How did I do that?

This was one of those "How did I DO THAT?" moments with my new camera that I barely know how to use. The truth is Im pretty sure something was not set the way it was supposed to be to make this come out like it did.

Regardless....when I saw it I was delighted! Not only was I lucky enough to get a real life Cinderella to photograph with our pumpkin carriage, the "mistakes" turned out to be pretty awesome. Too bad thats not generally the case when Im messing up. Oh well.......

A Trip into Narnia without a Wardrobe

Imagine a trip to Narnia right here in Arkansas! That's what it felt like driving through the stone entrance of The Elms Plantation in Altheimer, Ar. Right up until entering the gates the landscape was bean fields and farm ground. Once through those gates it was like stepping into another world. The gorgeous house is on the National Register of historical places, and the grounds are just as old and equally unbelievable. Huge old trees dapple the whole property in a blanket of shade, and the water side swings and landscaping is truly gorgeous making this place feel truly magical. A perfect place for a wedding, and the mystical feel of our Cinderella carriage was just the perfect touch to a perfect day for this enchanted couple.

To learn more about The Elms Plantation look for thier information on the links page of The Princess's Carriage site.

Even the good guy's horse wasn't always white

After having so many people ask questions about the post "Our next white horse, say what?" I thought I would include here a few pictures showing the process a Percheron horse goes through to become an all white horse.

The first picture is of my 2 yr old Percheron filly Duchess who is still almost all black. In the picture to the right of her is our 5 yr old mare Countess who is in whats known as the dappled stage of gray.

The last picture on the bottom is of Duke who is 12 years old and by now pure white with the exception of a few very faint dapples on his hip. All grey horses turn white, and most accomplish this by the age of ten.

So....you see, even the "good guy's" horse probably wasn't always white!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Is it ever going to stop raining in Arkansas this spring? By now most of us here in the "natural state" are tired of all the "natural" weather. This photo was taken with blurry rain drop covered lens last Saturday at a wedding we were a part of.

Not only was it wet, it was cold, and after standing in it for several hours waiting for the wedding to start we were pretty well drenched everywhere our ponchos didn't cover. The hats we switch to in order to keep from ruining a top hat in rainy weather are made of wool and fend off the wet for a lot longer than one would imagine, but even they can only hold so much rain.

However.... we are proud to boast that our bride and groom were dry and cozy inside our antique Victoria. Between the clam shell top, waterproof lap robe, and a little planning to pick up from under an overhang they were as snug as bugs in a rug even with the constant downpour.
Today we have a two jobs in two separate towns and its predicted to start raining again about the time the first job starts and continue throughout the evening for the entirety of the second event. Its going to be another soggy one for us. This time we are hauling the Cinderella with its full rain cover installed to keep our prom goers dry. We will switch crews so that each event has a dry driver and footman. At least to start out with.

Not to sound like we are complaining ( ok..ok... a little bit) One of these days the weather will be splendid, if for no other reason than the law of averages at some point this has to subside. Until then, we will be singing to ourselves "rain, rain, go away" I think at this point we will even skip the "come again another day" part.

Making Wishes Come True

When the Make a Wish foundation contacted us, the whole crew here at "The Princess's Carriage" was absolutely delighted to be given the opportunity to be a part of making a special little girls wish to be a Princess come true. We were an unexpected surprise for the tiny little 4 yr old's birthday party.

While she was eating cake and opening her presents we were hiding in the back waiting for the signal to bring the carriage around to her. The moment came and as you can see she was both surprised and excited about her royal ride.

The photo is of one of our footmen leading her and her slightly older sister to the Cinderella for her magical princess ride. Our happy little birthday girl rode the carriage on every lap that picked up each new group.

Our heart felt thanks to the Make a Wish foundation for inviting us to be a part of this beautiful little girls special day. A party we will never forget, and truly a blessing to get to be a part of.

Our Newest white horse. Say what?

Meet The Duchess of Missouri, our latest white horse purchased for future use with us as a Princess Carriage horse. About now you are probably wondering if we are color blind so let me explain. First off let me tell you a little bit about Duchess. She is a registered Percheron draft horse who is about to turn two which means shes still a baby.

We purchased Duchess from Robert Sparrow of Missouri who is not only a top breeder of Percheron horses he is very active with the Percheron horse association of America as a board member. Roberts father is the famous teamster who drove the 40 and 48 horse hitches in top parades all around the country in the late 70's through mid 80's. The elder Mr. Sparrow holds the guiness world record for these feats. His son Robert whom we purchased the filly from was also involved with his dad in the record breaking heavy horse hitches. You can read about the Sparrows here http://www.zearing.net/sparrow.asp

Back to the color mystery, Percheron drafts come in two colors either black, or grey. All grey horses in this breed are born black, as they age they turn grey, and as the white hairs increase in numbers over the black hairs the horse turn from dappled grey which is the equivalent of salt and pepper in human hair to all white. So...believe it or not Duchess will be a white horse. To be born black and turn grey and horse must have at least one grey parent. If you look closely at Duchess tail in this picture you can see that it is turning white already.

By the time Duchess is old enough for us to actually use as one of "The Princess's Carriage" horses she will have been through several years of special training to prepare her for all the things she may encounter while doing carriage work. She must prove to be fearless in traffic, crowds, noise, camera flashes, and not only brave those things but enjoy the work as well. We only use horses that have good attitudes, and happy expressions on their faces. Lets face it, who wants pictures of a horse with its ears pulled back and sour look on its face in their wedding pictures? Not only that, we want a horse that thouroughly enjoys the attention it will get from people, and not one that despises being petted and pulls away,

We picked Duchess specifically because of her friendly attitude, happy work ethic, and calm demeanor. Whether or not she will work out is yet to be seen, but we feel we have chosen well and would be quite surprised if she didn't. If she proves to not like carriage work, then we will find a job she does enjoy and she will be steered in that direction. We are dedicated to having not only healthy but also happy horses here at "The Princess's Carriage"

Hey Horse! did you know you had a turn signal out?

Just kidding, this isn't a case of traffic violation but instead a post about how wonderful the local police are, and how appreciative we are for their help in certain situations. Sometimes a route will have a potentially dangerous spot for a slow moving vehicle. Which is a big part of the reason we pre-drive each and every job in our car first. One of the main objectives for this is to look for any such areas in the route. When we identify one we discuss our concerns with our clients, and offer suggestions on how we can either avoid them, or ways to deal with them safely.

One such often remedy is with the help of local police. We have found them to be more than obliging as long as they are given enough advance notice. Always polite, and very professional the police can and do add a big element of safety when the need arises. As in this photo where this small part of the road includes a hill in combination with a sharp curb where a motorist could be startled to come upon a slow moving vehicle, and have little time to react. The policeman was gracious enough to stay behind the carriage for the short distance the route was compromised making it totally safe for everyone involved.

Our top hats off to the local police, those that have helped us, and those that will. Our thanks to them cannot be expressed enough. Oh...and Earl did you know you had a turn signal out?

Christmas Spirit

With The Princess's Carriage decorated in sparkling holiday garlands, red bows, and covered in twinkling lights, and carriage horse Duke sporting his sleigh bells with his step in a prance just to hear them jingling. The Christmas spirit was thick in the air all around us.

What a wonderful party the local Arkansas church had put on for the teens of their very nice youth group. Having three teenagers in my own home I well know how rambunctious they can be. Having near a hundred teens showing up for carriage rides may have sounded like a job not for the faint of heart. However....these kids were just great!

They were a barrel of pure fun, and in the mood to party! Six riding at a time seemed like the perfect number for singing Christmas carols throughout the neighborhood's near the church. We heard a number of mini chorus performances that evening, and despite the cold their joyous moods were quite contagious. We smiled, were grinning hours later, and humming Rudolf the red nosed reindeer all the way home.

Of Kings and Queens

When a local Arkansas senior citizens retirement home hired The Princess's Carriage to be a part of their royal festivities we jumped at the chance. The staff was amazing and had put together a real afternoon of fantasy for all. Besides carriage rides for over a hundred fully costumed residents, the foyer was adorned with a castle, and the dining room decorated in a medieval theme.

Groups of six at a time boarded our Cinderella for a 10 minute ride that took them around the building where the back drop was a beautiful town park.They were very organized and everyone got to ride. Even residents in wheelchairs and on walkers were helped into the carriage so as not to be left out. Our Cinderella carriage offered the perfect touch to the day’s theme, as well as easy entry as it sits only six inches off the ground. It was a windy day so we had attached the sides of the rain cover for a wind break which you can see in the picture if you look closely.

Besides the fun everyone had riding in The Princess's Carriage the most amazing thing was the number of people that spoke of remembering when a horse and carriage was how folks actually got from one place to another here in Arkansas.

Horses wearing Nike?

Well...not really Nike, but the equine equivalent to tennis shoes. Having been in the horse industry all my life I pride myself on keeping up on new trends, and better ways of doing things that are always being discovered. Theses hoof boots are one of the innovative ideas that I am really impressed with.

While doing princess carriage rides we are usually working in a mixture of public streets, or private property's. Once in awhile when on the road you will come across debris that you would rather your horse not step on. Broken glass is one. Hence why our horses always wear these protective boots when working. Not only do they offer protection they also allow the horse to go barefoot ( without metal horse shoes) when not working which is much healthier for their feet.

Barefoot is a recent trend that has gained popularity with horse owners from all over the world. Barefoot horses receive a special barefoot trim, and/or abrasive hoof trim method utilizing power sanding tools. Coupled with more frequent trims than shod horses, more horses feet these days are being kept healthy, and more natural without the nails required to hold on steel shoes.

Pavement can get hot here in Arkansas, and these boots also provide heat protection, a nice cushion when working on pavement (much like you wearing a good pair of tennis shoes), and are all but invisible in photos. Plus the huge benefit of being able to allow our our carriage horses hooves to be left naturally barefoot when not working. A win, win for everyone concerned. Especially the princess's carriage horses!

Posed Pictures

I'm always amazed at the beauty of our great Arkansas professional photographers posed pictures. One would think that by taking the spontaneity out of a shot that it would leave the picture feeling fake and posed. This is not the case at all from what I have seen. The pictures that I have had shared with me by some of our clients are incredibly beautiful. They actually reach out and tell you a story. Besides....there are just some things the photographer has no control over at all. Like the genuine smile on this beauty's face as her prince charming kisses her hand in front of the princess's carriage.

I wanna job like that!

Ahhh the life of one of the princess carriage horses. Since we only do weddings, proms, and other special events in Arkansas our horses only work a few times a month. The rest of the time the horses are in a private pasture totally free to play and relax. They have free access to unlimited hay, extra feed twice a day, warm blankets to wear when its cold, a doctor ( vet) and regular pedicures ( farrier) and even a dental plan when its needed. Retirement here means going from working a few times a month to no work at all with full benefits.

A day of work for them isn't exactly the old grind mill either. While we humans will be working all week to prepare for an event the horses part of the job rarely last more than 3 hours total, and on most jobs a good part of that is standing quietly waiting through photo shoots, ceremony's, dinners, or... that ever famous cue for "here comes the bride". Our horses only travel up to about three miles, and usually much less due to the slowness of a horse drawn vehicle.

Not to mention that during those quiet times alone while waiting for the signal to bring up the princess's carriage, our horses get showered with rubs, pets, and even kisses from our footman who generally is one of my teenage daughters. Our horses have become so spoiled that they will literally turn their heads as soon as we stop to look for their "person". Its quite comical, but also endearing that they have gotten so attached to the idea of constant love and affection at the work place. I wanna job like that!

Where to park?... "The Beast"

One of our biggest dilemmas bringing the princess's carriage service to your Arkansas event is finding a parking spot. We have to have both room to unload as well as turns that are all wide enough to get in, and out of. Our trailer is a total of 38 feet long, and the truck adds about another 10 feet to the problem. We have nick named our horse trailer "The Beast" and believe me it can be a real headache trying to find a place to park it and unload the princess's carriage.

Sometimes we also have to "sneak" so nobody will catch on to the fact that we are there. That always adds yet another interesting wrinkle to the parking dilemma. Just how do you hide something that big? Luckily we have gotten quite good at it. We always drive each and every job in our small car to scope out where we feel is the best place to dock the road yacht we will be driving when we show up to do a horse and carriage event.

She said.... yes!

This is our newest addition to our small fleet of princess carriages. Before it could even settle into the princess's carriage house it was rented for a wedding proposal. The young man came to our farm to look at all our carriages, and pick the one he wanted. The Disney Princess (pictured above) is unique in that it has a built in ice bucket for champagne, glass holder, and a stereo to play your favorite romantic music on.

While not a traditional style horse drawn carriage, designed for a couple it seemed just perfect to him for popping the big question. We were instructed to wait at a predetermined spot at a specific time when he would walk his sweetie down a hill, around a corner, and right to the princess's carriage.

She told him out loud that she did not think that there was anything he could ever do that would surprise her, but that he sure had pulled it off this time. A bottle of good champagne, a little of their favorite music, a horse drawn carriage ride, and..... she said "yes!" Don't you just love a happy endings?

A Very Surprising Valentines Day

She was so surprised she just couldn't believe it! Her hubby of many years had secretly rented us for a very special Valentines Day. We had decorated the princess's carriage with red roses, red feather hearts to symbolize ever lasting love.

He had plans for them to take a long quiet horse drawn carriage ride after a nice dinner at a local Arkansas steakhouse. He whisked off to the the rest room with his cell phone after they were finished with dinner to call us to the door just as they were about to exit.

Out they come, and she instantly gasps " Oh my! look at that! isn't that romantic! there must be some real lucky gal in there tonight" At that exact moment hubby says " there sure is a lucky gal, and shes right here with me" and motioned for her to get on the princess's carriage. She gave him that "quit teasing me " look, and a light smack on the arm. He says, "no... really, its for you!" and she comes right out this time, and tells him to quit messing with her. After the third unsuccessful attempt to convince her, he sat down inside the princess carriage, and one last time motioned her in when she looked up questionably at me.

I said, "yes its for you" before she believed a word of it. What a wonderfully splendid, even if unbelievable surprise for her, and who says chivalry is dead?

After You, Duke

This shot on the right was taken by me from the driver's seat of the princess's carriage we call "The Cinderella". I had hooked up the team attachment, and took carriage horses Duke and Earl on a relaxing spin down the Arkansas country gravel roads where we live. If you look closely you will notice that Earl's head appears to be slightly behind Duke's. (Earl is on the right)

That's because it is. Earl is no dummy. He has figured out that if he hangs back that Duke does all the actual work pulling the princess's carriage, and he can just walk along and profile without ever breaking a sweat. I swear I could here him politely saying "after you, Duke" in an English accent. Our carriage horse Earl seems to have conveniently forgotten the team part of teamwork. So...whenever I drive the princess's carriage horses together I have to pay close attention to my traces to make sure to remind Mr. Earl to do his part of the pulling.

They are a comical pair. Sometimes Duke gets angry with Earl's laziness and lets him know what he thinks of it with a very grouchy look (if looks could only kill). Even though Duke has a wonderful work ethic, Earl has mastered the art of slacking off. Even so..the two horses really do love each other, and will even eat dinner together out of the same pan. They are true partners, and the best of friends all slacking aside.

Lots of Pretty Angels

This was one of the absolutly funnest Arkanasa weddings we have had the pleasure to be a part of. The mother of the bride who hired the princess's carriage was so happy she was literally bouncing with joy, and full of hugs for everyone (including us). This was her baby girl's big day, and what a grand event she had put together. We brought our horse and carriage in front of the church after the couple was inside preparing for the ceremony.

As we did we watched about 30 of these little girls of all ages dressed in white angel dresses, complete with wings on their backs enter the church. What a sight it must have been inside that church. Let me tell you, this family knew how to wow their guests. Lots of pictures were taken of the princess's carriage with the newlyweds, and our horse Duke even got his picture taken with some of the pretty angels.

Later we got the nicest card from this family thanking us for making their day. Seeing all those pretty angels sure made ours.

Awaiting the Cue

I just love this picture! My footman snapped it while we were waiting for the cue to deliver this bride while we waited on a quiet Arkansas back road on the way to the wedding ceremony. The bride to be took the time to settle her nerves by giving our carriage horse Duke some much appreciated love and petting. Often we are asked to make a grand horse and carriage entrance with the bride exactly on time as the wedding's music starts to play. Since carriage horses don't move very fast pulling a horse drawn carriage we find a close place just out of site, and wait for an exact time on the clock, or a perfectly timed cell phone call for "here comes the bride" and we then deliver the bride in royal style in a princess's carriage.

I never get tired of the delighted faces on the guests when they see the princess's carriage bringing in a beautiful bride. Usually just one person sees it first, and gasps, then a second later all the guests are turned and watching the bride arrive in the horse carriage in utter surprise. This was one such occasion as the guests were all faced the opposite direction of our grand entrance with this bride and her father. Later we took the Arkansas newlyweds away from the ceremony, and to the reception.

A Good Looking Bunch

The photo above is a typical scene for us everywhere we go here in Arkansas. As we are unloading the princess's carriage and getting ready for a job our carriage and horse never cease to draw the attention of all that happen to see it. We always arrive early to harness up our carriage horse, and clean every speck of dust on the princess's carriage that may have been acquired during transport. While this is going on we get visitors. The neighborhood's kids are always sure to come by and ask if they can pet the carriage horse. Its always a pleasure to let the kids pet the velvety soft muzzle of one of our carriage horses. For some of the kids this is the closest they have ever been to a real live horse. We take the opportunity to answer lots of questions and tell the kids a little about our horses, and their lives here on our Arkansas farm.

A Quinceanera

For those that don't know what a Quinceanera is, its the equivalent of a sweet sixteen birthday party for a Hispanic girl thats celebrated on the day she turns fifteen. Its a beautiful event and family's save for years to have a Quinceanera for their beloved daughters. These events are often more planned than a wedding. There is much pomp and circumstance and also lots of beautiful traditions that go along with the festivities. A Quinceanera celebrates a young girl becoming a young woman to the world.

We here at the Princess's Carriage were honored to provide one of our horse and carriage ensembles for a spectacular Quinceanera here in Arkansas. The young men were dressed in white military style suits, and the birthday girl wore an incredibly beautiful dress, and tiara. She truly looked like a princess on her big day. I was awed, and amazed with the gorgeous outfits everyone adorned. A proud stepping carriage horse delivered her in style in the princess's carriage, along with her escorts to the reception hall where the celebration was just getting started.