Driving in Aiken Twenty-First Century Revival By Gary Knoll

lip clop, metal shoes clanging on the pavement, leather slapping, longer necessary to own a to plow fields or travel to town, horse Cchains jingling, wheels rolling across the ground, the wind rushing ownership became a luxury. by. For a horseman, the smooth hypnotic rhythm of a horse trotting is Even in Aiken where were king, the use of powered equipment one of the most wonderful sounds in the world. to do things formerly reserved for horses had a huge effect on who could There is a huge difference in the way the world seems when you are own horses and what they would do with them. There are practically on the back of a horse, and an even more dramatic difference when you endless accounts of Aiken’s winter colony residents and their horses. are rolling along behind one. You are in control, but from a distance, They trained them for racing and steeplechasing; they hunted, jumped, connected only by pieces of leather. It seems even more of a partnership played and they drove. It’s easy to imagine them having fun with than when you are mounted. their horses in and around Aiken. No day would have been complete Putting a horse to a vehicle can be done to accomplish almost without a drive around town or through the Hitchcock Woods. anything. Stagecoaches crisscrossed the western part of America, Coaches filled with people young and old, off to enjoy their friends, making settling it possible. Horses pulled plows, seed sowers and would have been a marvelous sight and sound. The rhythms of the day harvesters to help feed much of the world’s population for thousands were filled with the sounds of horses pulling carriages, wagons and of years. Canals around the world would have been nothing more than coaches. ditches filled with water if not for horses pulling barges along them. “The Hitchcock Woods is still one the best places to drive that there Civilization without the knowledge of how to train and use horses to is,” says Peggy Dils, who is the president of the Aiken Club. perform work would look nothing like it does now. “Many of its miles of trails and paths are perfect for . But When the automobile arrived on the scene in America in the early by no means are the Woods the only place to drive in and around Aiken. 1900s, the use of horses as a source of power waned.. Cars, trucks Our club takes scheduled drives in lots of places. We also have several and tractors were much more efficient at their jobs. When it was no game days, and a spring driving show. Our members take part in events

80 The Aiken Horse February-March 2012 in town, like the carriage parades at the Aiken Trials and Aiken Steeplechase, as well as parades downtown and many other things. Right now our membership is as large as it has ever been, with over 200 people in the club.” Peggy says that membership in the Aiken Driving Club can be broken into three different groups. “About a third of our members are interested in pleasure driving. Another third don’t drive themselves, but are social members. And the other third are interested primarily in competitive driving. These three basic groups have a lot of members who cross over into the other groups also. We encourage anyone interested at all in carriage driving to join our club and participate in our events. Everyone is welcome, and we always need non-driving volunteers to help out.” Aiken and its surrounding areas are experiencing a surge in their population of competitive drivers. This year, Aiken had five drivers competing in the World Driving Championships in Slovenia. The United States team, which included four Aiken-based drivers, came home with the bronze medal. Aiken is also the home of the Katydid Event,

We’re always looking for new people to enjoy driving with us. If you don’t have a horse or have never been driving before, that’s fine. Contact us and we’ll get you out there having fun.” If you have ever thought about learning to drive or wondered what it was all about, you could not be living in a better place. There are groups of people who drive at every level, from national champions and international competitors to people who just like to watch and volunteer at the events in town. There is plenty of room for everyone If you already own a horse or horses and participate in another discipline, but are interested in driving, Aiken is a great place to get started. “You should start with a lesson,” is what you are going to hear from anyone you ask about teaching your horse to drive, and it’s good advice. Many features of basic horsemanship transfer easily from your skill set if you are already a rider. But driving is different in a lot of ways. There are things that are more important for a driving horse than for one that is ridden, things like being able to stand still and to respond to voice commands and aids, as opposed to leg aids. If you are wondering about the cost of all the things you will which is one of America’s premier driving events. Katydid draws need to teach your horse to drive, you might be pleasantly surprised. If competitors from all over the country and the world. your goal is to have a four-in-hand to compete in international events, “We’ve been putting on the Katydid event for 10 years,” say Jennifer the harness alone for the presentation phase could cost you $18,000 and Matheson, who manages and co-owns Katydid Farm. Jennifer up, and the carriage could be much more. If you want to start with one was a member of the U.S. bronze medal team at the World Pony horse, you can get a used leather harness, or a synthetic one made right Championships and has been competing at the international level for in Aiken for less than the price of an average saddle. Carriages, especially years. “Our first event had about 30 entries. Our second year was cursed if they are used, can be had for much less than you might expect. with some bad weather and only had about 17 entries. This year as well If you appreciate horses and Aiken, and enjoy the illusion of going as the last couple of years we reached our maximum number of drivers back in time, carriage driving may be for you. In the days of the winter at around 75. The National Single Horse championships were held colony, even after automobiles were common, many of Aiken’s winter at our event in 2011, and we are applying to hold the National Pony residents preferred going about town in horse drawn vehicles, often Championships here in 2014.” driving them to polo matches, the or the training track. The Aiken Driving club is the largest driving club in the area, but it You can still do that today, or simply drive down the streets of Aiken’s is not the only one. Several smaller groups are popping up catering to historic district, listening to the drum of your horse’s hooves, and more specific groups. imaging yourself back in an earlier time. “The South Carolina Pleasure Drivers Group is a small very relaxed group,” says its founder Robert Chambers. “Everyone is welcome. Our The Aiken Driving Club; www.aikendrivingclub.com is a good place to mission is to promote safe and fun driving opportunities to Aiken’s start looking for information. Gilcrest Farm (www.gilcrestfarm.com), drivers. We like to travel around the area and find new and fun place and Shepherds Purse Farm (www.muffyseaton.com) in Windsor are to drive. Besides the Hitchcock Woods, we like to travel to places like home to international level drivers and instructors. Janelle Marshall Lakeview Plantation in Allendale, and we are planning a spring trip (803.257.7051) Shelly Temple (www.catalystdriving.com) and Suzy to the Biltmore in Asheville, N.C. Last week, several of us met at the Stafford (www.staffordcarriagedriving.com) are also international level Green Boundary Club in Aiken and drove around the historic horse competitors and instructors. Robert Chambers is in charge of the South district and then into the woods. When we got back, we had some Carolina Pleasure Drivers group (803.226.3122). sandwiches and shared some stories. It was a very casual, pleasant drive.

February-March 2012 The Aiken Horse 81