Horse Coaches Returning To Streets Of Newport

NEWPORT, RI — The streets of Newport will echo with the sound of hooves and horse-drawn coaches as A Weekend of Coaching returns to the city for the first time since 2018, a spokesperson person for The Preservation Society of Newport County said, who is hosting the event.

From next Friday, Aug. 19 to Aug. 21, nine 19th century coaches with teams of trained horses will ride around Newport and the surrounding area The rides will start at Chateau-sur-Mer at 474 Bellevue Ave.

A schedule of the drives can be seen at here.

In addition, the coaches and their expert drivers, known as whips, will give an exhibition of driving skills on the grounds of The Elms, starting at 10:30 a.m., Aug. 20. The exhibition is free and open to the public, offering an opportunity to get a close-up look at each of the teams and to hear details about the horses and the history of each coach.

There will be no parking at The Elms during the exhibition. Dogs are not permitted on the grounds, except for certified service animals.

The weekend will also include a sold-out formal dinner dance in Honor of the Whips on Saturday evening at The Breakers.

"Coaching Weekend is a wonderful experience that we are thrilled to share with the local community, thanks to the participation of members of the Coaching Club of New York," said Trudy Coxe, the executive director of the Preservation Society. "It brings the Gilded Age to life on our properties and throughout the area. Usually it is held every three years, but it was delayed one year by the COVID pandemic. This weekend’s events will be worth the extra wait."

The tradition of coaching grew out of the 18th- and 19th-century mail runs in England, which later made their way across the Atlantic to the United States. The horse-drawn mail coaches were eventually replaced by railroads, but nostalgia led to the development of coaching as a sport.