11 March 2011

Red Hills Is On In Tallahassee


In 1998 and 1999, we -- my husband, crew and I -- had the pleasure of being associated with Tallahassee's Red Hills Horse Trials.  It was great fun being part of something that was so exciting in the beginning (nothing like driving down the road and see one of your photographs made into a billboard -- that gets your pulse racing) bec0me a premier US horse trials.

The Red Hills venue is absolutely gorgeous.  For those from the northern parts of the country, the Spanish moss and tall timber is exotic -- if sometimes a bit spooky -- especially around twilight.  I'll never forget the scene as a resplendent Scottish bagpipe corps marched out of the mist at twilight - the strains of the bagpipes echoing from the surrounding forest during the competitor's welcome party held at Sallie Ausley's plantation.  All that Spanish moss and mist, fabulous food and legendary southern hospitality elevated that night into something truly memorable. The following Sunday's tornado and torrential downpour that flooded the course and suspended competition didn't dampen the memory of that first Friday night in Florida.
  
While a bit eerie after sundown, when the sun is out, the dedicated bunch of volunteers that comprise the Red Hills organizing committee puts on a wonderful horse trials.

This week, Red Hills is up and running again down in Tallahassee Florida.   Eventing Nation's Samantha Clark is doing a great job with all of the inside information and color reporting.  Check out Samantha's daily posts and follow her very informative tweets (twitter.com/samanthaclark) as she learns about Red Hills use of frangible technology from Eventing Safety John, too struggles with torrential rain -- and bemoans bleary-eyed about a  serious lack of Florida band-width -- but always with a smile.  Read More>>

Speaking of safety and Red Hills, Floridian Darren Chiacchia was interviewed by a local Tallahassee station -  including video clips (warning - this is still tough to watch) of Darren's fall three-years ago which left him in a coma for months.  Read more>> 

For more information about Darren's accident and measures Red Hills has taken to help prevent such a terrible accident from occurring in the future, read on...



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