By LIZ CRUMBLY
Editor
I found myself a little outside my comfort zone recently. I was staring down a deserted two-lane highway trying my best to keep 4,000 pounds of Belgian mare traveling in a straight line. The mares, Ava and Glory, were presumably bored out of their minds, having taught beginner drivers all morning, but I was well aware that my complete attention was required to pilot them safely.
“Keep ‘em straight!”
Dris Abraham’s voice sounded from directly behind me.
I hastily adjusted my lines the way we had been taught during the previous day’s ground driving session. I had accompanied my husband on a long-overdue weekend getaway to the beginners’ driving clinic at RX Acres Belgians in Roosevelt, Okla. It was a nice chance for us to relax together and also to begin fulfilling his lifelong dream of learning to farm with heavy horses.
The experience was just a bit nerve wracking in that it put us both out of our respective depths. As my readers know, I’m a diehard dressage enthusiast; my husband, Chip, is a journeyman farrier. We both have a lot of experience – but it’s with light horses. Belgians that weigh as much as some mid-size cars are a whole new ballgame.
I was a tad apprehensive going in; I half expected to be put through a battery of pushups and ruck marches – or worse yet – to find ourselves shepherded into the grasslands by a denture-wearing, gold crazy cowboy, a la “City Slickers II.” As luck would have it, Dris and his business partner, Melissa Brown, seemed to have no such designs on us and turned out to be welcoming, funny and professional.
Dris (often animatedly) held forth on the minute details of ideal working horse conformation, over dinner several evenings – I found the subject fascinating because of the similarities to a nicely formed dressage horse. We also got rundowns in the equipment shed on the physics behind asking a horse to pull things like manure spreaders and square balers.
I was pit-in-the-stomach convinced I’d be left in the dust by the others due to my novice status with heavy horses, but to my disbelief, I was able to identify most parts of a work harness by the end of the weekend and even to harness the slightly put-upon, but saintly, Ava and Glory.
I’ll admit my hands were shaking just a little when I first took the reins to drive the four-wheeled wagon. Despite Dris and Melissa’s careful ministrations and much prep behind the practice sled, it was a sobering experience to know I was in charge of those mares.
Many thanks go to Dris and Melissa for their sharing of knowledge and comprehensive teaching and to Ava and Glory for their patience and obedience. (The latter two, I’m sure, gratefully hightailed it into their pasture the minute they realized they were free from our bumbling, beginner mistakes).
If I had been presented with the opportunity to participate in a weekend dressage clinic for our getaway (this would have required my husband to spontaneously develop an affinity for riding), I probably would have taken it. Driving was exciting but uncomfortable its newness, but that kind of growth is always good, don’t you think?
In this edition, you’ll find business professionals and riders trying a plethora of new things. From the riders braving the draw table at IHSA Nationals to the artists churning out stunning equine coloring books to the new business owner shipping tack over the Internet, these innovators are adding value to others’ lives. Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Liz
