Last Updated: August 1, 2026
The Grand Oaks Resort is an RV park inside a working equestrian center — 400 acres at Weirsdale, Florida, just southeast of Ocala and a few minutes from Lady Lake and The Villages. We had stayed at this part of central Florida before and enjoyed it, so we came back for a week. From Ormond Beach it was only about a ninety-minute drive. We arrived to find a combined driving competition underway, which turned a pleasant week into a memorable one.
Grand Oaks RV Park
The theme here is horses, comprehensively and without apology. You camp inside the property, not beside it — barns, arenas, paddocks and driving hazards are all part of the walk to breakfast.
We had a full-hookup pull-through site. The WiFi was marginal while the equestrian event was on — a few hundred extra people with phones will do that to any campground network — and then perfectly fast enough to stream once the competitors packed up and left. Worth knowing if you book during a show. We were also moved off the nice back-in end site we had reserved onto this one, which was a small disappointment, though the replacement was large and quiet.
Combined Driving: What We Were Actually Watching
The event running while we were there was combined driving, and since we had to look up half of it ourselves, here is what we learned. It is the driving equivalent of three-day eventing, and it has three phases: dressage, judged in an arena on precision and obedience; the marathon, a cross-country course of ten to twenty-two kilometres with timed obstacles called hazards; and cones, sometimes called obstacle driving, a tight timed course through pairs of cones that plays the same role show jumping does in eventing. Michael was calling it a race from the fence line, which is close enough in spirit — the hazards and the cones are both against the clock — but it is scored across all three phases.
The vehicles are marathon carriages, not buggies. They are purpose-built for this and nothing else: steel or aluminium, four wheels, a very low centre of gravity, cambered wheels, hydraulic disc brakes, air or spring suspension, bumper bars to glance off obstacle posts, and handholds absolutely everywhere. In a tight turn the pivoting front axle lets the thing effectively run on three wheels.
The people have names too. The person holding the reins is the driver, traditionally called the whip. The one or two others riding with them are grooms, also known as backsteppers, and one of them usually acts as navigator — calling the route aloud and running a stopwatch. Their real job in a hazard is athletic: they hurl their weight to the outside of every turn to keep the carriage from tipping, and they are there to get to the horses’ heads immediately if anything tangles or goes over. Some hold a belt around the driver for stability. Watching a groom work a hazard is at least as impressive as watching the horses.
The vests are body protectors — yes, for injury, exactly as in eventing — and they are required along with an approved helmet for the marathon phase. Given what those carriages do through a water hazard, nobody argues.
Turnouts are described by how the horses are put to: a single, a pair side by side, or a four-in-hand — two pairs, one behind the other, which is the four-horse rig in these photographs. There are also tandems, unicorns and other configurations at national level.
The singles were quick and agile and turned inside their own length. The four-in-hands were something else — the sheer coordination of one person steering four horses through water at speed, on four reins, with a groom hanging off the back as a living counterweight, is genuinely hard to believe until you have watched it from twenty feet away.
Why There Are So Many Carriages Here
The retired carriages parked around the grounds are not decoration — they are what is left of something remarkable. For years this property was the Florida Carriage Museum and Resort, built around collector Gloria Austin’s holdings of more than 160 antique horse-drawn carriages from Europe and America, along with harness, artwork and equine artifacts. It was one of the most significant carriage collections anywhere in the country. The museum closed in 2017 and the bulk of the collection was sold and dispersed, with a portion remaining nearby at Austin’s Equine Heritage Institute. The property carried on as Grand Oaks, a USEF-accredited facility now hosting a wider range of equestrian disciplines. Knowing that history makes the place read differently — you are camped in what is left of a carriage museum, which is exactly why a combined driving event feels so at home here.
Jake the dog loves visiting horses, and the feeling was mutual. These two greeted him every single morning and would walk along their fence line keeping pace with him for the length of the paddock. They never did work out what to make of him kissing their noses, but they kept turning up for it.
Grand Oaks has plenty of room to wander — it is a big property and we walked for about an hour every day without repeating ourselves.
We ate at the on-site bistro a couple of times — good food at fair prices, friendly staff and live music. Having a real restaurant inside the campground gate is a rare luxury in RV travel.
And the dog park was enormous — after Ormond Beach, where Jake had nowhere to run at all, this was very welcome.
The Villages
The Villages is the enormous adult retirement community that dominates this part of central Florida — dozens of housing neighborhoods, a dedicated network of golf cart paths and bridges, shopping, and a startling density of bars and restaurants. There is live music somewhere every night of the week.
We had a very good lunch at Redsauce, and were astonished to pay two dollars for a draft beer. Restaurant prices across this whole area ran well below what we had been paying elsewhere in the country — presumably a function of the sheer scale of the retirement market and the competition for it. The result was packed dining rooms and cheerful customers, which felt like a novel idea worth exporting.
The horses are beautiful, and after a week of the same morning route it was clear they each had their own personality — one aloof, one endlessly curious, one who simply wanted to see the dog again.
Visiting Grand Oaks Resort: Address, Camping and Events
The Grand Oaks Resort — 3000 Marion County Road, Weirsdale, Florida 32195, telephone 352-750-5500, thegrandoaks.com. Note the mailing address is Weirsdale even though the resort sits within easy reach of Lady Lake, Ocala and The Villages. What is here: a 400-acre USEF-accredited equestrian facility with an RV park, cottages and estate homes, The Bistro restaurant, a large fenced dog park, event and wedding venues, and golf cart rentals. Camping: full-hookup pull-through and back-in sites; WiFi slows noticeably during large shows. Before you arrive: all guests and competitors are asked to sign an online liability release — do it in advance rather than at the gate. Events: check the resort calendar before booking. A show weekend means more traffic and slower internet, but it also means you can watch world-class driving and riding from your campsite for nothing.
A note on the carriage museum: visitors sometimes arrive expecting the Florida Carriage Museum. It closed in 2017 and the collection was largely sold off, so do not plan a trip around it. Some carriages remain on the grounds and a portion of the original collection is held nearby at Austin’s Equine Heritage Institute.
Practical Tips for Grand Oaks and The Villages
Check the event calendar before you book — then decide which you want. A competition weekend gives you free front-row access to serious equestrian sport a short walk from your door. It also gives you crowded roads and campground WiFi that will not stream. Both are true; pick deliberately.
Bring a long lens and shoot the water hazard. That is where combined driving becomes photography. Spray, effort, the groom braced hard against the turn — everything happens there. Ask an official where spectators may stand and stay well clear of the carriage line.
Sign the liability waiver online first. It is required of guests as well as competitors and it is far easier done at home than at check-in.
Walk the property. An hour a day for a week and we still found new corners — barns, paddocks, retired carriages, a Little Blue Heron using a fence rail as a fishing perch. It is one of the few RV parks anywhere that rewards simply wandering.
Mind your dog around the horses. Jake was welcome and the horses enjoyed him, but that is a courtesy extended by the facility, not a right. Keep the dog leashed, stay outside the paddock fence, and never approach a horse being harnessed or worked.
Eat out in The Villages. Prices in this area were among the lowest we found anywhere in the country — a two dollar draft beer was not a happy hour special, it was the price. Take advantage of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is combined driving? It is the carriage-driving equivalent of three-day eventing, run over three phases: dressage in an arena, a cross-country marathon of ten to twenty-two kilometres containing timed obstacles called hazards, and a cones course — obstacle driving — that tests precision and speed. Competitors are scored across all three.
What is the carriage called in combined driving? A marathon carriage. It is purpose-built for the cross-country phase — steel or aluminium, four wheels, a low centre of gravity, cambered wheels, hydraulic disc brakes, suspension, bumper bars and abundant handholds. It is not a buggy; a buggy is a light American four-wheeled road vehicle and an entirely different thing.
What are the people on a marathon carriage called? The person driving is the driver, traditionally known as the whip. The one or two others are grooms, also called backsteppers, and one commonly serves as navigator — calling the route and timing with a stopwatch. During a hazard, grooms shift their weight to counterbalance the carriage and stand ready to reach the horses if there is a tangle or an overturn.
Why do carriage drivers wear helmets and vests? Safety. Approved helmets and body protectors are required for the marathon phase, exactly as in eventing. Marathon carriages take tight turns at speed through water and around fixed obstacles, and overturns do happen.
What is a four-in-hand? A team of four horses driven by one person — two pairs, one behind the other, controlled on four reins. Other turnouts include the single, the pair driven side by side, and at national level tandems and unicorns.
Can you camp at Grand Oaks Resort? Yes. The RV park has full-hookup pull-through and back-in sites inside the 400-acre equestrian property, with a bistro, a large dog park and golf cart rentals on site. Book through the resort at 352-750-5500, and complete the online liability release before you arrive.
Is the Florida Carriage Museum still open? No. The museum, built around Gloria Austin’s collection of more than 160 antique carriages, closed in 2017 and the collection was largely sold and dispersed. Some carriages remain on the Grand Oaks grounds, and part of the original collection is held nearby at Austin’s Equine Heritage Institute.
From Grand Oaks we carried on north to Williston and Gainesville, still working our way around Florida in the last weeks of winter.
