From staff reports
Published: May 8, 2008

Every spring, the Bedford County Hunt hosts point-to-point races, and this year’s are set for Saturday.

The cross-country steeplechases and other events will take place at Wolf Branch Farm off Virginia 221 in Forest. Gates open to the general public at 11 a.m.

The day actually begins at 8 a.m. with hunter pace races in which riders compete against themselves and the clock. “Just about anybody who can ride can participate,” but those races aren’t really spectator sports, says Dick Long, chairman of the hunt’s Point-To-Point Committee.

Rather, the eye-candy events for the horseracing enthusiast begin at 12:30 p.m. with the parade of the foxhounds, followed at 1 p.m. by the five racing events, Long says.

Three of those events are point-to-point races.

Point-to-point racing traces its origins to chasing from steeple to steeple — hence, the term steeplechase — which began in Ireland in 1752 when a Mr. Blake challenged his neighbor, a Mr. O’Callaghan, to race some four and a half miles across countryside from Buttevant to Doneraile, keeping the destination’s church steeple in sight as the point of reference. Along the way, they had to jump stone walls, ditches and hedges, according to Wikipedia.

Although today’s point-to-point races might not aim at the steeple in a neighboring village, they evolved from the tradition of a little neighborly competition and still include obstacles like hedges and ditches in a course over countryside. Today, the races usually involve thoroughbreds with experienced jockeys racing for purses on spectator-friendly fixed courses.

In addition to the point-to-point races, there will be a junior trotting race and a team relay jumping competition.

Also scheduled are Jack Russell terrier races and stick horse races for children. As always, the day offers chair-riders the opportunity to tailgate.

Saturday’s races are sponsored by the Bedford County Hunt, which organized in 1940 and has a territory that stretches from northern Bedford County to Sweet Briar College in Amherst County. The club’s roots reach back to 1887, however, when the club was organized under the name of the Oak Ridge Hunt Club, according to the Bedford County Hunt Web site.

A portion of the proceeds from the races will benefit Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest. General admission is $15 per car, and tickets will be available at the gate. Reserved parking is $40 per car; to reserve a space, call (540) 297-3419, the same number to call for general information.

If you’re going
WHAT: Bedford County Hunt point-to-point races
WHEN: 1 p.m., Saturday, with gates opening at 11 a.m.
WHERE: Wolf Branch Farm, off Virginia 221, Forest
TICKETS: $15 per car for general admission; $40 per car for reserved parking
INFO: Call (540) 297-3419