A Little Slice of Paradise

I think of Shipshewana, Indiana, as a horse lover's paradise.

There are miles of beautiful Amish farms in Indiana near Shipshewana, Middlebury, Topeka, and all the way down to Napanee. If you enjoy gorgeous vistas of lush green pastures and farm fields, graced with sprawling farmsteads of white houses and barns edged with brilliant flowerbeds, this is your destination. 

There are more horses and ponies per square mile in this area than I have found anywhere in my lifetime. 

I have visited Holmes County, Ohio, and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, as well as Davis County, Indiana, and Arthur, Illinois. All of these areas are excellent destinations. In fact, any Amish community in America or Canada will have very similar sights. However, my favorite is the Shipshewana area. 

My Little Slice of Paradise

My wife and I spent some time in Shipshewana the first few days of August. I took these photos as we toured the sideroads. I have been looking to buy a team ever since I lost my best horse.

I kept saying to my wife, "Look at all of these Belgian draft horses! Those are exactly what I'm looking for." Every farm had at least 10 of these beautiful creatures. I told her, "I just want two." 

Before I fell asleep on August 3rd, I was lying there thinking that there may be a way I could buy a team here and haul them to Iowa. I said, "Lord, I'm praying for just the right team of horses. If there's a way to purchase some of these Indiana Belgians, help me ."

We got up on August 4th and drove towards home through Topeka and Millersburg, enjoying the views of "Amish Horse Paradise." I didn't have any inspired ideas about how to purchase a team.

I knew that there was a special workhorse sale in my hometown of Kalona, Iowa, on August 5th. 

All I could do was hope to find a similar team of horses, and I didn't have long to wait. 

The horse sale starts at 9:00 am. Before the sale, sellers harness and hitch their horses and ponies and drive them through an arena in a merry-go-round fashion. A team caught my eye immediately. I said to myself, "There's the style I'm dreaming of."

An Amish man about my age was hitching this team to a cart, and I approached him. "How old are these mares?"

"They are both four."

I asked, "Where are you from?"

"Millersburg, Indiana, near Topeka."

I couldn't believe my ears. "I was just there yesterday," I said. 

He told me that he hadn't planned on bringing horses to Iowa, but a neighbor stopped in a couple of nights ago and said he was hiring a driver to take some horses to a sale in Iowa. "There would be room in the trailer if you want to join me."

It seems like more than a coincidence to me. I choose to believe these horses were an answer to my prayer.

By the end of the day, I had a team of Belgians, my personal slice of horse paradise imported from Indiana.

Honey and Bella