Saturday, January 05, 2008

Cirque National #6


famille1, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

The Gruss Family #1

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Four white horses...a picture in itself.

What a shame that the cellotex and vinyl floors in the USA have all but eliminated the riding acts.

An innocent question: what is the purpose of the ring mat/carpet?

Buckles said...

That's a ring carpet in this picture, used mostly for decoration or keeping the saw dust out of the performers shoes.
A ring mat is made of thick insulation covered by canvas and is made in sections that are laced together. Good footing for all animals.
I once worked on a cocoa mat that John Cuneo had for his horse act and it was excellent also.

Anonymous said...

Too bad no one seems interested in bringing acts like this to the United Sates anymore. does anyone have a big riding act in the United Sates any more?

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the explanation.

Would a vinyl mat be considered a "vinyl mat" as opposed to a carpet being refered to strictly as a "ring carpet"?

I appreciate your patience with me, "the uninformed".

I am trying to be 100% correct in my circus vernacular.

Buckles said...

As opposed to a vinyl carpet?
Sounds pretty complicated to me.

Anonymous said...

I've never tried to work cats on a cocoa mat; but I've heard from others that it can be a lot of headaches, the cats tearing it for using it for a scratching pad.

Here in Japan we use a heavy, dense, thick (maybe 3 inches?) rubber mat. It's really good for all the animals, hoofstock, cats and elephants.

I don't like it when my whip gets hung up in the cracks between the sections, though. It happens frequently. That never happens on grass or dirt or sawdust. :-)

Anonymous said...

A vinyl mat would be considered a cheap tablecloth, good for picnic tables,dangerous for circus animals and artists, but most importantly,it seems, cheap and easy