Equestrian Network Magazine

Introducing:
The Carriage Association of America

by Jennifer Singleton

If you're at all interested in finding, collecting, restoring, or driving any sort of antique horse-drawn vehicle, do you know where to turn for help and information and the camaraderie of like-minded people? Welcome to the Carriage Association
of America!

CAA pair.

The CAA was founded in 1960 and is the oldest and largest international organization devoted to the preservation and restoration of horse-drawn carriages and sleighs. The CAA serves more than 3,000 members, plus 49 libraries and

museums, across the United States and in 40 other countries.

Among our members are carriage builders and restorers, carriage and sleigh collectors, lovers of history, and aficionados of traditional styles of driving. Some of our members participate in driving and carriage competitions, while many others do not, choosing simply to enjoy their hobby. Our members who drive their own vehicles range from drivers of single ponies to drivers of four-in-hand teams of horses, and
everything in between.

We offer our members a wide variety of benefits, starting with a subscription to our award-winning magazine, The Carriage Journal - published five times a year. The Journal has been in continuous publication since 1963 and has long been considered an authority in the field, with articles on carriages, restoration, the history of driving and carriage-making, how-to, and so much more. In between issues of The Carriage Journal , our members receive five issues each year of the CAA Newsletter, featuring timely news, event calendars, classified ads, and more. In addition to these periodicals, the CAA publishes booklets on safe driving, carriage and harness care, and traditional methods of turning out certain types of vehicles.

CAA four in hand.

Our website (www.caaonline.com) offers members and non-members alike a wide array of informational and educational options. There's everything from a full-color tour of 29 types of vehicles to our Directory of Services and Suppliers - nearly 600 listings of individuals and businesses involved in the carriage trade, all arranged in 104 categories. There's also a listing of carriage-related museums and an online bookstore.

To educate and entertain our members - and to provide them an opportunity to meet with each

other - the CAA hosts Conferences, Learning Weekends, and seminars. The Learning Weekends are usually held in January (with seminars held occasionally at other times during the year), and they offer two full days of lectures, meetings, and demonstrations. The CAA Conferences are held in a different location each time. These events offer lectures, meetings, and demonstrations as well, but they also offer the Carriage Showcase (a competition in which restored carriages are judged against a standard of excellence) and scenic driving opportunities for those members who choose to bring horses or ponies and carriages.

In 2005, after 22 years in Salem, NJ, the CAA moved its offices to the Kentucky Horse Park (KHP) in Lexington. Set on more than 1,200 acres in the heart of Kentucky's famous Bluegrass region, the Kentucky Horse Park is an equine theme park and competition facility, and the site of the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games. The Horse Park is home to more than 20 national equine associations and features the world-class International Museum of the Horse, the American Saddlebred Museum, Man O' War Memorial, horse-drawn tours, farrier shop, Hall of Champions, Parade of Breeds, horseback riding, and more.

In July 2006, the official grand opening of the new headquarters and the 2006 CAA Conference were held at the KHP. Many CAA members have described this Conference as the best one yet. At this event, the CAA welcomed 340 members and a record 235 horses/ponies to pull 84 carriages. A meeting of the World Coaching Club was held during the Conference, and the club's invitational drive on Friday evening boasted 13 coaches (these are typically the English version of stagecoaches, both public and private).

Those attending the CAA Conference with horses/ponies and carriages enjoyed many miles of driving on roads and trails that wind through the Park and neighboring horse farms. Those attending without horses enjoyed talks and demonstrations on a wide variety of carriage topics. All Conference attendees, and the many horse park visitors who came specifically to see the Conference, marveled at the beauty, variety, and sheer number of turnouts.

A few of the featured activities during this year's CAA Conference: talks ranging from the mechanics of a stage coach to the art of collecting coaching prints, a panel discussion on where to start with one's first carriage-restoration project, a presentation of "unusual" vehicles and turnouts, a demonstration of correct turnouts for phaetons and gigs in park driving, and the ever-popular Carriage Showcase. The showcase features both newly restored carriages and those that were previously restored and are now being used once again.

For more information on the Carriage Association of America or to join, visit www.caaonline.com, send an e-mail to info@caaonline.com, or call (859) 231-0971.

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