Written by Emily Mitchell
The distinct clip-clop of hooves is a sound all too familiar to residents of downtown Chattanooga. Nearby drivers wait patiently as a spotted horse named Dewey steadily hauls an oldfangled carriage into the flow of traffic. Atop a black leather bench, David Faulkner takes one hand off the reins to pet his beloved Dalmatian, Indiana, seated proudly beside him. As the carriage rolls down Broad Street, he directs the passengers’ attention to an allegedly “haunted” parking lot coming up on their right. In the midst of rushing vehicles and busy pedestrians, the elderly coach has managed to make a career out of slowing things down.
Faulkner never applied to become a part-time carriage driver—he was recruited by the horses. While working for a nearby parking company, he took notice of Chattanooga Horse Trams, a 39-year-old carriage ride service stationed outside of the Tennessee Aquarium.
“After about three weekends of sneaking the horse treats, [the owner] asked me if I’d go to work for him,” Faulkner said. “I started the next weekend.”
26 years later, Faulkner is still driving for the company and is known to residents as Chattanooga’s “most experienced carriage driver.” Throughout his coaching career, he has witnessed the development of local carriage ordinances and gradually watched the streets where he first learned the trade become unrecognizable. Yet, he remains just as dedicated to the work as the day he first hitched up.
“It gets me out of the house, it gives me something to do,” he said. “And after 26 years, I still enjoy it. It’s still fun.”
Two and a half decades ago, the path to becoming a carriage driver was far less rigorous than it is today. Local laws now mandate a lengthy training and certification process for all drivers entering the trade. Faulkner, on the other hand, was thrown into the deep end after a mere three weekends—a process that he described as “sheer terror.” However, after all these years, the job has become second nature to him.
“I know these horses. I know what they’re going to do, and I know what they’re not going to do,” he said.
To Faulkner, the horses are predictable. The people, on the other hand, are a different story.
“No two tours are the same. Everybody’s different,” he said. “Knowing who wants to be talked to, knowing who wants to be left alone… It’s definitely the most challenging part of this job.”
Despite growing up around Tennessee Walking Horses and having a deep affection for animals, Faulkner said that the passengers are what make the job most interesting. Evidently, the 20 to 60 minute duration of the rides offers him a substantial amount of interaction with the general public. However, his interaction with the public doesn’t end with the passengers. Traveling at a rate of four miles per hour, Faulkner gets to witness the everyday happenings of downtown Chattanooga that most others miss.
“If you’re a people watcher, this is a front-row seat to all the craziness and mayhem downtown,” he said.
He recalled an incident from years prior when an elderly woman on Broad Street was struggling to aid a sick child.
“Instead of everybody just walking by, three or four people stopped, helped the little boy… a couple more stopped and helped calm down the elderly lady. The police gave her and the boy a ride to the hospital,” he said. “People don’t have to stop and do that. This just shows you that the public in general still is nice.”
Like all Chattanooga Horse Trams drivers, Faulkner is also a trained tour guide. A hallmark of his rides is the tidbits of local history he has to share, from ghost stories to folklore, to the considerable changes that downtown has undergone since he was young.
“I’ve been doing it long enough that I pretty much know Chattanooga,” he said. “Of course, I’m a history buff too.”
As a Chattanooga native and lifelong resident, he unsurprisingly feels deeply connected to the area. However, he maintains that his appreciation for the city didn’t fully take root until he became a driver.
“It gives you a different perspective of downtown, because when you’re driving through downtown, you’re driving through at 30 miles an hour—you’re watching traffic, you’re watching pedestrians—you don’t have time to look around,” he said. “It looks different on a carriage at four miles an hour.”
Although, according to Faulkner, around 75% of their riders are tourists, the ride service has also built a significant local customer base.
“They’ll be pointing at stuff and looking at stuff that they’ve never noticed,” he said. “It’s amazing how different it looks at four miles an hour.”
From the front seat of a carriage, Faulkner has come to know the streets of Chattanooga in a way that few have. After 26 years, he continues to find joy in the small, overlooked moments of driving that most people miss in their rush to get somewhere else, from the scenery and the fleeting interactions with strangers, to the quiet connection between him and his dog. His slower, more attentive perspective is one that he will share with every passenger who climbs aboard until he “can’t get on the carriage anymore.”
Meet The Storyteller
Emily Mitchell is a graduating senior at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga majoring in Communication with a minor in English Rhetoric & Professional Writing. She is a driven visual storyteller with particular proficiency in all things video production. Mitchell’s passion for video creation has been evident since high school when she started making YouTube videos in Adobe Premiere and After Effects, but didn’t fully blossom until she first picked up a camera in her college courses. She sees videography as a powerful language and strives to tell meaningful stories through her frame. Currently, her primary experience includes interning with the City of Chattanooga’s Parks & Outdoors department and serving as a videographer for Rising Rock. When she’s not behind a camera or a laptop, she enjoys reading, running, and spending time with her four cats. To connect with her, email her at gfk827@mocs.utc.edu.