Harriet Grannick is the founder of the Vermont Carriage Driving Club. The following is an edited interview.

Lulu has been in training to be a carriage dog. In some of the shows we do, they have a carriage dog competition. The dog has to sit quietly and look really cute. It’s a whole other world, I know.

She’s a Papillon, which means butterfly in French. They’re a very old breed. They used to be used to catch rats in the castles of Europe, so she’s got very keen instincts. She’s more of a hunter than my Labs ever were.

Templeton is a Dales pony. They’re a very old breed from the North of England, now on the endangered species list. What happened is the farmers in England probably started breeding them with any mare that would trot down the road, and the purebreds disappeared. They’ve been around forever, and we’re trying to bring them back.

I started carriage riding about 20 years ago. I was getting older, and I didn’t want to continue fox hunting. Someone suggested I get involved in carriage driving.

When I got my first harness, it came in a big box all in pieces; nothing was attached. I thought, “Holy mackerel, now what do I do?” I had to have a lesson just on how to put it together.

The first time I drove a horse, it was so bizarre. I felt like I had no control. On a horse, you’ve got your legs, and you’re right there on top to keep control. When you drive, you’re way back there, along for the ride.

Compared with horse riding, the horses take a lot more training in order to do this right. Because you drive on the roads and places where you might not ride, they’ve got to be trained to take everything in stride — cars, mailboxes, cement mixers, everything.

One of the events we do is called a “cones course.” At a show, they only allow about an inch of room between the hub of the carriage and the cones on either side, and you have to go through them fast. Today we were just practicing. He was so good, and I didn’t even bring any treats!