Friday, December 29, 2006

New Year's Weekend in Aiken

The weather forecast sounds good for the weekend: mostly sunny, highs in the 60s, a slight chance of rain on Sunday. So what's going on in Aiken? There's hunting on Saturday (Why Worry Hounds at Basset Hill on Saturday at 9 AM, The Aiken Hounds also on Saturday, and Whiskey Road Foxhounds on Sunday.) Otherwise, Poplar Place Farm in Hamilton, GA is holding a schooling show, and there is not much else on the calendar. A good time to ride, tidy the barn and think about New Year's resolutions.

Aiken's horsepeople who haven't done so already still have time to submit a photo to the My Favorite Horse Exhibit at the Aiken County Historical Museum on Newberry Street off South Boundary. The exhibit is scheduled to open on January 3, and will feature photos brought in by community members. Photos may be of any size up to 11" X 14", but must be framed and ready to hang.

Museum director Elliot Levy says there has been a great response and he has some wonderful pictures. He is planning to continue to add photos throughout the month until the space is filled. The show runs until January 31, and will be held in the ballroom, a beautiful setting for any picture.

Bring your framed photos to Banksia (the grand Winter Colony home that houses the museum) 433 Newberry Street SW. For more information, call 803.642.2015.

While you're at the museum, take a look around. There area few interesting equestrian artifacts upstairs. However, the best part of the museum are the scrapbooks downstairs. These feature newspaper and magazine clippings from the 1920s and 1930s, the height of Aiken's fabled Winter Colony. You'll see photos from the hunt and polo fields, and find quite a wealth of information (including some great pictures) of Aiken's pioneering women polo players.

(Is there some event out there we don't know about? Drop us an e-mail & let us know!)

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