Dear Anne - Entering the Circus World

 Dear Anne,

I come by my love of circus ponies and horses honestly. You know that my dad owned a circus pony, O' Boy. But did you know that there is a strong circus influence in this part of Indiana? It's centered forty-eight miles upriver on the Wabash in Peru, Indiana.

Peru was the winter quarters for the Ringling Brothers Circus and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The International Circus Hall of Fame is located there, too. 

And, I have family connections to the circus - my husband is a relative of P.T. Barnum and his cousin (one of my high school classmates) worked for years as a clown in the Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey Circus.

So is it any wonder I am so fond of circus ponies and horses? And that Little Lynn and I wanted to show Elecktra that part of our Indiana heritage?

My grandfather doing a trick with O'Boy.

Luckily for us, it is that time of year when the circus is in its winter quarters so Circus Girl was not on the road. She said that she  was happy to host us, but she wanted to be sure that we knew that, with the circus in their winter quarters, only practice sessions and new choreography was happening - no real performances were being given. 

Little Lynn and Elektra didn't mind that a bit, so we hopped in my car and drove up to Peru for a visit.

The girls were surprised to discover that Circus Girl was a model horse collector like them!

And she photo shows, too! This is Mighty Mouse, her favorite piece. (That made sense - Mighty Mouse is a circus horse!)

Circus Girl took us to the set of Flamingo Pond and to our delight, some of the flamingos came over to meet us along with Little Raj! Anne, grab your tissues - Elecktra told Circus Girl that she loved flamingos because they are a connection back to her mom and the flamingos she has in her yard.  (I think maybe Elecktra was feeling a bit homesick at that moment. I slipped her a Hershey bar from my purse.)

Next, we were introduced to some new members of Circus Girl's family of performers.

This stunning black percheron is called Black Beauty, or simply Beauty for short.

The girls were surprised at how big he was, so I pulled out this photo of me meeting a black Percheron in Santaquin, Utah while visiting Mountain Mama Jessica last year. Riggs is 18 hands and huge just like Circus Girl's Beauty.

Also new to Circus Girl's act is this lovely Welsh Pony, Merriment. He piaffes in place on cue!

Elecktra sure has a gift when it comes to horses. The last new member of Circus Girl's performance family was a very shy, skittish miniature horse named Gingerbredz.

Elecktra got down on her knees and offered him the apple she'd been saving from lunch. Little Gingerbredz overcame his shyness and stepped up for a nibble. (The flamingos were hoping to get a bite, too!)

Suddenly, there was a great deal of commotion and a couple of striped balls sailed in through the door. Following those balls was a bunch of rowdy, noisy seals. They bounced around the room, pushing those balls back and forth, balancing them on their noses, and threw them to one another. It was absolute chaos, and noisy, too!

Circus Girl turned to Elecktra and Little Lynn and said that she had an idea. She asked if they

Oh, shoot! Look at the time! Anne, I have to run as I am getting my hair cut in a few minutes and I am going to be late. Sorry to close so abruptly. More tomorrow so stay 'tooned.

Hugs from Indiana,

Lynn xo