Time to pull out the “Winter Carriage Ride in Friesland” video

This year the Friesian geldings/driving horses Mark and Hessel continued their long winning streak by taking home the golden whip award once again. They and their owner/driver (and a friend of mine, I am so lucky to say) Walter Bruinsma, set some kind of record by winning this prestigious event for the 7th year in a row. These two horses, especially the more talented one, Mark, are famous all over Friesland and regularly get written up in The Phryso magazine. This picture is from the cover of an issue in the summer of 2007 (click it to see a nice, big version).

Something I admire about the Friesian people is their simplicity – they see horses as horses and believe you should treat them well and with love, but give them a job to do. Things are pretty basic over there. Even the famous Mark and Hessel are not pampered and do not live in one of those gold leafed barn mansions. No, they live in a garage next to a farmhouse built in the mid 1800’s. This farmhouse, paddock and garage are known, tongue in cheek as “Snakkerstate” (the “estate” on Snakker Street). When we are lucky enough to visit Friesland, Walter and Gryt Bruinsma, who we love dearly, let us stay in their farmhouse. From the tiny bedroom upstairs you can open a cupboard door and look down upon the horses in the stalls below you. Most of their horses are in tie in stalls rather than box stalls. But Mark and Hessel are “special” – they get box stalls. Since they are out in the garage, when we park the car we go over and pet the horses.

On Sunday mornings the Bruinsmas and their friends go on a carriage ride through the streets of Rotstergaast. After a few miles they stop and have coffee, and the horses get sugar cubes. Then everyone climbs back aboard and heads home. A couple of years ago on a frigidly cold Sunday morning in January we went with them and I captured it on tape. I know many have seen this but I love to pull it out around the holidays. Mark and Hessel, the famous driving horses on the cover of The Phryso this summer, are pulling the big green carriage. You see, they have a job to do.

Below is a picture of my niece Lexie with Mark after last year’s carriage ride. She fell in love with him and would sneak sugar cubes to him every evening. I think if he could, he would be hugging her in this picture, as she is hugging him.

To see the carriage video, click the picture. Happy holidays everyone.