Fall is a lovely season for horse drawn carriage rides - especially here at my Bedford, New York farm.
I share my stable with 10 equines - four handsome Friesians, a Fell Pony, and five donkeys. I horseback ride regularly, but I also enjoy driving and riding carriages. Two of my Friesians, Hylke and Geert, are well-trained carriage horses. They are from Holland and joined my herd in 2022. This week, we had a visit from Dutch horse trainer Anne Okkema, who had worked with Hylke and Geert abroad. We pulled out my marathon carriage – suitable for both marathon and pleasure driving - and enjoyed a few rides along my four miles of carriage road here at Cantitoe Corners.
Here are some photos and a short video, enjoy.
While my busy lifestyle is currently better suited for horseback riding, I have long enjoyed horse drawn carriage riding. In fact, my neighbor and friend, the late Mr. David Rockefeller and I enjoyed carriage rides through Acadia National Park up in Maine on the same roads built as a gift by David’s father, John D. Rockefeller Jr. from 1913 to 1940. I was excited to get back in a carriage and ride again. Here I am with Anne out for a ride at my farm with my stable team and our leaders, Hylke and Geert.
This is my marathon carriage. It is lightweight, aerodynamic, and designed for safety.
Because the automobile is now the main form of transportation, it’s easy to forget the importance that horse-drawn carriages and sleighs once played in transportation. When I acquired my Friesian horses and the farm, I had a strong interest in driving carriages and started collecting a few carriages of my own. This marathon carriage safely seats four.
Anne spent some time in my stable going over how to properly attach the harnesses and carriage to the horses.
My stable manager, Helen Peparo, and Juan Londoño, take excellent care of all my horses and have their ultimate trust.
The harnesses and breast collars are all padded for safety and comfort.
A carriage breast collar should fit a horse snugly, but not too tight, and should always allow the horse to move freely.
When well fitted and properly positioned on the horse, the equipment should distribute the weight evenly and never rub against the horse’s shoulders. They should be snug, allowing just two or three fingers to fit between the leather and the horse.
The Friesian is most often recognized by its bold black coat color. They have long, arched necks and well-chiseled, short-eared, “Spanish-type” heads. They also have powerful, sloping shoulders, compact, muscular bodies with strong hindquarters, and low-set tails.
Blinders block surrounding views, so the horses can safely focus on pulling and not on all the other happenings at the farm.
The last piece hooked up is the carriage itself. A horse can typically pull up to three times its own weight on a flat, smooth road. My Friesians weigh about 1500 pounds each.
Here is Anne with my Friesian, Geert.
Before lunch, Anne, Helen, Juan, and Jimmy go out for another brief ride around the farm. Keeping horses primed for pulling a carriage requires a great deal of time and effort, which is very difficult to maintain.
And although they have not pulled a carriage in quite some time, Hylke and Geert remember everything.
It was also a big treat for my stable kittens who watch everything with curiosity. Here is Cinco.
Anne and his family are all true horse marathon enthusiasts and own a horse training facility in Holland. In fact, Anne also sold me the harnesses the horses are wearing.
Friesian horses are excellent for pulling carriages because of their powerful trot, elegant appearance, and high-stepping gait.
Horses also have a natural sense of direction and can memorize patterns easily, but it is crucial to train them with positive reinforcement to maintain trust and develop effective communication skills.
After a ride, the last pieces of equipment that were attached are the first pieces detached. The carriage, harnesses, lines, and collars are removed in a certain order – all for the comfort and safety of the horses.
Helen starts unhooking the equipment right away, and thanking my hardworking steeds for a good, safe ride. Well done my stately Friesians!
And here's a short clip from that first morning we went out for a ride.
I now have two handsome espalier European hornbeams planted against the walls of my Carriage House and Stable Office here at the farm.
Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata,' the columnar European hornbeam, is a medium-sized, deciduous tree. ‘Fastigiata’ means a narrow form with upright branches. This type of tree can be grown as an espalier, meaning its branches can be trained to grow flat against a wall, supported on a lattice or a framework of stakes. Yesterday, my outdoor grounds crew planted two of three espalier hornbeams from Select Horticulture Inc. in nearby Pound Ridge.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
When I arrived home from a business trip and saw these handsome columnar hornbeams, I knew right away where I wanted two of them to go – on the east walls of two buildings down at my stable complex.
The leaves of the columnar hornbeam are green with sharply-toothed margins. They maintain their color and form throughout the growing season and then in the fall turn yellow, orange, and brown. These leaves have already started to change.
The first step is to remove the cobblestone pavers as carefully as possible, one by one.
The hornbeams will be planted up against the exterior walls. Hornbeams are fast growing and respond well to clipping, so they will develop quickly and beautifully.
Here is my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, digging the hole and removing the cobblestones. Chhiring has been working here at the farm for nearly 25-years and remembers when these pavers were originally laid.
Underneath the pavers, Chhiring also removes other stones, stone dust, and gravel. The hole must be at least twice the size as the root ball. The sides are also sightly slanted.
Our trusted Hi-Lo is used to transport one of the hornbeams to its new location. These columnar hornbeam grow to about 30 to 40 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide.
Chhiring begins to remove all the wire and burlap wrapping from the hornbeam’s root ball.
Wire baskets were designed to support the root ball during loading, shipping, and transplanting. Some cut the cages and leave them in the ground, but I prefer to remove them completely, so there is nothing blocking the growing roots.
Slowly, the tree is moved into the hole. The crew rotates the tree into place and checks that it is straight. When moving heavy trees, only hold it by the base of the trunk or the root ball – never by its branches, which could easily break.
Using a steel digging bar, Chhiring guides the root ball into the hole as the others carefully roll it.
Phurba stands by to make any small adjustments. The tree must be perfectly centered on the wall.
Here it is in position. The sides are measured to ensure it is perfectly aligned between the windows.
Once it is in the hole, Chhiring checks it several more times and makes tiny adjustments before returning some of the surrounding cobblestones and fresh compost made right here at the farm.
Remember, don’t plant it too deeply – leave it “bare to the flare.” I am so glad I can make nutrient rich compost here at the farm.
Chhiring tamps down thoroughly to remove any air pockets and to settle the soil.
Finally, Chhiring gives the tree a good drink of water.
An identical hornbeam is planted against the exterior wall of my Stable Office.
Both trees should thrive here in full sun, where they will get at least six hours of direct sunlight per day.
By late afternoon, both espalier hornbeams are planted, fed, and watered. There is a third espalier hornbeam… where do you think I should plant it?
Bonsai is the art of dwarfing trees and growing them in containers. It’s often been referred to as a Japanese technique; however, it actually originated from an ancient Chinese horticultural practice more than a thousand years ago.
I am very fond of bonsai trees, and have nurtured many over the years. To make a bonsai, one can use cultivation techniques such as pruning, wiring, and repotting to shape a small tree to look like a miniature version of a full-sized specimen. Last week, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, selected a juniper for this technique.
Enjoy these photos.
Junipers are a popular choice for bonsai trees. They are hardy, resilient, easy to prune, long lived, versatile, and once established, easy to maintain. It is the perfect choice for my next bonsai tree. In fact, do you know… the bonsai tree is the symbol of the Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai Hospital? It was selected because the bonsai grows more beautiful and more valuable with age.
The first step is to cover the large drainage hole of the bonsai pot. Mesh is the standard material and is flexible enough to cut into shape. Mesh screens prevent soil loss, keep small animals out, and help prevent root rot.
Ryan cuts the mesh screen just big enough to cover the hole.
Junipers have small, blue-green, overlapping, scale-like prickly, and stiff needle-like leaves, which is great for creating a strong and striking bonsai tree.
Bonsai soil mixes are well-draining to allow both air and water to reach the roots. They are usually a combination of Akadama, a hard-baked Japanese clay specifically produced for bonsai purposes, organic potting compost, pumice and fine gravel or grit.
Ryan combines the elements together first. There are many pre-prepared bonsai soil mixes available, but mixing one’s own can save money and allows control over the exact mixture for the tree species.
Ryan fills the container about two-thirds with the soil mix. The best bonsai containers are shallow. Shallow pots limit the space available for the roots to spread out, which prevents the tree from growing too large.
The fertilizer is a granular food that can feed a number of different types of plants for up to three months.
Using a combination of different shears, Ryan begins to shape and prune the juniper. One can use garden scissors, twig cutters, branch cutters, wire cutters, and gin pliers to shape the bonsai
The key is to prune the roots and the foliage so the plant remains dwarfed.
Using wire around branches can also guide them to grow in the desired shape.
Annealed copper or anodized aluminum wire are best for bonsai. Aluminum wire is better when used for deciduous species, while the harder copper wire is best for conifers and pines. Ryan uses a sturdy gage copper wire to shape the branches.
He carefully wraps the wire around the branch while it is bent to the desired angle.
Blackie is nearby to watch.
Wiring is a key technique for shaping bonsai trees, but it’s important to use it correctly and monitor the tree closely during the growing season – be sure to remove the wires before it starts digging into the bark.
Ryan continues to trim off any excess growth, remove weak or crisscrossed branches, and any others that take away from the desired shape of the bonsai.
Once Ryan is pleased with the apprance, he adds more soil mix unti it reaches just below the rim of the container.
Here is the trimmed juniper bonsai. I think it will do very nicely in this pot.
Juniper bonsai trees are best kept outdoors in bright locations with lots of sunlight. Ryan brings the juniper bonsai to a sturdy table outside my Winter House.
It joins two other bonsai trees where I can see it every day.
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