Interview:

Willie:“you have at least like fifteen people, about 5%, get in a circle, and they ride the pony and they do the traditional thing, like ride the pony (gestures with his hands, like he’s holding a laso and reins, galloping motions) and you run around the circle of people and …it’s like a warble…its ‘here we go, ride that pony, ride around that big fat pony, this is how do it.’ And then you like stop if your in the middle and look to the person on the outside of the circle and then go ‘front to front to front my baby,’ all while getting all up in eachother’s business.. and then ‘back to back to back my baby, side to side to side my baby…this is how we do it!’ and then they go in the middle and you keep going until everyone gets in the middle.”

Me: And what do you think about it

Willie: “i really like it, you know, it’s like stupid fun, and everyone is doing it and being stupid and it’s like a great time”

Willie learned this game on a leadership retreat. Group humiliation is one way to form a fast bond with a new group of people. Also, just “being stupid” and having fun promotes a sense of unity within a leadership group.

This game forces people to get “all up in each other’s business,” forcing people to feel more comfortable, and break the personal boundaries. Breaking down these boundaries is meant to facilitate cooperative work and sharing.