It’s been 30 years since the little town of Navan entered the annals of the Guinness Book of Records when a group of farmers banded together to do something no one else had ever done – hitch up 50 Clydesdale horses to a wagon and drive them 3.5 kilometres through the village.
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Wyatt and Willard McWilliams pose together during an event at this year’s Navan Fair marking the 30th anniversary of the 50-Horse Hitch which took place on Aug. 13, 1995 and witnessed by more than 40,000 spectators. STAFF PHOTO |
The famous 50-Horse Hitch was a year in the making. First dreamed up by Navan farmer Willard McWilliams to mark the 50th anniversary of the Navan Fair, the 50-Horse Hitch would require the cooperation of 18 Clydesdale owners and the cooperation of dozens more in the fabrication of five groups of reins, each stretching 180 feet long.
In the lead up to the big day, Willard and his son Wyatt organized a series of three practices – two involving 18 horses and one involving 30 horses – along with fellow lead organizers Denny Brown and Sam Dagg.
It wasn’t until the big day on Aug. 13, 1995 that they attempted to hitch up all 50 horses. It took two hours to prepare all of the horses and hitch them all up. The formation consisted on 12 rows of four horses each lead by two horses, Tony and Duke.
The team left the Navan Fairgrounds and turned right on to Delson Road. They then followed Delson around to Trim Road and turned right before taking a left on to Forest Lea Drive.
After going the length of Forest Lea, the team turned right onto Smith Road and marched down Smith and Colonial Road to Delson before returning to the Navan Fairgrounds.
An estimated crowd of 50,000 people descended on the little village of Navan to witness the historic event. It would be a site that Wyatt McWilliams would never forget.
“When we turned the corner on to Smith Road and just seeing all the people. I’d never seen anything like it. It was just a sea of people,” recalls Wyatt, who developed a rare disease in the years afterwards that robbed him of his sight. “That’s a memory I have kept with me all these years.”
Interestingly enough, the McWilliams never intended to set a record, it was the Fair’s organizers who checked with the Guinness Book of Records people and found out the old record was 48 horses. It was only a coincidence that the 50th anniversary 50-Horse Hitch entered the record books.
The anniversary of the 50-Horse Hitch was celebrated in the Myers Barn at this year's Fair, with a model replica of the historic event, press clippings from the original event, the actual wagon that was used and several vintage wagons donated by Navan farmer and vintage wagon collector Glen Edwards.
The display was sponsored by Myers Orléans, the Friends of the Mer Bleue, Sure Print and Graphics, Waste Connections and Gabriels Pizza.
THE OTTAWA SCHOOL OF THEATRE presents the all ages play "The House Rules" in the Richcraft Theatre at The Shenkman Arts Centre. Showtimes 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27 and Friday, Nov 28, and 1:30 p.n. on Staurday, Nov. 29 and Sunday, Nov. 30. Tickets $22 for adults, $12:50 for audience members 25 and under. For more information and advance tickets visit 
CAPITAL TEASE BURLESQUE PRESENTS STRUT at the Stray Dog Brewing Company, 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park. Tickets $20 available at 
SANTA’S PARADE OF LIGHTS beginning at 6 p.m. at the corner of St. Joseph Blvd. and Youville Dr. The parade will follow it’s traditional route down St. Joseph Blvd. to the Orléans Town Centre.
HOLIDAY VARIETY SHOW at 7 p.m. at Good Shepherd Parish Church, 3092 Innes Rd. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Sing-along at 6:45 p.m. This is a fundraiser event for Food for Families. Coats for Kids, and local food banks. Monetary donations gratefully accepted: by cheque to “Good Shepherd Parish” or by e-transfer to finsec9005@gmail.com.
TRIVIA NIGHT from 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday night at the Royal Oak Pub Orléans. Free to play. Prizes for the winning team! The Royal Oak Pub is located at 1981 St. Joseph Blvd. near Jeanne d'Arc. For more info visit 
OYSTER NIGHT every Wednesday from 6-9 pm at the Orléans Brewing Co. Two types of oysters served with lemon, Tobasco, horseradish, salt and mignonette. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd., next to McDonalds.
