OklahomaHorses Magazine November 2021

12 OklahomaHorses • November/December 2021 As a little girl, Kathy Vincent always dreamed of having a horse-drawn carriage. In her mind, there was just something magical about the idea of returning to the days of yesteryear, back when horses and buggies were the main mode of transportation. When she married her husband, Paul, in 1981, it was a carriage that whisked them away from the ceremony, and that dreamy, fairytale experience is something that has stayed with Kathy ever since. Over the years, the Vincents have kept horses of many breeds on their ranch in Sapulpa, but Kathy’s main love has always been the draft horse. She bought her first work horse in 2007— an 18.1 hand black Percheron named Rocket. She and Paul also purchased an old-fashioned doctor’s buggy and gear to enjoy sunset rides around their neighborhood. She never imagined that this hobby would turn into an actual carriage business, but that’s exactly what happened. Later that year, Kathy volunteered to give a carriage ride for a friend’s wedding, and she enjoyed it so much that she decided to start her own business soon afterward. Paul gave her plenty of encouragement to follow this dream, and thus, Ava K’s Carriage Service LLC (named for the couple’s first granddaughter) was born. They soon added a vintage vis-à-vis (which translates to “face to face”) carriage that would accommodate up to six people, and the busi- ness took off from there, solely from word-of-mouth advertisement. Ava K’s Carriage Service By Casie Bazay Christmas sleigh (Private Family Holiday Carriage Ride at Guthrie Green Tulsa)