 | |
  Location within Kentucky Show map of Kentucky Carriage Association of America (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Abbreviation | CAA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1960; 65 years ago (1960) |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Purpose | Promotion of the preservation and restoration of horse-drawn carriages and sleighs |
| Headquarters | 4075 Iron Works Parkway (Building D), Lexington, KY 40511 |
| Coordinates | 38°09′N84°31′W / 38.150°N 84.517°W /38.150; -84.517 |
| Services | Memberships, demonstrations, seminars, symposia, competitions, carriage museum tours, research archives |
Publication | The Carriage Journal |
| Affiliations | Chapter driving clubs (60 in 2023)[1] |
| Website | carriageassociationofamerica |
TheCarriage 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 theKentucky Horse Park along with its sister organization, theCarriage Museum of America (CMA).
CAA is a membership organization for those interested in carriages and horse-drawn vehicles. The CAA maintains directories of carriage collections, carriage museums, museums with carriage collections, and driving and carriage clubs. They organize tours, driving events, educational seminars, and symposia. Since 1963 the association has published the magazineThe Carriage Journal approximately five times a year. They maintain a video library on driving, training, carriages, horses, and related events.[2][3]
CMA was started in 1978 as a nonprofit educational institution. As of 2023, the organization functioned as a non-circulatingresearch library, preserving the history of the carriage era and serving as an authoritative resource about animal-drawn vehicles. They maintained a collection of around 1,500 historic and contemporary books, periodicals, trade journals, collections of photographs, carriage company catalogs, carriage blueprints, and business records. The CMA maintained a carriage collection of rare and unusual vehicles, preserved in original condition for research purposes, but which were not on display.[4]
CMA published many books, historical and contemporary. For example, its bookConservation and Restoration of Horse-Drawn Vehicles (2007) is a practical manual that covers such subjects as varnishes, wheels, upholstery, and tools for restoring or conserving "irreplaceable historical artifacts".[5]
CMA had been operating as a sister organization to CAA, operating out of the same building and with the same personnel. In 2022, theCarriage Association of America Foundation (CAAF) was created to be a509(a)(3) supporting organization for CAA, and to receive the assets of the CMA. CMA's library and research programs were transferred to CAA.[6]
With the advent of the automobile, private carriage driving declined anddriving clubs closed down. Though some pleasure driving continued at theNational Horse Show, World War II effectively marked the end of carriage driving.[7] Mrs. Lilian Baker Carlisle, who worked with the carriage collection atShelburne Museum, had contactedWard Melville, a collector who started theLong Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages about forming an organization for collectors and enthusiasts.[8] In 1960, Melville invited twelve other carriage collectors to meet in New York, and the Carriage Association of America was founded "to save what relics remained of the horse-drawn era" and "to preserve the techniques of driving and the proper use of horses in harness".[7] Melville was named pro tem president, and in 1962 CAA incorporated with Sidney Lathem elected as president.[9]
Early CAA publications includedThe Jung Carriage Lamp andThe Coachman's Horn.The Carriage Journal was first published in 1963 as a quarterly magazine and remains the CAA's journal today.[8] The first CAA offices were in Maine, later atJohn Seabrook's farm in New Jersey, and in 2005 moved to theKentucky Horse Park.[9]
Formed in 1960 and by 1973 had over 1,200 members scattered all over America, Canada and various parts of the world. The Association is responsible for the quarterly publication of The Carriage Journal. Every year a conference is held in a different part of America when members get together to hear experts speak on a variety of subjects ranging from the restoration of carriages to dressage driving.