Nagging Suspicion

Did I catch your attention? I've read several writing How To books that said to grab your reader's attention early on...and then keep it, of course. I have to admit, though, that the title wasn't an original one but rather it's the title of an episode of the show Emergency! from the 1970s. Season 4, episode 4 to be exact. I know that in Hollywood they can take certain liberties with the truthand facts, but the reason why I watched this episode on Netflix when I haven't even finished Season 1 is the reason for this blog post and leads me to question if the people in Hollywood think the people who watch TV shows and movies are complete idiots. Now, as a precurser, I should admit something...I was an EMT for 8 years so I can't exactly watch this show with an open mind. No matter how many times I tell myself the show was filmed in the 70s and a lot has changed in pre-hospital medicine, I still can't help but get a little bent out of shape when I see some things while watching. Sure, I can just not watch the show anymore, but to my brain it's like a train wreck and I have to watch.

But this blog post isn't about the outdated paramedicine...not entirely, anyway...but rather the switch the show did and what the episode led me to further investigate, which I think is pretty cool. So anyway, Squad 51 got called to "the zoo". I didn't hear if it was just for an injury or if they said animal bite, but that is irrelevant. Now, when they mentioned "the zoo" I naturally assumed it was the Los Angeles Zoo, but when they showed the squad truck arriving on the scene I was pretty sure it wasn't. I've been to the LA Zoo and while I hadn't seen every square inch of it, I didn't see anything that looked like what they were showing on the episode. Then they showed a "zookeeper" and the patch on his shirt said LA County Zoo. More on that later. The zookeeper guy said a woman jad climbed over a fence at the lion exhibit to get a better picture of the lion and had somehow managed to fall in and the lion had bit her leg. He told Gage and DeSoto he'd tranquilized the lion but didn't know how long it would take to affect him. During this time they showed the lion

The pictured lion above and the one they showed in the episode was a young adult. At least a year old, possibly a year and a half. But definitely not an adult. So anyway, Gage decides to go down into the "pit" of the exhibit to treat the woman and prepare her to be removed. Initially everything was okay. The lion kept roaring, but he kept his distance. They lowered a Stokes Basket into the exhibit and Gage got her in. No c-spine precautions, though, even though she fell 10 feet or so onto concrete. As the firefighters were hoisting the basket the lion started getting more agressive. Oh yeah. And suddenly he'd aged a year and now looked like this...

A full-blown adult lion. Yeah. And after Gage got himself out of the exhibit they showed the lion again and it was back to being a juvenile. Now, I can look past the extreme danger and unlikeliness of safety protocols allowing a paramedic to go into the exhibit while the lion is still in the yard, wide awake,as well as the lack of c-spine precautions since it was the 1970s, but what I can't look past the fast-aging lion that goes from juvenile to adult back to juvenile in the space of 5 minutes. Did the producers thing viewers wouldn't notice 2 noticeably different cats were used?

But the episode wasn't all bad because it led me to disvoer something I didn't know existed. I'd never heard of the LA County Zoo so I did a Google search and found out about the Griffith Park Zoo, which was open from 1912 until 1966 and was replaced by the LA Zoo about 2 miles away. Now, you may be wondering what I find so fascinating about a zoo that closed before I was even born and was a facility that would have no business being open today due to the tiny, concrete exhibits and big black bars that were common for zoos at one time, and some zoos still have them, but they are being phased out as zoos raise money to replace them. ANYWAY...although the zoo has been closed foralmost 50 years, the animal cages are still there. In Griffith Park. It's been turned into a picnic area and you can explore the grottos. The following pictures are courtesy of hikespeak.com

As soon as I saw this picture I knew it's where they had to have filmed this particular episode of Emergency!

The viewpoint and road are almost identical to the one the squad drove down to get to the lion exhibit. There's more pictures here...


So anyway, now I have to go back to Los Angeles so I can check this stuff out. I probably drove past it when I was there in 2010, but I didn't know it was even there. The LA Zoo has opened some new exhibits since I was there last plus I've never been to the Orange County Zoo or the Santa Ana Zoo so I can make a nice weekend of it. Once it cools down again, though.

Today is my brother's birthday so we are going to a restaurant our family used to go to often when we were younger. I haven't been there since 1989 or 1990 when my Police Explorer group went there for dinner and it's closing at the end of June until they can find another location to reopen. We don't know when or if that will happen so we decided to go for old time's sake. I hope it's as good as we remember.

Our weather has definitely heated up. We were spoiled the past few weeks with below-average temperatures but that changed a couple of days ago when it reached 103. I'm definitely not ready for this.

Steffen Peters and the 2015 Las Vegas World Cup...

Well, I  finally had the chance the find video of Steffen Peters and Legolas performing  their Freestyle routine at the 2015 World Cup in Las Vegas last month.  What a shame.  For those of you who may not have heard, this dynamic pair was disqualified because a small amount  of  blood was found on one of the horse's  sides when he was checked following the performance.  So many people were in an uproar, accusing Steffen  of jabbing him with his spurs.  So many people were quick to think the worst  of him for this one incident, despite  his past reputation.  Just like in that game of Operator where you whisper something to one person then they whisper it to another until it's  made it around the circle, the actual  injury  to Legolas went from 'a tiny bit of red' to 'lots of blood'.  Nobody wanted to listen when others tried to point out that Steffen  uses dulled, round spurs and would've  had  to  been really, seriously  kicking Legolas HARD to cause the amount of damage people believed he'd done, but if you watch the video of their performance, you will see the incident in question.  Even when the judge said it was only a 'tiny bit of red on one side' and video inspection  showed that the spurs he'd been wearing were the same ones he always did and couldn't  have caused major damage, people didn't  want to listen.  Yes, I  will  admit that I'm  a huge fan of his so I'm  a "bit" biased, but if you watch the video I'm  going to post, you can see for yourself what caused it to happen.  And you will maybe agree with me it was a shame he was eliminated because he had a very good performance  and  even got a standing ovation.  I think the winner of the event, Charlotte Desjardins,  is an incredibly  talented  rider, but Steffen  could've  given her a real run for her money.

So, watch the video...or skip to near the end...you will see that when they gave their final salute, the crowd errupted into cheers and applause and Legolas 92 freaked out at the sudden noise.  Steffen  likely "dug in" (with his legs) to stay in the saddle and he probably  put more pressure  on  the  one side, which

The post that wasn't...

I worked some overtime at work today and was able to watch all of the Cross Country phase of this weekend's  Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.  I was happy.  In between  paying  legal invoices, I  jotted  down notes about things I  wanted  to  mention  in my blog post...and I  still have that piece  of  paper  in  the  pocket  of  the  shorts  I'm  still  wearing...but it's  going  to  have  to  wait  a few days.

Our weather  has been crazy.  Yesterday  we had a brief rainstorm and the temperature  was below average.  Today it was overcast and again  we had below-average  temperatures  but not only that, some areas  of  the  state got snow!  Snow at the end of April!  And the level  was fairly low...6,500 feet.  Too high for my neck of the woods, but only about a 2 hour drive.

On another note...I'm  thinking  I might like  to  attend  the  RK3DE...maybe next year.  It's  held  at the Kentucky Horse Park, which is the same place as Breyerfest, and I  have  been  wanting to attend  Breyerfest  since the first one 25 years ago and have yet to get myself  out there.  And I'd  still  like  to  go, but I  think  I'd  rather  go to RK3DE.  Mostly  the Cross Country phase.  After  it's  done  for the day, the spectators  get  to  walk  the  course  and get up-close views of the obstacles...I  like  stuff  like  that.  One year, I  got to enter the elephant  yard at my local zoo to hide treats for them and thought  it  was  the  neatest  thing.  We'll have to see.  There's  a 3 star event much closer  to me, but the big names are at 4 star events like Rolex.  I  still  have  lots  of  time  to  decide, though.  1 year until the next Rolex and 15 months until BF 2016.

Right now I'm  watching  a new cheesy  giant  reptile  movie.  Lake Placid vs Anaconda. No, I'm  not  kidding.  Apparently  they decided  that  after, what, 4 Lake Placid movies  and  at least as many Anaconda  movies, nothing was left except  to bring the 2 together.  This one stars Robert  Englund aka Freddie Kruger and Corin Nemec from the short-lived series in thw 1990s Parker Lewis Can't Lose.  Apparently  even  Nicki Minaj has a part in it.  Oh joy!  I don't  know  how  much  of it I'll  watch, though, since it's  after 9, this movie just started  and I'm  getting  tired.

I  hope everyone  is  having  a good weekend!  Certainly  better  than  what  mine has turned  out to be (and the reason  why  my Rolex post has to wait).

World Cup Part II

As promised, here are some pictures of the US based riders.  For some reason  there's  less covrage on them than the European ones, but maybe that's  because  the  European  ones came from a lot further away.  Who knows?

Before I  share, though, I  want to update...I have decided not to go to the show in person nor am I  going  to  pay for the live stream.  What it pretty much boils down to is time...and money.  I've  known  it was going to be in Vegas for several months and had plenty of time to make arrangements, but I  pretty  much  decided  I wasn't  going  to  go  back when the trip was still affordable.  It wasn't  until  the  show  was almost  here and I  got caught up in the excitement  that I  really  wanted  to  go.  Unfortunately  I didn't  plan well  enough  and now it's  not a realistic  idea to want to go.  It's  nobody's  fault  but my own and while I'm  bummed  to not be going and miss out on the chance to see Beezie Madden ride, I  know  it's  the right decision.  I would  only  be able to see one of the 3 phases of jumping  and since I  don't  know  which  one  Beezie  is riding in, there's  no  guarantee  I'd  even  get to see her compete.

So that should leave me with the live stream, right?  I could watch both Dressage and Show Jumping with FEI TV...and $80.  Well, $45 if I  wanted  access  for just a month, but why not pay the extra $35 for an entire year?  However, I don't  think  the cost is worth watching on a 7" tablet screen.  The cheapest is $26.99 for 24 hours' access, but how to choose which 24 hour block?  And I  can't  watch  it  while  I'm  asleep  so that's  a waste there, too.

Anyway, so on to the pictures.  Most of them are from Chronicle of the Horse and some are from John Madden Sales.  One is from the Las Vegas  Sun.  I wish they'd  done  a piece on the US teams like they had the European, but what can you do?

Packing up the plane

McLain  Ward's horse Rothchild and Beezie Madden's Simon

Landing in Vegas  

Unloading...looks like  the US horses didn't  get custom stalls like the Europeans 

Champion Dressage rider gives an interview outside the Thomas & Mack Center 

Beezie Madden trots Simon out for his pre-show vet check.  He passed.  In fact, all the horses passed.  Yay!

World Cup in Las Vegas

The Longines FEI World Cup finals are getting ready to start on Wednesday, although  the  actual  competition  doesn't  start  until  Friday...I'm  not  going  to  be  there  more than likely.  Not unless  I  can  figure  out  some  way to get my mom to "allow" me to go.  I  was telling  her  about  it  when  I  got  home  from  work  and  she  said  "And you want to go..."  I told her they  never  have  competitions  of this magnitude  in this  area  of the country.  I  said  I wanted  to  go  but  "My mom won't  let me." and she laughed.  In all seriousness, though, I  know  I  could  go if I  really  want   to.  And I  want  to, but I  don't  know  if  I  want  to  spend  the  money  to  go.  I just  worked  2 Saturdays  doing  OT at work to build up my bank account  and I  don't  want  to  blow it all in one overnight  trip to Las Vegas.

So, what are my options...?  It doesn't  appear  as though  any  of  it will  be  broadcast  on  TV...not in the US anyway.  On the World Cup's Facebook  page  someone  asked  if anything  was going  to  be  broadcast  and I  replied  to  her comment  with  one of my own.  Well, today they confirmed it would streamed live on 3 different  websites  for a fee, which  sucks, but I can  deal  with that.    So I followed  a link to the apps you need to watch  the  live stream and guess what?  My Samsung Tab 4 is NOT compatible  with  the  app.  So now I'm  trying  to  charge  my iPad  mini  to  see  if  that  will  work  because  the  website  says the app is also iOS compatible.  Unfortunately, I  haven't  used  it  in  awhile  and  so the battery  was completely  drained.  Hopefully  it will w

ork.  If I'm  unable  to  watch  it  online...then I  guess I'll  go back to trying  to  decide  if  I  want  to  just  go  to  Vegas.

Early Saturday  40 horses left the airport in the Netherlands, bound for Las Vegas.  Because  of  time  zones  and  such, they arrived  less  than  2 hours after  they  left Europe.  Can  you  say  Jet Lag?  And while  Totilas  won't  be  there, his former  rider  Edward Gal will be.  Good luck to everyone!  I will, of course, be cheering  for  Steffen Peters to win Dressage and several  riders for Show Jumping.  Hahahaha.

Before I  go  I will  leave  you  with  some  pictures  of  the  European  horses  during their travels.  Tomorrow or Wednesday  I'll  share some photos  of  the  US riders.

Getting ready for the flight...

Loading into a special designed  stall

Convoy of jet stalls.  Wouldn't  this be neat to see?

Inside the Boeing 777...empty

Loading  the  transport  stalls

Trailers waiting  at McCarron for the horses

Valegro, aka Blueberry, from Carl Hester Dressage is sprung from quarrantine  today  by his groom Alan C Davies.  

And the Mother of the Year award goes to...

Well, it's  certainly  not  the  one who dropped her 2 year old into the Cheetah exhibit at Cleveland  Metroparks  Zoo  yesterday.

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"We have a number of eyewitness accounts that point to the strong likelihood that the child was dangled over the railing," zoo director Dr. Christopher Kuhar told reporters.

The mother was holding two children when the toddler slipped from her grasp and fell 10 to 12 feet into the cheetah pit, Cleveland Fire Department spokesman Larry Gray told the Northeast Ohio Media Group. The boy's parents went into the exhibit and pulled him to safety. The cheetahs never approached any of them and the boy was taken to the hospital for bumps and bruises.

"I'm looking at the cheetahs and then all I hear is the screams. Everything happened so quick," witness Michael Lurie told WKYC Channel 3.

Should the mother face charges or is this an unfortunate accident? 

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There is a link to the video where it begins with "witness Michael  Lurie.  Out of all the videos I've  watched, this is probably  the  best  one since it has eyewitness  accounts  and doesn't  have  the reporters over-sensationalizing what happened, although the one in the studio  said  it could've  been  much worse.  The other news reports, though...saying he survived  a horrific experience  and he's  lucky to be alive.  Blah blah blah.  Yes, Cheetahs  are carnivores.  Yes, they eat meat.  But they do NOT attack people.  There has never  been  a documented  case where  a Cheetah  has attacked a person, either in the wild or a zoological  setting.  Don't  let their size and sharp teeth fool you.  The boy was never in any danger  from the cats.  His injuries  are from being dropped 10 feet by his mom.  I hope the zoo does press  charges  against  the  boy's parents.  They are morons!

Beezie Madden and Authentic

So, I  was  reading a book today and medical armbands for riders was mentioned.  It said they're  in case a rider fallsand is unable to answer questions about medical conditions  or allergies.  I'd  never heard of that so when I  got home I  decided  to  look up pictures  on Google of show jumpers.  In some of them you could see the armbands, but in most of them there was none.  But  I  thought  it  was  too generic of a search so I  decided  to  look  up pictures  of  one of my show jumping "idols" Beezie Madden.  "Idol" isn't  really  the right word  because  I  don't  idolize  her, but I  do admire her and ook up to her and I'd  love  the chance  to  meet her someday...

Anyway, so I  was looking  at  pictures  of  Beezie in competition  and came across a video of her falling during the 2007 Rolex World Cup in Las Vegas.  The person who posted  the video did it as sort of a "See?  Everyone falls, even Beezie Madden so get over yourself!"  That video led to the one that is the subject  of  this blog  post  and is actually the same video but more of it.  In the video, Authentic takes a jump and for some  reason  his legs come down and he trips.  Beezie falls off and is eliminated, but apparently  Authentic  doesn't  realize  that  because  he keeps going and even jumps over 2 more obstacles, much to everyone's  delight.  One person  who tried to catch  him almost got run over by the horse.  Fortunately, nobody was injured, but it was still kind of scary.

http://youtu.be/Wdb7qAtTLbc

And hey!  This is my 200th post!