THE CHRISTMAS GIFT

Sometimes it is hard to have enough vision to see what is really possible or valuable. I sure didn’t see this Christmas coming. I should know better. When my husband Dan says, “I’ve been thinking” we have come to expect some idea has been formulated in his mind that is beyond our wildest imagination. Sometimes we roll our eyes, and sometimes he makes us smile and join him in his journey through fantasy land, trying to imagine just how on earth he will make his dream come true.

Before we were married, and Dan was in school, he harvested a good number of Walnut trees. Being the industrious young man that he was, he obtained a lumber mill, which he used to make dimensional boards from these trees. He stacked his huge, heavy pile of boards and restacked them so they would cure dry naturally over time. When we were married in 1973 he used some of these boards to make me a beautiful solid Walnut kitchen and a few pieces of furniture. A huge pile remained. Dan continued to restack the boards periodically so they would remain straight, sometimes relocating to different buildings for storage. We also have moved thirteen times in our marriage until we settled on the farm in 1995. This Walnut has continued to be moved and restacked MANY MANY times in the past fifteen years. I have often thought it was pretty worthless and a great deal of work to take care of this wood. I wanted to sell it many times, even placing adds in papers for someone to buy it. I never had anyone interested. I was hopeful it would ALL be put to good use when our son Nathan used it for a kitchen in his home. It was and is beautiful, but it didn’t make a dent in the pile of lumber that occupied a large portion of our storage shed. So you can see, even though it had been put to good use it seemed like friendship bread, it just kept being there. I had no idea there was so much wood in that pile. What good would it ever be? Until recently, Dan was thinking.

We went to the fair in August and saw the draft horses being driven. It wasn’t the first time we have seen draft horses, but for some reason it was appealing to Dan. As we have become grandparents we have tried to find unique ways to build memories for our children and their families. Our farm has been in our family since 1876 and has had a long history of horses and the life associated with them. It seems only natural to blend that heritage with a historical experience that children can experience. So Dan “was thinking”. “What could we do for Christmas to build a memory?” At about the same time our friend offered us his Percheron stallion Cody. It was a huge endeavor. We knew little about draft horses and driving, but Dan wanted to learn and that always makes me happy. We took Cody to a trainer and bought a second horse, Ben, to be his teammate. Once they were going well we started lessons together to learn how to do this safely. We were eager, but not all that quick to learn. As Dan asked questions he started to formulate an idea. He found an antique sled that needed a box on it. He could build a box, but what should it look like? He sat for hours searching the web for ideas. Finally he had an idea of something in his head. Nathan came to the farm and together they created, figured and planned a beautiful wooden box to fit on the sled that was large enough to carry a family. Oh yes, it is made of solid Walnut and White Oak, probably the only one of its kind. Who would have ever guessed that we would ever find such a unique way to use the wood that has been so much work over the years. I look at this sled, now amazed. I see the labor of such a loving, creative, wonderful husband and father, who has designed beauty, brought value to what I thought was worthless, and think, “I am truly blessed this Christmas.”

By the way, there is still more Walnut in the shed. I just appreciate having it now.

CODY

CODY is a registered Percheron gelding that stands about 17 H. He is a beautiful gentle giant that we acquired after he was retired from the breeding shed, where he produced World class offspring. He rides and drives and is a friendly and exciting ambassador for our program.

Dixie

Dixie is a yearling miniature horse on loan to us from a friend. She is a friendly representative of the horse world for people who are not familiar with being around horses. Although she is only a year old, she is learning her manners and how to do what she is asked. Climbing to new heights was a daring task for one so small but she did it eagerly. She is also good at soccer!

AMBER

Amber is shown here as a yearling. She is a Morgan Quarter Horse cross. She has a calm, curious disposition and is learning quickly. She will be used for equine therapy and in our mentoring program.

SPARKLING SUGAR

Sugar is a 15H Arabian mare. She is well mannered and a wonderful trail horse that has ridden throughout the United States. Her owner donated her to our program to be used as a therapy horse.

HOLLYBROOK SHEER BLISS

Bliss is a 14.3 H Morgan mare. She is broke to ride and drive, showing primarily in English pleasure divisions. She was purchased in North Carolina with Heaven’s Love Command to be a broodmare. We were unable to achieve a foal. She was sold to become a lesson and therapy horse.

LUCKY

One day while I was working in my garden a car pulled up and said there was a loose pony in a field 1 mile from my house and it had been loose for days as other neighbors had seen it. The little horse walked up to me and followed me home. It didn’t have a halter on it, but it was broke to lead. I kept it in my barn overnight. The next morning his owner called asking if I had seen his little horse. Of course it was Lucky. He had to go home after his night in the Turning Point Hilton for horses. Too bad, it looked like he could use some TLC.