Northwest Michigan Draft Horse and Mule Association
"Harnessing Yesterdays Horsepower Today"
We meet four times per year in the NW michigan area at a familys house or a Traverse City restaurant in the winter. NWMDHMA is a financial supporter of the NW Michigan Fair's Draft Horse show, and the Great Lakes International. We try to support both youth and adult draft horse and driving events. Members have worked with the Glen Lake Schools in exposing interested students to draft horse basics over a once a week -4 week exposure. The Osceola county 4-H and MSU extension and Farm Bureau has added Draft Horse activities to Project RED ( Rural Education Days) the last 5 years for 350- 400 5th graders from 4 school districts in Osceola County who attend project RED each year.
NWMDHMA has sponsored its 20th annual Plow Days at the Spangler Farm just South of Traverse City , Michigan. We welcome drafters from all over michigan to this fun day in May. We also sponsor our Draft Horse Driving clinic in August each year to expose both adult and youth to the draft horse driving experience. During the clinic we cover draft horse and harnessing basics and hitch single to 4 or six horse hitches depending on expeience. We were honored to have Dick Sparrow help us at the clinic our first couple years.
We also try to get together during the year at various draft horse shows in northern michigan such as the NW michigan Fair, Marion Fair and the Oscoda county fair. The association often gets members together for trail and wagon rides in the Traverse City / South Boardman area. Our association has also helped to promote the renovation of the historic State Hospital Farm Renovation by giving wagon rides.
We have all members with all the familiar draft breeds as well as paints, quarter horses , morgans etc.
New members with and without draft horses are always welcome. For more information on meetings and activities you can contact our secretary, Nancy Wieland, at 231- 369-3760 or by email at nancy.wieland@ hds.gov.
Posted on June 10, 2009
