Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1890-03-06
{ .RCUS MEN IN WINTER.
WHAT BECOMES OF THE HEROES
IN SPANGLES AND TIGHTS.


Schools Where ,Iovices Are Taught.
scene In Practice Barn - Training
Horses for the Ring.
What do circus people 10 in winteri
1t seems strange that while the newspapers
devote 90 much SPACE to the sayings and do
inss, the fortunes and lnSfortuneS of actors
and actresses, they seldom or never refer to
circus people, though from the fact that the
number of persons connected with every cir
Gus is many times greater than that comprised
l'y the largest dramatic company, the saw
dust folks are more numerous class than the
children Of Thespis, while from the hazard
GUS gypSy like character of their profession,
their daily lives are frausht with much
.s,eper romantic interest than ,i.1e of the
weurprs Of the sock ana buskin in B,rlin,
Vienna, Dresden, Hamburg, Paris Lyons
and st. Petersburg there are large "winter
elrcuses," where the sports of the arena may
Ike ca joyed throughout the cold season, and
the press of those cities devotns quite as much
attention to the artists of the s.wdust circle
AZ to the votarics Of the stage
PRACTICING BARNS
II we visit Frankford, a suburban part OF
Philadelphia; Fordhan, N. Y; Newark, N.
j., and West Chester, Pa, we shall learn the
ais Ser to our qu 'ction What do circus peo-
pie d,, IN winterf We shal, find that they go to
the barn tp keer themselves warm, if not to
put their head undo; their wing. To put ii
more pHllly, there are maintained at each
Of the ,.lacss have named large ''practicing
barI,s," a. they are technically called, sup
piled with regular forty-two feet circus
ring, Ia which the cirrus paoile promote the
eiru, l.tion of the blood by praclicing their
acts all Through the cold season. When
c.rcus performer accu.nulates money he in
,ariablv Invests it in a far. n on which to pass
his time when Fasting from his professional
labor, AMI ,;.:h people Usually have prac-
tlcing barn Of their own for individual use.
l44w fortunate members of the profession
spEnd their winters at some one of The four
places | have Named i'll order to enjoy tie
advantages for rracticn Afforded ly the pub
he pract ninx barns, wis ch are the property
of some circus manager or retired Per.
former.
Not only do they prLctcc their old acts,
but they learn now oics as well, besides
breaking AID training new horses TO tao
ring, tax Of no lilconsidtrab bic magnitude.
Ever~ rider is required by circus managers
TO furnish his own horses, and the Principal
artists usually keep from two to four. These
IUeN are COiH"l.'l W VII ''N
winter ut their own expense. Young people
DESTROYS of becoming riders are al.u instruct
ed in their own chosen profession in these
practicing barns during the cold season.
1t was a strange sight that met my gaze as
lsirolled into one of these practicing barns
the other day. \ motley group of circus
performers was gathered about the ring, in
whsh a beautiful young girl Of about IL
yea,a was taking her iirst lesson in bareback
riding Tier were two or three handsome
younu women among them with their two or
three husbands and tier two or three moth
ers, and their ei Kit or nine lutte children,
who do the fairy business when required.
The father Of one of these interesting families
WAS in the habit of balancing the father OF
another of the families on the top OF great
pole The father Of Il thlrd family often
made q pyramid of both those fathers, with
his youngest SOL for the apex and himself
standing upon two horses for the base.
All the fathers could lance upon rolling
casks, stand upon bottles, catch knives and
balls twirl hand basins, ride upon anything,
jump over anything and stick at nothhg
Ali the mothers could land did do flying acts
nlon the barcbacicd steeds. One Of them
drove four H. hHnd alone. in u Greek chariot,
through every town in which she Appeared
They ali assumed to be mighty rakish and
knowing, vet there was Il remarkable gentle
ncss and cilllishless about these people,
spnciul inap,l,U;,c for AIRY kind OF sharp prac-
tices, and an uutirin. readiness to help and
pity one another deserving as much respect
and US 1iI,ich generous consideration as the
virtues of am class OF people i'll the world.
TRAINING HORSES.
"Hnw ure horses trained for the ringf |
asked.
"Nou mean the horses upon which riders
perform their fcatsi Well, to answer that
question will begin by saying that the best
age ut which TO train n horse is from to u
Years In selecting one for the purpose you
must first dc"i,ie what kind OF riding You
wish to use hi,a for. As you doubtless know,
circus riding is OF two kinds, namely, princl-
pal acts and maneg" acts Principal acts are
those in which the artist rides in standing
position an, performs various acts, such as
proue,tinG, jumping AMI throwing somcr-
saults over OF, ccts, etc Principal acts may
he ridden either upon the horses bare back
m upon a pad saddle. They may also he
ridden as two, four or SIX horse acts, the per-
former riding any Of those number of horses
all at the same TINE, or they may be hurdle
acts, bars or hnrdles being placed in the ring
and tae horse jumping over them.
"Mauecu nets are those in which a horse Is
ridden under an ordinary saddle by lady or
esu tleman in park riding dress the object
being rs the name Of the act impiles, to dis
play the riders skill in managing the horse.
For hurdle riding you want the most spirited,
iash,Dg hisn melted horse you can get, but
for any other style Of principal act horses
.lSsllI 4NJsscss Ne OF no spirit, and should
I've Of a dull, plolding. phegnatic disposition
That nothing can excite. Having selected
YOUR horse, the first thing is to bit hi!n-that
is, to make bis pWuth sensitive to the bit
that he will INSTANTLY respond to the slightest
pressure upon it, TINS may be accomplished
quickly with some, while others vii! require
months.
Having been well bitted the horse is put
into the ring, "A roller OF surcingle about his
body and bis bend kept up by ''hearing up"
reins Ills trainer, in the center Of the lng,
holds a long hinge rein attached to Line bit.
In this way he is taupli that hr must keep
r,.ug round and round the rings inner edge.
Then the attaches of the circus practice
yaultlny upon his back TIL he is thoroughly
accustomed to it and acquires what we call
the balance Of the ring. Then the paper Gov
cred hoops through which riders jump and
the wild: pieces Of cloth called banners over
which they leap are brought in, and he is
made to pass under them Till he will DO so
without the slightest tendency to shy or
brighten. Then, if designed for pad horse,
the pad is placed upon him to accustoln him
TO it, Often, after all other stages OF hls
education have been successfully passed, he
will not submit to the pad, but viii Kick TO
such an extent that it cannot be placed upon
a..