Steeplechasing

A steeplechase race

A steeplechase is a distance horse race in which competitors are required to jump diverse fence and ditch obstacles. Steeplechasing is primarily conducted in Ireland (where it originated), the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Australia and France. The name is derived from early races in which orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple, jumping fences and ditches and generally traversing the many intervening obstacles in the countryside.

Modern usage of the term "steeplechase" differs between countries. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, it refers only to races run over large, fixed obstacles, in contrast to "hurdle" races where the obstacles are much smaller. The collective term "jump racing" or "National Hunt racing" is used when referring to steeplechases and hurdle races collectively (although, properly speaking, National Hunt racing also includes some flat races). Elsewhere in the world, "steeplechase" is used to refer to any race that involves jumping obstacles.

The most famous steeplechase in the world is the Grand National run annually at Aintree Racecourse, in Liverpool, since its inception in 1836 (the official race was held three years later), which in 2014 offered a prize fund of GBP1 million.

The steeplechase originated in Ireland in the 18th century as an analogue to cross-country thoroughbred horse races which went from church steeple to church steeple, hence "steeplechase". The first steeplechase is said to have been the result of a wager in 1752 between Cornelius O'Callaghan and Edmund Blake, racing four miles (6.4 km) cross-country from Buttevant Church to St. Leger Church in Doneraile, in Cork, Ireland. An account of the race was believed to have been in the library of the O'Brien's of Dromoland Castle. Most of the earlier steeplechases were contested cross-country rather than on a track, and resembled English cross country as it exists today. The first recorded steeplechase over a prepared track with fences was run at Bedford in 1810, although a race had been run at Newmarket in 1794 over a mile with five-foot bars every quarter mile.[1] The first recognised English National Steeplechase took place on Monday 8 March 1830. The 4-mile (6.4km) race, organised by Thomas Coleman of St Albans, was run from Bury Orchard, Harlington in Bedfordshire to the Obelisk in Wrest Park, Bedfordshire. The winner was Captain Macdowall on "The Wonder", owned by Lord Ranelagh, who won in a time of 16 mins 25 seconds. Report of the event appeared in the May and July editions of the Sporting Magazine in 1830.[citation needed]

In Great Britain and Ireland, "steeplechase" only refers to one branch of jump racing Collectively, Great Britain and Ireland account for over 50% of all jump races world wide, carding 4,800 races over fences in 2008. Jump racing in Great Britain and Ireland is officially known as National Hunt racing.

French jump racing is similar to British and Irish National Hunt races, with a few notable differences. Hurdles are not collapsible, being more akin to small brush fences. Chases often have large fences called Bullfinches, a large hedge up to 8ft (2.4m) tall that horses have to jump through rather than over. There are also a larger number of Cross-Country Chases where horses have to jump up and down banks, gallop through water, jump over stone walls as well as jump normal chasing fences.

Unlike in most countries where the Thoroughbred is almost exclusively used for jump racing, many of the horses in French jump racing are AQPS (Autre Que Pur Sang), a breed of horse developed in France crossing Thoroughbreds with saddle horses and other local breeds.

Auteuil in Paris is perhaps the best known racecourse in France for French jump racing.

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Steeplechase - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FENCE - FENCES - FENCING

Find Contractor, Contractors, Installer, and Installers

Connecting with a qualified fence company contractor and installer which can help you understand and select the right fence type, material and style is very important. You can find those fencing contractors and installers here. They will help you understand the appropriate fence for your home, commercial, industrial or institutional need.

The information here will help you understand the many different fence types, material types and fencing styles you can choose from. It will help you understand when to use vinyl, wood, steel, aluminum, iron or chain link fencing. In addition to explaining the full range of fence, fences and fencing; it will explain gates and gate openers, dog runs, flag poles and other products available from the companies, contractors and installers you will find here.

When you are ready to find a fencing contractor or installer go to the Find an Expert map and click on your state. You can also find a fence contractor or installer in your area by simply call 1-888-FENCING.

Vinyl Fence

Flag poles can be a great addition to a home, commercial or industrial property. A flag pole and flag makes a positive statement regarding youre the flags you display whether it is a country, school, company or event type flag.

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An electric fence is a barrier that uses electric shocks to deter animals or people from crossing a boundary. The voltage of the shock may have effects ranging from discomfort to death. Most electric fences are used today for agricultural fencing and other forms of animal control, although it is frequently used to enhance the security of sensitive areas, such as military installations, prisons, and other security sensitive places; places exist where lethal voltages are used.

Electric fences are designed to create an electrical circuit when touched by a person or animal. A component called a power energizer converts power into a brief high voltage pulse. One terminal of the power energizer releases an electrical pulse along a connected bare wire about once per second. Another terminal is connected to a metal rod implanted in the earth, called a ground or earth rod. A person or animal touching both the wire and the earth during a pulse will complete an electrical circuit and will conduct the pulse, causing an electric shock. The effects of the shock depend upon the voltage, the energy of the pulse, the degree of contact between the recipient and the fence and ground and the route of the current through the body; it can range from barely noticeable to uncomfortable, painful or even lethal.

Early alternating current (AC) fence chargers used a transformer and a mechanically-driven switch to generate the electrical pulses. The pulses were wide and the voltage unpredictable, with no-load peaks in excess of 10,000 volts and a rapid drop in voltage as the fence leakage increased. The switch mechanism was prone to failure. Later systems replaced the switch with a solid-state circuit, with an improvement in longevity but no change in pulse width or voltage control.

"Weed burner" fence chargers were popular for a time and featured a longer-duration output pulse that would destroy weeds touching the fence. These were responsible for many grass fires when used during dry weather. Although still available, they have declined in popularity.

Modern "low impedance" fence chargers use a different design. A capacitor is charged by a solid-state circuit upon contact with a grounded animal or person, the charge is then released using a thyristor or similar solid-state component. Voltage is consistent due to electronic output controls, within the limits of output power. Pulse width is much narrower, often about 10 microseconds. This design works for either battery or mains power sources.

Depending on the area to be fenced and remoteness of its location, fence energizers may be hooked into a permanent electrical circuit, they may be run by lead-acid or dry cell batteries, or a smaller battery kept charged by a solar panel. The power consumption of a fence in good condition is low, and so a lead-acid battery powering several hundred metres of fence may last for several weeks on a single charge. For shorter periods dry cell batteries may be used. Some energizers can be powered by more than one source.

Smooth steel wire is the material most often used for electric fences, ranging from a fine thin wire used as a single line to thicker, high-tensile (HT) wire. Less often, woven wire or barbed wire fences can be electrified, though such practices create a more hazardous fence, particularly if a person or animal becomes caught by the fencing material (electrified barbed wire is illegal in some areas). Synthetic webbing and rope-like fencing materials woven with fine conducting wires (usually of stainless steel) have become available over the last 15 to 20 years, and are particularly useful for areas requiring additional visibility or as temporary fencing.

The electrified fence itself must be kept insulated from the earth and from any materials that will conduct electricity and ignite or short out the fence. Fencing must therefore avoid vegetation, and cannot be attached directly to wood or metal posts. Typically, wooden or metal posts are driven into the ground and plastic or porcelain insulators are attached to them, or plastic posts are used. The conducting material is then attached to the posts.

Electrified palisade fences are usually made from painted mild steel, galvanized steel, stainless steel or aluminium. Typically the fences are 2.4 metres (7ft 10in). The palisade fence is mechanically stronger than a typical steel cable electric fence to withstand impact from wildlife, small falling trees and wildfires.

First published in 1832, Chapter 7 of Domestic Manners of the Americans by Fanny Trollope describes an arrangement of wires connected with an electrical machine used to protect a display called "Dorfeuille's Hell" in the Western Museum of natural history in Cincinnati,[1] which she herself invented.[2] Published in 1870, Chapter 22 of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, describes, "The Lightning Bolts of Captain Nemo" the use of electrification of a structure as a defensive weapon.[3] Published in 1889, Mark Twain's novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, uses an electric fence for defensive purposes.

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Electric fence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SAN FRANCISCO The Mets are moving the fences in at Citi Field, pushing the wall closer to home plate from just right of dead center up to the Mos Zone in right.

None of their officials want to speak much publicly about this. They want to have an event to unfurl the new look sometime in late November.

But maybe something should be noticed in late October. The teams competing in the World Series play their home games in huge parks. AT&T Park in San Francisco annually comes in as either the toughest or one of the toughest stadiums to hit a homer in the majors, according to Park Factors, which compares stat rates at home versus on the road.

Kansas Citys Kauffman Stadium has the most square footage in the outfield of any major league park. The Royals, fittingly, hit the fewest homers, just 95 with an MLB-low 43 coming at home. The Giants were in the middle of the pack with 132, but their 53 at home were the fewest in the NL six less than the Mets had at the old dimensions at Citi.

The Royals did move in their fences once as part of their change from synthetic turf to grass. The Giants, though, embrace their spacious home. They have never moved in the fences because, team president Larry Baer said, we dont think we have anything to fix.

Indeed. They are going for their third championship in five years, proving it is about the skill of your players not the dimensions of the park. Baer said Giant hitters have groused when one of their drives dies for an out at the 421-foot mark in right-center. But that has also been dubbed Triples Alley, and is part of the tricky contours the Giants use to create a home-field edge.

The Mets believe they are going to help hitters such as Curtis Granderson and David Wright by promoting more homers. But keep in mind visiting hitters such as Adam LaRoche, Bryce Harper and Troy Tulowitzki were not contained by Citis lengths. So is it possible that in attempts to help their hitters, the Mets will hurt their own pitchers more?

They do not think so. They plan to emphasize starters who rely heavily on strikeouts and groundballs such as Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler. Which perhaps gives an indication of who they would like to trade this offseason, namely the more flyball-oriented Bartolo Colon and Dillon Gee, and maybe even Rafael Montero, who was at least flyball susceptible in his major league cameo.

The question, though, perhaps should be this: Is this motivated by winning or finances? Are the Mets trying to find a way to get more out of their two most expensive players Wright and Granderson? Are the Mets trying to play a brand of long-ball-centric offense that could convince more folks to come to Citi?

If so, we should remember the Citi fences already have been moved in once, after Sandy Aldersons first season as general manager in 2011. In the three years since, the Mets are 109-134 at home the third-worst mark in the majors and the worst in the NL.

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Light-hitting Mets must learn from Series teams

FENCES - Lesser Oceans Set @ Strummer #39;s - Fresno, CA
Fences (Seattle, WA) October 23, 2014 Strummer #39;s, Fresno, CA Lesser Oceans coming out January 13, 2015 on Elektra Records. http://www.fencesmusic.com/ Came in halfway through Songs About ...

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Interview A Evain Fences
Fences 2014 : 3me soire.

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Minecraft Diversity with Pause - EP10 - Ugh... Fences
In B.C. until the 27th of October. All other videos will resume when I get back.*** Pause and get together to play the Minecraft CTM map, Diversity! Pause #39;s channel - http://youtube.com/pauseu...

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One might wonder if playwright August Wilsons Fences written in the 1980s and set primarily in the America of the 1950s is still relevant. One neednt wonder for long, however; it is, and it still packs an emotional punch as well.

One of 10 plays that together form Wilsons Pittsburgh Cycle (or, more alliteratively, his Century Cycle), Fences has as its focus the lives of the Maxsons, a working-class African-American family dealing with a country in transition.

The issue of race looms large, as do the changing roles of the different members of the household. Segregation is addressed directly, as the characters discuss the preferential treatment given to whites in areas as disparate as professional baseball and employee work assignments in the local sanitation department. Gender relations and family dynamics are also explored. But as central to the plays success as the overarching societal commentary are the more personal conflicts that fill the stage and inform the mostly excellent performances of the cast members.

Henry Clay Middleton deftly handles the lead role, patriarch Troy, with gravity and forcefulness. Even in his first scene when he's joking with longtime friend Bono (a confidently likable Jay DeVon Johnson) after clocking out on payday, Middleton has an underlying intensity that is never fully absent. As the audience watches Troy gradually reveal himself to be much deeper, and more troubled, than the opening scene would initially suggest, it becomes clear Fences is a story about someone whos haunted by choices hes made in the past, and struggling among the inequalities of mid-century America and the mistakes he continues to make as he ages. Central to his internal conflict, too, is the sense that he recognizes his faults, but is prevented by his pride from acknowledging them to those closest to him. Middletons performance is riveting.

As his wife, Rose, Teresa Wallace holds her own. The two mostly flirt and bicker with one another in the first act, and there is an easy rapport between the two. Wallace does a wonderful job of hinting at the lack of fulfillment that plagues her in her role as the dutiful wife. As the second act develops and she is comes into explicit conflict with Troy, nuance is mostly jettisoned in favor of icy condemnation and resentment. When she goes toe-to-toe with Troy, the confrontation is powerful and effective.

While the older cast members are all very impressive, the younger actors deliver performances that are a bit more uneven. Maurice J. McPherson as Lyons, Troys eldest son from an earlier life, is charming enough for the majority of the play, but misses a few opportunities to flesh the character out. Robert J. Townsend as Cory, Troy and Roses teenaged son, is initially unconvincing but does an admirable job of confronting Middleton in the later scenes. He ultimately shows a lot of promise.

The set design is effective, crisp, and unfussy it consists of only a single location, the Maxsons' front yard, where the titular fence, which reflects the familys modest aspirations of stability, is slowly being constructed. The sound and lighting design are minimal, but could stand to be tightened up a bit as a phone kept ringing once it had been answered, and lights went up early one time before a quick adjustment was made. The costumes are generally appropriate to the period, although a few items were clearly more contemporary and some of them were a poor fit. But this is probably due as much to budgetary limitations as anything else.

Ultimately, Fences is successful primarily because of the powerful lead acting and strong source material.Race identity, equality of opportunity, gender relations, kids pushing back against their parents values though the specifics may have changed, these issues are, and will most likely continue to be, important ones for countless Americans.

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Theater Review: South of Broadways Fences features some powerful performances

Frustrating Fences (Diversity #10 ft. VintageBeef)
It #39;s been a very long time, but the Canadian duo is back for my Minecraft map shenanigans! Beef #39;s Channel: http://youtube.com/VintageBeef --------------------------------------------------------...

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Expelled Football Kenya Federation Official Opts To Mend Fences
They say what goes around always comes around and after hitting a dead end, expelled Football Kenya Federation Coast branch chairman Hussein Terry has finally apologized and wants to return...

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