There's a new carriage business in town

After hosting Santa Claus on her horse and carriage this past holiday season, Ronda Cave, owner of Vineyard To Village Horse and Carriage Co., is preparing to host tourists attending Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Ice Wine Festival later in January.

Cave is fully licensed and holds the regional permit for the caleche business, and has one of five spots at the corner of King and Queen Streets alongside the other four licence holders, Sentineal Carriages. Jeff Sentineal’s Queens Royal Tours has not renewed its licence.

Cave lives in the Old Town, allowing her to quickly determine if high winds or heavy rain will prevent her from choosing from her team of four horses and two carriages to tour the town. Cold weather is okay, she said, because, according to protocol, horses must wear blankets if the weather dips to -15 degrees.

Cave used to be a part-time driver for Queens Royal Tours until 16 months ago, when she was successful in her bid to the town to occupy one of the spaces outside the Prince of Wales Hotel.

The process by which caleche operators are awarded licences has been unclear for councillors, who had to deal last year with a request from Cave to operate a carriage in town.

Last spring, interim CAO Bruce Zvaniga said that the process for deciding allocations was “unusual” in both of the 2023 and 2024 operating years. Council were promised they would receive a report with a “proposed criteria-based application process” to assign the five parking spaces in future years, “as well as consideration of multi-year arrangements.”

That report has not been presented, however, Marah Minor, spokesperson for the town, said that a staff report is expected to go before council next month on this topic.

The leasing of the parking spaces is up for renewal April 1.

Some time ago Cave said that she was asked to advise council on operating terms of reference, which outlines standards that caleche owners must abide.

Cave said tourists can access her carriages by walk-up or website. In the future she hopes to add customized experiences for her customers, for example, a “deeper dive into history” or children-specific tour.