2009 BIRTHDAY CHALLENGE
Each year we provide an essay topic in a special birthday edition of the Muse which is distributed at the BSI dinner and the Gaslight Gala.
The Assignment
2009 will definitely be The Year of the Horse in Sherlockian circles with the running of the 50th annual Chicago Silver Blaze in conjunction with the BSI Triennial Silver Blaze. And in 2008 nineteen men joined ASH. Should ASH choose to expand further by including equine members, tell us in 200 words or less which Canonical steed would best exemplify the Adventuress spirit.
Birthday Challenge Winner
Interestingly enough, two contenders picked the same horse, but Sandy Kozinn won it in a nose with this sprightly rhyme:
A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
But some are better than others:
Some plod along from day to day,
While some take after their mothers.
Some horses do as they’re trained to do
And follow along in a rut,
With a man whom they know, who knows their whims,
And knows what to tell them – But…
In London one day one single horse
Was asked to do something more.
When that muffled man climbed onto the seat,
He’d not driven a brougham before.
“We must save Sherlock Holmes,” that portly man said,
“His life is in danger, you see.”
His flippered hands knew reigns better than reins.
That was clear to the mare as could be.
“He needs Watson to travel along to the coast,
Then somewhere in Europe they’ll hide.”
The horse thought, “It’s my job to get Watson there,
To put him at Holmes’s side.”
To the Arcade she trotted, the station as well,
Then off with Mycroft she fled.
The horse told not a soul. Though we don’t know her name,
We know that it wasn’t Miss Ed.
Runners-Up
Thanks to our “runners-up” for their clever contributions.
Untitled Runner-Up Entry
by Warren Randall
The challenge is to propose which Canonical steed, that is which spirited horse, would best exemplify the Adventuress spirit. That spirit might be expressed by a favorite ASH motto Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi sed saepe cadendo. (A drop carves the rock, not by force but by persistence.) It seems but a small step from “persistence” to nag and a nag is a small saddle horse, a derivation said to be of Low German origin. There are no Canonical saddle horses, but there is Lucy Ferrier’s mustang. Let’s hear it for the little critter which stood up to a moving stream of fierce-eyed, long-horned bullocks.
The Horse Who Gave Her All
by Timothy Reich
(tune: “A Horse With No Name”)
On the second part of my journey,
I was looking at the Lowther Arcade.
There were vendors and children, and toys and things,
There was chaos that Saturday brings.
The first thing I met, was a horse and brougham,
A cloaked driver, with a heavy frame.
I boarded quick, like a thief on the lam,
And we bolted with a whip to her mane.
Chorus:
I raced through London behind a horse with no name,
It felt good to be well on my way.
To Holmes in our carriage of the train,
Where Moriarty’s men can cause no delay.
After two blocks, in the morning haze,
Our filly’s speed began to rise.
After three blocks, in the crowded maze,
I was peering for any spies.
I thought it unlikely they could keep up,
We thundered beyond mere gallop. (chorus)
After nine blocks, our horse felt the stress;
Our combined weight taking its toll.
We were close, to the Continental Express;
Waiting at Victoria Station as our goal.
The driver pulled her hard as we finished there,
And our filly responded like a seasoned mare. (chorus)
