Horse that can dance offers second chanceReynolds will bring El Gato to Pumpkins and Ponies
-Submitted photo
Kelly Reynolds and her dancing horse, El Gato, will perform at this year’s Pumpkins and Ponies celebration. Gato does a high-stepping trot in place to music as part of their routine
from: messengernews.net
By JOE SUTTER
October 7, 2012
Fort Dodge, Iowa---Kelly Christine Reynolds and her dancing horse, El Gato, are the latest addition to the Pumpkins and Ponies festival.
Reynolds' act isn't just a fun romp with a talented animal. It's an encouraging story of how to get back in the saddle too.
Reynolds bred and showed horses for 20 years before an injury and other health concerns eventually led her to quit.
"I fell out of our hayloft in 1995 and really severely injured my left leg," Reynolds said. "I was in a wheelchair for quite a while, and I had several surgeries. Being on a horse farm and being a rider, it really impaired that a lot.
"As it got worse and worse as the years have gone on, I had quit riding. I hadn't ridden for several years when I found Gato. When I got on him I realized how much I missed riding."
Gato is a purebred white Arabian trained to be a dancing trick horse, like in a circus. He dances to a beat doing a high-stepping trot in place, falls over on command and bows, among other tricks.
Reynolds found that performing with the horse let her get back into the world of equine entertainment, even though she couldn't ride as well as before.
"If you're show riding, you have to ride a lot. If you're trail riding, that's hours on a horse," she said. "Some people think when you get older and arthritic, when you have problems you just can't ride anymore. Well, I'm living proof that you can still ride, for just few minutes at a time, and have a blast."
Reynolds said people assume she must ride her horse quite a bit, practicing for her act, but she doesn't.
"I really don't ride him a lot because of the leg," she said. "I work with him a lot in hand. I play with him every day and do stupid little tricks, like ring the bell, sit on the beanbag. I'm still with him every day, I just don't ride him every day."
When Reynolds bought El Gato three years ago, he was already trained as a performing horse. Reynolds then had to learn from him how to speak "circus trainer language," how to give the right cues and touches that tell Gato to do his tricks.
read the rest of the story at:
http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/551598/Horse-that-can-dance-offers-second-chance.html?nav=5007
"If you're show riding, you have to ride a lot. If you're trail riding, that's hours on a horse," she said. "Some people think when you get older and arthritic, when you have problems you just can't ride anymore. Well, I'm living proof that you can still ride, for just few minutes at a time, and have a blast."
Reynolds said people assume she must ride her horse quite a bit, practicing for her act, but she doesn't.
"I really don't ride him a lot because of the leg," she said. "I work with him a lot in hand. I play with him every day and do stupid little tricks, like ring the bell, sit on the beanbag. I'm still with him every day, I just don't ride him every day."
When Reynolds bought El Gato three years ago, he was already trained as a performing horse. Reynolds then had to learn from him how to speak "circus trainer language," how to give the right cues and touches that tell Gato to do his tricks.
read the rest of the story at:
http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/551598/Horse-that-can-dance-offers-second-chance.html?nav=5007
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