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Happy Trails Carriage Service in McKinney to be featured on cover of Western & English Today national magazine
By Brandi Hart
McKinneyUpdate.com editor
Created at 1:30 p.m. on March 30, 2009
 Downtown McKinney is known for its century old buildings, unique architecture, boutique shops, restaurants, the McKinney Performing Arts Center, and annual, free events.
One thing its also known for is the Happy Trails Carriage Service that supplies people with a tour of McKinney from the view of a comfortable, large open carriage where people can relax, sit back, and take in the buildings around them, along with soaking up a little history.
Owner Shannon Cole has operated the Happy Trails Carriage Service in downtown since January, 2006. She and her two horse carriages, that are driven by two white horses can usually be found parked in front of Rick's Chophouse on Kentucky Street on the square, near the MPAC every Friday and Saturday night.
The success she has created for herself in McKinney will be highlighted as a cover story in an upcoming issue of the western and horse riding magazine "Western & English Today", Cole said, to which she is very excited about.
She is planning to have a photo taken of herself with her horses and a carriage in front of one of the many places she features on her tours- the Heard-Craig House at the southeast corner of Church and Hunt streets, Cole said.
Shannon Cole, owner of Happy Trails Carriage Service, which operates in downtown McKinney on the weekends, special occasions and weddings, is pictured above with one of her many horses, Smoke. Submitted photo
Cole combines downtown McKinney's rich history and tells ghost stories of supposedly haunted buildings and homes located along Church Street, near the Heard-Craig Hall, and throughout downtown during her tours. She helps keep an oral history of downtown McKinney alive during her carriage rides.
For Cole, telling people about McKinney and its history, and providing a warm, comfy carriage ride driven by horses along the streets of downtown has become a labor of love for the small business owner.
"I love telling people about Jesse and Frank James and The James Gang and stories about when they visited McKinney. Members of the Sons of the Confederate Army used to meet in a house near Finch Park, where Robert E. Lee once visited," Cole said.
Cole's clients take the carriage rides for weddings and Valentine's Day, or just any weekend during the year. Her usual route is along Church Street to Heard Street, Heard Street to College Street, College Street to Tucker Street, and then back to the square, Cole said. She also takes people near Finch Park, and near a red and white brick building that is now an office building but once served McKinney as a hospital and sanitarium. Cole has provided carriage rides for wedding parties at the Bingham House, Surrey House, and Chestnut Square for the last seven years, and this month has been her busiest wedding season ever, Cole said.
Cole charges $75 for a half hour ride and $150 for an hour ride, which is about 3 miles. Cole really has no slow season as people get married throughout the year and can enjoy horse driven carriage rides any time of the year, she said.
"There are people who just like to take horse carriage rides. It's relaxing and you can really see everything from the carriage as opposed to driving by buildings in a car," Cole said.
Her customers even want to brave the bitter winter cold to be taken around the downtown area by a horse and carriage.
"I've had some strange requests of people who have wanted to ride during 20 degrees. People usually think the colder weather is romantic and I provide warm blankets for them to snuggle up in and keep them warm," Cole said.
Most of her customers are not from McKinney, she said. In fact, Cole has helped to bring in tourists to the downtown area.
"About 80 percent of my customers are not from McKinney. A lot of my customers are from Dallas, Fort Worth, and Oklahoma, and I've had people ride form Germany, Korea and Japan.. I've had people fly in from Boston just for the ghost story tour," Cole said. "I bring a lot of business into downtown."
About 33 percent of people who visit her Web site www.happytrailscarriage.com are from China, Cole said.
She is usually parked in front of Rick's Chophouse or Mama Emilia's, near the newly renovated square to which Cole is thrilled about. The city spent $2.2 million to install new water and sewer lines on the square proper,along Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and Louisiana streets, and to build new, wider sidewalks, new parking spaces, and install brick pavers on the square from January, 2008 to October, 2008. However, she is also glad that the construction for the renovations s over.
"The end result is good but the construction was very difficult. I spent $6,700 on new axles for my two carriages, and to repair wheels and brakes during the construction, not to mention the loss of income," Cole said. "I call it the longest pregnancy in McKinney's history."
Now that the square construction is complete and there is a more pedestrian friendly atmosphere in downtown, business is booming again for Happy Trails Carriage Service, especially on what is known as the Second Saturday events in downtown. Held each second Saturday of the month, musicians and artists perform and create and sell art in downtown McKinney to provide something a little extra for patrons.
"Second Saturdays are some of my most profitable evenings because we have live music, art and wine sampling and people usually spend more money on the second Saturdays," Cole said.
For more information, visit www.happytrailscarriage.com .
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