A holiday tradition

BRANDY STATION — As the intermittent cold rain fell to the ground early Sunday morning, the Harmon family purposefully groomed Dempsey and Karry — their prized Belgian Draft horses — for a historic day in the nation’s capital.

Inside the harness area, Sue Harmon sprayed hair polish and detangler on the horses’ manes before gently brushing it.

“It will make them nice and shiny,” said Sue, wearing a heavy coat and scarf to shield her from the wintry weather.

This is the second year in a row that Harmon’s Hayrides & Carriages, a horse-drawn hayride, wedding and parade wagon company in Brandy Station, was invited to transport the White House Christmas tree, a 20-foot North Carolina Fraser fir.

Before leaving, Midge Harmon climbed up on a plastic stool and braided green and red decorative ribbons into the horses’ manes and tails.

“They’re our premier team,” Midge Harmon said explaining why the family chose Dempsey and Karry to return to the White House this year. “They’re the prettiest and the best trained.”

Her grandchildren, 12-year-old Jenny and 10-year-old Chris, got up before dawn to help feed the horses before the long trip to Washington, D.C.

Scott Harmon, Midge’s son and Sue’s husband, rounded up the rest of the horses and gave them a quick rinse with a garden hose, cleaning their dirty hooves.

The 125-acre farm sits at the end of a narrow gravel road off of Carrico Mills where crowing roosters and barking dogs greet visitors.

Oxen Hill Farm, a company that usually handles the White House Christmas tree procession, booked Harmon’s Hayrides & Carriages earlier this year.

A White House chief usher, grounds superintendent and floral designer handpicked the Blue Room Christmas Tree from River Ridge Tree Farms in Creston in October.

The tree, weighting more than half a ton, was preloaded on a wagon last week at the White House.

Harmon’s horses carted the tree from the south lawn to the North Portico, where First Lady Laura Bush received it.

The Blue Room is where staffers decorate and display the traditional White House tree throughout the holiday season.

Rhonda Simmons can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 125 or rsimmons@starexponent.com.

Harmon’s horses get national exposure
WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Laura Bush kicked off the holiday season Sunday by standing out in the rain to receive this year’s White House Christmas tree.

A horse-drawn wagon pulled the 20-foot Fraser fir, which will decorate the Blue Room, up to the White House. Bush was waiting under an umbrella.

“It’ll be the great big tree that this year will be decorated with ornaments from all around the United States, decorated by artists from all around the United States,” the first lady said of the tree that will serve as the centerpiece in the White House holiday decor.