But it also means without limits or restrictions. So, if the horse is going wide open, that means it is running just as fast as it can, as fast as it wants to. No restrictions or limits. You know what this reminds me of? Hurtling, with a T, to move rapidly or forcefully. I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be pulled by a horse when it’s going wide open. Let me quickly take 5 seconds of thanks to shout-out the people here on YouTube who support my channel through the membership. Thank you, thank you. Just click the join button to find out how you can support my channel and get perks like audio lessons and private posts. Okay, back to the news. Skijoring is putting a skier behind a horse with a 30-foot rope. Asking the skier to go around 16 to 20 gates, a few jumps, and the horse to go wide open. Still not crazy enough? Well, the skiers also try to gather rings that are suspended along the course and stack them on their arms. There are three terms here that are worth taking a look at. First is the verb “gather.” Well, the skiers also try to gather rings. When “gather” is used with an object, it means to bring together into one group, collection or place. “We gathered some firewood for our campfire.” But it doesn’t have to be a tangible thing, “Hey, we’re just trying to gather some ideas here in this brainstorm.” It can also mean to bring together or assemble from various places; “The college is gathering faculty from all over the country for a conference.” It can also be used without an object, and it means not to collect, but to bring around a central point. For example, “Gather around; it’s time to sing Happy Birthday!” That’s like saying, come here. Or, “Clouds are gathering in the southeast.” They are coming around a point, coming together, over there, in the southeast. Well, the skiers also try to gather rings that are suspended along the course. Suspended. The verb “suspend” has many meanings. Let’s focus on the definition used here. It means to hang something or attach an object to something above to allow free movement. “The chandelier is suspended from the ceiling.” In skijoring, the rings are suspended on polls; they’re free hanging to make them easier to grab. “Suspend” used without an object most commonly means to come to a stop; to cease operation for a period of time. “We aren’t sure if we want to keep our tv streaming service, so we suspended payments for now.” The third term in that clip is “stack.” Well, the skiers also try to gather rings that are suspended along the course and stack them on their arms. As a noun, a stack is more or less an orderly pile or heap. A stack of books. A neat stack of notes. The verb stack can be used with or without an object; meaning to pile or arrange objects on top of each other. “Let’s stack the boxes in that corner.” “The chairs easily stack on top of each other.” That means they’re stackable, an adjective now, which makes it easier to store them. Once I posted this to Instagram with the caption, Friday morning face stack! Let’s hear that bit again. Well, the skiers also try to gather rings that are suspended along the course and stack them on their arms. Next up, we have a couple of fantastic idioms that you can use in any context. Their use is not limited to sports. Guys that are doing it successfully have some ski racing behind them or, you know, a lot of skiing under their belt. To “have something behind you”. Literally, this is about order and orienting objects to one another. The wall is behind me. The camera is in front of me. But it has other meanings as well. To have something behind you means that you have experience doing something. “I have some competition behind me.” “I have some graduate work behind me.” “I’m not totally new at this. I’ve done this before. It’s not my first time. They have some ski racing behind them.”