Winter memories.... Carriage Driving
(My favorite horse, Chy)
After
spirithorse21 's post about her fond winter riding memories, I'd thought I'd tell you about my other job-- Carriage driving for a wonderful company that has been in business for over 25 years. The horses enjoy their job and she takes immaculate care of them-- Its so neat to be with great people who love horses.
Late at night, with snow covered roads and all the buildings downtown are slowly closing up. Knowing that my carriage horse (better if its one of my favorites) and I are quietly celebrating a job well done. Hoof cocked to the side, head lowered and getting loving scratches-- hopefully it was a busy and prosperous night. Not to much longer and we'll be called in to the sweet hay smelling barn, as excited as the carriage horses are to go out, nothing beats coming home. I feel as though I'm transported back in time, like Black Beauty waiting for my charge to come out of some lavish party while I'm keeping my hands warm under horsey breath, and I wouldn't have it any other way. The sound of muffled clipity clop, the wheels turning on the covered ground and the reflection of the glowing carriage lamps dancing on the white snow. They only perpetuate my reminiscing thoughts of a simpler, slower time. We have some brick roads in the city, or my favorite, a cobblestone district that is so perfect the 1860's houses look like a movie set.
Last night, it was a dreadfully rainy night, but we always make the best of it. I was happily chatting along with my carriage full of two mothers that were friends, a son and each of them had an adoreable young daughter dressed in pink. All of a sudden I noticed that the girls were not looking at me, they were watching their mothers interpret in sign Language what I was saying. I had studied sign in High School and as a Park Ranger (day job!) its come in handy more than once. I gently asked in sign how much they knew and told them my name, and the horses name and what we were seeing. Their little eye's were as big as saucers, someone knew their language! The mothers asked if the doorman had seen their hearing aids or knew the situation? No, I said, it was serindipity at its best.
Probibly one of my favorite moments yet.