Perfect weather. Superb riding skills in combination with hitting the mark.

At the gathering that is the Bethany Harvest Festival, community, horses, food trucks. A raffle. Adoptable dogs, support to help the mission of this group. Flags, enormous flags gently moving in the breeze’s. Pumpkins. Farms. Demonstrations. Pony rides in the afternoon. An arrow, history in this directional mark preserved and honored.

“…one of the nation’s fastest growing equestrian sports. Each contestant in this fast action event is equipped with two .45 caliber single action revolvers, each loaded with five rounds of special blank ammunition. Courses of fire are set in a variety of patterns. The first five balloons are set in a random pattern and the last five balloons are set in a straight line known as a rundown. After the shooter has fired the fifth shot he holsters the empty revolver and proceeds to and turns around a barrel at the far end while drawing his second revolver. He then engages the last five balloons on the rundown. Scoring is based on the elapsed time plus a five second penalty for each missed balloon or knocked over barrel. A course of fire can take between 20 and 30 seconds. We have a new horse/new shooter clinic planned for the spring, see events page for more information. This is a great way to get introduced to the different guns, holsters and how to get your horse used to sounds of gun fire. We offer both ground instructions and riding.”

“If you can’t make the clinic, contact us and we can give you more information on this great sport.” — CT Renegades

Delighted, intrigued. May want to try this art of riding and shooting. Maybe in the spring, as life’s plate is full to the brim.

Walking around, browsed Bethany Land Trust events. Bethany Historical Society. Bethany Veterinary. The freshly popped popcorn at Bethany Democrats, a pocket-size version of the Constitution. Crafts, stickers, buttons–I Love Bethany. Public safety personnel on duty. Children at play. A Corgi. A puppy. Owners with their bowls of water to help their companions. Martha, waiting for her new home. Costumes and canine harnesses, life vests sold at darn great prices for canines–to help the rescue mission. Face painting. The combined tempting aromas of food wafting over from the circled wagons of the food trucks–something for everyone. Vendors of interest to hikers, riders, families. A climbing wall. The gorgeous pumpkins with art by Sandy Rabinowitz on dimply at Bethany Horsemen’s booth/tent together with neighbor Sleeping Giant Pony Club. Community.

Just down a backroad, barns full of books. Off Amity Road, a farm stand (and weekend events such as free hay rides!), Clover Nook Farm. Kriz Farm down a winding road that opens up to flat fields–ice cream, seasonal events, draft horse beauty.

About the (former) Bethany Airport and the arrow on site from ConnecticutHistory.org (with an aerial view): “In its first few years, the airfield in Bethany served the interests of small-time aviation enthusiasts. Its central location, however, soon made it a convenient stop for planes providing airmail service between New York and Boston. In 1930, it provided for the departure of the K of New Haven in its crew’s attempt to complete the first nonstop refueling flight between North and South America. The plan called for the plane to take off from Bethany and fly 7,700 miles to Buenos Aires, Argentina, taking on additional fuel in the air at various points along the route. Unfortunately, the K of New Haven ran low on fuel while caught in heavy fog over Georgia and the three crew members had to abandon the plane in order to parachute to safety.”

From Bethany Land Trust: “A large, airmail arrow once used to provide visual guidance for pilots before the era of radar is located on the ground just north of the restored hangar. The original 112-acre property was intended to become an industrial park when purchased by the Town of Bethany in 1967 but instead has become a multipurpose property. In addition to hiking trails, it has a recycling center, two equestrian rings, announcer’s stand and a soccer field. It was expanded to include the town’s main fire station.”