ON THE RED CARPET: Last June 10, Burlington photographer Rachelle Rousseau was on hand at the “Welcome to Canada Mystical Parade” – the arrival of nine Gypsy Vanner horses to Deerfields Stables near Palgrave. The magnificent breed was showcased on the red carpet and let loose to run free for everyone to enjoy. Photo/RACHELLE ROUSSEAU PHOTOGRAPHY DeerFields Stables, owned by Caledon businessman Jim Wilson is a place he built as an idyllic sanctuary from the wear and tear of day to day life. He has stocked it with a collection of kindly, smallish horses, called Vanners, who descend from the Dales Ponies and a number of draft horses in the U.K.

The result of the breeding is a beautiful, small horse that looks like a draft horse without the height and weight, but with the feathered fetlocks, that is, the long hair around the ankles. The temperament of these picturesque equines is another amiable feature for they are kind and affectionate, docile and intelligent.

It was Dennis Thompson, who, bringing some of the gypsy horses from the U.K. to his farm in Florida, named them Gypsy Vanners and registered the breed in North America with all the trappings that such credentials occur.

In Ireland and the U.K., there are still gypsies who travel about in a variety of vehicles, with a few families continuing the use of the horse drawn wagons. The gypsy horses are distinguished by their long manes and tails and feathered fetlocks, their durability and reliability, as they are counted on to pull the family home, as it were, from place to place.

They are, in any event, a trade mark of the traditional gypsies, always paints as colour, very flashy but, still, calm horses and not given to flightiness. It is from this family horse that the now-named Gypsy Vanners have come to North America.

Jim Wilson was raised on a farm near Thornhill, where his family had regular saddle horses, so that Mr. Wilson was born with a love for them. During his life as a businessman, he lived for seven years in Las Vegas, where he once again rode and enjoyed the company of horses. It was then that he began to look for the “perfect horse”, an animal with charm and equitableness. He wanted beauty, reliability, a horse for trail riding, that would be, as we say, “bomb proof.” And he found exactly what he wanted in the Gypsy Vanner.

Along with Sandy Diamond, a Canadian trainer, Mr. Wilson went in search of the best Gypsy Vanners he could find which were in Florida, where he also has a home, at the stables of Dennis Thompson.

So, he brought half a dozen or so horses to Canada, to Caledon, where he owns a fabulous property. Determined to make a “perfect” place of it, Mr. Wilson has developed stabling, a club house, embellished the original residence and done extensive landscaping. He has also planted grapes in the hopes of creating an “old world” ambience.

His ambition is to breed the Vanners and extend the line here in Canada. Altogether the best horse for trail riding and happy days in the saddle, so Mr. Wilson thinks, the Vanners that he brought to Canada, while still only two -yearolds, will be ready for use in the summer of next year.

Already, under the quiet guidance of Sandy Diamond, who advocates a natural training technique (remember horse whisperer), the young Vanners are becoming quite relaxed about being handled and ridden.

More than having all this pleasant luxury to himself, Mr. Wilson has been working on a plan for a private riding club, featuring the Vanners as the horse of choice.

However, Mr. Wilson is not looking for crowds, as he intends to invite a maximum of 12 members, with the associate memberships that those 12 would bring. While there certainly are membership and associate membership fees, the venture is not primarily a business.

Members will get good value for their money. The renovated former out building, now the club house, gives a sweeping view of the property from the bank of windows from the large lounge and dining area upstairs. A study and elegant fireplace dominates one wall, while a long bar stands ready to serve lunch or munchies.

Without being over the top, every convenience has been considered, with a view to providing days of unravelling and restoring the soul.

Mr. Wilson’s comment was: “I don’t play golf — this is a hobby. I have always surrounded myself with great staff. I travel a lot and DeerFields is the perfect place to come back to. I want a location that is tranquil and stress free. And I want to share the dream.”