There is A LOT of good conversation and movie reviewing going on about the summer task. The Blood-Horse community has been watching videos, discussing, suggesting and it has been great. I have already discovered a few AMAZING movies I had not seen or heard of before. Here are the two reviews I have done (below) in case you missed the first blog post. Here is the link to on going conversations and original blog post. Feel free to comment there instead of here if you want.
This post is more of a bump, so others that missed this the first time around can read.
http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/adamsturf/archive/2009/06/24/your-summer-task-and-meydan-city.aspx
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On The Muscle:
Not just
the best horse documentary I have ever seen, but one of the best
documentaries I have ever seen...period. This statement coming from an
avid war history buff who finds himself habitually watching military
documentaries.
Summary:
On The Muscle is a video that is
over two hours long and divided into three parts. You follow Richard
Mandella, his trainers, exercise riders and barn around the US in 2003.
If
you are a fan of The Tin Man, Pleasantly Perfect, Reddatore, Alex Solis
and many other horses, then you need to watch this movie.
On
The Muscle covers predominantly the West Coast racing, with Mandella's
barn based in California. You will visit Santa Anita, Del Mar, and many
other tracks while witnessing the Kentucky Derby, Breeders' Cup and
several other stakes races.
The video follows the progression of
horses already in training and watches the careers grow for Mandella's
stars. Witness the arrival of 2YOs from Kentucky and witness their
introduction to training. Learn how the horses train and see the skill
required to understand a horse's personality, running style, health and
limitations.
This movie taught me so much more about the ins
and outs of a barn. Respect and admiration for the dedication of true
horsemen has grown immensely. It was great to see how Mandella won four
Breeders' Cup races in a single day, setting a record.
If you
have ever wondered what the daily routines are or what it takes to be
in this industry, see this movie. It is entertaining, highly
educational, and family friendly.
I give this six out of five stars.
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Kentucky Derby Greatest Moments:
Filled
to the brim with history, statistics and lots of footage I have never
seen before, and I have seen a lot of Derby footage.
The film
was not just about the races, but the people, the farms, and the
culture at the tracks. One of the largest stand outs for me to see was
how the in-field use to be PACKED with people running from side to
side, just to see the horses.
Watching various celebrities and
stars that visited through the years was fun. Seeing how much
international attention was given to various horses along the way,
especially Secretariat of course.
I learned so much about
various farms, especially Calumet. I knew how much Calumet meant to
racing, but now I understand truly why. I learned about the golden age
of racing and so much about the horses from WW2 and before.
I
was lacking in history here and there from the early days of the Derby.
I was super excited to meet Lord Darby and listen to his statements on
the differences between Europe's Darby and the Kentucky Derby.
I
give this four out of five stars, and highly recommend this movie to
anyone wanting to learn about the Kentucky Derby. I never found myself
bored.
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On another note, I usually put workouts and races of horses I love and follow at the bottom of posts. I will not be doing that any more on the blog. Instead, i will be Tweeting them on Twitter. So if you like that, then come find me at twitter.com/BH_AdamsTurf.
Usually I prelude such announcements with "Horse of Interest:"
