{"id":24987,"date":"2015-03-16T10:24:04","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T14:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=24987"},"modified":"2015-03-16T10:24:04","modified_gmt":"2015-03-16T14:24:04","slug":"73rd-running-of-brandywine-hills-point-to-point-april-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=24987","title":{"rendered":"73rd running of Brandywine Hills Point To Point, April 5"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"BrandwineHillsPTP\"<\/a>

Spectators at the 2014 Brandywine Hills Point-to-Point enjoy getting up close to the action. Photo by Martha Fuller.<\/p><\/div>\n

POCOPSON \u2014 The Brandywine Hills Point-to-Point, which coincides with Easter this year, has been a favorite\u00a0springtime outing for many local families and racing fans in Chester County for years and in\u00a0some cases, even generations. Emphasizing its family friendliness, in addition to the exciting\u00a0horse races, the event includes games and entertainment for children and adults of all ages, plus\u00a0this year, even the Easter bunny!<\/p>\n

The picturesque grounds of the Myrick Conservation Center, located approximately six miles\u00a0west of West Chester and three miles east of Unionville, provide a perfect setting. The grounds,\u00a0which consist of 318-acres of rolling countryside, are ideally suited for the challenging three-mile\u00a0course of timber fences that can be easily viewed by spectators. Plus, it affords plenty of\u00a0room for parking, tailgating, and children\u2019s games.<\/p>\n

While steeplechase races in the area have become very popular, it is interesting to look at the\u00a0history of this type of horse racing. Fortunately, in honor of the 50th running of the Brandywine\u00a0Hills Point-to-Point in 1992, George Osborne researched and compiled a history of the races.<\/p>\n

The first race came about as a challenge at a dinner party at which the guests were all members\u00a0of one of two local foxhunts — the Brandywine Hounds or West Chester Hunt. One of the\u00a0gentlemen claimed that he had the best foxhunting horse and of course, others disagreed\u00a0believing their own mount to be superior. It was agreed that a point-to-point race across open\u00a0hunting country would determine the best horse. The name point-to-point derived from the fact\u00a0that the riders had to round several \u201cpoints\u201dalong their route. Steeplechase racing, which gavebirth to point-to-point racing, began in 18th century Ireland when the route of cross country horse\u00a0races was from church steeple to church steeple.<\/p>\n

That first race, which took place on Lincoln\u2019s Birthday, February 12, 1939, and thus was named\u00a0the Lincoln\u2019s Birthday Point-to-Point, started and finished at Joe C. Murtagh\u2019s Goat Glen Farm,\u00a0which was located across the street from what is now West Chester University\u2019s South Campus.<\/p>\n

The other points, making it an approximately 6-mile race, were not disclosed to the riders until\u00a0the day of the race. Six riders took the challenge that day and at the party following the race,\u00a0which was won by Joe Murtagh, an official race committee was established. A date in late\u00a0March was selected for the following year and the race was renamed the Brandywine Hills Point-to-Point.<\/p>\n

Through Osborne\u2019s research, as well as an amazing scrapbook compiled by Josie Oas Parman,\u00a0one can follow the race\u2019s history, its format and location changes, and the families that have had\u00a0ties to this race from the beginning. Oas herself is a prime example. Her uncle, Dan Cornwell,\u00a0competed in the very first challenge race in 1939, finishing second. Her father, Jack Cornwell,\u00a0won the race in 1942. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, her first husband, Frank Oas, served as\u00a0chairman of the racing committee and was a keen competitor in the races. Parman herself bested\u00a017 horses and riders to win the old fashion race in 1959.<\/p>\n

The Meister family is another with a long Brandywine Hills history. Carl J. \u201cBunny\u201d Meister,\u00a0the current chairman of the point-to-point, claimed several victories decades ago. Plus, a photo\u00a0shows Bunny\u2019s first wife, Betty Baldwin, holding several silver trophies she won at the races in\u00a01954. Some years later, the couple’s sons, Billy and Jay, who both went on to be renowned\u00a0steeplechase jockeys, got their start in the pony races at Brandywine Hills. In 2013, Jay\u2019s\u00a0daughter, Emma, continued the legacy with her win in the large pony race.<\/p>\n

The gates at the Myrick Center, 1760 Unionville-Wawaset Rd. (Rt. 842) open at 10 a.m., with\u00a0the first race going off at 11:30 a.m. The children start with leadline and pony races, followed by\u00a0four timber races contested by many of the top jockeys and their mounts.<\/p>\n

Radnor Hunt will mark its seventh year as presenting sponsor of the races. Joining them as\u00a0sponsors are Ameriprise Financial, J. Gallagher Septic & Wastewater Control, The Herr Family,\u00a0The Whip Tavern, Bob & Hannah Spatola\/Handicrafters, Susquehanna Bank and Buchanan\u00a0Ingersoll & Rooney. Race sponsors include The Hickman Family, Rosie Napravnik, Hickory\u00a0House Catering, James A. Cochrane, Inc., Capital & Security Management, Inc., The Elser\u00a0Family, Clifton Edgar, Deborah Robinson, Rafael & TJ Costa, and Gross Realty Group.<\/p>\n

Admission is by the carload, ranging from just $20 to $150 for premium spots. Sponsorships are\u00a0available starting at just $300. See www.brandywinewatershed.org or call 610-793-1090 for\u00a0more information or to purchase parking passes and\/or raffle tickets in advance.<\/p>\n

Proceeds from the annual Brandywine Valley Point-to-Point races go to the Brandywine Valley\u00a0Association (BVA) to help them fulfill their mission of promoting and preserving the natural\u00a0resources of the Brandywine Valley. Over the past decade, the popular race day has raised over\u00a0$200,000 for the BVA and its programs.<\/p>\n

For more than 60 years, the BVA has pioneered innovative programs to improve and protect the\u00a0water in the Brandywine Valley. Your leader in local watershed conservation and education,\u00a0BVA reaches over 12,000 school students per year and offers programs for all ages to promote\u00a0the restoration, preservation, conservation and enjoyment of our region\u2019s natural resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

POCOPSON \u2014 The Brandywine Hills Point-to-Point, which coincides with Easter this year, has been a favorite\u00a0springtime outing for many local families and racing fans in Chester County for years and in\u00a0some cases, even generations. Emphasizing its family friendliness, in addition to the exciting\u00a0horse races, the event includes games and entertainment for children and adults of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[6854,101,312],"class_list":["post-24987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-brandywine-hills-point-to-point","tag-brandywine-valley-association","tag-steeplechase"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}