by Bea Peterson
On Friday evening, August 2, fourteen horse drawn carriages carrying Governor Andrew Cuomo and other dignitaries and celebrities will be part of an old fashioned “Floral Fete Promenade.” [private]The Saratoga Springs Promenade will begin at the Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Highway (Route 50) and proceed the length of Broadway to Congress Park where a free ice cream social, hosted by philanthropist Marylou Whitney and her husband John Hendrickson, will be held. Saturday is the official 150th anniversary of the Saratoga Race Course.
Saratoga 150 honorary Co-Chair Marylou Whitney will lead in a carriage decorated with more than 500 pink roses to represent the Marylou Whitney Rose. The carriages will be followed by vintage automobiles, floats and floral decorated bicycles, wagons, baby carriages and other non-motorized contraptions. Promenades like this were very popular in Saratoga in the late 1880s and early 1900s.
In the carriage with Whitney and her husband will be All My Children television star Susan Lucci and her husband Helmut Huber. The carriage and horses are part of Saratoga Horse and Carriage Co., owned and operated by Hoosick residents Kimberly Revet and Alan Finney. Revet will be driving the first carriage. Saratoga socialite Michele Riggi and her husband Ron will ride in a carriage driven by Finney. The couple, with two young assistants, have been busy refurbishing the carriages so they look their very best for the event. This is a big “do” and very exciting.
In The Beginning
Kimberly Revet grew up around draft horses. “I’ve worked with them since I was a little girl. I grew up with 20 to 30 horses,” she said. In a varied career, she worked with them on ranches in California and Colorado. Until last year she hadn’t worked with horses in over 12 years. When she mentioned to her fiancé Alan Finney that she wanted to take in rescue horses his first words were “over my dead body.” Finney
said, “I told her I had raised four kids and cared for countless animals. I didn’t need horses.” Famous last words. The couple now have nine horses. Revet said, “From day one he absolutely fell in love with the horses. He’s an absolute natural with them.”
Finney had never done anything with horses so he set about reading books and magazines and perusing the internet. Then the couple found themselves with a business opportunity they couldn’t refuse. The owners of Saratoga Horse and Carriage Co. were selling their business. Revet and Finney bought three horses, three carriages, a horse drawn trolley, a hay wagon and other assorted equipment. And they continued with contracts established by the Company.
“Saratoga Horse and Carriage has been in existence for 24 years,” said Revet. The previous owners operated the business for 16 years. It is well established. Finney and Revet have continued what the others started. “We have done no advertising, and the phone keeps ringing,” said Revet. They participated in 33 events in seven weeks in November and December. They were part of the Victorian Stroll in Saratoga, and they were a regular at the Albany Festival of Lights from Thursday through Sunday in December. They have covered corporate events and weddings. “We’ve had at least 30 wedding proposals in our carriages,” said Finney. Last year they also were part of the tree lighting ceremony and the Fourth of July celebration in Saratoga. They drove Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings to the Tulip Festival. They have been to the Great Escape, Six Flags and several events at the Gideon Putnam in the Saratoga State Park. “We have a lot of work in Saratoga because that’s where the business was,” said Revet. They have done events throughout the Capital District as well as a couple locally and in Massachusetts. Their very first event was Finney’s daughter’s wedding shortly after they purchased the business in August 2011.
“It’s been insanity since then,” said Revet. Finney also operates Tallat Design. “We bit off more than we can chew,” said Revet. “We’ve had to make some choices. We were thrown into the deep end, but we’re finally hitting our stride.” They have discovered that for every hour the horses work they must put in three to four hours. “If we work with the horses 40 hours a week, there’s another 40 plus hours behind the scenes.”
They admit they are learning every day. “Techniques have changed over the years,” said Revet. “We have to keep in mind what is best for the horses, and we have to generate enough income to keep them.” They do all the work themselves. At times they employ local people who are not afraid of hard, dirty work.
They have four working horses and five that Finney calls “pasture pets.” Those are rescue horses. Finney has actually named the property
Lokota’s Farm after their first rescue horse. Lokota was sorely abused, and it was almost two years before Finney could get close to him. Finney said learning to drive the horses was much easier than learning about the horses themselves. He said that looking after the horses “feeds the caretaker in me.”
Revet said it has been a slow spring because of all the rain. So far they have been in two parades, done some weddings and various other events. This Friday is big! Their horses and carriages have appeared in many newspapers. They expect business to pick up through the summer and fall. They have bought elaborate gear to deck out their white horse for a part in India style weddings. “We had five or six calls last year for that type of wedding, and we have already had two calls this year,” said Revet. That horse was recently on the cover of the NY Times Bridal Section. Their horses and carriages are available for all types of events. To reach them call 518-686-3134 or visit www.saratogahorseandcarriage.com.
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