The only thing a Cape Breton Santa Claus wanted for Christmas was a new horse to guide his sleigh. And Kris Kringle says his holiday wish came true.
For nearly 35 years, Santa Claus has been travelling the streets of Whitney Pier and South Bar not by reindeer; but by horsepower. Except this Christmas there’s a lump of coal in his stocking.
Eddie Brookman’s two horses, who have been guiding his sleigh year after year, are too old and weak to continue.
“I had tears in my eyes when I came down here to see these two horses and realized I can't take them,” he says.
One of the horses has a swollen knee filled with fluid. But Brookman says the horses are a package deal.
"The two of them go together. I can't take one without taking the other. So it was very disappointing for Santa Claus," he says.
So Santa – the man known for giving gifts – was left with a wish list of his own. But he says not just any horse has the right temperament for the traffic and the crowds.
"(The horses) are so used to cars and trucks,” Brookman says. “It's a shame I have to retire them this year."
Brookman says a contact in North Sydney helped make his wish for a new horse come true, offering up a four-year-old horse that he's pretty sure will fit the bill.
Still, Brookman says this year won’t be the same.
"It's a shame. I'll cry Saturday morning before I put my suit on because I don't have the two horses that I had for years."
Kris Kringle says once he starts spreading cheer, though, those tears will dry and the tradition will keep going.
"It takes me eight hours of my time and I do it for the love of the children."
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald.
