You’re stunned first by the long-limbed horse and his petite rider, who had to stand on a barrel to reach her mount’s back.
This is Ivan the Hungarian warmblood, cantering across the ring, Olympic Mountains rising behind him as a light rain falls.
Then, as horse and rider sail over a jump, you see something else.
Gracie Niemeyer, 12, is guiding Ivan with only a light rope. No saddle. She looks natural as can be — just like another rider entering the ring.
That’s Jasmine Itti, 13, on Louie, a bay mustang — bareback and without a bridle.
The Sequim girls will demonstrate their skills Saturday at Freedom Farm, one of the participants in this year’s Clallam County Farm Tour.
The riding school and cattle ranch run by Mary Gallagher and Jerry Schmidt will have equestrian activities for children, teenagers and adults — anyone who loves horses and the outdoors.
Freedom Farm is a longtime favorite on the Farm Tour, a showcase of eight destinations where horses, sheep, flowers, carrots and many other living things flourish.
The North Olympic Land Trust and the Washington State University-Clallam County Extension sponsor the annual event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, with admission at $10 per carload at the gate of any participating farm.
And while WSU Extension is celebrating its history — its 100th anniversary is this year — the tour theme is “Farming for our Future.”
Agricultural tourism is vital to the local economy, said WSU Clallam Extension Director Clea Rome.
She’s talking about lavender in Sequim in July as well as this weekend’s circuit, which draws people from “all over the Puget Sound: Kitsap County, Seattle, the south Sound.”
The Clallam Extension office is producing an economic-impact study of the agricultural sector, Rome noted, adding the report should be released by early next year.
Meanwhile it’s time to celebrate the abundant harvest at places such as Nash’s Organic Produce, whose 700 acres make it one of the largest organic farms in the Northwest, Rome said.
Nash’s is among the better-known tour stops, while Five Acre School is brand-new this year.
Here’s the lineup of tour participants, from just east of Port Angeles into the fertile Dungeness Valley.
■ Lazy J Tree Farm, 225 Gehrke Road, Port Angeles: Fruit orchards; young Christmas trees; lunch by Steve McCabe; music from Mike Kamphaus from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Buck Ellard from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.; hayrides and a big sand pile for children.
■ Freedom Farm, 403 Spring Road, Port Angeles: Horsemanship demonstrations, pony rides and other activities plus a beef cow and calf exhibit.
■ Lokalie Gaare (Lucky Sheep Farm), 702 Gunn Road, Agnew: Border collies and herding demonstrations plus spinners, weavers and other fiber artisans showing off their skills.
■ Annie’s Flower Farm, 687½ Woodcock Road at Kitchen-Dick Road, Sequim (new location): Fresh flowers, perfume-making (bring a bottle to make your own), flower-pressing demonstrations; music by Jim Faddis and friends from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
■ Five Acre School, 515 Lotzgesell Road, Sequim: Students’ farming projects, a natural playscape, art projects and a nature path.
■ Dungeness Valley Creamery (raw milk dairy), 1915 Towne Road, Sequim: Tours of the milking parlors, hayrides around the 30-plus acres of pasture, butter- and yogurt-making demos, petting zoo.
■ Nash’s Organic Produce, 1865 E. Anderson Road, Sequim: Pumpkin sculpting and other kids’ activities; music by the Sweet Evangelines from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; local-produce lunch from Oven Spoonful; community potluck at 6 p.m. with local beer and wine poured by the North Olympic Land Trust workers; and then, as the finale, the Fall Barn Dance at 7:30 p.m. with the Spoonshine band from Seattle. Admission to the dance is an additional $10 for adults and free for children.
■ Jardin du Soleil Lavender, 3932 Sequim-Dungeness Way, Sequim: Tours of the 10-acre organic lavender farm, Victorian gardens and fruit trees; food and drink from Maggie May Espresso and Outfitter; WSU Jefferson County Extension Director Laura Lewis will step up at 11 a.m. to discuss farming in a changing Olympic Peninsula Climate, while the Olympic Climate Action group will have displays set up all day.
The farm tour is about building community, said Kia Armstrong, longtime manager of Nash’s Organic Produce.
Community grows around food, yes, but also around music.
So Nash’s is providing the venue for a new band: the Sweet Evangelines, an old time country and gospel duo.
They’re also known as Donna Rankin and Rachael Snyder, friends who met in a harmony-singing workshop about a year ago.
“We really clicked musically, and pretty soon we had a slew of songs,” said Rankin.
They mix cover tunes like the Carter Family’s “Wildwood Flower,” Bill Monroe’s “Sweetheart of Mine” and Gillian Welch’s “Orphan Girl” with originals such as “Leave the Light On” and “Fly So High.”
The pair liked the sound of Evangelines, and added Sweet because, Rankin said, “we really feel like it’s about our harmonies . . . Someone told us they are something greater than the parts.
“And it’s fun music,” she promised, “original and old-timey songs with a country twang.”
________
Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
