17
Dec, 2012
CAVALIA In San Diego
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.
Meeting Cavalia artist, Spencer, & her horse before the show
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.
