FEATURE
Before San Luis Obispo’s Château Noland was the luxe vacation rental it’s known as today, it was the home of Chad Noland and his family, complete with a carriage house to telegraph his first venture on the Central Coast—Noland’s Horse Drawn Carriages.
Noland rode horses all his life, and he found no reason to stop. Once he moved to SLO in 1988, he started his carriage business offering nightly rides at the Apple Farm Inn and the Madonna Inn, sometimes venturing out to Cambria, Cayucos, and Santa Barbara.
“We’ve just been here doing it the longest and are the most reliable,” Noland said. “I was pretty much born on the back of a horse. When I was a little kid, we would pull a wagon around and give 10 cent rides. So, we just kept going.”
Trail trot
Visit chateaunoland.com, email info@chateaunoland.com, or call (760) 805-8355 to book a ride in a vintage horse-drawn carriage for weddings and other special events. Keep up with Château Noland on Instagram @chateaunoland.
At one point, Noland’s Horse Drawn Carriages had six carriages and 10 horses, often driven by Cal Poly students. The strong, docile draft horses were remnants of the time Noland spent in Colorado as a cattle rancher, and he brought them with him to California. The existing carriage is from Colorado too and is a 40-year-old structure with parts sourced from Amish farmers.
Together, they used to pull the SLO antique fire wagon with volunteer firefighters, attending parades around the state like the Hollywood Christmas Parade and fairs like the one in Nevada’s Grass Valley. The team of horses and drivers have even helped at funerals, mainly in the Central Valley, where caskets were placed on top of the carriages.
“We’ve always used draft horses, and people are always impressed with a big horse,” he said. “It depends on the terrain you’re working in. If it’s flat, a regular light horse is fine. But if you’re going up and down some hills, you need a little more muscle.”
Now, the business is down to a single carriage and horse specializing in weddings and the occasional quinceañera.
Noland’s remaining horse, Chantilly, an elegant black Friesian from the Netherlands, has been the conversation-starter at weddings along the Central Coast and beyond. She gets around thanks to his truck that hauls a trailer big enough for both horse and carriage. At one point, Chantilly was even joined by her foal as wedding fixtures.
For newly married Paso Robles resident Diane Wachs Swenk, riding in the vintage white carriage through one of the Central Coast’s vineyards—with Chantilly and a tuxedo and top hat-clad Noland at the helm—was a dream come true.
“Oh my God, between him and horse, it was out of a fairy tale,” she said. “Not only was I brought in by horse and carriage before I walked down the aisle, which was all done outside, afterwards, everybody that wanted to, got to experience a horse and carriage ride through the vineyard.”
Wachs Swenk’s wedding took place at the Guyomar estate vineyard in Templeton. She added that Noland quickly adjusted to its hilly terrain. He hauled Chantilly up the hill in his trailer and tucked her and the carriage in an area where none of the guests could spot them.
It was quite the surprise for Wach Swenk’s son who was supposed to receive her at the bottom of the hill but walked up because he forgot his sunglasses. He ended up riding in the carriage with his mother on her wedding day.
“I call it a God-wink,” she said. “It was magical, and when we pulled up, he helped me out of the carriage.”
Wach Swenk’s husband, David, got his chance to ride in the carriage with her right after the ceremony. This time, the carriage bore a “Just Married” sign on the back, and the couple were sent off with personalized drinks made by their mixologist.
When Chantilly is off work, she enjoys her time away from the carriage. Like all of Noland’s horses before her, she stands out in the pasture on his property most of the time. Parked in a separate space, the carriage doesn’t need much maintenance, according to Noland, and his main task is to keep it clean.
At 70, he wants to keep his horse carriage business in the family. Some of Noland’s granddaughters have been learning from him, and he hopes one of them will take over when it’s time for him to retire.
“Horse carriage rides are pretty unique. Of course, they used to be common,” Noland said. “Princess Diana got married in a carriage. I mean, it’s a pretty special thing and it slows you down so you can appreciate the moment.”