For the nation’s 200th birthday — and before Don Sherwood served in the U.S. Congress — he started working with draft horses.
"My uncle and I bought a team to get in the parades for the bicentennial," he said, referring to the 1976 celebrations.
Nearly 50 years later a version of that team of Belgian Draught Horses will pull a large restored reg wagon with big white wheels down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. to celebrate Donald Trump's second inauguration as president.
Sherwood Groves Farm's Belgian 6-Horse Hitch was selected to be part of Trump's inaugural parade.
"I thought it was appropriate this year," Sherwood said. "Pennsylvania was very instrumental in Trump's win. And so if he's going to be our president, we all wish him well. We want the country to do well. And I thought it would be neat to have a Pennsylvania entry in the parade.”
The hitch and Butler County First Responders are the only two groups from Pennsylvania scheduled to participate in the parade, which will feature ceremonial military regiments, citizens’ groups, marching bands and floats.
Sherwood, 83, represented what was then the 10th District from 1999 until 2007.
True workhorses
Before semi-trucks and box vans, the muscular horses pulled wagons of freight throughout the country, Sherwood said. Before they pulled freight, they were war horses bred big and strong so knights in Europe could ride them while in armor.
Six-horse hitches showcase the skills of these working animals, of which there are many breeds. Sherwood noted there are Belgians like his, as well as Percherons and Clydesdales.
The six horses that will march in the parade are with Sherwood’s trainer in Indiana. They'll make the trip to D.C. on Saturday. One of the Belgians has something in common with the future president — they’re both named Trump.
Trump the horse was the champion Belgian gelding at the North American Belgian Championships last year.
"He'll be the horse in front of the wagon, right in front of the wagon on the right side," Sherwood said.
Sherwood stood inside his green-roofed Amish-built barn in Tunkhannock, where he’s semi-retired from the car dealership that bears his last name.
"I only got serious about this six-horse hitch business in the last five or six years, and been running it pretty hard. And we're we exhibit all over the East, and we've done reasonably well the last two years," he said.
Sherwood walked Peter out of his stall.
The lanky light red horse, also known as a sorrel, stands taller than 6 feet. Like most Belgians, he has a white mane and tail.
Like many of the horses in Sherwood’s barn, Pete is retired from the hitch business. Sherwood also has a few pregnant mares. And two horses under the age of 2 munched on hay outside in an enclosure as a light snow fell.
"It's good to have our region represented ... also the horses in the wagon sort of celebrate our agricultural heritage, which is still very important part of Pennsylvania," he said. "I hope the horses are something people enjoy seeing, and they don't mind showing off a little bit either.”
The inaugural parade begins after the swearing-in ceremonies and a luncheon at the Capitol, according to the National Park Service. Sherwood, who will ride on the wagon, is expecting the parade to start around 2:30 p.m.
Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance and their families and guests will watch parade from the Presidential Reviewing Stand.
