it's my birthday so i'll buy if i want to

Alternate title: New Wheels Part II !!!!

my dearly beloved 2014 calico, on a chilly dewy dawn - our last early morning together!
we shared 8,000 miles of memories <3

And. Technically my birthday was last week. But the thing about buying myself presents as an adult is that it's less about the day itself, and more about the payoff (which may or may not be as prompt as we might wish lol).

introducing: the new 2017 Cotner Ultra, hereby dubbed SS Shiny Bench by Carly

This has already been a big year for self-gifting. Obviously I bought a horse. Kiiiiinda a big deal lol. Naturally, the horse now needs his own appropriately-sized chariot.This might not be news to anyone beyond me, but it turns out that buying a trailer is almost as much of a pain in the ass as saddle shopping.

she looks good from behind

I had a lot of false starts and disappointments, and some grandiose plans that crashed back down to earth. Luckily tho, with the help of friends (like Brita - who uncovered promising leads, including the dealership from which I ultimately bought; and Allison - who selflessly volunteered to serve as my agent to look at and potentially buy a different trailer {that ultimately sold before we got there, rats}), I finally found the one.

oh! the junk i will fit in this trunk!!

My wish list for a trailer turned out to be quite simple, if not the most popular. Two horse bumper pull with ramp. Extra tall with extra nose space (no dressing room) and two escape doors.

looking to the front and back from outside the escape door. the pictures on the dealership website didn't do the amount of space in there justice, so maybe these are better? 

This 2017 Cotner Ultra adds a few extras to the deal: Running boards along the escape doors so yours truly might avoid wrecking herself (again) via careless trailer exit. Extra wide escape doors. And custom built-in wooden trunk in the nose.

bc there's a LOT of space up in the nose! and that bench is substantial enough that if i sit allll the way on it, my feet don't touch the ground. yas!!

If I were being picky, I would wish for more windows - especially near the horse's head and on the rear curtains. The dealership installed a few extra bridle hooks inside for me, bringing the grand total up to 4. And they're the nice bridle hooks with the rounded top and hook below. But I'm still thinking we might need more hooks in there haha (always needs moar hooks!).

definitely a different look from the calico stock trailer!

But I'm not that picky, and this thing checks off all the right boxes for me. Yay for a Charlie-sized new bus!! Happy birthday to me!!

i appreciate this picture bc the composition reminds me of my beloved barn door vista shots!!

But what happened to the Calico, you may be asking. Well. Part of the reason I wanted to buy from a dealership was so that I could a) finance, and b) trade in the Calico.

he's got so much space up front for that giant head and neck!!

So after confirming all the details with this dealership (Pine Hill Trailers in Gordonville, PA, see below for more details**), I hauled my Calico up there with the anticipation of leaving it with them and bringing the Cotner home. Except... something else entirely happened. Something that makes my sentimental sappy self get a little misty eyed.

plus plenty of head room!!

Some gentlemen happened by while I was clearing equipment out of the trailer in anticipation of handing it over to Pine Hill. And they began asking questions, taking a look around, kicking the tires, lifting the mats, etc etc. Turns out, the one has a young teenage daughter who keeps horses at home but hauls out for weekly lessons (sound familiar?), and they were looking to upgrade their ancient even-smaller-than-mine trailer.

and he doesn't dwarf it by standing next to it!!!! yas!!!!

So he actually up and bought the thing directly from me, right then and there. Plus his wife and daughter drove over to check it out too, and the daughter was so sweet. Showed me all these pics and videos of her and her mare doing their h/j thang, and it just made me so happy to think that the trailer that transformed my own horse hobby was going to the kind of home that will continue to love and appreciate (and USE!) it!!

Heartwarming, y'all <3

***

Anyway, for anyone else out there who may be trailer shopping, here are the details on the dealers I worked with throughout this process:

Pine Hill Trailers (Gordonville, PA): I had such an incredibly positive experience with these guys, from start to finish. Over the course of the preceding week we handled all the details and paperwork and whatnot via email, phone, and fax so that when I showed up over the weekend, all I had to do was inspect the trailer then sign on the dotted line. And poof! we were all done!!

Plus, once I was actually physically present at the dealership, I had an even better impression of them. It's a fairly large operation, with all types of trailers (horse trailers being just a fraction of their business, as they're located in the heart of Amish and agricultural PA), but everyone there from the service bay to the finance department was friendly, polite and knowledgeable. Highly recommend this dealership!!!

Traveled Lane Trailers (Centreville, MD): I met these guys at Fair Hill International a few weeks ago and absolutely fell in love with one of their side ramp trailers. Alas it was a bit beyond my budget, and the other model they stock that met my criteria had an 8-10 week lead time. Too long for my impatient self.

That said, tho, I was REALLY sorry not to be buying from this dealership. The staff was beyond friendly and helpful - both when I met them in person at Fair Hill, and in our many (MANY) follow up phone conversations and emails. They talked me all through the Calico valuation and trade in process, how to handle registrations, and even how to evaluate privately owned trailers I might come across.

And they just straight up offer some very nice trailers at very good prices. Again, I was sorry to ultimately not do business with them bc I had such a good feeling about them. They'll definitely stay on my radar for any future trailer needs tho!

Kingdom Trailers (Forest Hill, MD): I bought my Calico from these guys originally and couldn't be happier with that experience. Alas they didn't have much in stock that met my criteria this go round, but I couldn't leave them off the list bc of how well they've treated me in the past.