Great
Day In
Tryon
Block House
Касс
Day is
a very special lime.
Bij EUGENE WARNER
Once again gay crowds of picnick¬
ers who arc also horse-race lovers will
converge on this little town at the foot
of the Blue Ridge for the Block House
steeplechase races April 5 at 2 p.m.
This will be the 23d renewal of the
races. They were started by Carter
Brown, dean of Carolina horsemen, in
an open hayficld now called Harmon
Field, about two miles from the pres¬
ent site. The first riders were ama¬
teurs. The prize was a tin cup bought
at the 10c store. The horses were also
amateurs.
This year professional jockeys in
bright silks will compete for purses to¬
talling nearly $5.(XX) and the horses
will he thoroughbreds. Before the sum¬
mer is over they will race at Aque¬
duct. Saratoga, and other big north¬
ern tracks, a setting very different front
the pleasant green rolling countryside
around the Block House.
The atmosphere of the Block House
races is unique. Tailgate picnics, the
greetings and back-slapping of old
friends, the bowers of snowy dogwood
and bright azaleas, bring back mem¬
ories of county fairs in days gone by.
a refreshing and nostalgic change
from the hurly-burly of modern big-
time sports events. The Block House
races offer a chance to touch hands
with the past.
The Block House
The past, for the history buff, goes
back a long way. The Block House
was built during the French and In¬
dian Wars, about 1765. It still stands
in the center of the race grounds. It
is much changed in the last two cen¬
turies. From a rough frontier fort it
has been transformed into a comfor¬
table house surrounded by big box¬
woods. lovely lawns, a swimming pool.
The pleosont rolling hill» ond green mcodowt oround the historic old Bloch House provide
о
pic¬
turesque setting lor the onnuol steeplechose. Mountains ol the 8lue Ridge tower obove the lestive
scene. — iN. C. Trovel Informotion Dir. photos.»
stables, and acres of rolling pastures
over which the races are run. The old
house has a quiet dignity that is dis¬
turbed only one day a year, race day.
The Block House, like the races, is
the product of the imagination of Car¬
ter Brown. Carter Brown rescued the
rotting old fort when it was falling
apart with age. He saw the possibility
of restoring the historic fort and per¬
sonally supervised the job of finding
and installing new siding, new roofs,
new floors, and doing it all with au¬
thentic materials bought from aban¬
doned buildings far and wide. Since he
finished the job. adding new bath¬
rooms. bedrooms and kitchen, the old
place has gone through the hands of
three owners. The present owner is
Converse College of Spartanburg.
S. C.. the only college in the world to
own a race track.
Go» crowds gother on the
дгоиу
slopes lor
picnics, reunions, ond
о
wide-ongled view ol the
roces.
First Ladies' Race
Besides owning the premises Con¬
verse will also for the first time this
year provide some of the jockeys. The
first race on the 5-race card will be a
ladies' race and several Converse Col¬
lege girls have said they want to ride.
This is the only amateur race left on
the card. The two big races of the day
are the North Carolina Hunt Cup with
a purse of $2.000 and the last race of
the day. the Block House, for a purse
of $1.500.
The races cost the Tryon Riding &
Hunt Club, a non-profit organization
of local citizens and turfmen, about
$ 1 0.0(H) a year to put on. To meet
this expense (the club has no rich
"angels"), tickets arc sold to the pub¬
lic. A reserved parking place for a car
and four occupants is $25 — the price
Protcuionob, competing here lo« puuci ol
$5,000, moy go on lo the big northern event»—
but none m on otmotphere to compote with this
hasn't changed in years. General ad¬
mission for walk-in spectators is $2.
Reserved parking can be obtained
from the Tryon Riding & Hunt Club.
Oak Hall. Tryon.
THE STATE. MARCH 15. 1969
17
