The Carriage Association of America celebrates its 60th anniversary with a three-day event – Friday, June 10 through Sunday, June 12 – at the Wethersfield Estate & Garden in Amenia, New York, as well as throughout neighboring Millbrook. Spectators can enjoy watching 80 families who’ve flown in to New York state with their horses and carriages as they’re judged on their accuracy as well as their own period dress and equestrian skills.
“At the turn of the 20th century, during the heyday of carriages, most people were familiar with the style and skill of carriage driving,” said Jill Ryder, the association’s executive director. “Horses and carriages were not only a means of transportation but a social institution. A Sunday drive to visit friends and relatives, a lady driving to tea, a picnic drive with the family to a park, a drive to visit a fair or the races or a polo match – all were part of the fabric of a quieter, gentler way of life. We are excited to bring that Sunday drive feel to this event.”
More recently, carriage driving was in the news as a favorite pastime of the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, consort of Queen Elizabeth II, who took it up after he became too elderly to play polo. His granddaughter – Lady Louise Windsor, daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex – has taken up the sport in his honor.
At the Wethersfield event, Sem Groenewoud, who instructed the Dutch royal family as well as David Rockefeller in the sport, will be on hand. General admission is $25.
For more, visit carriageassociationofamerica.com.
