Driving Club to lead carriage presentation
The Aiken Driving Club’s carriage presentation offers an opportunity to learn more about what was once the most common mode of transportation in this country while playing a prominent role in shaping the area’s history.
Several members of the Driving Club will share their wide breadth of knowledge about carriages, horses and carriage driving at The Carriage Museum in Hopelands Gardens on May 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the presentation “Carriage Driving in Your Backyard.”
“This is a way for the Aiken Driving Club to promote carriage driving to the general public,” said Diane Mansur of the Aiken Driving Club. “We’ll have a number of members in attendance who will be able to answer questions about the carriages in the museum and about the carriages that will be brought to the presentation by club members.”
The carriages on display at the museum evoke images of a previous era, but those attending the event will have an opportunity to see those carriages used in pleasure driving events and a marathon carriage used in Combined Driving Events.
“There will also be videos of different driving events,” Mansur said.
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Carriage parade marks season
For nearly a quarter of a century, spectators in Aiken have lined the street to celebrate autumn. The 24th Aiken Driving Club’s Fall Weekend Invitational Drive will provide onlookers with an intimate glimpse of traditional driving that’s evocative of another time.
This year’s drive will feature nearly 20 carriages, said Joan Gee, Aiken Driving Club fall weekend invitational drive coordinator. The drive will start Saturday at 10:30 a.m. with the carriages departing from Winthrop Field. Those participating in the event will be donning traditional apparel.
The event has long been a favorite of residents and visitors to the area as it celebrates the tradition and pageantry associated with the art of carriage driving, said Pixie Baxter, Aiken Driving Club president.
“It’s nostalgic, contemporary and futuristic all at the same time,” Baxter said. “The drive will feature animals of all sizes, and there’s something for people of all ages. We enjoy the reaction of the spectators. It’s a great way to start the season.” Full Details…..
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Annual drive offers scenic view.
JACKSON — The 2009 Audubon Coach and Carriage Drive at the Silver Bluff Audubon Center and Sanctuary, which was held Friday, provided an opportunity to view indigenous flora and fauna while enjoying one of the area’s most idyllic backdrops.
The event was sponsored by the Aiken Driving Club and the Four-in-Hand Club. The day’s festivities featured a lunch presented by the Green Boundary Club, hosted by Jack Wetzel and Jacqueline Ohrstrom.
“This event is wonderful,” said Norman Brunswig, Audubon South Carolina executive director. “The best thing for Silver Bluff, Audubon and conservation is for people to value this place. This group of people have come to appreciate this place (the Silver Bluff Audubon Center and Sanctuary) not just as a wildlife resource and a beautiful aesthetic, but as a wonderful place to do the thing that they love most, which is to drive in natural settings. I think these sand roads and beautiful piney woods are evocative of the centuries when carriages were the means of transportation. We think it’s perfect. We’re delighted that they come and have a good time.”
Four-in-hands, pairs and singles took part in the carriage drive that went along the trail system that totals 8.8 miles.
“This is such a pretty venue, and I love supporting it because it’s such a great place to drive,” said Sandy Nicolaisen, who participated in the drive, is a member of the Aiken Driving Club and was accompanied by her Cairn Terrier Toby, who was the carriage dog. Full story.
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