As you already know (if you’ve been following the blog throughout the Carriage Classic), we have only one entry in the Coaching division: Marilyn Macfarlane’s Brewster Park Drag, which was built in 1880.

It’s always a treat to be able to see several (or lots) of coaches at any one event, but even a single coach is awfully impressive and quite a spectacle in its own right.

You may remember, back on Thursday, when the coach was unloaded from its trailer. And no, don’t worry, those two men are not supporting the weight of the vehicle, they’re just guiding the front wheels. The coach was lowered slowly down the trailer’s ramp by way of a winch cable.

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When I first went over to the CAA barn on Wednesday, the Walnut Way Farm crew was already busy bedding the horses’ stalls and setting up tack-stall coverings:

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Then, once everything was set up, the horses and the vehicles (the coach and a tandem cart) were brought over. In Walnut Way Farm’s case, this is possible because the farm is only about an hour’s drive (or less) from the KY Horse Park.

When it first arrived, the coach sat in the barn aisleway under a protective sheet …

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… accompanied by Marilyn’s matching yellow and black pansies:

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Then, yesterday evening, the coach was brought out and made ready for its Carriage Classic debut. With Marilyn on the coach were a number of guests and one of her dogs:

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Yesterday evening’s session featured two classes in the Coaching division: Turnout and Timed Obstacles.

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Because the lighting in the indoor arena (when filtered through a camera) doesn’t quite do Marilyn’s coach and horses justice, here’s a photo of the same coach from a couple of years ago. I took this photo during the cones phase of the Sporting Day of Traditional Driving held as part of the 2008 CAA Conference, here at the Kentucky Horse Park (but outside!):

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