaked in Bio oil and ignited. This is suspended from a length of flexible material held in hand and swung in circular patterns). Once he had accepted this, we went on to light the Fire Poi at a distance and after a short while he was happy for me to carry it. We repeated a similar process with the jump.
During his training, we did encounter a slight problem when it came to practicing at night. Fire takes on a whole new perspective in the dark and I was not able to practice at my yard as all my other horses were very fearful.
On the first night of the show, Enchanter was a superstar. I don’t think there was a moment I didn’t have goose bumps. A slight wind had picked up which added another dimension of noise to the fire…he just took it in his stride and rose to the occasion.
The key to the success of the show was due to several factors:
· The incredible bond of trust that is shared between a horse and rider.
· Enchanters natural trust in his herd instinct. The other fires dancers became part of his family/herd. Before each performance we announced that no flash photography was to be used and no one must enter the arena. On one occasion a photographer slipped in and hid in the shadows behind a jump. Enchanter immediately picked up there was someone new in the arena.
· Only positive training was used. It took approximately 6weeks to train Enchanter.
· The ability to recognize and not place Enchanter into a situation that he was not comfortable in.
Although I have become quite comfortable in performing the fire shows, unpredicted external factors are always a threat to consider.
Safety is our number one priority and there are always two trained safety personal present during a performance. Care is taken not to use any flammable sprays or clothing and a special fire retardant is used on Enchanters tail and legs.
Our last fire show performance was during the world cup extravaganza, in Port Elizabeth 2010. We have since had several requests to perform,however I do not want to turn this special event into a circus act.
At this point I would like to emphasize that what we do is extremely dangerous and should never be tried at home on your own ponies or horses.
Above was published in the HQ magazine.
Please feel fee to watch our video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6FQbppdCqs&feature=share
Growing up as an only child, I spent many hours at our local riding school. My first pony was a little Anglo Arab called Habibi. We shared many special times together and he was the first pony that I taught to bow, paw and rear on command. At the time I am sure many showing judges were horrified at the little 11yr old who would often perform circus tricks in a working riding test….in those days you were allowed to make up your own test. Habibi lived with me till the ripe old age of 34 and I fondly remember him still asking for treats at the end.
I have always enjoyed the working classes and especially the working riding class. My first adult working riding horse, San Marco was also very apt in learning tricks, although it did take him a little longer.
Enchanter, who has now acquired the nick name of the ‘fire horse”, is a 17hh Grey crossbred gelding out of a TB mare and a part bred pony stallion. He has been competing for many years in working riding classes and has represented the Eastern Cape on several occasions.
In 2010 a friend of mine, Kevin Knock with his fire dancing crew Claire Crompton and Janine O’Hagan ,put together a show that incorporated a mesmerizing fire dancing show with the grace and beauty of a horse.
At first I was not sure if Enchanter would be prepared to go near fire, let alone carry a Fire Poi or jumping over a burning cross bar. Horses are naturally fearful of fire I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
I first introduced him to the smell and the sound of an unlit Fire Poi (Fire Poi is a bundle of wicking, soaked in Bio oil and ignited. This is suspended from a length of flexible material held in hand and swung in circular patterns). Once he had accepted this, we went on to light the Fire Poi at a distance and after a short while he was happy for me to carry it. We repeated a similar process with the jump.
During his training, we did encounter a slight problem when it came to practicing at night. Fire takes on a whole new perspective in the dark and I was not able to practice at my yard as all my other horses were very fearful.
On the first night of the show, Enchanter was a superstar. I don’t think there was a moment I didn’t have goose bumps. A slight wind had picked up which added another dimension of noise to the fire…he just took it in his stride and rose to the occasion.
The key to the success of the show was due to several factors:
· The incredible bond of trust that is shared between a horse and rider.
· Enchanters natural trust in his herd instinct. The other fires dancers became part of his family/herd. Before each performance we announced that no flash photography was to be used and no one must enter the arena. On one occasion a photographer slipped in and hid in the shadows behind a jump. Enchanter immediately picked up there was someone new in the arena.
· Only positive training was used. It took approximately 6weeks to train Enchanter.
· The ability to recognize and not place Enchanter into a situation that he was not comfortable in.
Although I have become quite comfortable in performing the fire shows, unpredicted external factors are always a threat to consider.
Safety is our number one priority and there are always two trained safety personal present during a performance. Care is taken not to use any flammable sprays or clothing and a special fire retardant is used on Enchanters tail and legs.
Our last fire show performance was during the world cup extravaganza, in Port Elizabeth 2010. We have since had several requests to perform,however I do not want to turn this special event into a circus act.
At this point I would like to emphasize that what we do is extremely dangerous and should never be tried at home on your own ponies or horses.
Above was published in the HQ magazine.
Please feel fee to watch our video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6FQbppdCqs&feature=share