I moved to Charleston, SC in 1995 when I was 40 years old. I didn't want to teach public school anymore, so I searched my soul to figure out what I would enjoy doing more than teaching. I found it.
I became a Charleston, SC tour guide. I drove a horse-drawn carriage and did historical tours in lovely downtown Charleston. I drove for Old South Carriage Company because they paid more money than all the other carriage companies, and I needed $$$.
 |
| This is me when I was a tour guide in the mid-1990s. The draft horse is a French Percheron named Flash. Those were the days, my friends! |
Doing historical tours all day long was like teaching students who actually want to hear you...paid money to hear you...and there was NO PAPERWORK! Perfect!
At this point I should probably tell you that I was raised around horses. From the time I was seven until I was grown, my mother rented out our backyard as a horse pasture, so horses were a big part of my childhood. My gravitating to them later in life seemed very natural.
Now. Charleston carriages are not pulled by regular horses. They use gelding 2000 pound (on average) draft horses to pull those carriages, mostly Belgian Draft Horses and French Percherons, but there is usually a Clydesdale or two in the mix as well, and they use very "English" style driving as opposed to the "Western" riding and driving I grew up doing. Learning to drive a carriage in the English style was a real eye-opener for me. I loved every minute of it.
NOTE: One Charleston carriage company uses mule teams to pull their carriages, but I didn't drive for that company. My experiences with mules in my childhood taught me that they kick and bite and sit down in the middle of plowing a row in the garden, so that company was not my first choice. 😉
Before I go further, I feel the need to mention that many people are concerned for the welfare of carriage horses in Charleston, as am I. Let me assure you that those are expensive horses. The carriage companies would lose major money if they had to replace even one of them, so they take the best care of their horses that they can.
Each horse:
- has his temperature taken after every tour.
- is hosed down until he is cool and comfortable after every tour.
- is bathed by the tour guides at the end of every work day. (You haven't lived until a 2000 pound animal shakes on you like a big wet dog.)
- is given the best food.
- has his stall cleaned daily.
- is petted and coddled and spoiled by all who see him, and
- works on a rotation schedule that gives him plenty of pasture time to run and play in the country out on Johns Island.
Charleston, SC tour guides are licensed and registered by the Tourism Commission. You must pass both a written and oral exam to be a Charleston, SC tour guide. It is NOT easy to pass these tests. Here is an explanation of the process of becoming a Charleston tour guide.
They issue both Temporary and Permanent Licenses. The license I was issued is pictured below.
As tour guides we worked very hard and we played very hard. We were required to know where to go out to eat and what play to see and what plantation to visit, etc. etc. etc., so on our off days we oftentimes went out exploring together. We laughed an awful lot. 😄
Friends for life...maybe longer!
Skin problems drove me indoors after a couple of years driving carriages in Charleston's semi-tropical climate, but I wouldn't take a gold guinea for those tour guide years. I'm the person I am today because of them.
For all you would-be travelers out there, let me tell you, Charleston is a wonderful place to visit. Come take a carriage ride! October, November, December, January, February, March, and April here will delight you. July? Eh...not my favorite. 😉
No comments:
Post a Comment