Horses, carriage no longer jobless

Whillock looks for a horse for her husband, ends up with a team and new carriage business

Lori Whillock is pictured with her carriage, pulled by Champ. Passengers Jessica Ray and Tim Wallis are working as drivers for Whillock’s new business, Executive Carriages.

Lori Whillock is pictured with her carriage, pulled by Champ. Passengers Jessica Ray and Tim Wallis are working as drivers for Whillock’s new business, Executive Carriages.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

— What could be more romantic or elegant than taking a ride in a Victorian carriage pulled by giant golden horses?

Executive Carriages LLC, owned by Lori Whillock of Gentry, offers just such carriage rides in the Bentonville Square as well as at special events, weddings and local festivals.

While Whillock is a lifelong horsewoman, she had no idea in early June that she would ever entertain the idea of starting a carriage business.

Her journey began while she was looking for a riding horse for her husband Ken. Since her husband is 6 feet, 10 inches tall, Whillock knew they would need to find a fairly large horse for him and began searching for a draft horse.

Kayla Bailey, of Siloam Springs, told the couple about a team of draft horses her Dad had owned before he passed away, located in Pottsville. They traveled down to visit the horses with the intention of looking at one riding horse, but fell in love with the team and the carriage.

On the way home, Whillock’s husband suggested she start a carriage business. The rest ishistory. The couple brought the horses home in July, and the carriage in August.

Whillock’s white vis-à-vis (pronounced visa-vee) carriage has a burgundy velvet interior and brass lanterns. It allows up to four adult passengers, or six children, to sit face to face. The carriage was built in the present day, following Victorian traditions, by Robert’s Carriages of Canada.

The best part, of course, is the horses. Whillock’s team of Belgium Draft Horses, Champ and Boss, are gentle giants. Champ stands 18.2 hands - almost 6 feet, 2 inches tall - at the withers and weighs 1,900 pounds. Boss is slightly smaller at 18 hands - or 6 feet tall - and 1,800 pounds.

Whillock plans to use Champ for her business until Boss gains more experience working on busy streets. While Belgian Draft Horses range in color from sorrel, with a flaxen mane and tail, to palomino, Champ has an especially unique and flashy golden palomino color with several white pinto spots and high white stockings.

The two horses wear shoes with borium reinforcements to withstand the wear and tear of working on pavement. The shoes cost $25 each but can last up toa year, Whillock said. It costs another $150 to have a farrier trimthe horses’ hooves and reapply the shoes every six weeks.

Whillock has two drivers, Jessica Ray and Tim Wallis, who help with her business. Ray is a familiar face in Gentry and has often attended local festivals and offered rides in her miniature pony cart. Wallis, who is from northeast Arkansas near Black Rock, has spent most of his life working with horses and training them for driving. He has also been racing wagons for about seven years.

Horses are nothing new in Whillock’s life. She got her first horse at age 3 and grew up riding bareback.

“My Dad told me, when I could climb on her, I could have her,” she said.

Her father owned a sawmill and did logging and gardening work with horses. Whillock remembers sitting on the drags to add extra weight and driving the horses with the sled during the winter.

“Whenever I got the opportunity to do this, it was like going back to my roots; and I know if my father were alive today, he would be very, very proud,” she said.

Even with her experience, Whillock said she was thankful that Greg Cripps of Gentry spent many hours working with her and helping her brush up on her driving skills.

Whillock’s business is the realization of Bailey’s father’s dream. Bailey said her father, Danny Davis, died in January of 2010. Before his death, he used the team of horses and carriage for Davis Carriage Service.

About a year after her father’s death, Bailey’s mother began to consider selling the horses, but came to terms with keeping them after talking to several prospective buyers.

Bailey said her father loved animals and had a special patient touch with horses, a talent she also sees in Whillock.

Bailey said it saddened her to see the horses out in the pasture doingnothing after her father’s death. She is also very happy to see them resume their careers.

“Seeing him (Champ) working again and seeing that spirit in him is amazing, and I’m so glad to see it,” Bailey said.

“I’m so thankful I know where they’re at, and I know I can go see them,” she said.

In honor of Davis, Whillock has made her logo a silhouette of him driving the carriage with Bailey.

“My goal is to make the business what he would have wanted,” Whillock said.

Executive Carriages will be offering rides at Gentry’s Fall Festival onOct. 14. The carriage will provide free rides for seniors, over 60, from 10 a.m. until noon, originating from the Gentry Senior Center. In the afternoon, the business will offer rides to the public at a rate of $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. The pickup point will be located at the Gentry City Park.

Executive Carriages will provide rides on the Bentonville Square Thursday through Sunday, weather permitting, until after the new year. Rides on thesquare will resume in the spring, after the horses have been given a few months break.

Passengers can choose between a 15 minute ride for $20 a couple, plus $5 for each extra person; a 30 minute ride for $40 a couple; or an hour-long ride for $80 a couple. Executive Carriages will have a staging area on Legion Street behind Arvest Bank. Customers can call 957-4133 to make reservations for carriage rides on the square or for other special events.

News, Pages 1 on 10/10/2012