A beautiful drive over the hills and through the valleys of east central New York State took me to the village of Afton, about two hundred miles northeast of New York City. My destination was the Jockeyport Livery Stable, owned by Chuck Male. The name, Jockeyport, was originally a derisive term for the village of Afton, home of the regional racetrack, with its attendant jockeys and horse traders. When Chuck decided to start giving carriage rides, it seemed an appropriate and historic name for his stable which sits on the western edge of the village.

Chuck Male is a tall, thin fellow, dressed in Western Boots and hat, with long hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He is little changed from the Chuck Male I knew twenty five years ago, when we were both new to the draft horse world. Born and raised in Afton, Chuck was not involved with horses until he came back from a tour of duty on an aircraft carrier in Vietnam, courtesy of the United States Navy. He came to the farm where he is now, bought a team, and began to give wagon rides using an old lumber wagon.

Chuck and a friend formed a construction company, building log homes, Agway buildings, and doing some logging, with and without horses. The partnership eventually folded, leaving Chuck with, among other things, a bulldozer. This proved invaluable for grading the steep side-hill farm yard and making roads throughout the property. Whenever possible, he likes to barter or trade for jobs or materials. Topsoil from the grading was traded for shale for the roads, rides for work on the house. An old grindstone was acquired for a Wilt Chamberlain rookie trading card. Old grindstones are a feature in the flagstone walks and the sidewalk outside the carriage house. Several stand or lay around the farm waiting for a place in a new walk.

As the wagon ride business grew, Chuck decided to breed a few horses himself. He looked for a mare, young, broke single or double, and in foal. He settled on Star, out of Stella Farceur, who was some of the above. He did get her bred, and she worked into the ride business, giving up her show hitch ways. After a number of colt foals, Star gave him some fillies, and he has had a string to take to the county fairs which, in the mid 1970s, were beginning to reinstate draft horse classes. (Chuck was Draft Horse Superintendent of the Afton Fair at that time, and always made sure to have an out-of-state judge. He gave Abe Allebach of Windermere Percherons in Pennsylvania his first judging job.) His string consisted of Star, her daughters, and their foals. In all, Star had twelve foals. At twenty-three, she is basically retired, but still available for the rides if needed. Chuck also bred some Belgian x Thoroughbred and Belgian x Morgan crosses. In his words, "They were worth too much to keep." Nice problem to have. The current horse population is seven, all Belgians. This is down from a high of thirteen at one time.

About twelve years ago, Chuck bought the farm where he had been living. There was the house, about 100 years old, originally two houses; an old dairy barn, built partly into the hill; a milk house, other assorted structures associated with farms of that era, and a new carriage house-garage. Over the years, the house has undergone much remodeling, some buildings have been torn down, and others have changed use. Horses now stand where there once were cows, and the carriage house will be a new mixed practice veterinary clinic for Chuck's girlfriend, Jo Olver, DVM. JO hails from south of Brandon, Manitoba, went to vet school at Wester College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and first practiced in Grand Forks, British Columbia. The names of many of the western Canadian and northwest American draft horse exhibitors are familiar to her. JO came east looking for warmer weather. Chuck told her she'd have had better luck with the weather if she'd gone south! She and Chuck met two years ago when she came to treat one of Chuck's horses which had scabs all over its body. What looked like a super case of rain rot turned out to be loss of protein due to the effect of "bute." Horse saved, vet heroine, rest is history, as they say.

Today, the bulk of the carriage business of contract work at a local restaurant once a week, and two days of providing rides at a theme park about an hour away. Tioga Park was built as a Quarter Horse track. After that failed, it became a craft market, using the stalls as vendor booths, and a site for rodeos, concerts, rallies and shows such as guns, horses and classic cars. Chuck, assisted by a second driver, Hank Decker, gives two-300 people rides a weekend from April to December. The horses and wagons are also available for parties, hay rides and sleigh rides.

Currently, the two wagons are a new trolley, made by Gregg Sczek of the Golden Shoe Carriage Company of Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, and the "Captain Hook," made by Chuck Male. The trolley, purchased this year, seats about twenty-five, has side curtains for bad weather, lights, bells, whistles, siren, animal sounds, a strobe light on the back, public address system, everything except heat and upholstered seats. It is also handicapped accessible and can broadcast your recorded advertising message. The "Captain Hook" is so named for the high, sloping ends. It loads from the side and is also suitable for hay rides. An old Army wagon is available for parades.

Jockeyport Livery Stable is a member of Carriage Operators of America, and follows their guidelines for horse-drawn rides. The Jockeyport staff, which usually has at least one young person working and living at the farm, takes lots of pictures at all their events. These and comments made by customers are passed along to the sponsor after the event. Every effort is made to give both the public and the sponsors full value for their money.

Chuck stresses safety and the welfare of his horses at every step. He uses steel eveners, poles and whiffle trees, metal links and nylon reinforced straps on the hames. Harnesses are checked annually by a harness maker and lines are replaced every two years. In hot weather, the horses are watered every fifteen to thirty minutes and are hosed down every thirty to forty-five minutes while worked. The barn is well ventilated and clean, and all inhabitants are well fed. JO, as resident vet, keeps all up on their shots and worming is available to treat any sudden emergency.

Chuck works part time for the Post Office at present. About five years ago, he decided to expand the carriage business, hoping eventually to be able to survive without outside income. The trolley was a step in that direction, as is the new vet clinic for JO Future plans include the purchase of a six passenger vis-a-vis and perhaps a pair of Percheron horses to increase of the wedding trade. Improving the farm roads and building a picnic site will make it possible to do hay rides and sleigh rides at the farm.

No story about Jockeyport would be complete without mention of the real power behind the operation, the boss, overseer and mascot, Hanna, a Jack Russell terrier. Hanna appears on the letterhead, checks, brochure and all advertising. She rides the wagons, summer or winter, and goes along in the truck at every opportunity. She even has her very own sheepskin coat for cold weather. She never misses a thing but probably is more forgiving than some bosses would be. I know for a fact she can be bribed with the last bites of a hamburger!

As the years have gone by, the emphasis at Jockeyport Livery Stable has become ever more focused on turning the hobby of giving horse-drawn carriage rides into a business. With the help of JO and the new vet clinic, that is becoming more of a reality every day. I wish them luck and good fortune.