Coaching Club of New York facts for kids
The Coaching Club was a special group formed in New York City in 1875. Its main goal was to promote a fancy way of driving called "four-in-hand driving" in America. This meant driving a large carriage with four horses, all controlled by one person using a single set of reins. To join the club, you had to be really good at handling these four horses and the coach. The club was also known by other names, like the New York Coaching Club.
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History of the Coaching Club
The idea for the Coaching Club came from two colonels, DeLancey Kane and William Jay. They held the first official meeting on December 3, 1875, at the Knickerbocker Club 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 people who started the Coaching Club were also members of the Metropolitan Club.
Fun Activities and Events
The Coaching Club held many exciting events. They had regular meetings, dinners, and big yearly parades through Central Park.
The yearly gathering of the New York Coaching Club was a thrilling and colorful event. About fifteen large carriages, called drags, would usually meet at the Brunswick Hotel. They would then drive up to and around Central Park, returning in time for dinner at the hotel. The prettiest women in town, wearing crisp summer dresses and straw hats, would sit on top of the coaches. They often carried bouquets of flowers that matched the host's colors. The men wore the Coaching Club uniform: green coats with gray top hats and flowers on their lapels. Even the horses were decorated with flower rosettes behind their ears. —Florence Jaffray Harriman
For example, in 1901, twenty-six coaches gathered in Hyde Park, New York, for a grand outing.
Coaching Club Horse Race
In 1917, the Coaching Club started a special horse race called the Coaching Club Handicap. This race was for three-year-old female horses (fillies) and took place at Belmont Park. Today, this race is still very important. It is now called the Coaching Club American Oaks and is a top-level race held at Saratoga Race Course.
Who Could Join the Club?
To become a member of the Coaching Club, you needed to be able to drive four horses with great skill and grace. This special way of driving, called "four-in-hand," meant the driver had to hold the reins of all four horses in just one hand.
Coaching was a very expensive hobby. At first, the club limited its membership to only fifty people, and later to thirty. Members had to be owners and drivers of coaches pulled by four horses. They also could not be involved in horse racing, hunting, or polo. This made it hard to keep enough members. So, starting in 1925, the club allowed people who were also involved in those other horse activities to join.
Famous Coaches of the Club
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, for three years. This was a long journey of 54 miles round trip!
The public could buy tickets to ride in the members' coaches. This meant regular people could be driven around by some of New York's most important citizens. When some people pointed out that this was unusual, club members replied that some English noblemen had also driven public coaches for a while.
The Tally-Ho Road Coach
One of the first coaches used by the Coaching Club was named Tally-Ho. It was built in London in 1875 and bought by Colonel Kane. He brought it to New York in 1876. This coach became so famous that many people started calling any coach pulled by four horses a "tally-ho."
In 1933, Colonel Kane's Tally-Ho coach was given to the Museum of the City of New York. Today, you can see it in the carriage collection at the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages in Stony Brook, New York.
"This coach was the first public coach ever run in America in the English style... the word 'Tallyho' has become a part of the American language. A coaching trip is always called a 'tallyho party' in newspapers and books from that time." —Rider and Driver Journal, 1893
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)
