The autumn school holidays always coincide with busy times in the countryside. Arable farmers then bring in beets, potatoes and other crops, spread manure and plough their clay fields. On South Beveland (Zld), children help out on their aunt and uncle's farm every year. Helping out in practice means doing something with the horses, such as harnessing old Sita van Waarde (pictured here on the left in two-horse harness) and then going out to fetch fodder beets from the fields. The route takes in dusty, narrow field roads and a quiet polder dyke. The feeder driver is the youngest of the bunch but has the most horse experience. However, hot-line (one leash) driving does not always go well for him; he drives the three-wheeled cart with heavily studded wooden wheels over some beets. Still, nothing goes to waste; he feeds the pieces of pulverised beetroot to Sita.
Groningen-based painter, illustrator and author Wim Romijn enjoys international fame as a horse painter. He also paints farm animals and wildlife. His designs and illustrations served to make greetings cards, calendars, posters, embroidery kits, portfolios and giclées.
In the picture books Het Werkpaard (1990), the..
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