Hosted by George & Lynne Iverson and Kim & Ryan Dame, VDHMA members were invited to ride and drive at historic Holly Hill Plantation, Saturday, April 30.  A sunny day with temperatures around 70 degrees lent to a wonderful day on 400 acres of beautiful land.  The trails were mowed and the pace was leisurely.  Riders and wagon passengers took advantage of the day by going out on both morning and afternoon excursions.  Kim arranged a BBQ picnic for all and while feet were on the ground, most everyone toured the spectacular blooming gardens that George and Lynne have created.  Gale Seddon described it as a "miniature Williamsburg".  A huge "Thank You" to George and Lynne for their hospitality in sharing their plantation with us. A big hug goes out to Kim & Ryan for their work in preparing this day for us. 

Click here to see photos!  And even more from Henry (Lew) Jones!

I had the privilege of participating in the Heritage Days celebration at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond last weekend.  Meg Birney was a great ambassador for the Draft community as she plowed their community garden.  Last year the garden supplied over 8,000 #s of food to their community food pantry.  People enjoyed watching the process and learning the advantages of horse farming. 

Curt Pierce and Marsha Korose with their Norwegian Fjords and the McCabes with Percherons were people movers for the  gardens on Sunday.  Bob Brennan provided a team and wagon on Saturday -- there were four stops along the route for folks to get on and off and it was a very popular attraction. Docents rode in each wagon to share the history and information about the gardens with the visitors.  Joan and Brian Orvis were out Saturday to take pictures. 

I'm sorry I don't know who else was there on Saturday, but Robert Seddon was an ambassador on Sunday, and transported the plow, cultivator, and other equipment Meg brought for people to see to Bob Brennan's after it was over, in anticipation of Bob's plow day.  Too bad the fields are flooded!
 
The venue provided really nice box lunches for the participants as well as a tent and table for the VDHMA to put up information.  Two large tri-folds with photos of our activities were developed by Meg and made an attractive display.  I would encourage anyone interested to consider volunteering next year.  It is a very nice way to educate the public and help develop positive attitudes towards horse drawn/ridden activities.  The more folks who participate the easier it is for every one.  And the gardens are gorgeous this time of year.  Smell good, too!

Sue Freivald