The Story of the Framed Horse

I come into this story as the seller of the stenciled white horse. You see, Debbie Kiddle saw a photo of the only other one I'd ever made and asked me to make one for her. As it turns out, she had a reason for picking this particular design. 

"You may be interested to know, there is a little story behind the reason I chose the horse. In a county in England called Wiltshire, there are a series of white horses carved into the hill sides, the soil in this area is chalk. Some of these are ancient, one dates back 3,000 years. But the one that holds a special significance for me is the White Horse at Westbury, carved in the 1700's. It evokes lovely childhood memories as I spent quite a bit of time in this part of the country then. It was a long journey in those days, but once you saw the horse, you knew you were almost there! It was an awesome sight to see, it fascinated me then and still does to this day."

In a stroke of serendipity, Debbie received this frame for Christmas and framed the horse in quick order. I'm thankful that she generously shared her photos with me. I did a little research and see why the horse is so captivating.

 The Westbury white horse is the oldest of the Wiltshire horses. It is also one of the best situated, being high on a very steep slope and overlooking a panoramic view. It is on Westbury Hill, on the edge of the Bratton Downs, immediately below the Iron Age hillfort called Bratton Camp, north-east of Westbury and near to the villages of Bratton and Edington. There is a car park with a viewing point on the B3098 just east of Westbury, and a car park above the horse on Westbury Hill. Note that the lanes up onto the hill are steep and narrow, and are used by horse riders.

I think a visit to this area is in order if I ever get to the United Kingdom! Thank you for sharing your story, Debbie!