Caroling 'Flash Mob' Delights On North Fork
SOUTHOLD, NY — Just call her “Kerry Claus.” A local Southold woman has spent the holiday season spreading cheer with her open heart and her beautiful horses, bringing the joy of Christmas to friends and strangers alike.
Not only did Kerry Daly Ruggi let a visiting Sinterklaas bring her horse — aptly name Joy — on his recent rounds through town, she also organized a “flash mob” of caroling kids to lift hearts and brighten spirits.
Daly Ruggi and her band of caroling children visited homes around the elementary school, adding kids along the way to join in the fun.
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Daly Ruggi said she brought Maverick, her friend Katie Merlo’s mini pony, and Quincy, a 9-week old Australian Heeler, much to the delight of the residents at whose homes the group of carolers stopped.
The kids also visited the houses of those who have faced health challenges this year, adding holiday magic to the season — and made a stop at the home of one of Daly Ruggi’s friends, who had just given birth two weeks earlier to a new baby.
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“It was a true caroling tour of spreading joy,” Daly Ruggi said.
In addition, Daly Ruggi participated in the Southold Mothers Club’s Polar Express event. “Just call me Kerry Klaus,” she smiled.
This week, it was a true bit of Christmas magic blanketing the North Fork Monday as Sinterklaas, the Dutch version of jolly old St. Nick, paid a visit to Southold.
But in the weeks before his visit, Sinterklaas knew he wanted to make the experience even more wondrous for the family he visits each year. He was able to do so, with the help of Daly Ruggi, who, in a twist fitting the most snow-dusted Hallmark movie, owns the gentle horse Joy.
Sinterklaas has visited the family every year, carrying on their Dutch traditions — and this year, he brought along Joy, to the kids’ delight.
The traditions are beloved: According to the Brussels Times, on December 5, children in Belgium leave a shoe in the living room and the next morning, if they’ve been good, they’ll find presents, chocolate, marzipan and tangerines.
On December 6, Sinterklaas brings presents to well-behaved children in Belgium, the Brussels Times said.
His origins come from Nicholas of Myra, a Greek bishop who lived in the fourth century AD; in Belgium, he is thought of “as a stately old man with a long white beard and long hair,” the publication added. His clothing, too, resembles a bishop’s uniform, the publication said.
At night, Sinterklaas and his horse travel across people’s roofs, coming down the chimney to leave presents, the Brussels Times said.
That’s why a horse had to be found on the North Fork. Knowing that Sinterkaas was looking for his four-footed companion — he’d enlisted the help of locals to pitch his appeal on Nextdoor — Daly Ruggi said at least four people had called her to suggest Joy for the role.
“As soon as I heard there was a need, I knew I had the horse for him,” she said. “My horse’s name is Joy — and she’s a 24-year old mare who has done it all.”
The house Sinterklaas was visiting was less than a mile from the barn where Joy lives. “It was meant to be,” she said.
Joy couldn’t have done better on the big day, dressed up in red for her Christmas mission of love.
“She knew her job, walking calmly with Sinterklaas,” Daly Ruggi said. “The sun was setting; Sinterklaas’s eyes were glistening. It really was a magical Christmas moment.”
Added a family friend: “Seeing those kids’ excitement and the look on Sinterklaas’s face was worth so much. I am so grateful for Kerry to make this happen. It’s something the entire family will never forget.”
After the big day, Daly Ruggi kept the magic alive awhile longer, taking Joy for a ride on Kenneys Beach, to the delight of onlookers who shared a common refrain — seeing a horse at sunset on the North Fork beach was nothing short of a Christmas miracle.
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