DRESS CHARIOT OWNED BY EMPEROR FRANZ JOSEPH OF AUSTRIAThe restored carriage, circa 1840's, can be seen at the Florida Carriage Museum It is located between Lady Lake and Weirsdale near The Villages in Florida.
Nearby is Ocala, one of the five horse capitals of the world. Many large horse farms are located in Ocala and have bred national winners.
The carriage museum sits on 400 acres of pristine pastures and paddocks.
It is the not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) Equine Heritage Institute Inc.
It is also known as an equine Bed and Barn. You can rent one of the 24 residences, bring your horse or horses and spend time riding and relaxing.
The museum houses 160 meticulously restored carriages, some have life-sized mannequin horses attached.
The museum is the work of Gloria Austin. Her life-long love of horses and carriage collection brought her to Florida after her divorce from Thomas Golisano, the founder of Paychex.
The beauty of the carriage in the above picture can only be truly appreciated seeing it close up. The hours and money, it took to restore it is mind boggling.
It reminds me of Cinderella's coach. Cinderella was my favorite fairy tale and I always pictured her coach as golden and regal as this one.
When you stop a moment and think about how our country was settled it was all about the horse and wagon.
From the urban eastern cities to the western prairies, the horse and wagon was vital to transportation.
The Conestoga wagon took the brave settlers west. The horse took the Pony Express riders from town to town delivering mail.
Doctors traveled by horseback or carriage to tend their patients.
I remember my parents talking about the produce seller, the meat-man, the rag man, junk man, and scissors and knife sharpener making the rounds of small towns plying their wares.
That is how people got services before grocery and hardware stores.
Check out the museum's web-site and watch the video.
Close your eyes and think about riding in a carriage pulled by two horses, leisurely trotting though the countryside. Do you see the horses grazing in the green pastures? They raise their heads to nod hello. Can you smell the sweet scent of grass and flowering shrubs?
Now keep your eyes closed. Think about a winter evening, riding in a horse drawn sleigh over the snow-scapes. You are bundled in a blanket, your breath is a white vapor. The moonlight casts shadows over the rolling meadows. The air is clear and crisp. You can almost reach up and catch a handful of stars. The bells on the horses' bridles jingle in the quiet night.
Store those two scenes in your memory bank and when you are having a stressful day bring one of them out and visit it again.
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