Dmitri Shalin Interview with Audrey Wipper about Erving Goffman entitled Goffman Was Very Original from the Beginning, He Had His Own Way of Seeing and He Stuck to It

This conversation with Dr. Audrey Wipper, Professor Emerita at the University of Waterloo, was recorded over the phone on September 23, 2009. After Dmitri Shalin transcribed the interview, Dr. Wipper edited the transcript and approved posting the present version on the web. Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. Supplementary information and additional materials inserted during the editing process appear in square brackets. Undecipherable words and unclear passages are identified in the text as “[?]”

The occupation of the professional rider.

This thesis describes an occupational group, the riders of hunters and jumpers. These riders are employed to manage, train and show a stable of horses. Their activities focus on horse shows where they assemble to compete "for ribbons" in a variety of events. The shows furnish the chief opportunity for horsemen, whose stables are usually in remote rural areas, to meet and associate. News and views are exchanged and the shared understandings and solidarity of the professional horsemen are fermented amid the drama and excitement of the show