About Wainwright

Wainwright (noun): a maker of wagons or carts.

What We Build

Wainwright Cart Co. designs and builds carts and equipment for draft dogs and their handlers. From harness bags to training rigs to competition carts, every piece blends heritage craft with practical design. Our purpose is simple: to carry forward the art and reliability of the wainwright tradition into today’s sport.

Carrying the Legacy Forward

This company wasn’t born to reinvent, but to continue. For generations, cart makers and artisans set a standard that was as much about pride as it was about precision. Their work was reliable, beautiful, and enduring—worthy of the dogs and the people who depended on it.

We stand on their shoulders. Every design we release pays homage to what came before while serving the real needs of today’s handlers. It’s not about chasing trends or mass production. It’s about upholding the standards of those who showed us what excellence looks like, and ensuring their legacy doesn’t fade.

In 2025, we reached an important milestone in that work by acquiring Wilczek Woodworks and their library of cart and equipment designs. For decades, their craftsmanship shaped the expectations of handlers across the draft community, and many of their most trusted pieces remain favorites today.

Bringing those designs under the Wainwright roof ensures continuity in the market and keeps equipment that teams rely on available for years to come. It also strengthens our commitment to building gear that reflects both heritage craft and practical performance.

While we honor what made Wilczek Woodworks beloved, we build through our own lens—selecting materials, refining details, and improving where modern needs or technologies call for it. The result is familiar reliability paired with Wainwright’s standard for thoughtful, hardworking design.

Why It Lasts

The work demands it. Dogs don’t hold back, and neither should what we build for them. Every stitch, joint, and choice of material is intentional—heritage canvas, weather-tough nylon, timber, or brass. Each is chosen because it proves itself over years of use, not months.

We don’t aim for “good enough.” We aim for heirloom-quality: equipment that’s as hardworking and heartfelt as the dogs who pull it, and as trustworthy as the people who built it before us.

Learning Together

Wainwright is more than equipment. Draft thrives when handlers thrive, and we’re here to support the sport itself. Whether you’re hitching your first cart, practicing for your first trial, or polishing skills at the highest levels, we share knowledge and resources to help every team move forward. Because when handlers grow, the entire community benefits.

From the Draft Ring

We’ve spent years training, competing, and judging in draft, and what’s stayed with us is a deep respect. Respect for the teams who show up prepared, for the dogs who give their all, and for the makers who built the equipment that made it possible.

Wainwright is our way of ensuring that tradition continues. This brand was born ringside and roadside, between training runs and muddy fields, in honor of the craftspeople whose work defined the sport and the dogs who keep carrying it forward.

This isn’t mass production. This is legacy work. And we’re honored to be part of it.

— Julie Bacon, Bill Van Ocker & Sue Van Ocker
Co-Founders, Wainwright Cart Co.