Sailing with horses

Two couples from Texas and North Carolina found serenity on Election Day by sailing a becalmed York River in late afternoon.

Janna and Michael Bartosh were vacationing in Williamsburg from Fort Worth. She’s an avid horse woman and he has followed her passion. Janna said, “I volunteer with therapy horses, working with children. It’s amazing how smart horses are. They did studies that tracked the blood pressure of anxious riders and found a correlation. The rider became less anxiety-ridden, and so too did the horse. It’s as if he knows. They’re great for children because they can be very reassuring.”

Michael said, “I never thought a thing about horses. I thought they were just skinny cows. Now I follow them avidly. Janna converted me to a horse-lover.”

I narrated the Battle of the Capes and the Siege of Yorktown, which included the British killing all 400 horses to preserve their oats for the men. Janna was moved.

On a lighter note, I pointed out that you never see anyone out back enjoying their yard on a beautiful afternoon or evening. If it were me, I’d be waving and saying that I live here and you don’t. Then I pointed to Little England, the 1727 plantation where Lord Earl Cornwallis fled one night at the peak of the battle just to get some rest. “He probably stood there and waved in the back yard,” Janna laughed.

Let’s go sail

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