Horses and Hats! (and a little bit of history)
Tomorrow we have the annual Melbourne Cup where most of Australia grinds to a halt for a nail biting 3 – 4 minutes of horse racing. It’s known as ‘the race that stops a nation’ and plays a significant role in Australia’s sporting and cultural identity. Even many who do not typically follow racing, pause to watch the Melbourne Cup. The first Melbourne Cup was held in 1861. In front of a crowd of about 4000 people, a horse called Archer was the first winner of the Cup. In 1880, approximately 100 000 people came to see the race (at the time, Melbourne’s population was about 290 000). As the Australasian Newspaper described;
“There was barely standing room on the lawn and many ladies were unable to find a seat for the whole day. The Paddock was overcrowded to excess and the Hill was simply a mass of human beings. It has reached a stage now that almost everyone in Melbourne goes to the Spring racing.” – Australasian Newspaper (1871)
As the race grew in popularity, so did the carnival atmosphere. The Cup features sideshows, celebrations, picnic parties and fashion shows (the famous hats!). You can read more about this iconic Australian sporting event here at the Melbourne Cup website
While most of Australia stops to watch the race, there’s a good chance a few dedicated ‘Speechies’ will be working through the race. If that’s you, here are just a few fun ideas for getting into the Melbourne Cup mood!
Horses
- Sequencing (First, Second, Last)
- Basic concepts (Big horse and little horse)
- Pronouns (She is riding the horse, He is riding the horse)
- Plurals (One horse, two horses)
Hats
- Categorisation (e.g. Find all the blue hats)
- Prepositions (Put the hat on the horse, next to the horse)
- Pronouns (He is wearing the blue hat, She is wearing the green hat)
- Basic concepts (Big hats and little hats)
- Plurals (She is wearing one hat, He is wearing 3 hats)
- Comparative Superlative (This hat is big, but this hat is bigger and this hat is the biggest)
Happy therapy times!
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This article was written by our speech pathologist Jenna Butterworth who is a Speech Pathology Australia member.
If you have questions about children and adults speech pathology, contact your local doctor who will arrange for you to see a speech pathologist in Sydney. Contact us today!
