The long stretch of fence running up to the pig, goat and alpaca pens at Lawton Stables serves as sort of a greeting line. Before you can make your way over to the feed dispenser and make a few new four-legged friends, your first stop must be at the front range, where cows, horses and ponies eagerly await head scratches and the odd treat.
For years, the master of ceremonies for this receiving line was a princely Clydesdale by the name of “Otter Creek Master Harlequin.” But everyone just called him Harley.
A celebrity in his own right, Harley greeted guests and posed for selfies, earning love from locals and visitors alike until his passing on March 15 of last year. A devastated Lawton Stables grieved for their late mascot.
“I remember looking out on the field, and it just looked empty out there without him,” said General Manager Haley Zimmerman. “We kind of needed to fill that void for all the visitors. We wanted to make sure Harley wasn’t forgotten and his legacy was carried on.”
Any Clydesdale looking to carry on that legacy would have some big shoes to fill, both physically and metaphorically. And as serendipitous as it sounds, just a few hundred miles down the coast in Florida, a precocious young Clydesdale by the name of “Big Shoe Depot” was waiting for his chance to shine.
“He was being used as a driving horse, just going through the training process in terms of pulling a carriage in a setting where there’s a lot of commotion,” Zimmerman said. “He’s more from a show line … so he didn’t have that high stepping action they look for. But he had a really good demeanor and is very quiet for as young as he is.”
Young Big Shoe Depot wasn’t a great fit for the carriage trade, but his colorful personality made him the perfect candidate for Lawton Stables’ new official greeter. But just as Otter Creek Master Harlequin found a new identity as Harley when he came to Sea Pines, Big Shoe Depot needed a name of his own.
“He was purchased for us by Anne Pierce, the owner of Woody’s Sunglass Shop in Shelter Cove,” Zimmerman said. “He was named Woody in honor of the shop’s former owner’s husband, Woody Ludwig … it fits him quite well.”
Now named Woody, the young Clydesdale started his new job as Lawton Station’s resident Clydesdale greeter over the busy Fourth of July weekend. He was a natural, which is easy to see when you step up to the receiving line at Lawton Stables. During one such trip recently, a visitor from Ohio found herself giving Woody’s whole head a big bear hug. On another, a couple of local children launched into a giggle fit when Woody presented his posterior for scratching.
“Yeah, he likes getting scratched on the butt,” laughed a farmhand, before demonstrating the spot on Woody’s belly where a good scratch will have the horse stretching his neck skyward in ecstasy.
“He’s kind of goofy,” Zimmerman said with a smile. “He’s young, but he’s really fit in well with the herd. He learned really quickly that humans are kind here and that they usually mean treats.”
He’s helpful, too, as demonstrated when he volunteered to hold a farmhand’s rake in his mouth for a moment while she shifted some gear around in her Gator. “When they’re young, they will get right in your space just to be curious. He’ll come up, sniff, grab a pitchfork; he wants to engage with humans. It’s almost like a teenager, so he’s starting to test boundaries.”
As with any teenager, a little structure will help channel some of that youthful energy. Zimmerman said Woody has taken well to training, with Lawton Stables staff getting him in shape to eventually lead trail rides.
“We’re going to be posting videos online so people can see the training process, but the long-term goal is to get him into parades or something like that,” she said.
In the meantime, Woody is soaking up the attention of the countless locals and visitors who stop by Lawton Stables, carrying on Harley’s legacy and making it his own.
“Sometimes I look out there and do a double take,” Zimmerman said. “He’s had no issues settling in and assuming the role.”
If you stop by and see Woody, be prepared for a massive horse with a larger-than-life personality. And don’t forget to give him a few butt scratches to welcome him to his new home
