Reports from the Maritimes indicate that a jolly old elf has turned in his reindeer and sleigh for a jogcart and a pair of Standardbreds.
For the last three decades, Eddie Brookman has dressed up in the red and white colours of St. Nick and handed out treats to children along in Victoria Road in Whitney Pier, an urban neighbourhood in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton regional municipality.
The trek takes about six hours, with children as interested in the horses as they are the driver of the sleeker sleigh.
The two horses, Township Comet and King Is Crowned are both campaigners from the late 1990s at Inverness Raceway, and both were trained by Brookman. While no longer a horseman, Brookman has no plans in giving up the lines for his popular seasonal tradition.
"I've gone 31 [years] so I hope I can keep going," Brookman told CTV. "I'll go as long as I can. If the good lord willing keeps me here, I'll do it for 50 years."
(photo courtesy Cape Breton Post)