Usher in the New Year in a carriage

Editor's note: First in a series about First Night performers.
Carriage rides will be part of First Night Youngstown celebration.
By KATIE LIBECCO
VINDY.COM CORRESPONDENT
FARMDALE -- A love for horses has been in the Best family for as long as Jim Best can remember.
His grandfather, also Jim Best, grew up on a farm with horses, and his father, also Jim Best, always had horses growing up in New Springfield. His dad created Best Pony Rides at Canfield Fair in 1957 or '58, which is now run by his niece. Jim said he's been showing horses at the fair for more than 50 years.
Now, he's turned that love of horses into a self-described "ma and pop business" of Best Horse Carriage Services, 4527 state Route 87. It started 10 years ago when he bought his first carriage from his father. That carriage is still one of the most requested today, he said, even though they've added more.
Today, the family tradition has been passed down to more generations. Jim and his wife Sandy said their three children help when they can. The youngest, Jim, 29, worked full-time with the famous Budsweiser Clydesdales for five years. Their grandchildren stop by the farm, too, they said, noting that their 13-year-old granddaughter is the most enthusiastic to help.
Sandy said she loves the horses and always wants more, but the Detroit-native believes it 's her husband and son who had a special connection to the horses.
"They're a part of the animal. They have a rapport," she said.
Valley residents may have seen Jim, his son or Sandy in carriages during parades, weddings, funerals or high school dances. On New Year's Eve, they'll be a part of First Night Youngstown 2006, a family-friendly, non-alcoholic arts extravaganza. They'll also be giving free rides at Warren's Annual Tree Lighting in Courthouse Square Friday, which begins at 5 p.m.
A large portion of Best Horse Carriage Services business is weddings, they said. They said one place they come to the most for weddings is Youngstown, especially the Fellows Riverside Gardens. But, Jim Best said, it isn't the easiest location.
"There's an old law on the books that horses aren't allowed in the park," he said. So they travel the perimeter of the park on city streets to avoid breaking any laws for weddings in the Rose Gardens.
Sandy Best said she believes one reason for the law could be the damage done to roads a century ago by riding horses.
Best Horse Carriage Service averages about 20 weddings a year, they said.
"When we first started, we thought, 'A wedding is a wedding. You go, you have the traditional service and you're married,'" Sandi Best said.
But over the years, they've participated in weddings based on "Cinderella," "Gone With the Wind," and "The Wizard of Oz," among others.
"If we can, we'll accommodate anything," Sandi Best said.
But there's one costume Jim Best said he's not getting into again anytime soon. For one medieval-themed wedding, he wore a suit of armor that he borrowed from a friend.
"It was hot and I could barely see. I won't do that one again," he said, smiling. "But other than that, we'll do just about anything."
The Bests said it's important to them to keep their costs down.
"People always tell us we don't charge enough. But we want to people to be able to afford this," Sandy said.
"We make just about enough for the upkeep -- the barn, the trailer," Jim said.
Most of the remaining profit goes to insurance, Sandy said.
Their best month of the year for the services is December, because of the number of winter festivals and celebrations in the area. But December is followed by what they call their vacation time, January through March, the time of year with the fewest calls.
They said they will keep Best Horse Carriage Service up and running as long at it's fun.
"I tell him, when we don't enjoy this or have fun, we won't do it anymore," Sandy Best said.
She and Jim said they don't expect that day to come anytime soon.
More information is available at www.besthorsecarriage.com.
klibecco@vindy.com