Back at the Barn After Outside Lands

   We drove into the barn late Monday night after spending three days sharing Bercut Horse Arena in Golden Gate Park with eighteen private patrol horses.  Here's how it went. We all had our seperate areas of course, but we could see and hear each other.  One big herd wondering about one another.

Friday night my rider and I rode through the park by ourselves to see the show.   The bands and cheering were too much for me and I caused my rider to dismount and hand walk me through the noisy, dark, scary places.  I settled down, he remounted and we rode on trails away from the noise. 

Back at camp I was greeted by Lettie's neighing.  Everyone turned in for the night.  Next morning we reported for duty, got our assignments, and rode the Outside Lands Festival area, three stages in the center of Golden Gate Park.  

The Main Stage was in the old Polo Field, that's where the pictures were taken.  I am the one in the brown horse suit.  I wish I could have seen that sport played here.  My rider told me he played rugby here in 1970s and enjoyed running the field.   I got to lope across the field in early morning and run around the upper track in the afternoon, in between the crowds of course.

There were the usual 200 people petting us a day and pictures, with calls for assistance to show people to the proper entrances.  We waited for the Mayor and touched base with the SFPD Mounts.  We got breaks at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and got all the apples we could eat, while our riders ate their meals behind the stage.  They seemed to enjoy this and stayed quite a while.  Luckily us horses are used to waiting; we take naps standing up.

Sixty thousand people a day roamed inside the festival, with many thousands outside as well, listening for free. 

Our riders said "John Fogery did a great job, the crowd joined in with every song."

My rider enjoyed the Decemberists.  I hear them on radio at the barn.  Death is in their lyrics, yet the songs are folksy and fun.  At one point the entire band collapsed on stage.  In the song they were swallowed by a whale, but they soon came back to life.

Our riders packed up and cleaned our area.  We got out of the park at about 9:00 P. M.  We're coming back for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass www.strictlybluegrass.com.  I hope to give Warren Hellman another ride, like I did last year.  He's a great horseman and Warren doesn't play a bad banjo either.

Happy Trails!  Joey