Plow Day
2009
The third annual Sleepy Hollow Trail Riders Association's horse drawn plow day took place Saturday at Sleepy Hollow State Park. Under clouds partially obscuring a bright blue sky, draft horse teams made their way through obstacle courses and pulled weighted loads of up to 5,900 pounds.
The day was originally scheduled as a plow day, with draft horses working a field for planting in the park, no plowing happened because the ground was too wet from recent rains. A number of other horse-drawn events did take place, however.
Visitors to the event were directed to the beach area parking lot, where all motorized vehicles were parked. Horse-drawn hand-crafted wagons carried guests down a side road into the area where the draft horses and their teamsters were enjoying a few hours of friendly competition.
"This road was the old Upton Road," said Marsha Putnam, president of Sleepy Hollow Trail Riders Association. She also pointed to where a centennial farm had stood before the area became the state park.
"We opened the road. It was all grown over." Putnam said the Association also graveled the road, which leads to the horse staging area near where the day's events took place. The Association has upgraded the area, which is used for a number of Association events during the year.
The event was organized by Gary and Sharon Fortin of Elsie. They were both recognized for their efforts with a wooden plaque, hand made by a board member, at the end of the day.
"We love draft horses," Gary Fortin said. "We're trying to preserve the old way of doing things. We're both traditionalists."
Fortin said working with draft horses requires a lot of time.
"There is only one thing that takes more time when you're working with horses than draft horse pulling, and that's dressage," Fortin said.
Dressage involves taking well trained horses through a series of elaborate and intricate movements with only slight body cues from the rider.
Fortin emphasized the dedication needed to work with a well-trained draft horse team.
"It's very much the same as weight lifting," he said. "It involves muscle building, and control and training. I drive my team every day."
Fortin also said that developing a strong, well-trained team is only part of what is needed to drive a majestic draft horse team.
"Teamstership involves connection," Fortin said. "A lot of teamsters have reputations of connecting with their teams and getting the most out of them. It requires connection with the animal. It's an unexplained bonding which involves reading the animal's body language. In the old days, when a teamster was working with a team for days on end, they could read each other's minds. Even the animals could tell what kind of mood the teamster was in."
Fortin said that driving a team today requires the same dedication that was required of teamsters years ago.
"It takes an amazing amount of hours to work with a team. Most people don't understand that."
Besides the plow day event, members of the Trail Riding Association also take part in Ichabod Crane Days at Sleepy Hollow in October, offering wagon rides through the campground to view Halloween themed decorated campsites after dark.
by Cheryll Warren, The Argus-Press
Photo Gallery from Plow Day 2009
