Guiding her horse-drawn carriage through Grand Rapids' Heritage Hill district, Linda Dochod sometimes puts passengers to sleep. She considers that a job well done.
"I offer informational tours [of the downtown area],” Dochod says. “But sometimes people just want to get in the carriage and relax. They enjoy the quietness and, in those cases, I don't have to say a word."
Perched on a velvet seat, watching the stately homes of Grand Rapids' historic neighborhood pass by as harnesses jingle and hoofbeats fill the air, passengers find the carriage rides are "a relaxing way to spend an evening."
Classic Carriage LLC is one of several companies that offer horse-drawn rides throughout downtown Grand Rapids. Dochod owns the company with her husband, David, and says carriage services offer a unique way to see the city, whether for a special event or just an evening out.
The white vis-à-vis carriages – in which passengers face each other on upholstered seats under a retractable canopy – are a startling sight as they navigate the office buildings and nightclubs of downtown Grand Rapids. Yet Dochod says she does steady business, usually from two types of passengers – visitors who want guided tours of the downtown area and locals looking for a novel way to experience the city they usually travel by motor.
"There are so many places to see on these tours – parks, bridges, the trail through Ah-Nab-Awen Park," says Linda Traxler, who – along with her husband, Thomas – owns Grand Carriages LLC, another service that offers horse-drawn rides through the downtown area.
Landmarks like the Gerald R. Ford Museum and the burial site of President Ford are points of interest to people new to the city, according to Brian Simmons, owner of Romance Horse & Carriage, which has offered downtown rides for 10 years. Other popular sights are the Heritage Hill homes that companies like Common Gentry Carriage Co. focus on during tours that describe the structures’ history and relationship to Grand Rapids society.
Yet passengers with romance in mind – and at least one person recruits Grand Carriages to help with a marriage proposal almost every weekend, Linda Traxler says – opt for more sentimental settings.
Linda Dochod of Classic Carriage recalls one man who proposed to his girlfriend by having their carriage drop them off on the Grand River's "Blue Bridge," where he'd set up a table with linens and roses. Companies often get requests for carriages to wait outside a loved one's home in anticipation of a proposal or anniversary. Dochod has even had a wedding conducted on her carriage, which bore the bride, groom, minister and witnesses to the marriage site near the Ford Museum.
"It's fun to see who's going to outdo each other," Dochod says.
For many Grand Rapidians, a night out includes glimpses of the carriages – with their lattice-like wheels and tuxedo-attired drivers – rolling along the downtown streets. Still, Traxler says, "I'm surprised by the number of people who live in town and don't know the carriage rides are available."
Events like Celebration on the Grand and Blues on the Mall help change that by drawing crowds downtown and showing residents the services that carriage companies offer. The owners say spectators are curious, especially about the horses, which are percherons, large draft animals that can pull the carriages with ease.
Some people worry about the horses’ safety, Dochod says, but she notes that they have an easy work schedule – four hours a day, two days a week – and travel flat terrain that's easy to navigate.
"A number of people want to pet the horses," Traxler says. “Even the adults haven't been around [these animals] before.”
Most companies, including Top Hat Carriage, another offering in the downtown carriage service market, offer rides in half hour or hour-long increments and do so throughout the year. During winter, thick Amish lap robes keep passengers warm, while convertible tops and window and door panels block the wind and snow.
“December is one of our busiest times, and so is Valentine’s Day," says Traxler of Grand Carriages, noting that her drivers stay warm during the blustery season by layering their clothing and working in shifts when temperatures dip too low for comfort.
Special events like weddings, anniversaries, and proms also keep the carriage drivers busy, both downtown and in locations throughout West Michigan. In addition to its three vis-à-vis carriages, Grand Carriages has a 20-person trolley that can be used for parties or corporate events, and a pumpkin-shaped Cinderella carriage which the company donated for use in a Make-A-Wish event in which a medically fragile child wanted to be a princess for a day.
"How could we say 'no' to that?" Traxler says.
The carriages' appearance might not mesh with the 21st-Century atmosphere that fills Grand Rapids. But once people get used to them, the horse-drawn vehicles become as natural a part of the downtown landscape as construction cones and sky-scraping buildings.
"Some weekends we're not downtown, and people notice. They'll ask, 'Where were you last weekend?'" Dochod says. "They realize that the carriage tours are a great way to see what Grand Rapids has to offer."
Booking Your Ride
Classic Carriage offers walk-up tours Friday and Saturday evenings beginning at 7 PM; other evenings, or earlier on Fridays and Saturdays, tours are available by appointment. Call (616) 498-6090.
Common Gentry Carriage offers rides from 7 PM to midnight Fridays and Saturdays throughout the summer. Call (616) 636-4398 for reservations.
Grand Carriages recommends making reservations two weeks in advance for its downtown carriage rides. Call (616) 893-4984.
Romance Horse & Carriage runs year-round and offers rides every weekend. Call (616)581-2557.
Top Hat Carriage offers rides Friday and Saturday evenings starting at 7 PM. Walk-ups are welcome, but reservations are recommended. Call (616) 682-0096.
Tonya Schafer is a freelance writer who lives in Grand Rapids. She also works as a technical writer for General Electric Aviation. She's currently working on a piece about LaFontsee Galleries in downtown GR.
Photos:
Linda Dochod of Classic Carriage crosses the Gillette Bridge in downtown Grand Rapids
Linda Dochod and her horse Ollie
Strolling in front of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
Carriage and skyline
Ollie
Photographs by Brian Kelly - All Rights Reserved