My performer for a day experience a couple of weeks ago wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the special guests who came to watch me in the show: my mother, my grandmother, and my son, Finn. Finn loves horses, but had never seen one in real life before. What follows is an interview I did with him, or “Arabian Nights Through the Eyes of a Two-and-a-Half Year-Old.”

Please note: this interview was transcribed verbatim – these were his word-for-word responses, and the toddler-level grammar has be preserved for your reading enjoyment.

Gina: Honey, what did you see when you came to visit mommy at work?

Finn: Forklift!

Gina: Right, there was a forklift. What else did you see?

Finn: Grandma took me to see horsies.

Gina: And what did the horses do?

Finn: Horsie licked me! And a horsie did a poop.

Gina: Er, yes that sometimes happens.

Finn: A big poop.

Gina: Moving on. What else did you see in the barn?

Finn: I touch a horsie’s nose.

Gina: What did it feel like?

Finn: So soft! I like to touch a horsie’s nose.

Gina: Did you kiss the horse’s nose?

Finn: Horsie had a really soft nose. I kiss it!

Gina: What else did you like about the horse?

Finn: Horsie was wearing red socks. I touch a horsie’s socks.

Gina: What did you see the horses do?

Finn: Horsies did a dance for a lady.

Gina: Who was the lady? Was she in the balcony?

Finn: Lady was a princess. She’s pretty.

Gina:Did you like the princess?

Finn: I like a forklift.

Gina: What else happened?

Finn: Me and grandma run fast.

Gina: Why did you run fast?

Finn: Run with a horsie. And Troy brought me a light.

Gina: That was nice of him. What do you say to Troy?

Finn: Thank you Troy! Troy brought me a light, and a man had a light.

Gina: Which man had a light?

Finn: Man on a big horsie had a hot fire.

Gina: Were you scared of the man?

Finn: No. He had a hot fire light.

Gina: Right, he did. What happened next?

Finn: Forklift!

Gina: No, the forklift was earlier. What happened after the man with the fire left?

Finn: A baby goat came out.

Gina: That’s right.

Finn: And a baby goat ran away.

Gina: Do you remember what happened after the goat?

Finn: A lady make a smoke. A big, big smoke.

Gina: And what came out of the smoke?

Finn: Unicorn! Unicorn did a dance with a lady. And Troy brought me a light.

Gina: Yup. And then what happened?

Finn: Chocolate cake! And I eat it up.

Gina: Yeah, I saw you later – you were a big mess.

Finn: It’s okay, grandma clean it up.

Gina: Then who did you see on the horse?

Finn: A man!

Gina: A man? What did the man do?

Finn: Man jumped through the hot fire! Horsies go round and round, and a man jumped through the hot fire.

Gina: Who came out on a horse and waved to you?

Finn: Mommy!

Gina: That’s right. And did you wave back to me?

Finn: Mommy look silly.

Gina: I looked silly?!

Finn: And pretty.

Gina: Aw, thank you sweetie.

Finn: And I touch a horsie’s socks!

 

My mother and Finn had to leave soon after the Gypsy Bareback act, as it was getting close to his bed time. However, since his visit, we’ve had some variation of the following conversation every morning when I leave for work:

Gina: Bye-bye, Finn. Mommy has to go to work now, so be a good boy today.

Finn: Mommy go to work and ride the horsies?

Gina: Um, not today sweetie.

Finn:Go with Mommy to work and ride the horsies!

I don’t have the heart to tell him that Mommy’s not an equestrian.

Weeks later, Finn is still talking about what a great time he had, I’m still talking about how sore I was, and the staff is still teasing me about my brief stint in the arena – so I’d have to say that this project was a huge success all around! Since my experience, I’ve seen a few actual Performers for a Day come in and do the show. Thankfully, they all style better than me.

Over the weekend, two of Arabian Night’s riders took the show on the road, so to speak. Melody McCray and Zach Becker saddled up for the Ocala Tack Shack’s Famous Horsey Yard Sale. I sat down with Melody who explained the event for our readers.

Melody had been to the Horsey Yard Sale back in March to sell some of Arabian Nights’ old and unused tack. While she was there, she saw some other participants were giving a demonstration of various riding techniques. She thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase Arabian Nights’ black stallion act, and fortunately for us, the friendly organizers over at Tack Shack agreed with her. Melody also arranged to sell buy-one-get-one-free tickets to the show during the Yard Sale.

Zach, who plays numerous roles in the Arabian Nights show, joined the mini road show with Storm, one of our gorgeous Arabian horses trained to do work at liberty. Storm performed, as he does during the show, and Zach did a bit of bareback riding as well. The pair gave three performances, and Tack Shack informed Melody that the event featured their biggest turn out ever, as well as breaking their previous sales records – way to go Arabian Nights!

I had a chance to speak to Julie at Tack Shack as well, who says that her company was flooded with phone calls about Arabian Nights’ demonstration for weeks before the event. Customers were especially excited to meet Storm and watch his performance. Julie was overwhelmed by requests that we come back again for the next Yard Sale in December, but unfortunately Melody, Zach, and the rest of our performers will be too busy with the holiday show at that time.

However, Melody has big plans for the Famous Horsey Yard Sale coming up in March 2012. This

time, she wants to bring along Confetti, as well as one of the talented riders who plays our Princess Scheherazade, and demonstrate the Prince and Princess dance act for Tack Shack’s patrons. So if you missed our mini road show this time around, you’ll have another chance in March. A huge “thank you” to our friends at Tack Shack, and all our fans who turned out to make the event such a success!

For more great photos of the event, visit Tack Shack’s Facebook page!

Since I’m new to Arabian Nights, and have only been on a horse one disastrous time in my life, I was eager for a chance to talk about the show with owner and CEO Mark Miller and learn something about what it takes to be one of the four-legged stars of Arabian Nights. I had seen the show before, both as a patron and as the Manager on Duty (MOD), and knew that, as a non-horse-person, there were parts of each act that I just wasn’t going to “get.” Still, even in my general equine ignorance, when I saw the show myself for the first time, I was genuinely impressed. There is, of course, the element of pageantry that one expects from an Orlando-area attraction, and Arabian Night has no shortage of that. What makes Arabian Nights special is its horses, so when Mark invited me to discuss the show with him, I jumped at the chance. Mark wrote the show, and, having spent his entire life around horses, is the perfect person to guide an equine novice like myself through the acts.

 

That guidance began the way everything else does at Arabian Nights: in the stables. During a recent show, I met Mark backstage and followed him right out into the stables. The first thing Mark showed me was The Board, which is the show’s “Bible.” It lists every act, and which horse will be ridden by which performer in each part of the act. Still unfamiliar with the names of all the horses and performers, I found it a bit overwhelming, but as the riders began to come in from the Gypsy act, which was currently in progress, Mark pointed out who was who, in relation to their positions on The Board.

I loved watching Mark walk up to a horse that had just come out of the arena, congratulate him on a job well done, and give him a good scratch behind the withers (p.s. I now know what withers are!). He greeted nearly every horse we encountered in gentle tones, patting them on the haunches, giving them a good scratch. Eventually, it dawned on me that I could pet and scratch them too, which was kind of awesome. As we moved through the stables, Mark explained some of the history behind the types of horses that we use in the show.

I was already aware that almost all of the Arabian horses used in the show came from Al-Marah Horse Farm in Tuscon, AZ. Mark’s mother, Bazy Tankersley, owns the farm and runs its meticulous breeding program. The Al-Marah Arabians are bred for three things: their beauty, their endurance, and their wonderful personalities. Mark explained that breeding a beautiful horse is easy, but breeding a beautiful horse that is able to compete in the daunting Tevis Cup, and is still sweet-tempered enough to sleep with it’s rider in a tent is far trickier. Yet that’s what Al-Marah’s herd have produced, year after year. Mark also explained that, for many of the horses that come to perform at Arabian Nights after Al-Marah’s rigorous training program, being in our stables is like semi-retirement.

Mark’s affection for the horses in the show runs deep. When I asked about some of his all-time favorite performers, he told me about Al-Marah Beaugart, who died of old age last week. Before his retirement a few years ago, Beaugart, a gorgeous bay gelding, set the Arabian Nights record for most consecutively performed shows – twice. Beaugart performed in 3000 consecutive shows, setting the show record, and then suffered a small injury. After his recuperation, he went on to break that record by performing in an unprecedented (and currently undefeated) 4200 consecutive shows! As Mark pointed out, that’s 1500 more than Cal Ripkin’s streak, and Ripkin had off-seasons in which to rest up.

While explaining to me the difference between tie stalls and box stalls (Arabian Nights stables have both – which are used according to the preference of the horses), Mark introduced me to Queeny, a sweet yet stunning half-Arabian mare. Calling Queenie a “trainee” would be a bit of a misnomer – she is a reining horse who came to us fully trained. Currently, we only have two reining horses in the show, which really isn’t enough. In addition to time off to rest, having only two horses trained to do a crucial act isn’t enough of a safety net in case one gets injured or sick. When Mark decided recently to retire our third reiner, Arabian Nights was short one crucial cast member. That’s when a horse trainer friend of Mark’s volunteered Queeny. Queeny was already a veteran reiner, and the trainer gave her to Mark as a gift. Mark calls her his “good karma” horse, and as he was called away for a moment to address another issue, I spent a few moments gazing into Queeny’s enormous brown eyes. We just stood there, staring happily at one another as I experimentally learned that it’s kind of hard to scratch a horse behind the ears. I held out my hand and she licked my palm, then nuzzled it. Good karma indeed.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be spending more time out in the stables, getting to know more about the horses, the performers, and the training required for each act. Check back here each month as I highlight a different act, and the incredible horses who make it possible.