submitted by Red Kingston
We held our 1st Mountainair Gymkhana Rodeo on Sunday March 8th. It was a total success we had 183 contestants entered to compete in all of our events. We started at about 8:15 am and finished up at approximately 7:30 pm. Lots of trailers and a lot of kids. This was one of the largest we have had. Last year, one had 199 contestants, and we averaged 150 for the six rodeos in the series.
Photos of March 8 event, by Kings Kourt
I attended the March 3rd, Chamber meeting and gave them the dates for our rodeos scheduled for the rest of the year. While there I visited with Glenn Fulfer after his wonderful presentation on the advertising campaign in the New Mexico Magazine, and we talked about how the Chamber and our association could work together to promote the community.
We got the new set of bleachers up and had a lot of folks try them out at the rodeo. In a couple of weeks we will try to get the cover over them. I think everyone will be very pleased and impressed with how comfortable bleacher seating will be with shade. I will keep you updated on what all we have going on out there.
Monday, March 9, 2009
1st Gymkhana Rodeo of 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Mountainair in the News
Gran Quivira Centennial
VerveEarth
6 comments:
Vanessa, as one who has no knowledge of this ranching/rodeo culture I must ask the really dumb question. Please forgive. What does Gymkhana mean/standfor? The word origin?
(hey)Jude
Gymkhana (derived from the Hindi and Urdu word for "racket court"[1]) is an Indian term which originally referred to a place where sporting events take place. The meaning then altered to denote a place where skill-based contests were held.
In India, the term gymkhana is commonly used to refer to a gymnasium. More generally, gymkhana referred (and still refers) to a social and sporting club in the Indian subcontinent, and in other Asian countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Burma and Singapore, as well as in East Africa.
In English-speaking countries, a gymkhana refers to a multi-game equestrian event performed to display the training and talents of horses and their riders.
The first element of gymkhana comes from gend meaning ball in Hindi. By semantic association, this element has been assimilated to the English word gym, short for gymnasium and gymnastics. The second element, khāna, or khāneh, is Persian (or Urdu) for home, and derives from Pahlavi khānak, which is from the Old Persian word Āhana.[1]
[edit]
OK..I think I get it! Thanks David!
(hey)Jude
Thanks for asking Jude - and thanks David - I'd wondered about etymology but knowing that gymkhana is a UK and east coast (English riding) term for games on horseback, I figured the origins had to be Indian. Brits as the natural inheritors of Mongol horse lords.
Back when I was running barrels in south Louisiana, we called timed speed event competitions (as opposed to more formal recognized show ring events) games. t more recently I've seen gymkhana used for mounted games for junior riders. The US Pony Club, modeled on the British, includes a gymkhana events at its annual national rally (team competition).
What is Gymkhana? From the California Gymkhana Assoc page:
Gymkhana is timed obstacle racing on horseback. It is one of the most exciting family oriented equestrian sports in the world. It is a fast growing sport that anyone can enjoy.
Some events favor speed, and some events favor skill. Awards may be earned at all skill levels
The games can be anything as familiar as barrel racing and pole bending to the less familiar Slow race, Egg & Spoon, Ride-a-buck, Pick-up, Key-hole, Flag racing or any other game that has a starting point, a finish line and some sort of "obstacle" to get through, around, or by, and is timed.
Gymkhana is also very popular in Australia and New Zealand.
Now between the two of us we've told you so much more than you really wanted to know.
My only New Year's Resolution was to remember to ask and to learn new things. So, I am on target!
(hey)Jude
Happy to oblige then. I bet a number of readers, especially ones from out of the area, unfamiliar with horse activities have similar gaps. They benefited from your asking. I've done extended pieces + photos on arts tour, crafts fair, sunflower, Salinas ruins, and so on. Time to cover Gymkhana Rodeo too. What else?
Post a Comment