Hollywood celebrities

[Matthew]

Hello my name is matthew I live in northeastern connecticut. I found this site and could not believe who was on it. I saw posts from Jason Rutledge and Gregg Caudell. I saw Carl Russells name and thought I know that name I looked in my Work Horse Handbook 2nd edition by Lynn Miller and saw pictures of carl logging. To me these guys are the hollywood celebrities of the draft horse world. I am shure glad to have this kind of knowledge and experience available from these guys and what seems like a lot of experienced teamsters/farmers. I have been away from the draft horse world for about ten years and want to get back this spring. I learned how to drive horses in my teens (just turned 33 in dec) from old timers that logged and cut pulp wood in maine. One has passed away and the other moved back to maine and retired. I love farming and draft horses and am kind of on my own in my area for getting advice or questions answered. I know a fair amount about working horses (far from a expert) and went to horseshoeing school in my early 20s but still have and will have a million questions about farming and horses. I live on 57 acres with my wife and two small kids. We purchased the land in 2001 an built a house in 04. The land was all woods no pasture no fence no barns so it has been a slow prosess clearing land pulling stumps putting up fence, getting ready to get animals. I hope to be ready to get at least a single horse and some cows in the spring. That is my story, hope to be able to chat with folks on this site get some questions answerd, and may be able contribute something.

Take care Matthew

[Scott G]

…and here I thought Brittany Spears & Lindsey Lohan had joined up! Jason & Carl, how was Brittany the last time you saw her?:D

Welcome, Matthew. Seriously, this has become a great place to network as well as share information, introspective, and friendship. It makes us all feel that much closer to what we do & why we do it.

The kinship of like minded folks is enough in itself.

Welcome aboard and take care,
Scott

[Carl Russell]

When our daughter was 5 years old she named her gilt Brittany Spears. She never settled when we bred her, so we ate her……. that’s as close as I have ever come.

Matthew, welcome. Do you know Elaine Kealey, Northeastern Connecticut Draft Horse Association? Sam Rich, in Abington? Definitely look them up. That Sam, he is a real celebrity among the best plowmen in the US. If you need their contacts let me know.

Thanks for the enthusiastic comments. Hope to see more from you, Carl

[Matthew]

Carl I don’t know Elaine personaly but I know about her and the draft horse association (I used to work with her husband.) As for sam Rich is he a big guy that uses a walking plow behind a pair of gray percherons? If that is him you are right he is amazing, if he showes up to a plowing match the best you can hope for is second place. He would be only about 15 minutes from me.

[Carl Russell]

That’s Sam. He is very approachable, and I’m sure he would be a great resource for you. He does just about anything a person can do with horses, and he is a very good teamster.

Elaine and Terry are also very well connected, and would be good resource as well.

Carl

[Gabe Ayers]

Welcome Matthew,

Some of us are just well known because we have been around so long that you make it to the top of the mixing bowl because the stirring brought us there. I am honored by your comments and certainly by the association with such proven practitioners that this forum shares.

I would submit that if you keep your dedication to the culture and tell the stories in every setting possible, share your culture by learning from the elders and being open to the beginners, that you will gain/earn some recognition from mere participation also. It is like the famous philosopher Woody Allen said, 75% of success is just showing up….

We are just the big fish in a small pond. Nothing like Hollywood reality, mostly in that none of us are acting, just living within principles of our own choosing and a dedication fueled by a personal sense of freedom and independence.

Glad you found this site, spread the word to anyone interested and let us know what you are doing or wanting to do.

Salute,

~

[Carl Russell]

Here is the link to Eastern CT Draft Horse Assoc. http://www.easternCTdrafthorse.com

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Jason’s post got me thinking (his posts often do).

Although I do appreciate the recognition, my celebrity, if it is that at all, is the result of encouragement and mentoring of at least a dozen men and women. So when I am credited with something worth saying it is often the voices of those people coming through.

I know that there are some of us who by some stroke have decided to speak up, or step up, at a particularly auspicious time, and because of that we may have become more recognizable than some others. But I still find my greatest reward deep in the woods, by myself, working out some difficult situation with my animals.

I have my heroes too. Some are very well known, but many more are not so well known. I really try to keep those people in my mind while I have the opportunity to hold the speaking stick.

It doesn’t feel that long ago that I was just focused on the trail in front of me, and spent most of my time gathering information and gaining skills, with little interest in how I might help, or affect others. But like so many others in this community of interest, I went through the metamorphosis to where I had something to offer, and slowly began reaching out.

We spend a lot of time on this site, and throughout this network, talking about horsemanship, equipment, techniques, and methods of farming and logging, but there also is a significant component of this interaction that has to do with mentoring, advising, and encouraging others to continue.

So, perhaps some of us have become “Celebrities”, but we are only holding that chair for you…. for when you’ve gotten your feet under you, and gained the fluency to become affective in your own right. Then we expect that you will also reach out to others, and through that you will become recognized for your own effort.

Thank you in advance for all your hard work;), Carl

[ngcmcn]

I’ve had good mentors,
and i was greatly influenced by what they knew about horses, but I was more profoundly influenced by who they were.

Neal

[blue80]

Carl:
Your post recalled a childhood memory of my father singing one of his favourite smartass tunes,
“O Loooord, it’s haaaard to be HUMble,…….but perfect in eeeevery waaaay.”

Thanks again.

[Donn Hewes]

Neal, I think I know what you mean. “who they are”. Not as celbs, but as humans. I have learned so much from some old teamsters that you could barely get a word out of them. Their character and nature made them wonderful teamsters and people and I learned and grew through their presence in my life.

[Matthew]

The more posts I read about my initial thread the more I feel I chose the wrong words to decribe these men. Even though I do not know them personaly and have never met them I see their names and faces and what they have acomplished and am shure they did not do it for any one but themselves and familys. I still have a great admiration for these men, what they do how they make a living and the skill and knowladge they possess. We all have mentors and people we look up to no matter how old we are and I am shure even these men have people they look up to. When I was younger I met a old timer from Maine who dropped out of school when he was 15. This man made his living until his death with horses. He never had any money and is clothes, trucks and harness were on borrowed time, but I thought this man walked on water. This old man who walked slow, was frail and in pain from a hard life and athritis was my hero. Thair was no one else I wanted to be like. He taught me so much, I would go to picnics with 100 people and you would find me talking to this old man takeing in his every word. Im shure we can all relate to some one like this at one time in our lives. I should re title this post GREAT MENTORS. Besides you cant pull a horse trailer to good with a limo.

[Carl Russell]

While it doesn’t speak directly to all of this, I listened to an interview on Speaking of Faith on NPR this morning, about the meaning of intelligence. Author Mike Rose was discussing how the mind relates to work, and intelligence is not adequately reflected by paper tests.

Some might find it interesting, because as has been mentioned, we have all learned a lot from people who don’t necessarily appear in the eye of an “educated” public to be the ultimate example of a teacher.

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2010/meaning-of-intelligence/

Carl

[goodcompanion]

@Carl Russell 14331 wrote:

When our daughter was 5 years old she named her gilt Brittany Spears. She never settled when we bred her, so we ate her……. that’s as close as I have ever come.
Carl

I would argue that trying to breed and subsequently eating eating Brittany Spears puts you on just about an intimate basis as you can possibly get.

[mitchmaine]

hey matthew, i’m new here too, but welcome anyway. it’s a good place, full of good advice and friendly chatter. advice is free but you have to turn it into experience of course. sounds like you have quite a bit already. i’m just wondering how many of the old guys on this site wouldn’t trade all their experience tomorrow for a chance to roll out of bed without aches and pains? experience comes every day and youth leaves everyday. i quess that’s the price. enjoy being 30, eat the frosting first, and if you still have room eat your cake later. if you don’t mind, what was the name of your logger friend from maine and where did he come from? good luck with your farm and hosses. mitch

[Author]

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