The last day we were there, (at the 2010 World Percheron Congress) as evening approached, we had to move the car because the street on which we were parked, right by the hospitality suite, was also right outside one of the horse barns where Priefert harnessed their horses. You can (or someone can, certainly not I) harness the horses up in the barn but you cannot hitch them and drive them through the barn. It would be horribly dangerous, as, being horses, they DO now and then spook.
One Percheron spooking is a real handful. Having a team of anywhere from 2 to 8 horses spook (all it takes is one to start it) would be tragic.
So while I waited for Susie to appear, I began photographing the Priefert people hitching up:
This is the beginning. One of the wheel team horses has been harnessed and brought out. Now he is attached to the wagon. There are, of course, real names for every part of the harness and wagon but I am ignorant of what they are. I know what I THINK they are, but am not sure enough to write it down. The other horse will be hitched where the woman is standing.
In the meantime, while they wait for the second horse in the wheel team, the polishing and cleaning of both horse and harness and wagon continues, unabated. The amount of work that goes into hitching a team for show is mind-boggling. The attention to detail is essential. All this time these two are examing the harnesses, bridles, hitchings and wagon for broken or worn pieces, errors, things that might prove a disaster at a high trot in a ringful of other rigs. And it happens.
The first horse is hitched and you get a good look at how big and long this hitch is going to be. This is one horse.
By the time they are done, there will be 5 more.
Here comes Jason with the second wheel horse. He will lead him around the near horse and back him into place, then attach the tongue (I think that's what it is ) of the wagon to the harness and the harness to all the hooks and rings and clips and bits and pieces that keep everything in place.
Ok. Now we have the wheel team
attached to the wagon, and Jason, who will drive them, is in between fastening and checking the harnesses. I was hoping to watch all
six get hitched but about this time the Priefert people began giving the car (the little blue Prius in the photo) "significant" looks. Susie would never, ever get in the way and we knew we were moving momentarily, out of their way.
Meanwhile, out came the second section for the next two horses. You can see by the length of the section exactly how long this hitch is going to be. There will be one more section after this one. Two horses hitched to this, and then two more in front. These are normal-sized adult male and female people. The horses make them look tiny...about now Susie came out and with some slick driving of her own, managed to get the car out of the way.
This is the Priefert six-horse-hitch in the ring, albeit a bad shot. This is how it looked all put together.
and this is what a team looks like from behind.
