Horse races and epiphanies
Here in New Mexico, I’ve taken down my Christmas tree and packed away the ornaments. I couldn’t bring myself to put away the set of jingle bells I attached to my western saddle for the season, though. Those are definitely going to stay out of the box a while longer, and my horse is finally used to them!
Today, in the Romanian village of Pietrosani, 45km (30 miles) north of Bucharest (wiki), villagers raced their horses through the streets in an annual horse race organized by Orthodox believers to celebrate Epiphany Day (wiki).
This holiday marks the end of the Christmas season festivities in Romania. Prior to their muddy gallop about, horses and riders were blessed by the local priest.
Jingle bells or not, I recently celebrated my very own horsewoman’s epiphany (a purely personal holiday) on December 21, Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere. This time of year we count the bales of hay in the barn to see if we’ve got enough to make it until the Spring delivery.
Each day is getting a little longer now. And as far as I’m concerned, that means just one thing—more time to ride!
Photo Credits: Mihai Barbu ; Mihai Barbu; Mihai Barbu
