Royal carriages presented during the 75th CHIO Rotterdam
At this special 75th CHIO Rotterdam there should be a special show of course. On Friday evening and Saturday evening, the Royal Stables will present the royal carriages with the royal coach horses, complete with beautiful gala harnesses and splendidly dressed coachmen and postilions.
The Royal Stables Department was established by King William I in 1815 and has traditionally been responsible for the preparation and execution of all transportation for members of the Royal House and the Royal Household. In the past, this transportation was exclusively by horse and carriage; later, other modes of transport were added, such as trains, cars, and airplanes.
The organization of the Royal Stables Department consists of the Management Team, the Transport Department, and the Carriage and Riding Stables Department. It employs 43 staff members, including drivers, coachmen, a carriage carpenter, a carriage painter, wardrobe managers, gala harness room managers, a carriage house manager, and administrative personnel.
In addition to modern means of transport, the Royal Stables Department takes care of 24 carriage horses, 8 riding horses, 70 antique and 12 modern carriages. The oldest carriage is the Glass Coach from 1826. Additionally, the Royal Stables Department boasts a beautiful collection of gala harnesses.
The carriages from the Royal Stables are still frequently used; not only on Prinsjesdag (Prince's Day), when Their Majesties the King and Queen and other members of the Royal House and Household are driven to and from the Royal Theatre (formerly the Hall of Knights), but also on other occasions.
On average, twice a month, newly appointed foreign ambassadors are driven by carriage to Noordeinde Palace in The Hague for the “Presentation of Credentials” ceremony, where they present their credentials to the King.
Both the riding and carriage horses of the Royal Stables Department are Dutch breeds and belong to the Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands (KWPN), the Royal Friesian Studbook (KFPS), or the Groningen Studbook (Gr.P.S.). The horses are usually purchased at the age of five and serve until about twenty years old, provided they remain healthy.
All carriage horses are also ridden under saddle, as some carriages (e.g., the calèches) do not have a driver's seat. In these cases, the coachman is called a "postilion."