Christmas book shopping complete? Hold your horses!
A new Bermuda book for children chronicles the real-life experience of two Clydesdale horses as they are shipped from Canada, across the ocean to Bermuda.
The author, Anne Powell, chairman of Meals on Wheels, wrote the book ?The Adventures of Crown & Anchor? about her own Clydesdales who are often seen in Bermuda in parades, hayrides, weddings and other functions.
?I decided to get Clydesdales, mostly as a wishful thought,? she said. ?I have always wanted to.?
She found the horses a few years ago in the ?Canadian boondocks?.
She knew as soon as she saw them that they were the horses for her.
?It was a fate thing,? she said. ?I looked at quite a few, but I liked them the best. They are very docile. The children just love them. Everybody loves them. They really are super. One of the enormous Clydesdales is only a little shorter than the largest horse in the world, which made getting them to Bermuda a chore.
?They were shipped to Bermuda in a container,? said Mrs. Powell. ?They took two stables each on the container. Nowadays you could probably fly them in.
?They were very thin when they came out of the container. They had lost a lot of weight. I think there was just the cook on the boat to throw food at them. I think they were too scared and didn?t eat or drink at all for two days.?
Crown & Anchor are brothers, and best friends, and do everything together. They are very gentle, and docile. Although they are very large, Mrs. Powell says they don?t eat that much more than ordinary horses.
?They have never been separated,? said Mrs. Powell. ?They are always together. You always have to lead them together and drive them together. There was a sister between them but she was sold off. They are known as the gentle giants.?
Mrs. Powell?s daughter-in-law Celia Powell helped with the book and photos were taken by Natalie Luthi and drawings were done by Marty Hatfield.
The book is now available on local store shelves.
This Christmas the public can hang out with Crown & Anchor at a carol singing in town.