Meet Our Team of Professional Carriage Drivers and Mules!
Each of our mules are cherished, loved, and respected. Those who work with animals can understand how impressed we are day to day with the intelligence of our four-legged partners.
Meet Our Team
The Mule-Drawn Carriage Difference: An Experience, Not Just a Tour
Charles & Big Freedia xx
Charles & Big Freedia
Charles started as a carriage driver over 20 years ago. You can find him on day shift with his mule Big Freedia. She’s a big girl but don’t let size fool you. She’s a total cuddle bug. In fact, she’s one of the sweetest mules in the barn.
"It was a lovely tour. Our guide was Charles and he was very informative. I loved seeing the buildings and learning the history of such a beautiful city !! Thank you !!" -Trip Advisor gammy132021
Shannon and Josie xx
Shannon and Josie
Shannon grew up along the Mississippi Coast. A historian specializing in the colonial Gulf Coast. Josie comes from Amish country and is loving city life. Come see the dynamic duo on night shift.
"The tour was great! Shannon and Josie make a great team. Shannon was very knowledgeable and gave a lot of historical facts about the city that he obviously loves! He answered questionable comments and queries by some of the tourists professionally and with a little wry humor. Overall, an enjoyable hour tour that covered a lot of area we would not have seen on our own. Thanks, Shannon!" Trip Advisor- lolliearls
James & Pearl xx
James & Pearl
James and Pearl are the ones who escort the bride to her wedding ceremony at the cathedral. They also scare the pants off of people with their History & Haunts Spooky Nighttime Carriage Tour. He calls her his "sweet girl, Pearl" and "Miss Piggy"!
"We loved our carriage ride with James and Pearl! It's such a great way to see the city while staying cool and learning all about New Orleans James was such an informative and animated guide! He told us so much about the history of the city, shared of it's spooky stories, and gave us some great recommendations for restaurants and the best places to see live jazz!" - Kathryn J of TripAdvisor.com
Steff and Ivan xx
Steff and Ivan
Steff earned his BS in Equine Business from Delaware Valley University. He also has the bragging right of driving a carriage in two different cities! Steff favorite mule in the entire world is Ivan. We even have an "Adventures of Ivan" series on Facebook and TikTok. Ivan was formally Amish hails from Upstate New York. Ivan is loving New Orleans.
"It was a wonderful tour. We had a 14 and 16 year old boy plus four adults and we all loved it. Steff was our guide and he was hilarious and informative. Ivan was our mule and a big part of the adventure! They treat the animals well. Definitely recommend!!! We had a carriage for just our family. We saw so much more than the walking tours, which were crowded, and people didn’t look very happy. This is definitely worth the extra money." BARB
KJ & Pretty Boy xx
KJ & Pretty Boy
KJ is Veteran of our ARMY Reserve. Being a Veteran-owned company, this is important to us! We appreciate his dedication to our company! KJ and Pretty Boy provide lots of ghost stories in the evening time.
"We had KJ and Pretty Boy (mule) as our tour guide. They were phenomenal! KJ gave excellent history background of the French Quarter and even little details about the architecture of the buildings... I would highly recommend riding with KJ and Pretty Boy if you are interested!" - Melanie T of TripAdvisor.com
Sarah and Lou xx
Sarah and Lou
Sarah is one of the craftiest team members at Royal Carriages. She loves making decorations for Lou and changes them out every season. Sarah loves to cook and has quite the sweet tooth. Sarah specializes in true crime stories and epidemics in the state. Lou is often decorated and loves to have glitter hooves. Check out this pair on night shift.
"We reserved the private carriage ride for four. Our guide Sarah did an excellent job sharing the haunted history of New Orleans with us. I am a bit of a history buff and our family is interested in hauntings/legends and she answered all of our questions and seemed more than happy to converse with us about other areas of New Orleans history and promininent figures and events from the past. Sarah stopped at various places on interest on the tour and did not try to hurry us at all as we asked her various questions. We are already planning a return trip to New Orleans with other family members and will definitely be booking another carriage ride." -jebarrettauthor
Michelle & Queenie xx
Michelle & Queenie
Michelle is a former teacher as well! She just loves spender her days working besides Queenie in the lovely French Quarter.
"We loved the carriage ride we took in NOLA. Michelle was a terrific guide, super friendly and informative. I think everyone should take a carriage ride around the French Quarter- it is a great way to see the town and learn a little about its history." - Lori I of Los Gatos, California on TripAdvisor.com
Emily & Cloudy xx
Emily & Cloudy
Emily has the distinction of being the fourth member of her family to drive a carriage. Having studied environmental science, Emily loves that she’s driving the original hybrid. Cloudy was named by the owner's daughter when she in preschool.
"Cloudy the mule was in wonderful condition and her caretaker, Emily, was excellent with her. Emily explained that the mules only work for 2 months at a time and then take a hiatus on a farm for a month or so before they come back to work. After taking a good look at Cloudy and seeing that she was well groomed, cared for and healthy we agreed to the tour. Emily was great and shared lots of unique bits of knowledge regarding the French Quarter. It was a lovely way to spend a short time of our visit. Cloudy is very smart and practically leads the tour without guidance from Emily!" - Stephanie of Philadelphia, PA on TripAdvisor.com
Hannah & Mae West xx
Hannah & Mae West
Hannah competed in barrel racing before she drove carriages in Jekyll Island, GA. She moved back home to Louisiana for college, majoring in business, because she hopes to own her own horse-focused business one day. Since she's a college student, you mostly find Hannah in the evening times working with Mae West.
Nate & Dooky xx
Nate & Dooky
Nate is a former history teacher who decided driving mules was more fun than spending all day doing paperwork in a classroom. He loves to be able to share his knowledge and love with visitors as Dooky trots around the French Quarter. Dooky, and her brother (Prudhomme, are both named after famous chefs in New Orleans: Dooky Chase and Paul Prudhomme! Both mules are super cuddly and friendly, so make sure you stop by for some mule-loving!
"Nate was our carriage driver and he was really relaxed! He knew a lot about the city and was really easy to talk to! Highly recommend Nate and his mule. It was also very nice to see how caring and compassionate Nate was toward his mule!" - TripAdvisor.com
Lofton and Paul xx
Lofton and Paul
Rich Lofton aka "Lofton" is a Louisiana native, hailing from Lafayette in Cajun Country. He is also one of our many veterans, serving in the Navy. Rich can be found on day shift with his mule Paul. Paul may be shorter than other mules but he is one our our strongest. Adoring a bit of carrot at the end of shift.
"Rich was amazing. I requested another person but was so glad we got Rich. He gave my wife and i everything we could have asked for. It was worth the experience and will always refer passengers to your fourth-generation company and to Rich! Thank you all for a great SERVICE EXPERIENCE in all areas. Booking, notifications, actual tour, and follow up!" -lacycross
Kim & Stanley xx
Kim & Stanley
Kim spends her Mardi Gras season on horseback, riding in all of the parades throughout South Louisiana, including all of the big parades in New Orleans! Since she loved horses so much, she thought it would be fun to work with mules in New Orleans. She's having a lot of fun with Stanley showing people around the French Quarter.
Jonathan & Elizabeth xx
Jonathan & Elizabeth
Johnathan is a professional actor in the local film community and has been featured in a few different big box office films. He fell in love with carriage driving when he began working at Royal Carriages many years ago. He even discovered that his great grandfather plowed farmland with mules in Alabama.
"My wife and I brought a few friends to New Orleans for the first time for a little R&R. We schedule a tour with our guide Jonathan and his mule Elizabeth. The tour was great and our guide was very knowledgeable of the area and culture. We ask him what is his favorite restaurant which he gave us and we ate later that night was delicious! We always have a great time in New Orleans! Thanks again." Troy C of TripAdvisor.com
Blanche & Cayenne xx
Blanche & Cayenne
Ready to see the French Quarter? Let Blanch and Cayenne cart your around old New Orleans! With them, you'll learn about the history of our beignets, poboys, daiquiris, and more!
"I recently did the hour long French Quarter/Cemetery Tour with Blanche--and it was a great time. Blanche was knowledgeable and so much fun. As someone who has been to New Orleans several times, it was nice to learn more about the culture and history of the city. The tour was all around a great time and I would do it again in a heartbeat!" - Alicia W of Chicago, Illinois on TripAdvisor.com
Latest Royal News
Covington Christmas Carriage Rides to Change Location
November 19, 2021 - Our hearts go out to Harvey Marsolan and the Marsolan Feed and Seed Store Family on the devastating loss of their historic and iconic Feed Store in Downtown Covingt...read more
We loved this. Our driver, Jim Thiebaud, regaled us with historic tales of Napoleon, Joan of Arc, Andrew Jackson, Tennessee Williams, Lee Harvey Oswald, and, of course, Richard Simmons. Why is it that the locals always bring up Richard Simmons? We also heard about the Great Fire, the Second Great Fire, the Big Hurricane, the Next Big Hurricane, and the flood. Seems that God has done his best to take down this city, but the locals aren't having any of that. Such a relaxing/educating/romantic way to see the French Quarter.
TripAdvisor Member: Chznone