Upper Lake >> Like Great Gatsby themed parties and high school sock hops, people are suckers for a good throwback. Maybe it’s the nostalgia, the wishing for a time gone by, a grass is always greener situation, but there’s something undeniably appealing about stepping back in time.
And though the days of traveling from place to place by horse may be long gone, at least for most of us, a new business in Upper Lake is offering a horse-drawn carriage service for holidays and special events.
Kenn and Susan McCarty’s endeavor, McCarty’s Live Oak Belgians, began around the holidays. They stationed themselves and their Belgian draft horses on Main St. in Upper Lake and offered 20 minute rides to the public. Although the first couple weekends were slow, by week three patrons were keeping them plenty busy.
They were successful enough that they decided to get a little more ambitious. They worked out 26 days — Valentines Day, Mothers Day and similar occasions — on which they would offer 20 minute rides in downtown Upper Lake. Additionally, they’re putting on three hour tours, plus the couple is available for special events such as parties and weddings.
While the short rides are limited to the community of Upper Lake, the McCartys can travel all around the county. Reservations just need to be made well in advance to give them the time to prepare their horses — one-day events can require two days of work for the McCartys.
They also need notice because they and their horses are not always in town. With their own covered wagon at their disposal, Kenn and Susan McCarty embark on actual wagon train trips. They can be on the trail anywhere from a weekend to 10 days. They also take part in events throughout the state, like Pioneer Days in Paso Robles and the Death Valley ‘49ers Encampment.
This being Lake County, Kenn and Susan McCarty are looking to partner up with some wineries to offer horse-drawn carriage vineyard tours. Whether that will be totally possible remains to be seen, since the terrain has to be appropriate for the horses and the carriage, but the McCartys see that as a mutually beneficial endeavor.
There are other horse-drawn carriage services around the lake, like the tours at Eleven Roses Ranch or Ellen and Andre Boersma’s Percheron draft horse team out of Scotts Valley, but McCarty’s Live Oak Belgians is a little different. With their rides around downtown Upper Lake and their willingness to travel near or far, there doesn’t seem to be another business offering quite the same thing.
As long time horse enthusiasts, the McCarty’s new business was a natural offshoot of owning four large Belgian draft horses, as well as a unique collection of horse-drawn vehicles. “This isn’t really a business intended to make a profit,” said Kenn McCarty. “Our best hope is just to defray some of the costs of feeding and caring for these animals.”
Kenn and Susan McCarty have lead somewhat parallel lives, in terms of both horses and careers. They were involved on and off in the equestrian world during their adolescence, turning to it permanently later in life. And they both worked in the wild land fire service, an occupation Kenn McCarty retired from last year.
When the two met in the 1980s, Susan McCarty had just taken a job as a patrol along the Pacific Crest Trail in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains. Kenn McCarty managed to acquire a horse for her use during that job. Then she went on to become part of the horse patrol at the Saratoga National Battlefield in New York.
A decade later Kenn McCarty permanently planted himself in the world of horses. He’d received the opportunity to intern at a horse training facility and become part of a show team that traveled throughout the western United States. After a couple of years with that team, McCarty was invited to join a Belgian draft horse team. It was an impressive group. They competed at the same level as the Budweiser horses, and were even at many of the same shows as the brand.
Kenn McCarty didn’t drive the horses though. He was part of the ground crew, and it was a bit like being in a NASCAR pit crew. In his spare time he was taught the ropes of driving both wagons and horses, eventually learning enough to take up the hobby on his own.
When the McCartys moved to Lake County, they met Juan Erquiaga who was “really the patriarch of the draft horse teamsters in this part of the state,” Kenn McCarty explained.
Like most of the local drafting community, the McCartys continued their education under Erquiaga’s tutelage. When he passed away last August, his loss was deeply felt. “He was a long time draft horseman and kind of took us under his wing and helped us along and we miss him dearly,” said Kenn McCarty.
But through the McCarty’s new business, Erquiaga’s spirit lives on. Because when Erquiaga retired, he passed down the name of his team, Live Oak Belgians, to the McCartys. He also gave them a horse and a wagon.
“It’s a highest honor for sure,” McCarty said. “Everything we do we think about Juan.”
To contact McCarty’s Live Oak Belgians, call 275-3365.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
