Watching the horses
I don’t remember JoAnne and I ever stopping to watch the big hitches in the coliseum before. Yesterday was the day. We watched four different classes during the afternoon horse show. In the third class, the six horse hitches came roaring in.
Six horse hitches
These are the big Percheron draft horses. According to Wikipedia, “the Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in northern France, part of the former Perche province from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well-muscled, and known for their intelligence and willingness to work.” There was thunder in the air as each horse weighs about a ton. Three hitches came in at one time and then the ringmaster invited all nine in. It was quite a sight and sound.
Unicorn hitches
Next in were the Belgian draft horses hitched together in the unicorn formation. This consisted of a team of horses and one single horse hitched in front of the team in the center—a lead horse. Belgians are a heavy draft horse and the largest horse on record was a Belgian. I love their colors—chestnut body and contrasting ivory mane and tail. As with the six horse hitches, every hitch had a second person on board who hopped off the finely finished wagon and served as the handler of the lead horse when the team stopped. This person also was in charge of what we used to call in dairy cattle exhibiting, the showmanship aspect—helping the horses position themselves, making sure they were presentable for the judge.
JoAnne and I both enjoyed our time in the coliseum very much. If I had a little less to do, I would like to go back tomorrow when the six horse hitches will return along with eight horse hitches.
The Honey Locast Farms Belgians from Caledonia, NY are my neighbors in Rochester. 🙂