Pictures by Lauren Fanning
When the Gilded Age glitterati traveled south to flee the northeastern winters within the late nineteenth century, they introduced with them a lavish way of life and a penchant for equestrian pursuits. Aiken, South Carolina, grew to become a winter colony for rich immigrants—and a coaching floor for his or her horses. Within the Forties and ’50s, horses owned by the wealthy and well-known had been stored on the Aiken Coaching Monitor, a one-mile course impressed by Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. “Practice right here, win wherever” is monitor’s motto, and traditionally, it is a stable guess, producing 40 nationwide champions. Nowadays, Aiken hosts a plethora of fall and spring occasions, together with the Aiken Polo Membership and Fall Steeplechase match on November 23 on the Aiken Steeplechase Racecourse. However the coaching monitor hearkens again to the golden age when the world’s equestrian tradition actually took root. As an impressive reminder of the location’s heritage, the long-lasting reside oak within the monitor’s infield is the ultimate resting place of Blue Peter, who was helmed by the well-known Conflict Admiral and raced to quite a few victories in 1948. 1950, the beloved thoroughbred was mourned nationwide and buried below the oak tree, now often known as Blue Peter’s Tree.
This text seems within the Fall 2024 subject of Southbound.
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