Page 64 - The Hunt - Spring 2021

be determined until closer to race day, attendance is expected to be scaled back significantly to meet guidelines established by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Chester County and the CDC. For organizers to get a better handle on the number of attendees, guests will be issued individual tickets, rather than a single
pass for a vehicle that might be carrying as many as six people. “We looked at a plan with no spectators, which didn’t make sense for us because there’s still a big expense involved in running the races,” Smith says. “Radnor Hunt is a fundraiser. We can’t lose money.”
Organizers are also mulling new ways
to reinterpret large tents traditionally anchored by corporate sponsors. Options might include premium accommodations for socially distanced private parties. Rod Moorhead, who owns horses and sponsors the purse for the Buttonwood/Sycamore Farms Willowdale Steeplechase Stakes, plans to attend the 28th running of Willowdale, as he has for a quarter century. He was first invited by longtime friend and neighbor Dixon Stroud, the event’s founder. “It’s a great layout, so fans can see the races well,” he says. “I’ve had the vaccine, and I’m hoping to have the same tailgate spot I’ve
had for years, but if things are different this year. I understand that, and I’m OK with it.”
M&T Bank and other longtime corporate sponsors will continue to support Willowdale, which raises money for clean water and veterinary excellence through donations to the Stroud Water Research Center and Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center. “Wilmington Trust has been a sponsor of Willowdale since our first race in 1993, and that string has been unbroken,” says Stroud, who rode in the timber race that first year.
Lisa Thompson of Otto’s BMW says the Chadds Ford dealership has hosted a
“We’ve been working for “months on different plans and scenarios that adhere to safety and health protocols. We’re lucky that we have 70 acres to spread out and accommodate our event.” —Point-to-Point at Winterthur’s Jill Abbott
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