9 March 2014 / leggypeggy

Proud horses bring magic to Enlighten’s last night

Australia, Canberra, Enlighten, Fiers-a-Cheval, France, horses, music, proud horses, puppetry, puppets

Who would have thought that three blow-up horses would bring me to my knees—literally?

Poor John and I (and new dog, India) headed out to the last night of Enlighten—Canberra’s annual light show—especially to see the puppetry horse show.

Designed and created in France, the Fiers-a-Cheval (Proud Horse) is a herd of up to nine gigantic inflatable puppets. Three of these 12-foot-tall horses came to Canberra, for their first-ever performance in Australia.

Getting pats from the crowd

Accompanied by a symphonic musical score as well as smoke and colourful lights, the horses ‘galloped’ and ‘cavorted’ through the night, captivating all ages. Two even approached the crowd to receive pats and praise.

Instead of using strings, the puppeteers—who I think were two men and a woman (hard to be sure under the turbans)—form the hind legs and tail of each horse. It’s obvious they have to combine strength and grace to bring the animals to life.

Each puppet was lit from within, and the colours changed from white, to blue, to red, to blue again, to apricot and finally to white.

The performance—there were two on Friday and two more on Saturday—concluded with each puppet being deflated and gathered into a bundle against the puppeteer’s chest.

As for me being on my knees? I got a prime spot at the edge of the performance ring but, just before the horses arrived, a woman elbowed her way ahead to me to join her husband who had saved her a place. He could have said something. Not to worry. I tapped the shoulder of another woman in front of me and to my right and asked if I could sit or kneel in front of her. She kindly obliged and I had a great unobstructed view.

And Poor John and India? They had to keep backing farther and farther up the hill because, as Poor John said, the horses scared the bejeezus out of the dog. But one of my daughters understands. She thought the horses were magnificent and creepy at the same time.