The 2024 Coaching Bursary Awards

These training awards are now in their third year. The five people who have been accepted for training during the first two years have all gone on to utilise what they have experienced and learned. Among them, one is now currently employed in the Royal Mews at Windsor, a Coaching Club member has helped one to progress, and another now actually has his own coaching turnout. All express how worthwhile and helpful their training has been to them.

On 19th and 20th April 2025 the successful applicants for the 2024 bursaries attended two full days of training at the Fenix Carriage Driving Centre at Clayhidon in Devon.

The two candidates this year were Catherine West and Eleanor Wilson, both experienced young carriage drivers. Catherine’s father is a jobmaster supplying horse drawn funeral turnouts and Eleanor has worked in the Royal Mews in London and Windsor for two years.

The Fenix Carriage Driving Centre is a first class facility for running this event. The carriage house contains a large collection of horse drawn vehicles, among which there are four road coaches, four private coaches, a unique English mail coach and two town coaches. This gives an opportunity to touch, look and learn about coaches from the early days of the 1820s through to the revival in the 1850s and on to the peak of the road coach era up to the Great War, finally leading on to today’s activities of showing, charity runs, Coaching Club meets and outings.

Renter Warden Mark Broadbent, President of the Coaching Club and Bob Elliott, a recognised coaching judge, were on hand to run the days’ activities, as well as Joanna Broadbent and Josiah Rowland who prepared the harnesses and horses and fielded many questions.

The training started with a detailed history discussion about a coach and its presentation, looking at those in the coach house, their role, their builders and their individual features.

This was followed with the hands-on practical side of coaching. Practicing climbing up and down to the various seats, the use and type of ladders, the role and turnout of grooms, the driver and passengers, the handling and use of a four-in-hand whip and use of the brakes and brake shoe. Then the various spares and appointments, chocks, rugs, aprons, shutters, lamps, pole chains, clothing, were discussed, alongside the roles of the grooms, guard, and driver on each style of coach. This was followed by a lesson on carrying and folding a four-in-hand driving whip both on the ground and then on the coach plus a talk and demonstration of the history and purpose of carrying and playing a horn on a coach.

After lunch, the candidates were introduced to the horses. They were helped to harness Mark’s team of four black Dutch KWPN horses and went on to have an assessment test on their driving ability in the international-sized all-weather arena at Fenix, followed by an excellent farmhouse tea.

In the evening the party enjoyed a meal at the Half Moon public house in Clayhidon where inevitably the conversation was about coaching and coaching experiences.

On the second day the training emphasis was on working with the horses. In the morning after practicing harnessing up again the candidates were out on the road taking turns to drive the team. Using a large metal-tyred wagonette they received instruction from Mark on the finer points of four-in-hand driving and rein handling.

Following lunch, the team were dressed in their best set of traditional coach harness and put to the Millennium road coach. We set off again so both candidates could experience a unique opportunity to drive a four-in-hand coach on the road. This turned out to be a most successful bursary training course where all the candidates proved competent and confident enough to attempt this. Both excelled at the role, with one driving the turnout through the gate at the start and the other driving the coach back in on the return.

Throughout the two days there was a continuous series of questions and answers between the parties where years of coaching knowledge and experience were passed on.

During the summing up at the end of the day, Mark presented the candidates with copies of a book on the history of the Coaching Club, a Coaching Club booklet about the correct way to turn out a drag at a meet, and a lengthy reading list.
Both were invited to attend a London dinner of the Coachmakers’ Company to receive certificates marking their attendance at the course.

They were both quick to comment how useful the training had been. This bursary is designed to inspire young drivers in the etiquette of coaching, and hopefully to take up the sport with their own turnout in the future; this in turn will ensure that the traditional skills of coach making, painting and associated crafts will still be in demand in the future.