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The Power of a Bike

November 24, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

The people, experiences and emotions involved in a bicycle’s search for new purpose are eloquently told in “The Bicycle“, a short film by Chris McCoy & Adam Neustadter.

Bikes from Santa, and a little sister’s smile (Zeester family photo)

I was 8 years old, my sister was 5, when Santa Claus surprised us with two shiny and new bikes under the Christmas tree. Our first ride! It was exciting for the entire family. Mother and Dad took us both out early the next day and taught us how to ride. I remember being a little nervous about getting on a big bike, but it didn’t take me long to get the hang of it, and then I wanted to go fast and ride forever. What a thrill to ride all day long —cruising the hood in search of solo adventures, going to the library to hang out, testing my racing skills against any challenger (bikers, dogs & cars), visiting neighbors, and finding new friends. Many years later, my mother revealed the bikes were not exactly “new”. Dad had found rusty old, beat up bicycles, and spent weekends repairing and restoring them in my grandparent’s home cellar. That, of course, made a special gift and cherished ‘first bike’ memories even more dear.

“As a kid I had a dream – I wanted to own my own bicycle. When I got the bike, I must have been the happiest boy in Liverpool, maybe the world. I lived for that bike.” —- John Lennon

[su_dropcap]A[/su_dropcap] kid with a bicycle is empowered with the ability to travel and explore, building confidence and independence, and learning valuable lessons and lifelong skills with each ride. However, many children are not able to enjoy the benefits of bike riding as there are obstacles, financial as well as safety issues that have resulted in a shocking decline in the number of children who ride bikes or walk to school in the US (48% in 1969 to 13% in 2009). Addressing these problems are community and global organizations dedicated to making bicycles accessible to every child and creating bike-friendly cities and neighborhoods, offering ‘build & earn a bike’ programs, bicycle give-aways, mechanic, repair and safety classes, group touring and activities as well as citizen advocacy projects for walk & bike safe streets. You can participate in efforts to get kids on bikes by donating time, money and/or used bikes. Sometimes it’s the smallest thing that can make a big difference in the world.

Here’s a short list of community & global bikes for kids programs and information on bike safety:

Austin Yellow Bike Project in Austin, TX

The Oasis Bike Workshop in Nashville, TN

Free Bikes for Kids (Minnesota, Utah, Georgia)

World Bicycle Relief

Safe Kids Worldwide (bike safety tips)

Kids Health – Bike Safety

More Information/Resources:
League of American Bicyclists – A non-profit organization that works to create safer roads, stronger communities, and a bicycle-friendly America through information, advocacy and promotion. Established National Bike Month in 1956 to showcase the benefits of biking and “encourage more folks to give biking a try”. [May is National Bike Month, May 14-18 is National Bike To Work Week, and May 18 is Bike To Work Day]

Smart Cycling – safety guide, tips and videos, League of American Bicyclists

I was 3 years old and life was becoming a drag, then my grandfather came to my rescue and built me a Tree Swing.

⇒ Join the conversation. Donna and Marie (@gabby) shared their ‘first bike’ memories with us on Zeester Media’s FB page. Please share your story with On2In2™ and any information that can help get more kids on bikes. To post a comment on this article or any other website page or post, you’ve got to first be logged-in (look for “Log In/Log Out” at top-right of this page). Not registered? We’d love to hear from you. It’s pretty quick & easy and free to register, just click/tap ⇒ here.

Feature photo of “My first bike, first ride” is courtesy of Zeester Media LLC, CC BY-NC-ND

How To Beat the Bull

June 30, 2020 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

“No matter what your problems are —it’s just like going out and facing that bull every day: Look at what you’re up against, and figure out a way to make it work.” —Gary Leffew, Champion Bull Rider

We face many life challenges, big and small; consequently, there are many advisors, coaches, experts and various motivational guides offering advice on how to make a success of it all. You may have noticed, social media is full of it. But, really nothing beats the shared wisdom gained from personal experience, and sometimes the very best advice comes from an unexpected source, like a skateboarder, shipyard welder, yo-yoer, or rodeo cowboy. Spend less than 10 minutes with Gary Leffew and learn what it takes to be a success in bull riding and all other endeavors. (Hint: It’s a mental game.)

“The Bull Rider”, is a short film from “I Am Los Angeles”, directed by Joris Debeij, featuring Gary Leffew, PRCA World Champion Bull Rider and member of the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.

The taming of bulls has ancient roots that have been traced to a Bronze Age civilization of the Aegean islands (2600 BC – 1100 BC), and bull riding developed from a 16th century ranch skill competition known as ‘Jaripeo’ among the haciendas of Central and Southern Mexico where a rider rode a bull to death much like is done in bull fighting. It eventually changed to the traditional charreada sporting event, ‘Jineteo de Toro’, where the rider attempts to ride the bull until it tires and stops bucking.

The Arti of Bullfighting — Νο. 24: El mismo Ceballos montado sobre otro toro quiebra rejones en la plaza de Madrid (1816), Public Domain, Francisco Goya (1746 -1828), via Wikimedia Commons

No. 24 (The Same Ceballos Mounted on Another Bull Breaks Short Spears in the Ring at Madrid) is from a series of 33 prints “La Tauromaquia” (The Bullfight) created by Francisco Goya using techniques of etching and aquatint. The scenes depicted in the series focus on the violence, rituals and styles of 19th century bullfighting. A portfolio of these works of art is currently located at the National Gallery of Art.

The Most Dangerous 8 Seconds in Sports

“Everything’s in slow motion. He’s floating in the air, and it’s just weightless.” — Cody Campbell

The modern rodeo sport of bull riding requires a rider to stay mounted on a bucking bull for a specific period of time. In the ‘American style’, both rider and bull are scored by judges, and the rider must hold onto the bull rope (fiber rope wrapped around the chest of the bull) with one hand for eight seconds and not touch the bull with the free hand. It’s been referred to as the most dangerous eight seconds in sports.

Information/Resources:
Gary Leffew’s Bull Riding School – for all ages and levels of bull riders
Professional Bull Riders, Inc. Touring Schedule
Event Schedule, Bull Riders Canada, Inc.
Professional Bull Riders – Australia Schedule
Charreada Event Schedule, Asociacion de Charros de San Antonio
“Facing the Bull: The Most Dangerous Eight Seconds in Sports”, by Zoltan Istvan, National Geographic News (February 25, 2004)
American Veterinary Medical Association News, The Bovine Athlete by R. Scott Nolan (July 18, 2012)
The Jackie Robinson of Rodeo by Christian Wallace, Texas Monthly (July 2018) – Fifty years ago, Myrtis Dightman broke the color barrier in professional rodeo and became one of the best bull riders who ever lived.

Cutting Horse Competition
Horse & rider teams compete in a rodeo sport that began in the American West
Watch LIVE & FREE, but OK if you miss the live stream broadcast because there are video recordings of the competition to watch.

You’ll find more inspiration from the stories told by this diverse group of pathfinders on the video bio- documentary channel “Life Inspired“.

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this article, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy (unless you’re a robot).

“How to Beat the Bull” is an edited version of an article originally published on the “Zblog” by Zeester Media LLC.

Feature photo is courtesy of Adam Morse/Unsplash CC0

Bicycle Road Racing

August 21, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

The sport of road bicycle racing (bike racing on paved roads) began in the 19th century, gained popularity in France, Spain, Belgium, and Italy, and developed into an organized sport in 1868 — just 50 years after German Baron Karl von Drais patented his bicycle design ‘Laufmaschine’ (running machine), the first commercially successful two-wheeled, steerable, human-propelled vehicle. Today, road bicycle racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing among spectators and competitors with events held across the globe, and some of the earliest races continue each year among the biggest [Liège–Bastogne–Liège (established 1892), Paris–Roubaix (1896), the Tour de France (1903), the Milan–San Remo and Giro di Lombardia (1905), the Giro d’Italia (1909), the Volta a Catalunya (1911), and the Tour of Flanders (1913)].

There are several formats and types of bicycle road races: Single-day, Time Trial, Stage Races, and Ultra-Marathon. The most common are mass start events, where riders start the race simultaneously and ride to a set finish point, and time trials, where individual riders or teams race a course alone against the clock. A stage race or “tour” consists of separate races, or ‘stages’, during several days of competition, including mass starts and time-trial stages ridden consecutively. Ultra-Marathon is a very long single stage event where the race clock runs continuously from start to finish.

Single-day race distances may be as long as 180 miles (290 km). Courses run from start to finish (place to place) or cover one or more laps of a circuit; other single-day races combine both course types. Races over short circuits, often within a town or city, are known as ‘criteriums’. Some races, known as ‘handicaps’, are designed to match riders of different abilities and/or ages by grouping the slower riders at the start in front of the faster riders.

WATCH On2In2™

The first Antwerp Port Epic, a single-day bicycle road race, covered more than 200 kilometers (124.3 miles) through the port and windy ‘polders’ (low lying tracts of land enclosed by dykes) in the north of Antwerp and over unpaved strips and cobbled roads. If you missed the September 2nd live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch a video recording of the race. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓

It’s FREE to Watch: Cross-Country Cycling, an On2In2™ collection of bicycle adventure videos

Feature photo is courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels CC0

Cutting Horse Competition

July 24, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

The equestrian sport of ‘cutting’ emerged from the open ranges of the American West. Ranchers hired cowboys to work their cattle herds, and the job included separating from a herd (‘cutting’ from the herd) cows that were in need of branding or veterinary care or that had wandered and become mingled in a herd of neighboring ranches. The cowboys used their best ‘cow smart’ horses for the task, a western cross-breed descendant from the horses brought to North America by Conquistadors with an instinctive ability to anticipate a cow’s movement.

In 1898, the first cutting horse competition was held in Haskell, Texas, and it’s become an international sport with sanctioned professional, amateur and open events offering prize money and awards. In competition, a horse and rider work as a team to demonstrate the horse’s skills during a 2½ minute performance, called a “run”. The horse/rider contestant must make at least two cuts of cows from the herd during a run, one from deep inside the herd while others can be peeled from the edges. After the selected cow has been separated from the herd, it’s up to the horse to defend and hold the cow, except that a rider may use leg cues to prevent the cow from returning to the herd. Judges score a run on a scale from 60 to 80, with 70 being an average score. Cutting horse competition is primarily governed by the rules and regulations established by the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA), founded in 1948. ‘Limited Age Events (LAE)’ are restricted to young horses in a specific age group. A ‘futurity’ is for late 3-year or early 4-year old horses; a ‘derby’ is for mid to late 4-year olds; and a ‘classic’, or classic/challenge, is for 5 and 6-year old horses. (See Spectator’s Guide→ HERE and 2017 NCHA Rule Book Here)

Information/Resources:
National Cutting Horse Association
Wikipedia: Cutting (sport)

FREE To WATCH Horse Reining competition – live action and video recordings

How to Beat the Bull – A champion bull rider reveals his secrets to success

Feature photo is courtesy of Flickr user, WM Rine, CC BY NC-ND

Show Jumping LIVE

July 16, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Horses didn’t do a lot of jumping until fences began appearing in previously open fields as a result of the adoption of a series of laws creating property rights and boundaries.

The sport of show jumping developed from challenges created by this new obstacle, and fences started showing up in sport arenas during 19^th century equestrian competitions in Europe (known at the time as ‘Lepping’ or ‘horse leaping’). An early form of show jumping competition was included at the 1900 Paris Olympic Games. The sport was then included in its current format at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, and has continued to evolve and gain in popularity as a spectator sport.

Courage, Control and Technique

Grand Prix is the highest level of show jumping competition, and one of the most exciting sports to watch. Held under International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) jumping rules, the horse must jump a course of 10 to 16 obstacles, with heights up to 1.6 meters (5’3”) spread out up to 2 meters (6’7”).

A horse must have courage to jump fences as well as athletic ability and skillful technique to handle the sharp turns and bursts of speed necessary to navigate difficult show jumping courses. Different breeds of horses have been successful show jumpers, and while most are tall (over 16 hands, 145cm/57in), there’s no correlation between size and athletic ability, and tall horses don’t necessarily have an advantage in jumping competitions. In fact, pony-sized horses may sometimes compete in open competition with adult riders. The most famous example is Stroller (1950-1986), a cross-bred who was only 14.1 hands, but won 61 international competitions and an individual silver medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics, jumping one of the only two clear rounds in the individual competition.

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2019 Grand Prix competitions at Hunter Farms North, New Jersey USA are LIVE — Sundays, July 21, July 28, and August 4, 12-2pm EDT.

Programming Notes:

If you miss a Grand Prix live stream broadcast, you can watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media players below.

Sometimes it happens — scheduling changes, breaks in competition, or technical interruptions in the live broadcast. Please check back for live action updates, and take a look at the Live Stream Program Guide for more On2In2™ streaming info.

If you missed the live stream broadcast of the 2019 Liftmaster Grand Prix, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts located on the media player below ↓

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this post, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy.

Feature photo is courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels CC0

Reining Competition

June 20, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

It’s some of the best riding you’ll ever see!

Reining is a western horse riding sport competition that developed from historical traditions of herding livestock through open ranges within the Americas, Australia and Argentina, and it’s gained popularity worldwide because spectators enjoy a great show of skills as riders guide their horses through precise patterns of circles, spins, and stops.

Information/Resources:National Reining Horse Association

WATCH On2In2™

If you missed the live stream broadcast of the 2019 MRHA Slide into Summer, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “WATCH AGAIN” button or select from the video posts located on the media player below.

If you missed the live stream broadcast of 2018 Yellowstone Reining Horse Association Slide II event from Anderson Training Stables, Wilsall, Montana, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓

If you missed the live broadcast of the 2018 The Classic by WRHA, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts located on the media player below ↓

Cutting is another western riding competition that evolved from a rancher’s need to manage cattle by horseback. WATCH a Cutting Horse Competition — it’s incredible what a good cutting horse can do.

Feature photos credit: Flicker user Edward Dalmulder CC BY 2.0

Barrel Racing

February 11, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

[su_dropcap]B[/su_dropcap]ack in the 1930’s, Barrel Racing was a women’s rodeo event, and the rider’s outfit and horsemanship in maneuvering through barrels placed in a figure-eight or clover leaf pattern were elements judged, not so much speed. Looking for more opportunities to compete in rodeo arenas, a group of cowgirls formed the GRA (Girl’s Rodeo Association) in 1948, and that started to change things –barrel racing became all about speed. Today, the sport is open to girls, boys, men and women of all ages and levels of experience, including weekend riders and professionals.

Barrel racing contestants race against the clock running around three barrels in a pattern known as a “cloverleaf”. Horse and rider are allowed a running start and may begin on the left or right barrel first, but the pattern cannot be broken (if a turn is incorrect, contestant is disqualified). The race is timed to the hundredth of a second by an electronic eye stop-watch. Touching a barrel is permitted; however, knocking over a barrel results in a five second penalty. A fast run is less than 14 seconds.

Barrel race divisions classify horse and rider teams, determined by the speed a horse runs the cloverleaf barrel pattern, and are designated as 1D, 2D, 3D, 4D, 5D and 6D. 1D class barrel races are run by horses and riders with the fastest times, with every other class set at five seconds slower. 6D, however, is reserved for horses and riders that run the course more slowly and/or young horses schooling.

It might look easy enough, but barrel racing is actually a challenging rodeo event and exciting to watch as the winner is often determined by thousandths of a second. Good team work between rider and horse is essential to success in barrel racing as well as the courage and commitment of both. American Quarter Horses are typically favored in barrel racing events because of their sprinting ability and agility in turns, but American Paint Horses, Appaloosas, and Pintos are also popular mounts.

Family support is also a great help to professional barrel racers as they travel many miles to compete in rodeos during the season. Jackie Ganter is a third-generation cowgirl, and a rising star in the sport of barrel racing. In the short video documentary, ‘The Story of Three Generations of Texan Cowgirls’, Jackie, her mother and grandmother provide a glimpse into that life and what it takes to succeed.

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If you missed the barrel racing competition at the 2019 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, there’s still time to watch video recordings. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts located on the media player below ↓

Did you miss the live stream broadcast of barrel racing at the 2018 Stock Show and Rodeo? Here are the Women’s Barrel Racing Results:

1, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, SD, 13.78 seconds, $4,459 2, Taylor Langdon, Aubrey, TX, 13.94, $3,344 3, (tie) Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi, Victoria, TX and Amberleigh Moore, Keizer, OR, 14.02, $1,672 each.

Finals qualifiers: 1, Ivy Conrado, Hudson, CO, $10,404 2, Moore, $8,584 3, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, SD $8,026 4, Tillar Murray, Fort Worth, TX, $7,580 5, Taylor Langdon, Aubrey, TX $5,128

Amazing! In the semi-finals, Hailey Kinsel and her seven-year-old mare, DM Sissy Hayday, shattered a San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo record with a 13.60 run.

Information/Resources:
San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, February 7-24, 2019 (events, entertainment, and attractions) – It’s one of the largest, most prestigious single events in the city of San Antonio, Texas USA
International Barrel Racing Association
Women’s Professional Rodeo Association

More horse/rider teamwork in perfect harmony. It wouldn’t be a rodeo without a cutting horse event & we’ve got lots of it

There’s some bull riding, too

Feature photo is courtesy of Flickr user, Max Rae, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Endurance Racing

November 20, 2018 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

[su_quote cite=”Adam Bickett “]The extraordinary can come out of just following your passions.[/su_quote]

WATCH LIVE & FREE On2In2™

Famous for its explosive mass start of more than 1,300 cyclists, the De Panne Beach Endurance — “the mother of all beach races” — is an international beach race for mountain bikes over a race course of 52km (32.3 miles) that includes a hill climb and numerous obstacles.

If you missed the live stream broadcast of the 2018 De Panne Beach Endurance race on November 25, 2018, there’s still time to watch a video recording of the event. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓

Traveling high, low, fast, slow, over, under and around on all sorts of wheels and rollers — WATCH: Great Rides, an On2In2™ collection of favorite videos

Feature photo was sourced via De Panne Beach Endurance website

Happy and Proud

March 14, 2018 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

“Whatever position you achieve, you must be happy…because you see progress. And, if you have another opportunity or trip— you know you can do it.” —Sbusiso Sbisi, 15 years old, skateboard competition winner

Hidden within rural Durban, South Africa in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, a secret spot for young shredders is growing. Indigo Skate Camp is empowering the local Zulu villagers to learn and grow through the language of skateboarding and opening opportunities for them to experience what lies on the other side of the hill.

Valley Of A Thousand Hills
A short film by Jess Colquhoun and Huck Magazine

A bicycle is so much more than a toy — The Power of a Bike

WATCH THROW – How a yo-yo changed a young man’s life

You’ll find more inspiration from the stories told by a diverse group of pathfinders on the On2In2™ video bio-documentary channel “Life Inspired“, and by watching Great Rides, an On2In2™ collection of favorite action-on-wheels sports videos (both video channels are FREE To WATCH – On Demand).

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this article, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page‘. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy (unless you’re a robot).

Feature photo is a still shot taken from the video “Valley of a Thousand Hills”

Mountain Bike Racing

March 1, 2018 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Cape Epic is a mountain bike stage race (prologue + 7 stages covering more than 400 miles) held annually in the Western Cape, South Africa, attracting elite professional mountain bikers and amateurs from around the world. Bikers compete in teams of two that must stay together for the duration of the race.

Did you miss the 2018 Absa Cape Epic? Here’s a video recording of the Grand Finale.

The 2019 Cape Epic is scheduled March 17-24. Click/tap → here for all On2In2™ live stream program schedule info.

More thrilling action on wheels to watch in this
On2In2™ collection of videos Watch: Cross-Country Cycling,
—FREE to watch on-demand

Feature photo courtesy of Unsplash CC0

Ride

The Power of a Bike

How To Beat the Bull

Bicycle Road Racing

Cutting Horse Competition

Show Jumping LIVE

Reining Competition

Barrel Racing

Endurance Racing

Happy and Proud

Mountain Bike Racing

MUCH 2 SEE

THINGS 2 DO

PLACES 2 GO

PEOPLE 2 MEET

FOOD & DRINKS

JUST LAUGHS

Ride

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MUCH 2 SEE

THINGS 2 DO

PLACES 2 GO

PEOPLE 2 MEET

FOOD & DRINKS

JUST LAUGHS