Horse Illustrated Magazine

Cue the sound of jingle bells…For 42 years Harmon’s Hayrides has provided horse-drawn heaven in Virginia – from parades and weddings to military reenactments. For the last four years they have delivered Christmas trees to the White House. This December, 18-year old Karry and 12-year old Ben, both Belgian draft geldings, pulled the holiday evergreen down Pennsylvania in the nation’s capital.

The trip to the White House began this year in historic Brandy Station, Virginia. In the barn, the Harmon family groomed the horses to perfection with curry combs, dandy brushes and draft-size quantities of detangler and hair polish for the geldings’ flaxen manes. The horses were trailered to DC where they were hitched to a beautiful custom wagon carrying an 18 and a half-foot tree that weighs about 1,000 pounds.

2015 was Ben’s first time delivering to the White House. Karry is an old hand, having worked the job for the past four years. Christine Harmon Menard and Sue Harmon drove the horses. They performed with perfection, despite the sounds and surprises of life in downtown DC.

Afterwards, the team headed back on the trailer and back home, about an hour away. The 125-acre Meadow Acres Farm is home to 18 drafts, four Percherons and the rest Belgian. Merry Christmas!

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