On the final weekend of the Aiken Triple Crown, an 89-year-old tradition will be galloping into Hitchcock Woods.
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Linzee Whittaker, of Aiken, went over a jump on his horse Lucy in the Adult/Amateur over Fences event during last year's Aiken Horse Show. This year's show will include the Aiken Hunter Classic and Foxhunter classes.
Ron Cockerille/Augusta Chronicle
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The Aiken Horse Show will be held Friday-Sunday, April 3.
"Probably the most special thing about the show is its setting in Hitchcock Woods," said event spokeswoman Molly Gray. "We want to do anything we can to help promote the woods."
The horse show is the largest fund-raising event for the Hitchcock Foundation, which manages the woods. Although a portion of the woods are in the Aiken city limits, they do not belong to the city, Mrs. Gray said. The 2,000 acres of forest are maintained through donations.
The horse show, which was founded by Thomas Hitchcock in 1916, features open hunters, adult amateurs, junior horse and pony classes and children's classes. There also will be the Aiken Hunter Classic and Foxhunter classes.
For the third consecutive year, the Hitchcock Woods Exposition will take place during the weekend. The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory will have a display by I. Lehr Brisbin about animals that are found in Hitchcock Woods, and there will be displays by the Aiken Technical College Biology Department. There will be bird walks with Silver Bluff Audubon Plantation members and nature walks led by Harry Shealy Jr. that will look at the history and management of the woods.
On Saturday, Bill Maroni will talk about his book, When Straight Jacket Met Golden Sun, a story about walking the Appalachian Trail.
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Susan Knox, of Augusta, handed cookies up to T.G. Bostwick, 13, of Aiken (from left), Mrs. Knox's daughter Brittany, 14, and T.G.'s sister Ellie, 11, as they watched the Aiken Horse Show during a break in their Junior/Horse & Pony event last year.
Ron Cockerille/Augusta Chronicle
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This is the second year that dog-agility demonstrations will be part of the event, presented by Aiken Dog Sports. This also will be the second year of the silent auction, which will have everything from an African safari to an aerial tour of Aiken and Hitchcock Woods.
For more information about the event, call (803) 642-0528.
Reach Karen Ethridge at (803) 648-1395, ext. 109, or karen.ethridge@augustachronicle.com.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Aiken Horse Show and Hitchcock Woods Exposition
WHEN: Horse show - 10 a.m. Friday; 9 a.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. Sunday, April 3; Hitchcock Woods Exposition - Guided bird walk 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sunday, April 3; Dog agility show around noon Saturday; Bill Maronit 1 p.m. Saturday; guided tours of the woods at 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, April 3
WHERE: Hitchcock Woods (the South Boundary entrance at the corner of South Boundary Avenue and Laurens Street)
COST: $10 per vehicle per day or $25 for all three days, free for pedestrians
PHONE: 642-0528
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