Take Your Horse Out For Ice Cream? You Can In Casco, Maine!

 
What marks the unofficial beginning of summer?  Without a doubt it would be the opening of your favorite ice cream stand.    It’s the perfect way to celebrate a Little League win or consolation for a loss.  It may be a Mother’s Day treat or the perfect ending to a date night.  Whether it is in your neighborhood or requires a Sunday afternoon drive with the family, nothing says, “Summer in New England” like the ice cream stand. 

In a recent poll of my family and friends, I found that everyone I asked had a tradition that involved the Ice Cream, even the lactose intolerant!  Hodgman’s Frozen Custard in New Gloucester opens on Mother’s Day and has long been a tradition in our family.  My friends from Massachusetts list farm creameries such as Pinecroft Dairy in W. Boylston and Richardson’s Dairy in Middleton as their favorites.  The most common responses to my question, “What makes this place special?” seem to be family, farms and tradition. 

In the Lakes Region of Maine you will find another tradition that involves not only ice cream but horseback riding as well.  I am talking about none other than a Carousel Horse Farm’s trail ride to Pears Ice Cream stand.  Nestled in Casco Maine, Carousel Horse Farm is the only known public riding stable in Maine that combines these two pleasures.

You are on vacation in Maine and it’s a beautiful summer day, warm and dry with brilliant blue sky.  The beaches are crowded and the theme parks have been overdone so what are you going to do today?  At Carousel Horse Farm you can take a step back in time to when happiness was a trip to the farm and delicious Gifford’s ice cream made right here in Maine.  

Upon arrival at the farm you are fitted with approved safety equipment and instructed by confident, friendly guides to ensure your ride is safe and fun for all.  Well-seasoned trail horses are waiting at the hitching post, ready to carry you through the wooded trails that they know so well to Pear’s Ice Cream.

Winding through the wooded trails and scenic fields you may notice wild strawberries growing beside the trail, small and sweet. Wild mint leaves are scattered in the underbrush by the tall pine trees.   Buffet Alley is a spot well-loved by horses and riders alike for its cool lush greenery; do you see the wild raspberries and blackberry bushes growing?  Steering your horse through the gate and down the wooded trail you may see moose tracks or deer tracks that are common to our area. Wild turkeys and their young poults are frequently seen as they snack on the wild blueberry bushes that grow on the trails and in the pastures.   The horses are quite familiar with the turkeys. 

Emerging out of the woods and onto the quiet country lane, you will pass homes and families and friendly dogs.  Perhaps they will stop by the neighborhood ice cream stand later for a cone of their own favorite flavor. 

As you approach the ice cream stand, your guide will lead you off the road and through the trees to the back yard of Pears.  The horses line up and stand patiently at the old fashioned hitching post while you line up, eager to enjoy a cone of your favorite frozen treat.  Picnic tables and awnings are available for your comfort (as well as a clean Porta-Potty).  Don’t forget to take some pictures while you are here. Unless you are lucky enough to live close by, this doesn’t happen every day and you will want to remember! 

When you finish your ice cream, your guide will help you to get back onto your horse; don’t worry they WILL get you back on your horse. Your trail guide will lead you back through the breathtaking Maine countryside, through the woods and fields, past the friendly critters and back to the farm’s hitching post. You dismount with a feeling of accomplishment. You have participated in one of the most unique experiences available in Maine. You have traveled on horseback through the countryside and through time to experience Maine, the way life really should be. 

     Traveller:  A Lesson in Versatility.

 

 

As an active observer of horses and their humans I have had the pleasure of watching various clinics and demonstrations of horsemanship methods but the one that seems the most “useful” to me is Versatility.  Versatility is teaching the horse to be confident in all situations and usually has the horse walking in, on, under or through a number of obstacles.  Invariably one of these obstacles is the infamous “Blue Tarp of Death”.  The Blue Tarp of Death seems to be the gold standard for testing the bravery of horses.  Every trainer I have ever seen seems to employ this in their arsenal of obstacles.  It seems that through some cosmic intervention, blue tarps show up in fields, show rings, and trails all for the direct purpose of scaring the bejeebers out of your horse.  They’re everywhere folks.  You NEED to train your horses accordingly or horse riding, as you know it, will cease!

Now, everyone claims to have the “most sane, intelligent, bombproof” horse that ever lived (especially if it is for sale).  The only horse that I know that has ever really fit that description is none other than Carousel Horse Farm’s own Traveller.  Traveller was one of the last great Clydesdale-cross horses from Newfoundland Island and the first one Carousel decided to keep after selling 20 or more. 

Without much known about his formal training, Traveller was invited to be a mount at the University of Maine’s first intercollegiate show.  In each class he had a different rider and jumped at 2’6” with flying lead changes though he hadn’t jumped more than a couple jumps at a time previously.  Traveller won third or better with every rider!  

Traveller loves crowds, noise and commotion. He’s the only horse with whom you can drive the carriage past an amusement park ride at Old Orchard beach at night with people screaming and lights flashing. Even though it seems like the ride is going to come out over the fence at him, Traveller just strolls by with ears up, eyes bright as if to say, “Hey!  I want to go on that ride!”

Always willing to be a good sport, Traveller has participated in camp productions playing the roles of cowboy, Paul Revere, Peter Pan and even did a grand entrance, after dark with a new rider into a crowd of 400 children whooping and screaming, to start off the annual color wars at The Seeds of Peace camp. He trotted confidently and full of curiosity.  Even after exiting out into the woods, out of sight of the screaming kids his rider would have to turn him away from the noise because he wanted to trot back down the trail to the sound! 

Traveller’s resume also boasts that he drives anywhere—single or as a team, chases cows, overnight camping trail rides, foxhunts, camp horse, hunter/jumper and dressage and then will happily take a six year old to Pear’s Ice Cream every day of the week as safe as can be.  When pulling the carriage over the bridge on the Naples Causeway, he loves to look down and watch the boats going by underneath! 

My most recent sighting of Traveller was at the Freeport Theater of Awesome.   You would expect me to say he was pulling a carriage out on Depot Street but you would be wrong.  Traveller was an invited guest on the stage of the Early Evening Show with Mike Miclon, Jason and Matt Tardy.  For four shows (with only one rehearsal) Traveller thrilled the sold-out audiences by walking in the front door, through the curtains and onto the darkened stage (stealing the spotlight from Oren Robinson and the Early Evening Show Orchestra).  After “answering” a few questions from Mike (with the help of Jason Tardy) he calmly backed out the door with the promise of his pay—a highly-coveted Wicked Whoopie Pie before boarding his trailer to be chauffeured back to Carousel Horse Farm.    

You can versatility-train your horses with sacks and cones and blue tarps all you want, but you will be hard-pressed to find one as talented and versatile as Traveller.  Come and pay him a visit at Carousel Horse Farm or keep up with his busy life on his Facebook page, “Traveller and Friends”.