About Horses by Herman

Pastor Dan has been a woodworker his entire life.

I graduated from high school with the dream of becoming a carpenter. To that end I found a job working with a mid-sized construction company: starting at the bottom as a mason tender and working my way up the ladder to carpentry. Then the unexpected happened: I sense God’s call to enter the ministry through my denomination: the United Church of Christ. THAT was a surprise. However, I continue building homes and turning back to carpentry every Summer through college and beyond in order to engage in my first love. Even after I started in local church ministry I spend all my time off building homes with contractors. I field a lot of jokes and comments about the relationship of ministry and carpentry, but I take it all in stride.

PD’s love of building rocking horses started with the birth of his son in 1982. He built a pony suspended by 4 springs on the corners of a “corral”. A few years ago he built a smaller, less detailed rocking horse. After talking with his kids he found that they all wanted it, so the decision was made to create three more. After searching for ideas he found plans for the rocking horses pictured on these pages. After the first three were created he fell in love with the process and continued to create these heirloom pieces.

Dan's Inspiration to create rocking horses:

I really began making these rocking horses out of a love for the process. I love the way the wood comes together, and when it’s all said and done the piece just looks so stately. We’ve been able to donate seven rocking horses to raise money for different local charities. And I loved getting to see the look on people’s faces as they got to receive and enjoy them. I would love to make one for you!

GIFTS THAT LAST A LIFETIME

In addition to being a church pastor, I’ve always been an avid woodworker and carpenter. I began making custom wooden rocking horses because of my love for the process. Each horse takes about 50 hours to complete, so it is truly a work of art. I love the way the wood comes together and how stately the horses look when finished.

In every rocking horse there's a child, young or old, who has a dream. We want to encourage people to dream big, to count all people as equals, to live with a spirit of reckless generosity, and to understand you can never be away from God's presence.