One of the most challenging acts in the show is the Native Act – a demonstration of an equestrian technique known as reining. Reining is a type of Western riding, and is occasionally referred to as “Western dressage” due to the degree of difficulty of the practice. It is a technique that is truly native to America, making it the perfect technique to demonstrate in Arabian Nights’ tribute to Native [...]
Today, we’ll be profiling Zachary Becker who works in the Stables at Arabian Nights. Last month, Zach was named Employee of the Month for his all his hard work, especially his extra efforts in promoting Arabian Nights at the Horsey Yard Sale. I also learned last night that he does a pretty snazzy victory dance when he’s bowling. He was nice enough to answer my questions about his job. How [...]
Since I’ve spent the last several weeks sharing my performer for a day experience, this week’s post will be a tribute to the act in which I performed: the Gypsy Bareback act, which Mark Miller calls “the heart of the show.” I sat down with him to find out how the act came into being. When Arabian Nights opened on February 29, 1988, it was just the Bareback act. In [...]
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 [...]
After an afternoon of riding lessons, acrobatics training, falling, laughing, and getting back up again, it was time to prepare for the actual show performance that night. Michael and Melody made some last-ditch efforts to teach me to style, and Michael showed me the proper way to sit and point my legs during the entrance into the arena (hey, it’s harder than it looks!). Melody selected a few Gypsy costumes [...]
