Sleigh Bells Ring: Columbus Sleigh Rally

A Beautiful Sight: Martha Stover of Here Be Dragons Welsh Ponies of Incomparable Wonderfulness, Mattawan, MI gives us a preview of what's in store for the Columbus Sleigh Rally

Columbus, Wisconsin will host a Sleigh Rally on February 11, 2012 beginning at noon with a Currier & Ives class, cones course and cross country course.  Fireman's Park is the locale which also hosts Columbus Horse & Carriage Festival over Father's Day weekend.

What is deliciously exciting to me is that the cross country course will run both at the park and on the Golf Course.  I have always wanted golf courses to be multi-use, it is such a shame to waste all that open grass and landscaping on just golfers.  Golf carts are mulit-use: carriage drivers use them, too, why not the fairways as well?  My hat is off [I am full of puns this morning] to the organizing committee for introducing this excellent dual purpose idea to the golfing fraternity.

Columbus always puts on a good show for exhibitors and the Sleigh Rally should prove no exception.  It is an ADS sanctioned event with the colorful Mary Ruth Marks officiating.  Entry fees are $45 for ADS members, $65 for non members.  There will be plenty of cold weather warming comfort food: chili, pies, hot cocoa available through the Columbus Equestrian Club.  Need to know more?  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Columbus-Wisconsin-Sleigh-Rally-Weekend/227415907585?sk=info

Other activities include a Model Horse Show, live music, photo ops for kiddies in a mini sleigh with a Very Small Equine, bob sled rides for the public, cookie decorating contest, and more.  The event is sponsored in part by the Wisconsin Horse Council Equine Foundation, whose HQ is in Columbus and some of the proceeds will go to the Wisconsin Equine Hay Bank Program which assists private individuals facing financial difficulties to feed their horses.  Need to know more? http://www.wshcef.org/

Columbus is a rocking little town and everyone should visit it.  It is full of wonderful people trying to keep Small Town USA viable.  Notable Columbutonians [yep, I made that up] Todd and Cheryl Fry have made a big impression on Main Street, not only with their business Frey Carriage Co, but also with groovy renovations of a number of properties.

Visit Hydro Street Brewing company, located in Frey Carriage's former showroom, for a Bitter Woman with some Loaded Pots.  Seriously, where else can you get that?  Need to know more?  http://hydrostreetbrew.com/our-menu/

No sleigh, you say?  No problem.  Todd Frey can fix you right up in style.  Frey Carriage Co currently has, among others, a  Kimball Bros [Boston] Portland Cutter, Two Park Bob Sleighs one by Kimball Bros [Boston], the other by Edward McGraw [NY],  an a-dor-a-ble Hooded Cutter, and a Frey Portland Cutter for sale.  Need to know more?  http://www.colonialcarriage.com/category.cfm?id=4&start=1

Kimball Bros [Boston] Portland Cutter:  buy this!

[Whatever you do, though, Do Not buy the Albany Cutter.  That is all I'm saying: Don't do it.]

Albany Cutter:
Do Not Buy

No snow?  Still no problem: just bring the carriage instead.  Carriage all packed away for the winter?  You guessed it: no problem there either!  Stop in at Frey Carriage Co and get yourself a new one: order a Frey Sprint Cart for a spring delivery.  The Frey Carriage Co's Dos A Dos will look lovely put to your horse, you know it will.  Or how about a new old one: nothing says Arriving In Style like a Skeleton Boot Victoria.  No coachman?  Removable seat turns this beauty into a George IV.  [That C P Kimball  & Co Tandem Gig?  Forget it.  Walk away.  Or I will never speak to you again.  OK?]  Need to know more?  http://www.colonialcarriage.com/category.cfm?id=3&title=Antique%20Carriages

JB Brewster Skeleton Boot Victoria: with bloodlines like that, you  barely need a horse.  Buy This!

What did I tell you? Walk away. Do not buy.  Nuff said.

Go to Columbus, WI on February 11, drive your horse on the GOLF COURSE, have a Bitter Woman and Loaded Pots at Hydro Street and buy a vehicle from Freys.  [Just not the Albany Cutter or the Tandem gig, or you'll have to deal with a Bitter Blogger.]  I will be here in spirit, [just to make sure] with bells on, wishing you a marvelous rally hosted by even more marvelous folk, in an equally marvelous town.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Frey Carriage Company's SSSC: Smart Sexy Sprint Cart

Frey Sprint Carts are Smart.  Smart Carts are Sexy.  Therefore: Frey Carriage Co's Smart Sexy Sprint Cart.

If you are in the market for an entry level vehicle that will help you train and condition your horse with enough style to take you down the road or up to preliminary CDE's, Frey Carriage Company has Smart Sexy Sprint Carts for $2495.  [Well, yes, I may have taken a liberty with the name of the vehicle...]  Frey Carriage Co has put a lot of research and development into this vehicle and it shows: American made in the tradition that once made this country great.  In fact, that is what I think really sets Frey Carriage Co apart from other carriage manufacturers: tradition infused with innovation.

Clean lines, precision in every detail.  If Coco Chanel made Sprint Carts, this would be her little black dress.  This vehicle is De Con Architecture of carriage building and design. 

Frey Carriage Co's king pin, Todd Frey, has a soft spot for traditional vehicles.  His engineering and architectural background mean that Frey looks first to form and function and then to fashion.  The old vehicles were powerful examples of engineering and beauty and Frey has studied them all from the unique perspective of the restoration process.  Yet, he has the foresight of a designer: innovation with modern materials.

If a Kentucky Style Breaking Cart and a Whiskey Gig were crossed and put in a time machine set for 2011, the offspring would be called Frey Sprint Cart.

The Sprint Cart is evidence of this.  It isn't a bench seat set on an elliptic spring bolted on an axle with two bicycle wheels and tubular steel shafts from a folding chair manufacturer.  I have written before about proprietors who go to enormous lengths to supply the finest products anywhere on earth to a discerning public.  Todd Frey is yet another example of the pursuit of excellence in manufacturing in an increasingly outsourced world.

Openly Bi-Functional: Swingletree has a Hook for Traditional Slotted Traces or an Eye for Marathon Shackles.  Frey Sprint Cart can take you from High Class to the Other Side of the Tracks. 

The Sprint Cart's seat sits sleekly above the wheels [where you should be, IMHO] on shock absorbers and has further height adjustment to accommodate different sized horses.  The toe board is at a graceful and functional angle.  So many modern carriage builders confuse the toe board with the dash and do not leave adequate leg room.  Modern bells and whistles include adjustable seat, axle and shafts, marathon wheels and tires then top it all off with an impeccable Frey Carriage Co finish and why would you want anything else?

Agile and quick but highly refined: a perfect marriage of form and function.  "Any color- so long as it's black." Henry Ford

Distinguish your SSSC with a custom package: Country Vehicle, Marathon, Presentation or simplly invest in a wedge seat to get you up where you belong...above all the competition.  Speaking of which, the nearest comparable vehicle has a ticket price more than $1500 above the Sprint Cart.  This is not accidental sagacity, the Frey Sprint Cart is smart and sexy.

I'm putting my name on the list for a spring delivery.  So I can be smart and sexy.  For more information on Frey Sprint Carts: http://www.colonialcarriage.com/item.cfm?id=1070
or follow them on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frey-Carriage-Company/137070584654?v=wal
or do the old fashioned thing and call them: [920] 623-1998.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Acciental Sagacity Corporation company.

A Blog About A Blog

Here is a link to my good friend Todd Frey's blog. Todd inspired me to start this one and I still enjoy all his posts. This particular one is about an outstanding restoration of an important piece of carriage driving history that will be of interest to anyone who likes to see pretty antiques restored to their glory.

Thanks, Todd.

http://americancarriagebuilder.blogspot.com/2010/11/every-time-i-post-new-blog-i-seem-to.html

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipty

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Sexiest Carriage Driving Competition Alive: Iron Horse 2010

Under the Illinois Sky: A Competitor on the Cones Course

The Poster Boy: Chester Weber, Making Four In Hand Everyone's Dream

Eight Fours

Just trying to catch my breath from Iron Horse: stunning, stunning, stunning. The Venue. The Obstacles. The Show. The Competitors. The Horses. The Appetizer for the World Equestrian Games. Mmmm.

Sexiest Carriage Driving Whip Alive: Chester Weber. Sexiest Carriage Driving Event Organizer Alive: James O'Rourke, III. Sexiest Carriage Builder Alive: Todd Frey. There is nothing left to be said, except, get out your wallets and send each of these men a check so they can keep doing what they do best to promote the sport of carriage driving. Nobody does it better...

There goes my breath again.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

J L Powell -The Sporting Life-

J L Powell Upland Sweater

"A great hunting sweater not only retains heat, but stories as well..."

Oh, yeah, that is hot.

J L Powell 3XDRY Bush Shirt

Who knew hunting was this sexy?

Notice the Horsehair belt- no harm to horses for production of such- see, there is a horse connection to this blog, not just a good lookin' man in spiffy duds...

J L Powell Leather Hoof Pick Belt

Yet another horsey connection...

J L Powell Camel Hair Trench Coat

OMG, yes, yes, yes, yes...[sigh], yes.

This blog post is only briefly influenced by horses. The first being that my dear new friend, Martha Stover of Here Be Dragons Utterly Divine Welsh Ponies introduced me to this superfly menswear company, owned by her brother in law. I snagged a catalog when I visited her in November, and just unearthed it from my computer case yesterday. Log on to the website http://jlpowellusa.com/index.html and request one! It is so delierously wonderfully produced, I sighed at every single page. The attention to detail and craftmanship is dizzying. After you get your catalog in the mail, buy at least one thing out of it. Now I'm not sure I know anyone who can spend $6k on a cashmere lined Coyote throw, but when you read about the lengths this company went to producing a $300 sweater, the cost seems reasonable...

"When we decided to offer the exact sweater that was worn in 1953 to the top of Mount Everest, it wasn't enough to find the very same combed wool from the Shetland Islands. It wasn't quite enough to carefully study the seamless construction. It wasn't enough to pore over the ribbing of the cuffs and hem. No, that didn't quite satisfy us, so we went out and found the original hand frames that first crafted this sweater. Is it all a bit daft? A touch mad? Perhaps. But once you slip on this sweater, authentic in every way, we think you'll understand the value of our pursuit."

I'm sold. Ok, now lets talk Qiviuk. The downy underwool of the Arctic Muskox. J L Powell makes a gorgeous hunky Fisherman sweater out of it for $800. Why...

"We're content to let others pursue fabrics that are the latest triumph of molecular science and petroleum. We'll stick with wonders like the underwool of prehistoric animals. The extraordinary Qiviuk, truly a fiber like no other, can be spun more than ordinary wool to create sweaters with a softness that is unmatched. The 100% Qiviuk turtleneck and seamless crew are crafted by Peurvians knitters who shape the garment to fit the body...a sweater that is completely timeless."

...because a great looking, well made sweater like this will last a lifetime or two, so the overall cost is less than $10/year. Now who wouldn't spend ten bucks to look that good? Any man that puts that sweater on is going to have everyone wanting to touch him. I guarantee it.

There is also a blog, for all you hunting, fishing, shooting enthusiasts, and it has some other nature things in it too. It is a well spiced mix of historical/days gone by stories with 100% natural material input from the haberdasher, himself, Josh Powell, who is a cross between Ralph Lauren and Sir Edmund Hilary and Ernest Hemingway. And he is the man in the photos.

http://www.jlpowellusa.com/blog/

Gentlemen readers, buy yourself something J L Powell. Ladies, indulge your man, just don't tell him how much it cost. Or break down the cost per wear. That's when indulgence makes sense, even if it's only cashmere socks, chaps. I can really see Bob Nervig sporting the Selkirk Coat, Todd Frey would be dashing in the French Lambskin Car Coat, Aaron Achenbach handsome in the Roosevelt Jacket, Mike Rider would be oh, so suave in the Qiviuk Turtle Neck and the Montana Drover Hat and who would turn out better than Michael Scott in the Suede Sports Coat?

Hey, maybe we could get you guys a gig modeling the clothes around the carriage house for a future catalog! The Sporting Life, The Carriage Collection! I'm contacting Mr. Powell for you! See, I still managed to end this about horses.

Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

If I had a million dollars

I'd buy a bunch of carriages at Martin's Auction this weekend. My friends Todd Frey and Mike Rider are going, lucky sods. But thankfully Harold Ault is not. You have enough carriages, Harold- and I will remind you of that again on Friday, when I'm on the carriage barn roof fixing it in the rain.

But still it is fun to talk about which ones we'd buy because we are not Todd Frey. Here is what I would buy, based just on the photos: one of the Breaks, the Spider [despite the condition of that top], one of the Kuhnles, and the yellow road cart next to the gigs. "But Michelle! What about the gigs?" I hear you exclaim. I have a gig, I'm not greedy. I do like the look of the first, dark Stanhope in the snow for those who want my opinion. I considered the T Cart, but Harold has one that is prettier and I don't want it if it isn't as pretty as Harold's.

Sleighs, sleighs, sleighs, I just can't get excited about sleighs. Harold's fault again, my first sleigh ride was in a Panel Boot Victoria sleigh put to Don Pecos and Ace, and I can't think anything could top that, so I am done with sleighs, unless I someday move to Wisconsin where I understand they plan to use them this weekend.

Road coaches and park drags- must be a man thing. I like them, but prefer a Break, don't need a coach, I'll leave it to the guys.

Go to: http://www.auctionzip.com/cgi-bin/photopanel.cgi?listingid=539225&feed=1 and tell me which ones you'd buy, if you had a million dollars.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.