Coaching Club of New York facts for kids
The Coaching Club was a special group formed in New York City in 1875. It was also known as the New York Coaching Club or the Coaching Club of America. The club's main goal was to encourage "four-in-hand driving" in America. This means driving a carriage with four horses, all controlled by one person using a single set of reins. To join, members had to be very skilled at handling a coach and its four horses.
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History of the Coaching Club
The Coaching Club was started by two important people, Colonel DeLancey Kane and Colonel William Jay. Their first official meeting happened on December 3, 1875. They met at the Knickerbocker Club on Fifth Avenue in New York City. This club became their main meeting place. Later, some of their activities moved closer to Central Park, to the Metropolitan Club. Nine of the Coaching Club's founders were also members of the Metropolitan Club.
Fun Activities of the Club
The Coaching Club held many regular events. They had dinners and annual parades that went through Central Park. These parades were very exciting and colorful.
Imagine this scene from a parade: The annual meeting of the New York Coaching Club was a thrilling event. About fifteen large coaches, called "drags," would gather. They would start at the Brunswick Hotel and drive up to and around Central Park. Then they would return for dinner at the hotel. The most fashionable women in town would sit on top of the coaches. They wore pretty summer dresses and straw hats. They often carried bouquets of flowers that matched the host's racing colors. The men wore the Coaching Club's special uniform. This included green coats, gray top hats, and flowers pinned to their jackets. Even the horses were decorated with flower rosettes behind their ears!
In 1901, a typical club outing involved twenty-six coaches. They gathered in Hyde Park, New York, and set off for a fun drive.
Coaching Club Horse Race
In 1917, the Coaching Club started a special horse race. It was called the Coaching Club Handicap. This race was for three-year-old female horses, called fillies. It took place at Belmont Park. Today, this race is still very important. It's now a top-level race called the Coaching Club American Oaks, held at Saratoga Race Course.
Who Could Join the Club?
To become a member, you needed to be able to drive four horses with great skill and grace. The driver, also called the "whip," had to hold all four horses' reins in one hand.
Coaching was a very expensive hobby. At first, the club only allowed fifty members, then later just thirty. Members had to own and drive coaches pulled by four horses. They also could not be involved in horse racing, hunting, or polo. It became hard to keep the club full of members. So, after 1925, they changed the rules. Members were then allowed to be involved in those other horse activities.
The Pioneer Road Coach
The Coaching Club owned its very own coach, which they named Pioneer. This coach made daily trips between Holland House in New York City and Ardsley, New York. This was a long trip, about 54 miles round trip! The Pioneer made these daily runs for three years.
Sometimes, the public could buy seats on members' coaches. This meant regular people could be driven around by the club members. Some people thought it was strange that New York's wealthy citizens were driving common people. But the club members pointed out that some rich people in England had been driving public coaches for a while too.
The Tally-Ho Road Coach
One of the Coaching Club's first coaches was named Tally-Ho. It was built in London in 1875. Colonel Kane bought it and brought it to New York in 1876. This coach became so famous that people started calling any coach with four horses a "tally-ho."
The original Tally-Ho coach was given to the Museum of the City of New York in 1933. Now, you can see it in the carriage collection at the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages.
An old journal from 1893 said: "This coach was the first public coach ever run in America... the word 'Tallyho' has become a part of the American language. A coaching trip is always called a 'tallyho party' in newspapers and books."
Other Similar Clubs in America
- Four-in-hand Club of New York
- Four-in-hand Club of Philadelphia
- Ladies Four-in-Hand Driving Club
- Stamford Coaching Club
- World Coaching Club
See also
- Driving club
- The Fairman Rogers Four-in-Hand (a painting)
