It’s something out of a fairytale — the horses harnessed up to the sleigh, pulling it through the white, fluffy snow as the bells on their ropes jingle, carrying you along. They take you through the woods, out into the vast prairie landscape, and past cows grazing on hay.
The sleigh rides at Heavy Gate Farm provide a unique experience near Eriksdale. The farm, known for its beef and grain production, introduced the picturesque rides with their Clydesdale horses last year. This season has already begun on a busy note.
Clydesdales are among the tallest horse breeds, originally bred in Scotland for heavy farm and industrial work. Clydesdales are large and strong with well-endowed legs that feather by the hooves. They’re alert and calm, making the Clydesdale horse suitable for riding.
Combine that with their work abilities; they’re the perfect horse to pull a sleigh.
Arlene Brandson Darknell and David Darknell run Heavy Gate Farm. The couple got their first two Clydesdale horses in 2014: yearlings Dawne and Rayne. David worked tirelessly to harness break the horses himself, and 10 years later, they’re the farm’s leading team for pulling the sleigh.
This year, though, 12-year-old Tango pulls the sleigh with Dawne while Rayne rests and raises her foal. The lack of snow has also caused the pair to pull the wagon through the trails instead of the sleigh, and it’s caused the route for the rides to change slightly. Instead of taking the winding trails Arlene and David cleared through their farm, the route right takes people through the hay yard, past the cattle, and different parts of the farm.
“We wanted to offer not just a sleigh ride, but we wanted to offer an experience with that,” said Arlene, noting the ride takes people past their cattle so they can learn more about agriculture and Life on the farm.
Each sleigh ride costs $15 per person and lasts for 20 minutes, though it’ll feel like much less when you’re taking it all in. Once it’s done, there’s a warmup shack for people to use, complete with hot chocolate and bonfires for them to enjoy with each other.
Each ride has to be booked in advance, so Heavy Gate Farm can ensure their horses aren’t overworked, and so they can keep track of the schedule and numbers each day. One ride can take 10 people, and you can sign up in groups or individually. The wagon is also accessible. Every day is weather- and horse-dependent, so pre-booking also lets the farm keep in contact with people, letting them know if they must postpone any days.
Arlene and David plan to keep offering the sleigh rides until the weekend of Feb. 10 when they’ll start preparing for the calving season.
“I think it just connects people with nature and also farm life,” said Arlene. “And it’s something in the area for everyone to do.”
Heavy Gate Farm is planning to keep adding family-friendly activities and start offering their horse-drawn wagon rides in the fall. To keep up to date with them and to get in contact, follow their Facebook page at Heavy Gate Farm.
