< PreviousQUALITY FARM QUALITY FARM MACHINERYMACHINERY 10 S. New Holland Road, Suite 2 Gordonville, PA 17529 717-442-9451717-442-9451 Horse Drawn Horse Drawn & 3 Point & 3 Point CultivatorsCultivators Precision MowingPrecision Mowing • Non-plugging • Low Torque • Optional 3 Point, Trailing PTO, Engine Models & Ground Drive Models Available We Also Carry:We Also Carry: • Garden Tools • Ground Drive Forecarts • Cover Crop Rollers HORSE PROGRESS DAYS 202228 LRHORSE PROGRESS DAYS 2022 29 Why Horse Progress Days? By Melvin Coblentz Secretary, Horse Progress Days National Board of Directors from Clare, Michigan At the annual Horse Progress Days board of directors meeting in 2021 in Montgomery, Indiana, someone mentioned the fact that the event was first held to give people outside of the Amish communities a chance to see what was being built in the way of horse farming equipment by Amish manufacturers for Amish farmers. The thought was presumably that such an event would encourage horse farming beyond the Amish communities, and it has. In fact, it has reached beyond the shores of North America in ways that could not have been imagined by its founders. At the meeting, someone mentioned that the last 25 years have brought about a rather new reality – Horse Progress Days is needed to educate and encourage new generations of Amish youngsters to continue on and build on a future of farming with horses. It all begins with seeds There is little if anything more satisfying to farmers and farmers at heart than the annual ritual of tilling a good plot of ground to prepare it for dropping and covering in its darkness a dead looking, shriveled up, seed. And then with patience and humility the waiting begins – first for the tentative looking, tender first shoot that determinedly pushes its way out of the seed and out of the earth. The seed was in fact not dead; it just looked like it was. And then there is the patient waiting for the harvest, weeks and months hence. There is no better way, it often seems, for humankind to embrace the mystery of a God-created universe than to participate in the practice of farming, watching as a single seed grows into a harvest that is many-fold its original self. A person respectfully focused on the earth is kept from many worldly distractions. And not only can a family sustain itself with the production of food, friends and neighbors can provide a ready market for healthy local food. There are viable opportunities for new and progressive ways of farming growing from (in this case in many ways destructive) seeds planted by large corporate sponsored Concentrated Animal Farming Operations (CAFOs). These (continued on page 31) Twelve big Percherons on the Horse Progress Days four bottom plowHORSE PROGRESS DAYS 202230 LZimmerman www.zabscars.com Auto Body Supplies Inc. Cabinet, Woodworking & Manufacturing Shop Supplies, Tools, Spray Equipment, Disposable Cups, Sandpaper, Personal Protection & Safety Materials, Paint Supplies & Industrial Solvents, Spray Booth Filters, Custom Cut Air & Fluid Lines Zimmerman www.zabscars.com Auto Body Supplies Inc. Cabinet, Woodworking & Manufacturing Shop Supplies, Tools, Spray Equipment, Disposable Cups, Sandpaper, Personal Protection & Safety Materials, Paint Supplies & Industrial Solvents, Spray Booth Filters, Custom Cut Air & Fluid Lines RHORSE PROGRESS DAYS 2022 31 opportunities can make it possible for dads to stay at home with families to build on practices that have for generations in Amish communities recognized the farm as the absolute best place to raise a family, where children learn the benefits of hard work, the need for patience, and the blessings of harvest and sustenance as they spend time at the sides of their fathers and mothers, working for the good of the family. And then add the horses With horses the mystery builds. A tiny seed is planted by a stallion in the dark insides of a mare. The seed migrates further in and attaches itself deeper in the depths. And then it begins to grow. For 11 months, almost a year, the farmer waits and one morning there it is, a brand new foal! And then more waiting begins as the foal matures into an adult, fit to do its share of work on the farm – three years or more. When the time is right, the training begins and soon another horse is added to the farm team, or is ready to be sold to someone who will benefit from it. And in the meantime, all the family who were part of the process learned to love more, be more patient, and grew in their respect for a mysterious phenomenon that only God could have put in place – no scientist, intellectualist, and not the smartest person in the world could have planned and carried it out. Farming with horses is very important for the Amish culture. And just like the effect that good soil, sunshine and rain provides for a fruitful crop outcome, a family that works together for its own good and the good of others will also have a fruitful outcome. Why Horse Progress Days? (continued from page 29) (continued on page 33) Tyler Herold’s spotted horses demonstrating an I & J mechanical no-till rollerHORSE PROGRESS DAYS 202232 LRed Wing Dealer Danner • LaCrosse • SAS • Timberland Merrell • Muck Boot • Skechers • Under Armour Miller’s Shoes Jacob & Karen Miller 6242 N. 700 E. • Montgomery, IN 47558 812-486-3940 812-486-7725 Toys & Gifts Clothing & More Baby Items 231-734-2466 Fax: 231-734-5967 5882 7 Mile Rd. • Evart, MI 49631 MANUFACTURER OF QUALITY WOOD FENCE POSTS Call Today for Wholesale Pricing! 19871987 20172017 CE LEB RATIN G CE LEB RATIN G 30 years A NN IVERSAR Y Fertilizer Tank. 12 Volt Pump Or Gravity Flow Ridging Shovels 717-529-6175 ONE, TWO, THREE AND FOUR ROW CULTIVATORS 1663 Noble Road, Kirkwood, PA 17536 Rotary Hoes AvailableRHORSE PROGRESS DAYS 202233 Horse Progress Days in Michigan Our Michigan Amish communities are small and spread out. As such we are somewhat unique to Horse Progress Days. Just like among the more concentrated Amish communities in other areas, our faith practices differ from one another in some ways. This gives us a unique voice and a unique position, but like was noted by Alvin Yoder of Clare when he said “we need Horse Progress Days to come back to Michigan,” I feel that our being spread out and our somewhat varied practices do not lessen our need for it. After the event was held in Michigan in 2012, Alvin noticed that small children were talking about it, and that playing activities among them had clearly been influ- enced by their presence at HPD. There seemed to be a heightened interest in helping with farm chores. It seemed like spirits were uplifted and things were more juiced up. And then in 2018 it was time to do HPD for a new crop of youngsters who, since six years had elapsed since the last time the event had been held in Michigan, had been too young to participate as fully, if at all. There is little doubt that the encouragement that people like John Henry Yoder of Clare and Norman Miller of Mio gave for the very first implementation of the children’s pony express in 2012 had a lot to do with the enthusiasm of the children. The pony express is another example of a seed planted, one that encourages and inspires these little souls to learn to properly care for, be responsible for and properly harness and drive their little animals. The pony express itself, where the children’s hard work pays off as they drive their ponies in carts that usually are filled with siblings and friends, nurtures seeds that were planted for the little ones and their little animals long before the morning of this exciting parade actually arrives. The practice of including the first-thing-in-the -morning Friday and Saturday pony express that has been followed Why Horse Progress Days? (continued from page 31) (continued on page 35)HORSE PROGRESS DAYS 202234 LWe Repair All Farm Machinery IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, CALL 260-499-3318 EXT. 1 FAX: (260) 499-3344 • 2945 S. 050 W. • LAGRANGE, IN 46761 FARM WAGONS • FORECARTS 2 & 4 ROW CULTIVATORS • EVENERS & NECK YOKES MSR - 2 Row Cultivator Options: • Rolling Shields • 3 Horse Evener • Field Cultivator • Throw Shovels • Rear Roller • Extra Rear Wheel for Produce Weeder • Controls weeds in corn row. • Use 2 horses and cover 4 rows in 1 pass. • Plenty of adjustments for teeth and also level the sections. Forecart Mower Dolly WheelHORSE PROGRESS DAYS 2022 35 RRead’s Suffolk Punch Est. in September 1975 Rodney R. Read Over 47 years of Breeding 4240 Goehring Road Ledbetter, TX 78946 979-249-5795 (home) leave message rread@cvctx.com https://suffolkpunch.com/ Find other owners and breeder in all the other five communities where Horse Progress Days is held indicates that it supports Amish culture by preparing youngsters to be comfortable working with horses, a practice that is at the heart of the Amish way, and possibly in some cases prepares them for actually farming with horses. And once again, how do the words horse and progress fit together? What, do we think, is the future of Horse Progress Days? Why do we consider it important? Can we manage our progress rather than allow ourselves to fall prey to forces that are or might be destructive? Can we work together to effect a “focused progress” for Horse Progress Days? Are we on the right path? First of all, we can all agree that we need to have manufacturers of horse-drawn farming equipment in our midst. And I believe that a place to demonstrate it to farmers and potential farmers is very important. This provides a place to learn and a place to develop meaningful relationships. Both of these things fit with Amish culture. When we approach Horse Progress Days as farmers approach the earth, respecting the Godly influences inherent in the mysteries of the relationships between the earth and the plants it nurtures, the mysteries of the production of sentient animals to help us with the tasks of feeding ourselves and others and the mysteries of human relation- ships that nourish us and give meaning to our life journey, we give reverence to the God who made us and sustains us. When we reflect on the quiet nature of farming with horses compared to the rushed buzz of many off farm jobs, we feel closer to God. And if we can keep at bay the destructive nature that so often comes with intense competition and over indulgent entertainment, we will experience a Godly blessing that can surely be defined as progress. ✸ Why Horse Progress Days? (continued from page 33)HORSE PROGRESS DAYS 202236 LGREEN VALLEYGREEN VALLEY HARNESS & WELDINGHARNESS & WELDING Marvin Lee & Ellen Miller 23471 Corner Rd. | Centerville, MI 49032 Ph: 269-467-4946 | Fax: 269-467-4484 Steel Fabricating Custom Welding Gates • Feeders • Eveners Balespears • Forecarts Custom Hydraulics & Repairs New Harnesses Leather • Bio • Nylon & Brahma Webb Blankets • Pads • Collars • Halters Saddles • Supplements Tack & Repairs We’re Dealers Of: Shovels Scrapers Weed Hoes 2 Wheel Hydraulic Cart 4HP Honda, hydraulic brakes, steering, 2 port hydraulics Single units available for your forecart. Heavy Duty, Lightweight Nylon Draft Harnesses Stall Grid Rubber Flooring for Horses Hiland’s Horse Health Products Knepp’s Power Units 2 & 4 Wheeled • 35 to 100 HP Kingman Tedder Rakes Boxstall Systems Poly Feeder & Water Buckets Black & Stainless Steel Stove Pipes Portable Chicken PenNo Lines! R37HORSE PROGRESS DAYS 2022 Horse Progress Days Presses on ~ This Time With Water By Dale K. Stoltzfus The real mission of Horse Progress Days is to demonstrate newly manufactured horse drawn farming equipment behind real horses in real field conditions. It is my sincere hope that this mission stays steadfast for as long as the event exists. I know this was always the hope of the original founders. This is not to say that everything should always stay the same. And indeed, it has not. From the very beginning field demonstrations have been supplemented by other things, like seminars for instance, and tours. Over the years, many things have been added: additional seminars geared toward produce growing, homemaker activities, children’s activities, the children’s pony express, whip cracking, homesteading, horse- training, and in 2021 in Ohio, free ice-cold water to drink any time. Progress; what is it? The middle word in the title of the event, Progress, means different things to different people. To some, it seems, progress is defined by chasing after every new thing that comes along. This kind of progress has brought us to a place where it seems interpersonal relationships have taken on depersonalization. Is it progress when the people we call (friends, family, fellow workers and most commercial businesses) refuse to pick up calls when they come in? Is it progress to be put on hold for a minute that stretches into 15 and then 30 or more when offered the option of speaking to (continued on page 39)Next >