This past Friday, Aubrey, Uncle Eric and I made a trek down to San Diego to check out the much talked about horse show, Cavalia.
Aubrey’s riding instructor told her about the show several months ago and ever since, she has been begging me to go see it. I am a horse enthusiast as well so we were both really excited at the opportunity.
Cavalia was described to me as Cirque du Soleil on horses (Artistic Director, Normand LaTourelle was one of the pioneers of Cirque du Soleil) but the horses are the real stars of the show. Don’t go expecting the horses to be swinging from the trapeze or walking on tightropes, but they do do some really amazing things. You’ll see trick riding, vaulting, jumping, dressage, Roman riding and more, but my favorite aspect of the show was seeing the intimacy and trust between the horses and the humans. The subtle commands and the sensitivity of each animal to its trainer was, at times, breathtaking.
One of the reasons I was so excited to bring Aubrey to this show is because I’ve long been opposed to traditional circuses with performing animals. I’ve explained to Aubrey that I didn’t feel it was a humane way for animals to live and they are often abused or mistreated. I had heard from many “horse people” that Cavalia was different and when I witnessed it with my own eyes, the attitude of the horses made it obvious that they were right. These horses took joy in their performances and the playfulness with their trainers was evident in each act.
Aubrey LOVED the show, but faded during the last 5-10 minutes. It was almost 3 hours past her bedtime!
Cavalia will be in downtown San Diego, in the Gaslamp District right next to Petco Park (can’t miss that giant white tent!) through the end of December and right now they have a group special of Buy 5, Get 5 Free! It’s a great family show, with some matinee times for the little ones. We went to a night time showing and it got a tad too late for Aubrey! Check it out now before they trot on down under to Australia! The only downside is your kids will be begging you for a horse for a long time afterwards, but trust me, it’s worth it.
*I was not compensated for this post. Opinions expressed here are solely mine and totally honest. Like totally! I did receive complimentary tickets to facilitate this review.
Let the My Little Pony Obsession Live On! Yay AND Neigh!
Any of you who know anything about Aubrey know that she is a “My Little Pony” FREAK FAN GIRL! She has the wedding castle toy, about 6 or 7 different ponies, a MLP train, the “My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Royal Wedding” DVD, MLP bed sheets, an actual horse riding helmet with a MLP looking cartoon pony on it, MLP “Pinkie Pie” t-shirt and… the list goes on and on.
I like the cartoon series (which is on the HUB network). I love ponies and I think they are really cute. I love the different characters, the music and singing is Broadway quality and the writing is funny. Yes, it’s funny.
So Aubrey was pretty stoked to receive a review copy of the latest DVD “MY LITTLE PONIES: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC: ADVENTURES IN THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE” which officially releases on Dec 4. You can pre-order on Amazon for only $9.99. Woohoo!
She’s already addicted to the new DVD and has seen it about a zillion times in just a few days and I have to say it’s nice to have a distraction from all the holiday gift mania on kid’s tv right now. Speaking of which, this would be a PERFECT gift for your little pony fan! Here is a clip from the new DVD for you to enjoy. Happy holidays!
*I did not receive compensation for this post other than a screening copy to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own and my 5 yr old daughters. The ponies had NOTHING to do with this post. Nothing.