Cowboy Kid
A few months ago Isaac and I saw a clip from Lord of the Rings in which one character outraced a horde of bad guys on a horse. It is a spectacular scene and the horse riding is incredible. Since then Isaac has been obsessed with horses. It actually goes back further than that. He loved the Clydesdales at Budweiser, so much so that we went twice.
When Pete Gauthier came to work at the office, I noticed that he had a picture of someone in his office in an old time carriage. The person looked thoroughly modern, but the carriage was so remarkable and unusual that the photo looked impossible. As it turns out, it was a real picture and the picture was of Pete's wife Ester. Ester is a huge fan of horses. Her family rode and owned horses and as I have learned from Gretchen--there are two kinds of people in the world horse people and those who don't get it. Pete's daughter Grace not only rides horses but she competes in jumping competitions. There are lots of fancy horse words that I don't know, describing all of this, but you get the idea.
I told Pete about Isaac's love of horses and he told me to come out to his house in New Hampshire and we could see his family's two horses--Irish and Remy up close. It took a few weeks to line everything up, but this past weekend we went.
The house is in Hopkington and it sits on the top of hill overlooking a wildlife preserve. Just around the side is a small barn and a pasture. When we arrived the horses were eating hay. Isaac and I approached as Bianca and Ethan were in the car (Beethy was waking up from a nap). It turns out horses are pretty loud, but Isaac was very brave. Last year at this time, we went to Kimball farm and he just couldn't ride the horses out of fear. And those were small horses. Irish and Remy are both former race horses and Remy in particular is spirited and big. We watched them horse around (couldn't resist) and then Ester, Grace, and Pete brought them into the barn.
Isaac and I got to see both horses up close, but Irish was the star of the show. He was super calm and quite fascinated with Isaac. Isaac asked a million questions and Ester had one million and one answers. We learned a little bit about horse anatomy and a lot about caring and handling horses. Isaac and I took turns brushing Irish down (he had rolled in the dirt just before we got there). In all it was pretty incredible to see this animal so close.
Then Grace took Irish out and walked him. It was then that Isaac got to get up on Irish and ride around. Here is the video:
As Irish made his way around the field Isaac was serious but not scared. He did an excellent job and Grace was great with both Isaac and Irish. It was a very special thing for us and Isaac was thrilled. Pete and his family, horses included, were awesome.
When Pete Gauthier came to work at the office, I noticed that he had a picture of someone in his office in an old time carriage. The person looked thoroughly modern, but the carriage was so remarkable and unusual that the photo looked impossible. As it turns out, it was a real picture and the picture was of Pete's wife Ester. Ester is a huge fan of horses. Her family rode and owned horses and as I have learned from Gretchen--there are two kinds of people in the world horse people and those who don't get it. Pete's daughter Grace not only rides horses but she competes in jumping competitions. There are lots of fancy horse words that I don't know, describing all of this, but you get the idea.
I told Pete about Isaac's love of horses and he told me to come out to his house in New Hampshire and we could see his family's two horses--Irish and Remy up close. It took a few weeks to line everything up, but this past weekend we went.
The house is in Hopkington and it sits on the top of hill overlooking a wildlife preserve. Just around the side is a small barn and a pasture. When we arrived the horses were eating hay. Isaac and I approached as Bianca and Ethan were in the car (Beethy was waking up from a nap). It turns out horses are pretty loud, but Isaac was very brave. Last year at this time, we went to Kimball farm and he just couldn't ride the horses out of fear. And those were small horses. Irish and Remy are both former race horses and Remy in particular is spirited and big. We watched them horse around (couldn't resist) and then Ester, Grace, and Pete brought them into the barn.
Isaac and I got to see both horses up close, but Irish was the star of the show. He was super calm and quite fascinated with Isaac. Isaac asked a million questions and Ester had one million and one answers. We learned a little bit about horse anatomy and a lot about caring and handling horses. Isaac and I took turns brushing Irish down (he had rolled in the dirt just before we got there). In all it was pretty incredible to see this animal so close.
Then Grace took Irish out and walked him. It was then that Isaac got to get up on Irish and ride around. Here is the video:
As Irish made his way around the field Isaac was serious but not scared. He did an excellent job and Grace was great with both Isaac and Irish. It was a very special thing for us and Isaac was thrilled. Pete and his family, horses included, were awesome.