Upwards of 2,000 visitors show up to witness this winter spectacle of vintage and antique sleighs, cutters and even work wagons, each pulled by beautiful horses. The horse breeds range from the mighty draft horses such as Belgians and the bold black Percherons down to miniature ponies. Visitors might even see mules and donkeys pulling sleighs. Many of the drivers and their passengers wear authentic or reproduction Victorian style clothing such a beaver hat festooned with ostrich feathers. Vintage horsehair lap robes provide extra warmth just as they did more than 100 years ago.

Admission to the Rally & Parade is free. Most people arrive by car but you can also snowmobile to the Visitor Center, via trail 13. Inside the Visitor Center, visitors can warm up, view a display of harnesses and sleigh bells as well as purchase hot chocolate and food.

Before the parade you can talk with club members and watch as they harness the horses and hitch them to a sleigh or cutter. Hook-up is at 11 a.m. and drivers will often take the horses out for a quick trot to warm them up. The parade officially gets underway at 1 p.m. and lasts for about two hours. As the bells jingle

on the trotting horses, judges score each entry on costume, sleighs and how well the driver and animals interact with each other.

You can expect to see loggers, bobsleds, several Portland cutters made by Studebaker, and the graceful, swan-like Albany cutters that originated in the New England states. Deep snow can sometimes force a cancellation. So you might want to check www.northerngreatlakes.org or call (715) 682-2256 if a major snowstorm has hit the area just before the event.