October 12, 2011

an academic symposium on carriages

Posted by Jennifer under CAA/CWF Symposia | Tags: |
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We’re having another academic symposium on the history of carriages and driving! This will be our third; the first was in 2008 and the second in 2010.

More than a dozen European and North American scholars and (we anticipate) hundreds of participants will gather in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, from January 11 through 15 to hear fourteen fascinating lectures, meet old friends and make new ones, enjoy several social actitivities (including a party to celebrate the CAA’s fiftieth anniversary), and tour Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area, including the various trade shops.

To see a brief recap of the 2010 symposium, click on “CAA / CWF Symposia” under “blog topics” on the right of this page.

I’ve just finished designing (and have sent off to be printed) the brochure for the upcoming symposium. If you’re a current CAA member, you’ll get one in the mail. If you’re not a member but would like to learn more, look for the details in the Calendar of Events at the CAA website or contact the CAA office, and we’ll send you a brochure.

If you’re at all interested in studying the history of carriages and driving, you won’t want to miss this!

 

October 11, 2011

an “elegant enough” carriage

Posted by Jennifer under history | Tags: |
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After the flurry of activity last week here at the KY Horse Park, and the resulting flurry of CDE-related posts here on the blog, I think it’s time to return to some carriage- and driving-related history, don’t you?

A.J.’s been reading a book about the founding of the U.S. Navy (Six Frigates, by Ian W. Toll), and he found this tidbit at the beginning of Chapter 3:

“On Saturday, March 4, 1797, the morning skies above Philadelphia were overcast and gray. John Adams, the newly elected president of the United States, left his lodgings at the St. Francis Hotel a little before noon and climbed into the new carriage he had recently purchased for a price of $1,500. The carriage, he told Abigail, was elegant enough for a president, but it was distinctly unpretentious when compared to his predecessor’s [George Washington’s] luxurious coach, which had been pulled through the streets of the capital by a team of six horses and attended by liveried foot servants. Adams satisfied himself with two horses who were ‘young, but clever.'”

 

October 10, 2011

one more day of marathon footage

Posted by Jennifer under Kentucky Classic CDE, Lexington & KHP | Tags: |
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There were really quite a lot of people here at the KY Horse Park yesterday, enjoying the marathon phase of the Kentucky Classic CDE. When the actual competition was over, we all enjoyed the demonstration drive by Koos de Ronde, which A.J. and I thought you might like to see a bit of, too:

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If the videos won’t work for some reason on your computer, the direct links to find them on YouTube are here and here.

 

October 9, 2011

a perfect day for a (driving) marathon

Posted by Jennifer under Kentucky Classic CDE, Lexington & KHP | Tags: |
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The weather gods were smiling on the Kentucky Classic CDE today: it was a perfect day for the marathon..

A few scenes from the day:

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Bob Giles and his Andalusian mare, Maude, in the water obstacle

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… and one of the crows hanging out at that same obstacle

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many competitors have said they had a great time at the KY Classic; Nancy Roemer looked like she was having a good time, exiting this obstacle with a huge smile

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Gavin Robson at the top of the Hollow, about to fly back down the hill

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Packers fans, I presume? Mary Ruth Marks is, in fact, from Wisconsin

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spectators were lined all along the top of this hill, which gave them a good view of several obstacles

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Misdee Wrigley Miller, with Koos de Ronde as her navigator, negotiating the logs

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… and negotiating a turn at the base of Mick’s Mountain

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At the very end of the day, Koos de Ronde (a member of the gold-medal team from last year’s WEG) took the reins of a team of four horses and, with Michael Freund as his navigator and James Miller on the back step, gave a thrilling demonstration of obstacle driving. He was followed along the course, from obstacle to obstacle, by an army of people in golf carts and gators, and on bikes, and on foot. And — sometimes at Michael’s urging, but mostly on their own — the crowd cheered and whooped and hollered in appreciation.

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October 8, 2011

we’ve completed dressage & cones

Posted by Jennifer under Kentucky Classic CDE, Lexington & KHP | Tags: |
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… and it’s on to the marathon phase tomorrow!

Before then, here are a few photos from today:

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Muffy Seaton and her Arabian stallion had a double-clear round (no course or time penalties) on the cones course in the intermediate single-pony class

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Celeste Pitts (here, during her dressage test) drove a lovely wicker Phaeton; the wicker parts were hand-woven by an 80-year-old Amish man in Pennsylvania

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the coach for the U.S. driving teams, Michael Freund, led two popular marathon course walks today, and each time he was followed by a flotilla of packed golf carts

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Bob Giles drove a lovely Andalusian mare named Maude

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Jack Goodman was one of the competitors in the large preliminary single-pony class

 

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