CARRIAGE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA CONFERENCE 2006
Article by: Joe Moran
Phone: 513-520-8368
The 2006 Carriage Association of America annual conference took place at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington from July 5-8. Over three hundred participants registered coming in with their carriages from all over America and Canada. There were even some visitors from England who came in for the event. Carriage driving is one of the fastest growing equine disciplines and has enjoyed a tremendous rejuvenation in the last several years.
In 2005 the Carriage Association of America (CAA) relocated from Salem, New Jersey to its new location at the Kentucky Horse Park. The recent move to Kentucky should help make the midwest the nucleus of many carriage events and generate more interest in the sport in the region. The mission of the CAA is to promote carriage driving and to educate people about them.
An official ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on Wednesday. The CAA has held annual outings here before. There is also a Carriage Roundup held at the Kentucky Horsepark every year early in June. The CAA headquarters hosts a large library of carriage-related books, and members are encouraged to use the new facility.
Every day up until dusk there were carriage drives throughout the Conference. Just about every conceivable type of carriage was represented since many of the participants had multiple carriages brought in for the event. The Kentucky Horsepark encompasses over 1,200 acres and is a perfect venue for carriage drives. Some of the carriage drives included an announcer providing color commentary relating to the history of the particular carriage and some information on the owner of the carriage.
Some of the conference highlights included talks given by fellow Carriage Association of America members in their area of expertise. The subject matter of the talks ranged from restoring carriages, early carriages in Egypt, to carriages depicted in painting and prints. In addition to the frequent speakers there were numerous vendors set up during the conference dealing in coaching harness, carriage lamps, and sporting art.
Each night activities were lined up for the evening. On Thursday evening there was a formal dinner and auction at the Mariott Griffin Gate. On Friday evening there was an evening carriage drive to Spindletop Hall. On Saturday evening there was a tour of Hillcroft Farm and a “Kentucky Hoe-down” theme party under the tents at the Mariott Griffin Gate.
For more information about the Carriage Association please visit their website www.caaonline.com or call them at 859-231-0971.