Coaching, the Sport of Gilded Age Newport and New York is re-established every few years in the month of August. With the trotting horses, cracking whips, and sounds of the trumpets boasting the art of the stylish Antique Carriages, this event is one you must attend. Such an affair is flaunted on the famed Bellevue Avenue as horses and man form a pageant, exhibiting their best in clothing and carriage design. This event is usually followed by a Grand Ball at The Preservation Society's famous Breakers Mansion.

The sport of Coaching came to America from England during the 1870’s. In 1875 William Joy and Colonel Delancey Astor Kane founded the New York Coaching Club. The Club boasted membership with the prominent upper class. At the time, coaching was looked at as eye-catching leisure activity.

The affluent spent six weeks during the summer in Newport at their celebrated cottages. Because the wealthy residents favored leisure activities that mimicked those of their European counterparts, they implemented such behavior as fox hunting, archery, polo, yachting and lawn tennis. Still in existence today, reminding us of those pastimes is Glen Farm with Polo, The Tennis Hall of Fame with a grass court for Tennis, and Cup Races in the summer.

Many social rituals were in place at that time. You knew you made it if you were in receipt of an invitation from Caroline Schemerhorn Astor or Alva Vanderbilt, Mary Ann Fish, or Theresa Fair Oelrichs. This was a signal of approval into the society and acceptance meant you had to adopt the very rigid social rituals of the upper class, rules that included coaching.

And the epitome of the Newport season was the daily coaching parade down Bellevue Avenue. Each afternoon the colony of the incredibly wealthy class ascended their most astonishing carriages behind their most prized thoroughbreds and greeted their fellows with protocol. What an event to encounter! Coaches were garlanded with flowers and elegant ladies riding the long course as passengers along Ocean Drive.

A romantic aura surrounded certain coaches as they were named by their routes and exploits. Such coaches were called Telegraph, Rocket, Comet and Quicksilver. The 19th century coaches were joined by matched and highly trained horses and coachmen who traveled their daily runs on the streets of Newport and the grounds of their mansions.

Even then coaching was a multicolored event that commemorated and preserved a century old tradition of horsemanship and elegance. Old coaches here and abroad were resurrected and refurbished, driving a renaissance of coaching. Old coaches driven by coachman whose names were held in the highest of esteem were highly prized.

The two types of vehicles used for coaching were the Road Coach, developed from an English stagecoach with quarter panels of bright colors and the Gentleman’s Private Coach painted with specific Victorian colors of dark blue, maroon and dark green striped in a contrasting color.

The Venture, owned by Alfred Gwynn Vanderbilt is one such famous coach horsed by four greys, Vanity, Venture, Viking and Vogue. He drove in England and completed coaching classes in Olympia. The coach is now preserved at The Breaker’s Stable in Newport, Rhode Island.

Not only were the coaches and horses flaunting their best, there was certain etiquette as to the groomsmen and clothing that had to be followed. The cut and color of their coat and the type of boots worn along with the placement of the family crest had to follow a set of rules. Specific color combinations were reserved for particular clients such as the Vanderbilts maroon coach striped in carmine.

Coaching continued until the 1920’s. With the advent of the motor car horses retired to the stables and the carriages retired to Carriage House, signaling an end an era.

Every few years on a hot summer’s day in August, visitors to Newport can experience the a spectacular event of a recreation of the era of coaching.

For more information on coaching, check out Heald Books, onaquidneck.com, Berkshire Eagle 9-20-04, In Living Memory- Eileen Warburton. Photos courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County.

About the author, Linda S. Manning: Linda S. Manning is the definition of a take charge person, continually seeking new avenues to expand her creative talents. In addition to a quarter of a century as a real estate broker, former elementary teacher and current Bed and Breakfast owner in Newport, Linda is also a licensed Captain, PADI Dive certified, artist and has written travel articles and short stories about life in Newport and beyond. A former runner up for Miss Rhode Island World, she was born in Providence has resided in Newport for 8 years with her husband Paul.

The Kitt Shepley House 23 Division Street Newport, RI 02840 877.362.8664 Kitt1932@aol.com www.kittshepleyhouse.com

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