The HUMMER Cart

Here it is Wednesday, but it is Monday, March 8, I am blogging about. It was, quite frankly, one of the most fun we have had in a long time! Artist Jeremy Dean of Brooklyn, NY, had us pull the world's first Hummer Cart, or horse drawn Hummer, through Central Park and the streets of Manhattan.

Jeremy bought this Hummer H2 off Craigslist. He reconstructed it by literally sawing it apart, disemboweling it of it's engine and placing it on wagon running gear. He added chrome rims to the tires, and 9 inch flat screens to play videos of this project both inside the Hummer and in the driver's seat. By changing this Hummer from fossil fuel powered to horse powered, it lost over 4,000 pounds in the process.

Jeremy's inspiration came from the Depression Era. It took Terry and me a while to figure out why he was calling his four wheeled vehicle a "cart" — then he explained that it was a parody of what was referred to, at the time, "Hoover Carts" — cars and trucks modified, usually quite literally cut in half, and put to a horse or a mule because the vehicle's owner could no longer afford the high price of gasoline. Jeremy brought the modified Hummer up from Florida to an art show in Manhattan, and Duke & Diesel finally had their chance to prove that the Hummer Cart could, indeed, be of good use under true horse power.

So, Monday morning began early for us at Cedar Knoll Farm. Actually, it began Sunday, bathing Duke & Diesel, as we knew we wouldn't be doing that first thing in the morning. At 3:00AM we were up to feed, harness and take off for Manhattan. We anticipated needing to spot bathe the horses again, but miraculously, they hadn't laid down that night. Any concern and trepidation had gone by the way side. I KNEW it was going to be a terrific day.

By 7:30 AM, Terry and I were in Central Park, that sparkling gem right dab in the middle of the city, waiting for Jeremy and the Hummer. We were ecstatic that both Brandon and Maegan could meet us there (Maegan, as you may have seen from my earlier blog, had spent the weekend with Brandon — Brandon was there to take photographs). Our friend Ariel also came by to see the spectacle. Once under way, the Hummer went smoothly, the horses, naturally, had no issue with the traffic once they hit the streets, and photographs and video were taken to prove to the world that this great symbol of greed, excess and waste could be turned into, well, a more logical form of transportation.

Photos: Top: The Hummer Cart, also called the CEO Hummer Cart after those overpaid individuals who helped cause our current recession, makes its way through Central Park.

Second: Artist Jeremy Dean poses in front of his Hummer Cart on Central Park West.

Third: A Central Park carriage horse looks over at Duke & Diesel going by. This horse and carriage is owned buy our friends Anita and Alex at Chateau Carriages on 48th Street — the article I wrote for the Pedlar about Central Park carriage horses included them.

Fourth: Terry and Ariel, laughing it up while waiting for the Hummer to arrive by truck. Karl & Sue Lado (K&S Farm) loaned us their small horses trailer so we wouldn't have to bring one of our big trailers into the city this time.

Bottom: Maegan takes a quiet moment and braids Diesel's mane.

All these photos were taken by my son, Brandon Taelor Aviram