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Sleigh ride at Riding Mountain

Rob and Marilyn Warkentin’s team of North American Spotted Draft horses pulled their sleigh through the parkland terrain of Riding Mountain National Park in early December, taking part in Birtle Agricultural Society’s poker derby.
sleigh ride
The Warkentin family of Virden was among the 12 teams to take part in the Birtle Agricultural Society sleigh ride in Riding Mountain National Park on Saturday, Dec. 9. Sid and Rob Warkentin are in the drivers’ seats; Rob’s wife Marilyn Warkentin and a half dozen other family and friends are on the sleigh with Warkentin’s Spotted Drafts Duke and Hughie in harness.

Rob and Marilyn Warkentin’s team of North American Spotted Draft horses pulled their sleigh through the parkland terrain of Riding Mountain National Park in early December, taking part in Birtle Agricultural Society’s poker derby.

“It was a beautiful day, with no snow in Virden, but we had snow there,” recounts Marilyn of the sleigh ride.

There is a trail in the rugged countryside that is maintained specifically for the sleigh rides in winter and riding in the summer. A number of riders also joined this sleigh ride expedition.

At the half-way point on the sleigh ride they stopped for a wiener roast before returning home by dark.

“The horses hadn’t been driven since spring. They were fat and out of shape,” said Warkentin; but the well-trained team paid attention to their driver, making it a fun adventure for the Warkentin family and friends who rode the sleigh.

While Rob and Marilyn raise Percherons and Belgians, son Chris and his wife Melissa Warkentin breed the Spotted Draft horses. Chris has plans for another day-long sleigh ride this winter.

Warkentin has participated four years in a row in the spring sleigh ride in RMNP, known as Canada’s Largest Sleigh Ride and he plans to do it again March 2018. He enjoys driving through the wooded terrain of Riding Mountain’s big trees and all the ups and downs of the parkland. And he enjoys showing off his Spotted Draft horses.

“The North American Spotted Drafts aren’t very common around here. People have a lot of misconceptions that they’re crossbreds. It’s very good promotion for me to take them up there.”

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