The Horseshows

Early those mornings, when the sun rose

We were up with the daybreak and out on the road

Flying down highways to the roar of the truck

Animals loaded and stalls were all mucked.

Horses stamped in their boxes, their heads were well tied

Steam from their nostrils now rose to the skies

As the roads turned to country, the fields blue and green

Lay shrouded in mist as we drove down the lanes.

Then, when arriving, the grounds filled with dew

We unloaded the horses and unpacked the gear

The saddles and bridles and leathery smells

Were all propped around us, each one had a place.

Curried and bridled, the horses performed

With a young man, a horseman, they set off to win

And around the great hurdles he and they jumped

Boldness and courage in every great leap

Monumentally brave as they heaved with the effort

Great strength was required and partnership tested

The crowds would now cheer or ignore as they chose

But the horse and young man rode the course for themselves

And no shouts or distractions would enter their heads

As they focused on hurdling the next set of jumps

If the timing was perfect, horse and rider in stride

Then good marks for the last one and on to the next

With most accurate timing and infinite care

They did cover ground quickly and fly through through the air

Setting down, turning sharply, leaping forward as one

Regroupng, repeating till the whole course was done.

Now steaming and lathered, horses walked heads bent down

They were showered and patted and given rubdowns

The sun slowly sinking, the shadows grown long

The crickets were chirping, the grass heated brown.

And coffee was downed for the long journey home

And water for horses now that they had cooled down

The horses were loaded, the truck was repacked

The tires were checked and clean shirts on our backs.

The breezes that blew brushed the ribbons from winning

They hung and they fluttered, like war medals gleaming

Back through the night we did pull the great load

Sweet hay in the hay nets, the horses were towed.

Such was the song of a day on the road

Most don't see the like and we wish that they could.