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Wouldn’t the "indigenous" people of the UK be Celts?
Maybe the reason why most Americans seem to accept immigrants more readily is that at least three-fourths of our population is only a few generations removed from immigrants. My great-grandparents all arrived at Ellis Island from Lithuania and Russia. So we lack the whole idea of "American-ness" (or Britishness) as something only applicable to a sole group of people with a single uniform culture. By antagonizing Muslims, all the BNP is doing is encouraging further support for radical ideas. Assimilation should be encouraged, but not at the expense of losing one’s heritage and traditions-that is the concern of many 1st-gen immigrants about their children. Really, I think the idea of some huge Islamist threat is a boogeyman designed to concentrate anger at the state of the economy ("they’re taking are jobs!"), the government ("support
if you want to get rid of them!"), and the changes occuring in society as a whole ("real
do this, not that, that’s scary and
foreign
"). Solving the underlying problems will do a lot more to prevent a fringe group from taking hold than any xenophobic legislation.
I could’ve told everyone this ages ago but no-one would’ve listened I’d have just got the "racist" nonsense which is an easy and automatic attack from anyone that does not see what politicians have done to and are continuing to do to this country.
The UK will be an Islamic country within the next thirty or forty years unless the tide of immigration is not only halted but to an extent also reversed.
There is only one party that will do this (BNP) the others aren’t interested in anything but the EU and fethering their own nests they know exactly what they are doing to the UK none of it is by accident.
Of course they control the media, the press and the education system and people have been drip fed lies and to be frank utter rubbish day in, day out for years and years now. If you are told something every day by enough people unless you are extremely strong minded you are going to end up believing it.
There is no longer any difference between Tory and Labour they are all marxists. Thirty years ago Labour and Tory detested each other now they sing from the same hymn sheets, democracy is dead in the UK and everyone is "sick and evil" unless they agree with globalisation and a fully integrated world which can never peacefully exist because the fundamentals of Islam is totally opposite to the freedom of the Western World. Women fought for freedom and equality, god help them in thirty to forty years time they will wonder why they bothered.
Why does the BNP also rail against Hindus, Sikhs, Eastern Europeans and any other immigrant group, none of which have any intention of creating an Islamic theocracy?
Stilvi has by far and away the best idea so far.
There’s little point in these internecine squabbles about funding if the core product doesn’t attract new viewers. Rightly or wrongly, today’s public sees the whipping of horses as barbaric and unneccessary; banning the whip completely would not only make the sport more attractive to many but also show who the really skilled horsemen are, as opposed to the thugs who use nothing but brute force to get their mounts home.
Here we go again…
Broadcast all races for free on the Internet. California tracks, Keeneland, and the Meadowlands already do this, and it does increase wagering from home. Right now I as an "international bettor" have to go through hell and high water just to watch the Grand National, let alone any "normal" race in the UK.
Dear BHA,
Please don’t do a European Breeders Cup.
Your parents sold racing down the river in 1961. The next generation destroyed the oldest classic horse race in the world, the Derby, in 1994.
Please don’t do this. Honestly, just don’t.
Silvoir, please tell that nasty young man at R4C that he’s a donk. Thanks.
There is Dubai, Hong Kong, Australia abd Japan all waiting to offer races which my million dollar horse can run in. Attractive, sexy races with multi-million dollar prize money, strong stewarding, masses of racegoers and a spectrum of owners and national interests.
Then there is the country who invented Championship Racing in 1984. Anyone remember Teleprompter? Tolemeo? Bold Arrangement? Anyone remember the United States?
Tell me there has ever been a better race that the one between the Iron Horse and Tiznow? You can’t, I know. No point bothering to think.
And the great thing is that we can go and play in their magnificent tournament for millions of dollars and never-to-be-forgotten glory whenever we want. Why spoil that for the sake of a young mans brainstorm.
Honestly. Move the Gold Cup to a Saturday but please, none of that flat earth society stuff where the world begins and ends with Europe. I couldn’t cope with the shame.
Love
Max
Thank you. Most US fans (and track owners) would absolutely freak out if the European contingent didn’t
participate in the Breeders’ Cup. For one thing, we can’t rely on the quality of the American turf divisions. Nor could we fill a "Marathon" with top-level horses. Racing is a global sport, and we ought to think globally.Jellyberry! And the up-and-coming 5yo Confined, who really turned it up this past fall over the hurdles.
We have those too-"steeplethons", they are over 3 miles+ including irregular terrain, water (not just water jumps, actual shallow streams/ponds they have to dash through), sharp turns, varying types of jumps, etc. There’s only two of them each year, one in the spring and one in the fall, and they are really popular with spectators as a diversion from the typical hurdling.
Who said Americans don’t have a sense of humour.
Just seen them wearing checked lumberjack shirts.
Haven’t seen much of the Olympics, so I don’t know whether that was just for the snowboarding half-pipe, or generally.
Snowboarding was popularized in Seattle during the "grunge" era of the early 90s, so the plaid flannel is a throwback to that. Fortunately it isn’t the uniform for the other sports.
The joke regarding Great Britain and the Olympics is that you guys are only successful in sports where the athletes are sitting down
. Shooting, cycling, rowing, equestrian events, and so on. I think we can add "sports where the athletes are lying down
to the list.
…still snowed in Miss Woodford?
We’ve got the driveway shoveled out, and it’s all beginning to melt now. Hopefully the high of 40 degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow will help that. Things are slowly getting back to normal.
I just research for fun, there’s quite a bit of interesting resources available on the internet. I’m not really involved in the industry. I do visit the nearby tracks semi-regularly, although with this weather I haven’t been in a while.
Charlottesville is quite a ways away from Fairfax, right below the Blue Ridge Mountains.
For more information on Virginia jumping, I recommend http://www.centralentryoffice.com/ and http://www.st-publishing.com/cms/. The blizzards have cut into a few of the point-to-points, but the real season doesn’t start until late March.
No, never heard of Trevillians.
I was born in Houston, Texas, but moved here with my family when I was very young.
About the steeplechase courses, it should be noted that many were/are just parts of large private estates used with permission by the hunts. While the National Steeplechase Association itself wasn’t formed until 1895, unsanctioned meets took place across the country, beginning in the late 1700s, almost immediately after chasing became popular in England. Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had jumpers in their racing stables. The Civil War greatly affected many of these, and sanctioned steeplechasing in VA didn’t really begin again until after World War I. I am unsure how many of these earliest courses are still in existence, but most have probably been turned into suburbia.
It’s much quieter out today, still very cold. Luckily our power didn’t go out. It’s supposed to be a sunny weekend.
Yes, I have heard of the situation on the Indian reservations, and actually our TV news has been doing investigative reports into it. One pundit even raised over $100,000 towards restoring their infrastructure. The problems there aren’t going to be permanently solved via monetary donations. The tribal councils are incredibly corrupt, there is very high unemployment and poverty, and it will require much more attention from the US government to really fix these issues.
I have been to several local battlefields, both from the Revolutionary War (Yorktown) and the Civil War (Manassas, Appomatox, Winchester, etc.). There’s so much history in this area, and even more further south around Richmond. It’s also hunt and steeplechase country-folks around here like to say that "Virginia is for Horse Lovers", and there’s probably more old steeplechase courses (dating back to the 1800s or even 1700s) here than in Britain.
Uncle Merlin fell at Bechers when going ridiculously well, main reason I remember is I always followed Tim Forster’s horses over the big ones. If I remember rightly he was a Maryland Cup winner that came over to be trained by him for the National? Miss Woodford could maybe answer that for me?
Uncle Merlin won the Maryland Hunt Cup in 1989 and was sent to England that same year. He returned in 1992 to finish 2nd in the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup. He was actually better over the brush in England than the timber here.It’s worth noting that despite being open only to amatuer riders, the Maryland Hunt Cup has produced 2 of the 3 American owned/trained Grand National winners. Besides Jay Trump, Ben Nevis II was undefeated in the US, with two victories in the MHC, one of which set a new course record.
Regarding L’Escargot, while he only won a single race in the states, the Meadow Brook, he was named American Champion Steeplechaser of 1969 and inducted into the US Hall of Fame in 1977.
So far we’ve "only" gotten 10" today, but the winds are upt to 60 mph:shock: and the snow drifts are 4-5 feet. Conditions are so bad that the counties are stopping all plowing and road-clearing until the "whiteout" ends. I’m lucky that my power and heat is still on, but it isn’t supposed to end until late tonight. Crazy!
It does make the landscape beautiful though. There are
meter
-long icicles hanging off some of the roofs, I kid you not. Everything is so pristine and white.
This isnot
my car, thank goodness, but it gives you an idea of what we’re dealing with out here.
http://media2.myfoxdc.com//photo/2010/02/10/windgustmywxphoto_20100210123731_320_240.JPG
