September 24, 2014
Remembering the Irish War Horse
Fascinated by our summer series of articles about the WWI war horses on the occasion of the centennial of that horrific conflict, Noel Mullins, a regular contributor to Foxhunting Life, sent us this story that he wrote for this year’s Souvenir Programme of the Dublin Horse Show. Noel is a Member of the Royal Dublin Society Library & Archives Committee. His story is about Gladeye, a field hunter that went to war, survived, and returned to jump at the Dublin Horse Show in 1926.
War Horse Gladeye and Brigadier Walter Brooke
This year marks the centenary of World War I, and ceremonies around the world remember the nine million human casualties lost in the conflict. But it is often forgotten that eight million War Horses also lost their lives, going through the most terrifying experiences known to any living creature. War was declared on the July 28, 1914 and was expected to end by Christmas 1914, but sadly it lasted another four years until November 11, 1918.
Probably the two most well known Irish War Horses in history were Emperor Napoleon’s white horse Marengo and the Duke of Wellington’s Copenhagen who met at the Battle of Waterloo. Both are said to have been purchased at an Irish horse fair. War Horses in the mounted cavalry units were deployed in many battles in the first years of WWI, amongst them, the battles of Mons, First and Second Battles of Ypres, Festubert, Aubers Ridge, Marne, Vimy Ridge, the Somme Hill, and Cambrai.
Your Human Faces Are Showing
Perhaps because I’ve seen so many serious photographs of hounds in kennels, I was arrested and amused by this whimsical print by Emily Robards, daughter of a well-known huntsman and author. Emily’s dad has hunted hounds in Ireland and in North America, and Emily has whipped-in to him and spent most of her younger years in or near the kennels. I asked her to tell us about her art.
"Your Human Faces Are Showing" by Emily Robards
I am a visual artist who works in a variety of media such as photography, printmaking, collage, embroidery and paint. My work draws from dreams and memories, linking the spiritual, human, and animal worlds together with an underlining narrative of innocence and the uncanny. The work arises from the self, drawing from my past, while trying to take control of the present. I also work a lot with vintage photographs and text combining them to create new narratives.
The piece, “Your Human faces are Showing,” is a seven-colour limited edition screen print, approximately 11.4 x 8 cm. The print is slightly off register so they are not all exactly the same, which is called a print variable.
The print is based on an old photo my grandmother took of the County Limerick Foxhounds. The piece started out as a doodle in my sketchbook a few years ago, and stayed that way until my last year of college when I made it into a print. The drawing is relaxed, almost comical. I wasn't worried about it being exact or anatomically correct. This relaxed idea towards the drawing I feel is what makes it a success.
