The Coaching Club (also known as The Coaching Club of New York, New York Coaching Club, and Coaching Club of America) was formed in New York City in 1875 to encourage four-in-hand driving in America. "Requisite for membership was the ability to handle a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and four horses with a single group of reins."

History

Initiated by Colonels DeLancey Kane and William Jay, the club had its first official meeting at the

Knickerbocker Club The Knickerbocker Club (known informally as The Knick) is a gentlemen's club in New York City that was founded in 1871. It is considered to be the most exclusive club in the United States and one of the most Aristocracy (class), aristocratic gent ...

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

on December 3, 1875. The Knickerbocker Club became its headquarters. Later some activities were moved nearer Central Park to the

Metropolitan Club Metropolitan Club may refer to: *Metropolitan Club (New York City), a private social club in Manhattan, New York, United States * Metropolitan Club (San Francisco), a women's club in San Francisco, California, United States * Metropolitan Club (Was ...

, nine members of which were founders of the Coaching Club.

Activities

There were regular events, dinners and annual parades through

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

. Typical of their coaching meets, in 1901 twenty-six coaches gathered in

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fra ...

and set off for an outing. In 1917, the Coaching Club inaugurated the Coaching Club Handicap, a for 3-year-old fillies at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

. Today it is a

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

race at

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs, New York (state), New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting v ...

called the

Coaching Club American Oaks The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course i ...

Membership

Qualification for membership: "the ability to drive four horses with grace and skill". Driving four-in-hand requires the ''whip'' (driver) to hold the reins of all four horses in one fist. Coaching was a very expensive pursuit and membership, at first restricted to fifty then thirty people at any one time, was limited to those owners and drivers of coaches drawn by four horses that had no involvement in racing, hunting or polo. It became difficult to keep a full membership and from 1925 members were allowed those associations.

''Pioneer'' road coach

Alfred Vanderbilt Driving the Coaching Club Pioneer Met DP-17756-001

The club owned its own coach, named ''Pioneer'', which made daily runs between

Holland House Holland House, originally known as Cope Castle, was an early Jacobean architecture, Jacobean country house in Kensington, London, situated in a country estate that is now Holland Park. It was built in 1605 by the diplomat Sir Walter Cope. The b ...

and

Ardsley, New York Ardsley is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Greenburgh. The village's population was 5,079 at the 2020 census. The mayor of Ardsley is Nancy Kaboolian. The Ardsley post office serves the en ...

for three years, a distance of 54 miles round trip. The general public could buy seats in members' coaches and be driven about by the club members. When it was pointed out the result was New York's aristocracy carried common citizens, members responded that some of the English aristocracy had driven scheduled public services for some time.

''Tally-Ho'' road coach

One of the original Coaching Club coaches was named ''Tally-Ho''. Built in 1875 by

Holland & Holland coachbuilders Holland & Holland were a London firm of coachbuilders active over the century before the First World War. Their showroom was at 254 Oxford Street West and their works at 10, 25 to 27 and 45 North Row between Grosvenor Square and Oxford Street. ...

in London, it was purchased by Colonel Kane and brought to New York in 1876. It became so well known that any coach-and-four was called a ''

tally-ho Tally-ho is a phrase used in hunting. Tally Ho and Tallyho may refer to: Places * Tally-Ho Plantation House, a home in Louisiana * Tally Ho Township in Granville County, North Carolina * Tally Ho, Victoria, a locality within the suburb of Burw ...

'' by the general public. Kane's ''Tally-ho'' was donated to the

Museum of the City of New York The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is a history and art museum in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It was founded by Henry Collins Brown, in 1923Beard, Rick. "Museum of the City of New York" in to preserve and present the history ...

in 1933, and is now in the carriage collection at the

Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages The Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages, known as the Long Island Museum (LIM), is a nine-acre museum located in Stony Brook, New York. The LIM serves the Long Island community by preserving and displaying its collection ...

in Stony Brook, New York.

Similar clubs in America

* Four-in-hand Club of New York * Four-in-hand Club of Philadelphia * Ladies Four-in-Hand Driving Club * Stamford Coaching Club * World Coaching Club

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{Cite book , title=The Book of Sport , chapter=Coaching , first=Oliver H. P. , last=Belmont , editor-last=Patten , editor-first=William , year=1901 , publisher=J.F. Taylor & Co. , chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/bookofsport00patt/page/239/mode/1up , ol=24131749M {{Cite book , title=From Pinafores to Politics , year=1923 , location=New York , publisher=H. Holt and Company , first=Florence Jaffray Hurst , last=Harriman , author-link=Florence Jaffray Harriman , ol=13514339M {{Cite magazine , title=When The Coachman Was A Millionare , url=https://www.americanheritage.com/when-coachman-was-millionare , first=Frank , last=Kintrea , magazine= American Heritage , date=October 1967 , volume=18 , issue=6 {{Cite web , url=https://longislandmuseum.org/support/the-tally-ho-project/ , title=The Tally-Ho Project , website=

Other sources

* Online copies of ''The Carriage Journal'' published by the

Carriage Association of America The Carriage Association of America (CAA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the history and traditions of carriage driving, and the preservation and restoration of horse-drawn carriages and sleighs. It is headquartered at the Kentucky Ho ...

, accessed May 22, 2018 * Reginald W Rives "The Coaching Club, its History, Records and Activities" privately printed 1935

External links

Coaching Club uniform
New York Historical Society. Horses in the United States Clubs and societies in New York City Upper class culture in New York City Equestrian sports in the United States 1875 establishments in New York (state) Recurring events established in 1875 Equestrian organizations Horse driving