Documentary

The Overview Effect

April 21, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

The iconic Earthrise photo was taken in 1968 by NASA astronaut William A. Anders during the Apollo 8 mission, the first manned spaceflight to orbit the Moon. Never before had a human observed the Earth rising, and Anders’ amazing, first-ever color photo of our stunningly beautiful planet emerging from a lunar horizon still takes your breath away.

“We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.” — William A. Anders

To See The Earth As It Truly Is*

It was very, very sobering to see this little blue marble in the middle of all that darkness. Frank Borman

The awe-inspiring effect of seeing the whole Earth from the vantage of space (known as “Earth gazing”) is most often described as an overwhelming sense that Earth is an “interconnected whole with one destiny”. An understanding that’s key to our survival. Of course, we can’t see it and feel it firsthand (only 24 humans out of 7.3 billion world population have had the experience) until space travel becomes practical for the general public, but innovative technology continues to provide us with more and better information and visuals.

The short documentary Overview (from Planetary Collective) explores a cosmic worldview with reflections from “Earth gazing” astronauts and philosophers as well as beautiful space imagery. Watch and be inspired by the “unity and oneness of all life on Earth”.

Earthrise: Remembering Apollo 8. Launched on December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 became the first manned spacecraft to reach the Moon, orbit it and return, and its crew became the first humans to see and photograph the Earth emerging from behind the lunar horizon. Watch as the Griffith Lab All Space Considered team recalls the lead up, events and discoveries of this historic mission in celebration of its 50th anniversary.

*”To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold — brothers who know now they are truly brothers.” Archibald MacLeish (1892 – 1982) American poet

Take a virtual ride on a satellite for awesome views of Earth

Apollo 17 photo taken December 13, 1972 on the lunar surface — Moonwalk (December 13, 1972) NASA

Want to see more of what’s out there in space? The short video documentary, “The Last Steps” will take you to a ‘back to the future’ moment in time with original film footage, photographs and audio recordings from Apollo 17, NASA’s final Apollo program mission, and the last time a human walked on the moon. Watch more “out of this world” videos via the “Cosmos Channel“, free to watch, on-demand.

A retrospective look at discoveries and images of Saturn
captured during the 20 year Cassini Mission, plus some
info on when and how you can see Saturn in 2017

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).

“The Overview Effect” is an edited version of an article originally published on the “Zblog” by Zeester Media LLC.

Earthrise photo credit: NASA

Marathon Runners

April 15, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path, hit the trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go. — Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Runner

Since the ancient Egyptians, there has been long distance racing, and today, countless marathons take place around the world each year. In 2017, more than 18 million people ran in organized competitive road races in the USA, and millions more participate in social, non-competitive organized running events.

Why run a marathon? Some people run a marathon for the physical exercise or the challenge. Others for the competition. Then, there are those that run for very personal reasons.

Johnnie Jameson, a Vietnam War veteran and US Postal Service employee, runs to heal, and he’s been running the LA Marathon since 1986, earning him the title of ‘Legacy Runner’. Mr. Jameson shares his story and explains his unusual backwards running style in Mile 19, a short documentary video by Big Pup Film.

English long distance runner and marathon world champion, Paula Radcliffe, finds beauty in running, and believes it’s a gift as well as an art– a way of expressing yourself. Take a run with Paula, and listen as she shares her thoughts about running.

And, there are those that just love the feeling of that runner’s high and get hooked on testing the limits of their bodies.

An ultramarathon (aka ultra running & ultra distance) is any foot race longer than a traditional marathon distance (26.2 miles/42.2 kilometers). There are two types of ultramarathon events: distance (the winner runs a specific distance in the shortest amount of time) and time (the winner runs the most distance in a specific amount of time). Ultra distances are typically 50 kilometres (31.1 mi), 100 kilometres (62.1 mi), 50 miles (80.5 km), and 100 miles (160.9 km), but distances as well as race courses and terrain vary. Timed ultramarathon events range from hours (6, 12 & 24 hours) to days (known as multi-day or stage race events). Self-supported ultramarathon stage races where each ultrarunner must carry all supplies needed to survive the race, including food, are considered the most demanding.

If you’re serious about this extreme sport, the training requires intense dedication. In the short video Ultra Man, Robbie Britton talks about his mindset and why he does it.

“If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon.” — Kathrine Switzer, Marathon Runner

Information/Resources:
Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS)
Find a Running Club in USA, Road Runners Club of America
How to Start Running by Tara Parker-Pope, The New York Times Well (why run, how to train, and tips on picking your gear, fueling your body, hydrating, and preventing injury)
Why Stretching Might Not Make You a Better Runner by Richard Gray, BBC Future (March 28, 2019) – Research provides some surprising findings and tips on how runners can improve performance
Training Programs for Marathons and Half-Marathons (beginners-intermediate-experienced), Chattanooga Track Club
International Association of Ultrarunners – promotes and develops long distance running worldwide by encouraging events and activities and sanctioning competitions
10 Things No One Tells You Before You Run an Ultramarathon by Damian Hall, The Telegraph (May 4, 2017) – Take it slow, eat a lot, and enjoy the sport of ultra running.

Follow Sarah Brown as she trains for US Olympic trials in the short video documentary series, Run Mama Run. You’ll be inspired by her story of determination and family.

Feature photo is courtesy of Martins Zimlickis, Unsplash CC0

BOLDNESS

April 14, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Lose this day loitering—’twill be the same story
To-morrow–and the next more dilatory;
Then indecision brings its own delays,
And days are lost lamenting o’er lost days.
Are you in earnest? seize this very minute–
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it,
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it,
Only engage, and then the mind grows heated—
Begin it, and the work will be completed!

—– John Anster*

After eight months of preparation and training, the USA Men’s Rafting Team launched an attempt to beat Orkin’s record on January 13, 2017. The Time Travelers short documentary video chronicles the journey with “a dose of inspiration” for all of us.

However you go, it’s a wild and dangerous ride through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. The first to do it was geologist/explorer, John Wesley Powell, and his team during a three month expedition in 1869. A hundred and fourteen years later, the river had changed, but remained a formidable challenge when three river guides in a small wooden boat rowed the 277 miles from Lee’s Ferry to the Grand Wash Cliffs in 36 hours and 38 minutes. No one much cared about their accomplishment until the story was told by Kevin Fedarko in his book, The Emerald Mile (2013)**, inspiring more paddlers to make an attempt to break the record. The current record (34 hours, 2 minutes) was set in 2016 by Ben Orkin in a sea kayak.

Information/Resources:
Grand Canyon Private River Trip Planning and River Trips and Permits, US National Park Service
10 Peaceful Places To Paddle by By Bill O’Brian, US Fish and Wildlife Service (for paddlers looking for an easy, scenic ride in a canoe, a kayak, a rowboat, or on a paddleboard through natural beauty of America’s wildlife refuges)

*Boldness has genius quote is taken from 1835 publication by Irish poet, John Anster, whose words were inspired by translation of “Faust”, Part One, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Feature photo is a screen shot taken from video, “The Time Travelers”, Gnarly Bay Productions, Inc.

**Editor’s Note: Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a book purchase you make via the Amazon link within this page. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

More stories of great adventure are available on-demand at Watch: Tours de Force, an On2In2™ collection of favorite videos

Surfing the Greats

April 13, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

It’s certainly not easy to surf Toronto. Some would say impossible. When you’ve got the passion and the right attitude, you really can do just about anything, and at the same time, have fun, make friends and inspire.

See what it takes to catch a wave in the icy cold waters of the Great Lakes in this short documentary On Days Like These We Must Surf by Jake Kovnat.

NASA photo of Great Lakes covered in snow and ice shows how brutal surfing the lakes is during the winter months. — Great Lakes 1/27/2005, NASA Visible Earth, PD

The Great Lakes are a series of five interconnected freshwater lakes (Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron aka Michigan-Huron, Erie, and Ontario) located primarily in the upper mid-east region of North America on the Canada-US border. By total surface area, the Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth, and they are often referred to as ‘inland seas’ because they look much like oceans with rolling waves, winds, currents, great depths, and distant horizons.

Think you’d like to give lake surfing a try? Surfing the Great Lakes any time of year is difficult. Add the freezing cold winter elements, and it becomes brutal. The best surfing, however, is during the winter months because winter storms generate strong winds that produce the biggest waves that come in super fast. Other challenges involved with lake surfing include wind forecasting, getting the proper gear and board, and avoiding debris in the lake. Not for everybody, and getting images of a sunny beach out of your head is another big challenge.

Information/Resources:
Surf the Greats surf shop, sells gear and boards specifically designed for lake surfing, offers classes on lake surfing and wave forecasting, and organizes meetups and competitions.
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory – Scientists study, monitor, and predict ice coverage on the Great Lakes
The Alliance for the Great Lakes, a non-profit organization that works to protect the Great Lakes

Nordurland is about surfing in the harsh, cold waters of the North Atlantic. Watch as three friends from the subtropical northern rivers of NSW Australia travel to isolated, snow covered coastlines in search of remote waves, and discover the great challenges and rewards of a northern adventure. Filmmaker Ishka Folkwell beautifully captures the vast and stunning landscapes, and you’ll see glaciers, mountains and powerful icy surf come to life on screen.

Big wave surfing is an extremely dangerous sport. So, who does it and why? — Free 2 Watch video documentaries capture epic rides as well as personal stories of big waves surfers, including Rodrigo Koxa’s record breaking ride on an 80 foot (24 meter) wave at Nazaré on November 8, 2017.

FREE 2 WATCH – On Demand Great surfing action and stories on the Cranking Surf video channel, an On2In2™️ selection of favorite videos.

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.

Featured image of surfer by George Nietsch/Unsplash CC0

FREEDIVING

April 5, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Underwater activities that challenge the ability to hold a breath until resurfacing is called freediving or ‘apnea’, and people have been freediving for thousands of years to hunt and gather food, harvest sponges and pearls, search for sunken treasure and assist navies in battles at sea.

Today, there are recreational freediving activities to enjoy — snorkeling, spearfishing, and underwater photography as well as competitions, including competitive apnea disciplines, underwater rugby, underwater hockey, underwater target shooting, competitive spearfishing, and synchronized swimming.

In “competitive apnea” disciplines of freediving, athletes attempt to attain great depths, times, or distances in a single breath. Competitions are governed by two international organizations: the International Association for Development of Apnea (AIDA International) and the CMAS (Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques – World Underwater Federation), each with separate rules governing the recognition of world records in the competitive apnea disciplines. There are also ‘record disciplines’ that are free dives not held in competition, but performed strictly for the purpose of setting world records, and the Guinness World Records along with AIDA and CMAS preside over the record attempts.

Breath-holding ability is really just a function of oxygen stores in blood & muscle, efficient oxygen utilization, metabolic rate reduction, and hypoxia (oxygen deficiency) tolerance. Most freedivers train to increase lung capacity in order to improve breath-holding efficiencies, and it takes practice and good technique to be able to control and relax the body for a freedive.

OK, now try a simple breath-holding test on dry land. You’ll need something to measure the time —Use the stop-watch on your smart phone or sit next to a clock with a second hand. Take a deep breath, hold, and watch the clock. How long could you hold your breath? Most of us struggle to hold a breath for more than a minute. By comparison, the AIDA International-recognized world record for Static Apnea (breath-hold endurance while floating on the surface or standing on the bottom) is an astonishing 11 minutes, 35 seconds by French free diver, Stéphane Mifsud.

What motivates a freediver to push the limits for world records, and how do they do it? Watch these videos, and you’ll learn about the demands and motivations of the sport as three very different freedivers tell their stories.

Information/Resources:
About Freediving – history, competition, physiology, recreational, education, CMAS website
What is Freediving? – introduction, education, sport, AIDA International website
8 Tips For Beginner Freedivers by Emily Bates, PADI (March 20, 2017)
The 4 Best Groups and Forums for Freedivers by Sarah Russell, PADI (April 5, 2019)

Feature photo ‘One Breath’, courtesy of Marco Assmann/Unsplash CC0

Synchronized Swimming

March 27, 2019 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

Don’t be fooled by the showy costuming, heavy makeup and incessant smiles. Originally known as ‘water ballet’, synchronized swimming is an aquatic sport and art form requiring a combination of exceptional water skills, strength, endurance, flexibility, artistry and precise timing, as well as extraordinary breath control.

In 1891, the first recorded synchronized swimming competition was held in Berlin, Germany (at the time, a male-only event). The sport began to breakthrough in Europe and North America in the early 20th century when it became a women’s sport and popular entertainment at large halls and theaters equipped with big water tanks on stage. Katherine Curtis, an American synchronized swimming pioneer and educator, organized and trained the ‘Kay Curtis Modern Mermaids’, a water ballet act that performed at the Chicago ‘Century of Progress’ World’s Fair (1933-1934), and during the 40’s and 50’s, Hollywood movies starring swimming sensation, Esther Williams, boosted the interest in synchronized swimming with elaborately produced routines.

Six decades following those big synchronized swimming movie productions, the film, Breathless, presents a very different approach with a dramatic story shot entirely underwater. Totally captivating.

Depending on the level of competition, synchronized swimming includes solo, duet and team events, and begins with a “technical” routine or “figures” with predetermined elements performed in a specific order without touching the bottom of the pool. Then, swimmers perform a longer “free” routine, requiring no specific technical elements and allowing more creative choreography (but, again– no touching the bottom). Routines are scored on a scale of 100, with points for artistic impression, execution, and difficulty.

The first Olympic demonstration of the sport was at the 1952 Olympic Games, but synchronized swimming did not gain acceptance as an Olympic sport until the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In 2017, FINA, the international governing body for aquatic disciplines, renamed the sport of synchronized swimming to ‘artistic swimming’ for the stated purpose of clarifying the nature of the sport and enhancing its popularity; however, the decision has been criticized by some swimmers and coaches.

WATCH On2In2™

Canada Artistic Swimming is on a mission — to pioneer the sport of synchronized swimming…. “transform what is expected, what is possible, and what people around the world think about artistic swimming”. And, it started things off with the 2019 National Qualifier (March 26 -31). If you missed the live stream broadcast of the competition, there’s still time to watch video recordings. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts located right top corner of the media player below ↓

The 2019 Canadian Championships are scheduled May 6-12, so please check back with us for live stream updates.

More than 225 athletes from across Canada competed in the 2018 Artistic Swimming Canadian Championships (April 24-28) at the state-of-the-art Windsor International Aquatic and Training Centre, Windsor, Ontario, all vying for national titles in over 18 events. If you missed the live stream broadcast of the competition, 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 ↓

The 2018 Canadian Artistic Swimming Qualifier is a huge event! Over 570 Canadian athletes, coaches and officials converged at the Repsol Sport Centre, Calgary to take part in this year’s Canadian Artistic Swimming (formerly synchronized swimming) Qualifier, a 6-day competition featuring 18 different events in 13-15, junior and senior age groups. Athletes in junior and senior age groups have a chance to qualify for the 2018 Canadian National Championships, April 24-28 in Windsor, Ontario.

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

If you missed the live broadcast of the 2017 Open Synchronized Swimming Canadian Championships, a recorded video is available here. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” tab on the video player to see event highlights.

Not For Women Only? It’s a bit ironic that synchronized swimming started out as a male-only swimming competition, and now the sport excludes men. Pau Ribes, a professional artistic swimmer from Barcelona, Spain, first saw a synchronized swimming show when he was a child, and was immediately hooked on the sport. But, there was a problem. Synchronized swimming was, and still is, considered a sport for women, and men have been excluded from amateur and professional competitions. It was only after Pau discovered Panteres Grogues (Yellow Panthers) [a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping LGBT community members succeed in sports] that he found acceptance and was able to train. In 2015, Pau made history by participating in an international competition that included male swimmers for the first time. But, his dreams and goals didn’t end with that accomplishment. Watch him tell his story in this short video Synch or Swim by Great Big Story.

Synchronized swimming, however, is not just about competition these days. It’s a sport that can be enjoyed by everyone at any age.

Information/Resources:
Synchronized Swimming Lessons For Adults, Swim England Synchro
The Los Angeles Synchronized Swim Club offers free monthly “Synchro Basic Clinics” and other programs
Why Doesn’t the US Have a Synchronized Swimming Team in Rio? by Vicki Valsik, The Atlantic (August 19, 2016) [Americans once dominated the sport, but things changed after 1996, and you guessed it — money is a big factor] Synchronized Swimming Has a History that Dates Back to Ancient Rome, by Vicki Valosik, Smithsonian.com (August 12, 2016) – Before it reached the Olympics, the sport was a spectacle of the circus and vaudeville
Wikipedia: Synchronized Swimming

Don’t know how to swim?
It’s never too late to learn this life-saving skill.

Feature photo by Flickr user, Voxsports Voxer, CC BY-NC 2.0

A Thousand Sparks

March 15, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

“If you watch a thousand sparks cascading,
They’re all wee thoughts,
or possibilities,
or ideas;
And, if you could think like that……….”

Robert Fullerton

At 13 years old, his formal education ended, and at 17, he started working at a shipyard in Govan, Scotland. An early start to a life of grueling labor, but Robert Fullerton looked through the reflecting glass visor of his welding helmet and found inspiration in the spirit of the shipyard.

In the video documentary, “Mining Poems or Odes” from the Scottish Documentary Institute (produced by Jack Cocker, directed by Jack Cocker), Robert Fullerton reveals how he learned to write, his creative process, and ‘tools of the trade’.

Robert Fullerton’s story reminds us that sparks of inspiration are everywhere, and the real magic is in a book. His passion for books and writing began when his workmate and mentor, Archie, gave him a copy of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists* by Robert Tressell**, the pen name of author Robert Noonan (1870-1911), an Irish-born house painter.

The novel is set in the fictional town of Mugsborough, and based on Noonan’s personal experiences of poverty and exploitation and his views on the relationship between working-class people and their employers, the gross injustice and inequalities of society, and workers’ acceptance of the status quo. Out of work and ill, Noonan was in dire straits during the writing, and there are traces of the anger and bitterness he was feeling in the Ragged story, along with compassion and a sense of humor.

Widely regarded a classic of modern British literature and ranked as a ‘best loved’ novel in a 2003 BBC survey, the completed manuscript originally called, The Ragged Arsed Philanthropists, was rejected by three publishing houses before Noonan died in 1911 at age 40. His daughter was able to sell the book rights to a publisher for £25, and an edited version (with most of the socialist ideology cut out) was published in 1914. Forty years later, Robert Noonan’s original manuscript was found, and the unabridged edition was published in 1955.

*Editor’s Note: The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is available to read free in ebook form or online, and is also free to download and print, courtesy of Project Gutenberg. The volunteer organization founded in 1971 by American Michael S. Hart (1947-2011), inventor of the ebook, has created a digital library offering over 53,000 ebooks of literary works in the public domain that can be accessed, read, downloaded and printed—all free of charge.

Information/Resources:
Wikipedia: Robert Tressell, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Govan, Project Gutenberg, Michael S. Hart
“Welder Turned Poet….”, The Daily Record (February 14, 2016)

The historical works created during times of social unrest and cultural change continue to inspire today Activist Arts

There’s more inspiration here→ Watch: Creative Perspectives,
an On2In2™ collection of short videos

Feature photo of welder is courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels, CC0

**Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a book purchase you make via the link to this Robert Noonan biography “One of the Damned: The Life & Times of Robert Tressell” by F.C. Ball. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Epic Skimo

February 25, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Ski Mountaineering (Skimo) involves climbing a mountain on skis or by carrying them and descending on skis using varied ski touring, Telemark, backcountry skiing and mountaineering techniques. A recreational as well as competitive sport, skimo requires a high level of physical ability and stamina along with technical know-how and skills. Enthusiasts enjoy the adventure, variety of terrain, extreme challenges, and pushing limits.

In 2016, Aaron Rice set out to climb and ski 2.5 million vertical feet in the backcountry without using climbing assistance from motorized equipment (e.g., chair lifts, helicopters), challenging the world record of 2 million vertical feet set by Greg Hill in 2010. It’s an epic endurance test as Aaron must chase after snow around the world and ski more than 330 days in order to accomplish his record breaking goal. Watch this amazing journey in the short video 2.5 million, filmed, directed and edited by Tyler Wilkinson-Ray.

Video documentary Follow Through tells the story of skier Caroline Gleich’s motivation and determination to ski the 90 difficult and insanely dangerous ski mountaineering lines in the backcountry of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains first described by ski mountaineer Andrew McLean in his *1998 book “The Chuting Gallery: A Guide to Steep Skiing in the Wasatch Mountains”.

Information/Resources:

International Ski Mountaineering Federation – governing body for ski mountaineering competitions
United States Ski Mountaineering Association – sanctions and governs competitive ski mountaineering racing in US, and promotes recreational ski mountaineering. The USSMA website includes how-to information, resource links and videos.

Avalanches are a powerful and deadly threat to ski mountaineers as well as anyone living or playing in snow-covered mountainous areas; therefore, no one should venture out in the backcountry unless up to speed on avalanche safety and accident prevention measures.

You should also watch Adventure Skiing (Free to Watch, On-Demand video documentaries) Adventure skiers travel the world, discovering great beauty and dangers in the mountain landscapes of Europe, Asia, North and South America, and the Middle East.

*Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a book purchase you make via the link to Amazon within this page. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Feature photo is courtesy of Robson Hatsukami Morgan/Unsplash, CC0

Barrel Racing

February 11, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Back 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

THROW

January 23, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Coffin Nachtmahr inspires us with his story of how a simple toy changed his life. “Throw” is a video documentary from Early Light Media. [Editor’s Note: As with all media content provided within On2In2™, this video is intended for adult audiences, not children. The dialogue in “Throw” contains some expletives.]

YO-YOING

First invented by the ancient greeks, the yo-yo went down & up, and that was it— until 1928. That’s when Pedro Flores, founder/owner of the Yo-yo Manufacturing Company, introduced his ‘looped slip-string’ design modification. A simple twist, but it changed the game by boosting variety in movement and spin, and started the yo-yo modern era. New technology and designs in yo-yo body shape, type and mechanism have continued to transform the yo-yo over the last four decades, enabling throwers to create and perform more and more amazing tricks. More tricks adds to the challenge and the fun, but a big-time throw is not all about the yo-yo, is it?

Mastery of the yo-yo takes some know-how and practice. Best to start with the basics: Click/Tap the link “How to use a Yo-Yo” for a 12-step instruction. The Yomega Power Brain XP * yo-yo is designed for beginner & intermediate play, includes instructions, and priced at less than $15 (10/1/2016).

⇓ Yomega gift set* includes 3 classic yo-yo’s (beginner, expert & pro level) plus instructional DVD.

* If you purchase a yo-yo via a link within this page, Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Find More Inspiration
How to Beat the Bull
Happy and Proud
A Thousand Sparks
Life Inspired (an On2In2™ collection of videos)

Feature photo is a screen shot of Throw video

Documentary

The Overview Effect

Marathon Runners

BOLDNESS

Surfing the Greats

FREEDIVING

Synchronized Swimming

WATCH On2In2™

A Thousand Sparks

Epic Skimo

Barrel Racing

THROW

MUCH 2 SEE

THINGS 2 DO

PLACES 2 GO

PEOPLE 2 MEET

FOOD & DRINKS

JUST LAUGHS

Documentary

WATCH On2In2™

Footer

MUCH 2 SEE

THINGS 2 DO

PLACES 2 GO

PEOPLE 2 MEET

FOOD & DRINKS

JUST LAUGHS