A Happy New Year for a lucky pair of ponies

A large grey pair of ponies will have a very happy new year thanks to a special person. Just before Christmas, Kelly Valdes was visiting her family in New Jersey when she read on Facebook about a pair being sold at auction, destined for slaughter.  The notation on their listing said they weren’t broke to ride, but did drive tandem! With little hesitation, Kelly bought the pair and has brought them home to North Carolina. 

It’s too early to tell how the story will end, but so far “they are very sweet,” says Kelly.  Hopefully with  Kelly’s expert care along with others, these two ponies will have many happy years of driving.  Once she knows that they will be safe driving ponies, Kelly hopes to find them a new home.

Happy New Year to you all!

Happy Holidays to All

This will be our first Christmas in Southern Pines, N.C. While I will miss the beautiful winter wonderland of Michigan (but not the icy roads and yucky mucky parking lots) I’m happy to be among driving friends here. 

The Moore Country Driving Clubs has an annual Christmas parade through the town of Southern Pines.  Despite a driving, cold rain, almost 20 carriages turned out so the intrepid spectators wouldn’t be disappointed.  The main street running through downtown is divided by a very active railroad track, so it is very important to be on time, because the trains will only wait for so long. 

Craig Kellogg drove Marcie Quist's team in the parade, with a very important passenger.

Yesterday I went for a drive through the Walthous Moss Foundation with Marcie Quist’s four-in-hand.  She calls it a ‘herd’ rather than a team, since it is made up of two Hackneys, a Percheron and a Quarter Horse.  They may look like two odd couples, but they go along beautifully, and with the addition of sleigh bells, it was a very fun drive and made me particulary glad that we came to Southern Pines early this year. 

A few of our subscribers have complained about so much combined driving in the last few issues.  Now that WEG is over, I promise that the content will be more diverse.  In fact, I have somewhat of a backlog waiting for the next few issues.

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To everyone – Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year!