Travelin Horse Farm was contacted by the East Bay Regional Parks District and asked if we would consider transporting via horse and cart, two of the park’s dignitaries for a Fourth of July parade in the influential Oakland Hills. As supporters of the parks district we were eager to assist them in gaining a powerful presence in the parade. Our Gypsy Mare, Sweeper, used in a single hitch, pulled our buckboard with the two dignitaries on board and the parks signs predominantly displayed. We aren’t sure who got more recognition the parks or our horses, as they were a real crowd stoppers, but the day was a huge success. Also in hand was our stallion Sid’s Legacy decorated in Red, White and Blue paint to celebrate the fourth of July.

A little about the East Bay Regional Park District

Profile

Alameda and Contra Costa counties encompass 1,745 square miles on the eastern side of San Francisco Bay. EBRPD manages:

• Over 95,000 acres
• 65 regional parks, recreation areas, wilderness, shorelines, preserves and land bank areas
• 29 regional inter-park trails
• 1,150 miles of trails within parklands
• 11 freshwater swimming areas, boating and/or stocked fishing lakes and lagoons and a disabled-accessible swimming pool
• 40 fishing docks; 3 bay fishing piers
• 235 family campsites; 42 youth camping areas
• 2 golf courses
• 2,082 family picnic tables
• 1,707 reservable group picnic tables
• 9 interpretive and education centers
• 18 children's' play areas
• Wedding, meeting and banquet facilities

For more information on EBRPD visit their web site at

 http://www.ebparks.org/dropdown/aboutus.htm

We were also contacted by a parade commission and asked to participate in the Petaluma Christmas Parade. We decorated the buckboard with tinsel and put reindeer ears on the horses. This time our mare Genna pulled the cart while our Sweeper mare followed in hand. Wow, what can we say? We had a hard time progressing with the parade entrants as so many people wanted to stop us and look at the horses and ask questions about this incredible new breed. It was another huge success as the horses of Travelin Horse Farms were exceptional crowd pleasers and extraordinary ambassadors for the breed. We were thrilled to also have on board my 80 year old grandmother who doesn’t look or feel a day over 60! We knew our horses would be reliable, generous, kind and patient with people of any age on board.

We were asked by the Rotary Club of Lafayette CA to provide a ride and lunch package to raffle off for a fundraiser. We eagerly accepted and our lunch/combo cart ride was a huge success bringing in a hefty bid.

We attended the Western States Horse Expo and participated in the breed demonstration for Gypsy Cobs on behalf of the Gypsy Cob Society of America. We drove our own mare Sweeper into the crowd and into the arena and she performed like a top. In hand we exhibited our mare, Genna, and her then weanling colt, Jumpin Jack Sprat. Also shown in hand was our boy Sid’s Legacy. It didn’t end their, we also exhibited a two year old stallion owned by another Gypsy Farm. This young stallion was both trained and shown by Dave. He behaved as any proper Gypsy Horse would, like an aged gelding that had been doing shows all his life. Now, of course the breed makes training and handling easy but it was truly Dave’s horse handling abilities that kept the day running smooth and the stallions and mares in the top of their class.