ROCK SPRINGS — For the fourth year, the community will be able to enjoy horse drawn carriage rides in Downtown Rock Springs throughout the month of December.
Boulder Creek Carriage Company will be back in Rock Springs taking residents for carriage rides every Saturday in December until Christmas. While they were originally scheduled to do rides on Nov. 30 as well, they had to cancel due to some health issues.
Based out of Boulder, Wyoming, which is 87 miles north of Rock Springs and 90 miles south of Jackson Hole, Kyle Gutierrez of Boulder Creek Carriage Company said they are excited to be back in Sweetwater County.
“We are a small family business, creating moments of today that will wow your heart tomorrow,” Gutierrez said. “We serve Western Wyoming and surrounding areas.”
He said the company’s favorite thing about providing the carriage rides are, “all the families that come down. The kids love the rides.”
The company has four horses, which work in teams of two to pull the carriages. Daisy and Dolly will be the team of horses in Rock Springs throughout December. Gutierrez said they normally drive the horses 1,500 to 2,000 miles a year to ensure they’re properly trained.
“We own Percheron horses, they are gentle giants,” Gutierrez said. “Daisy and Dolly are about 16.5 hands (5 1/2 feet) and weigh about 1,900 pounds.”
The wagon Daisy and Dolly will be pulling is called a people hauler, Gutierrez said, which can hold about 12-15 people.
“Brandon (the driver) built this wagon along with a good friend,” he said.
This makes the experience truly one of a kind. Rock Springs Main Street/URA Manager Chad Banks said that they get local sponsors to make the rides free for the community. This year’s sponsors are the City of Rock Springs, Downtown Rock Springs, and Trona Valley Federal Credit Union, and AllWest allows the company to use their shop to store the wagon.
“This is a great experience for families and with our wonderful sponsors, they are free,” Gutierrez said.
Carriage rides will be the following Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Dec. 7, Dec. 14, Dec. 21. For more information, visit Boulder Creek Carriage Company or Downtown Rock Springs on Facebook.
