Hunt Cup

What a perfect afternoon for the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup on Sunday! It was warm and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Four friends and I piled into a big Ford truck, along with two corgis, seven collapsible chairs, two folding tables, pulled pork sandwiches and subs from Hood's in Unionville, home-made cookies, baked beans, split-pea soup in a Igloo cooler, a tub of drinks, a cooler of beer, and various chips and salsa. We got there at 11 a.m., scored the best parking spot on the entire course, set up our party and proceeded to eat, drink, socialize and watch the races.

It's pretty exciting to see the horses and jockeys galloping right by you and taking the fences almost in unison. The two pony races that started off the day were lots of fun to watch. Jody Petty, aboard the legendary McDynamo, paced the young riders around the course, and after the last fence they got to race to the finish. Those ponies really moved!
Paddy Young -- amazing rider and nice guy -- had a splendid day, winning both the Arthur O. Choate Memorial and the Hunt Cup races.

Unfortunately, in one race, a horse went over a fence and then simply dropped dead on the spot. It was a chilling sight and brought tears to the eyes of a lot of spectators.
In another race -- at the very same jump -- two jockeys came off their horses, and one horse went running off the course. Two outriders and a spectator got him under control, and they walked the beautiful animal back right past our truck, much to the delight of my equestrian friends.
"That," said one in awe, "is the Ferrari of horses."
As always, hospitality was the order of the day, and lots of friends stopped by our party. The two gentlemen in our party set up their chairs in the bed of the truck for a better view over the beautiful countryside and got a kick out of waving to us commoners beneath. They said they wanted scepters for next year.
One tailgate party near the finish line was held in memory of Gilbert V. Sheck, a dapper gentleman who was a fixture at every local equestrian event until his untimely death at age 52 in November 2009. His friends even brought Gil's classic Ford pickup, sporting an American flag.

This was the 77th running of the Hunt Cup races, and it's become an autumn ritual I look forward to. Thanks to the Hunt Cup committee for keeping this wonderful tradition going!

Stottsville Inn

How can it be that I haven't written about one of my favorite lunch spots, the Stottsville Inn?
I've been going there for years. It's a very comfortable spot and the food is really tasty, whether you order a sandwich (the salmon on pita bread is my current favorite) or a larger meal of, perhaps, fish or pasta. Their lobster bisque and snapper soup are particularly good and I love their vegetables, even the cooked carrots. The owner and chef is Jack Saleh; odds are good he'll come out from the kitchen and greet you.
I've also been to Stottsville for banquets and special events, and in the evening there's a very friendly crowd of locals at the bar. Legend has it there's even a ghost who lives upstairs!

Stottsville Inn is at 3512 Strasburg Road, between Weaver's Mulch and Parkesburg. The menus and hours are on the website.

Detour

Those of us who frequently travel on Powell Road in Newlin Township were delighted when the bridge near Route 162 was fixed and the road reopened, as I for one got a little tired using Scott Road as a lengthy, though scenic, detour. Why, then, are all the "detour" and "bridge out" signs still hanging around on the roadsides?
Because Powell Road is going to be closed again later this fall for pipe repair, according to the "Newlin News" newsletter.

Solar Firefly Jar

You have to cut catalog writers some slack, but this crosses the line. It's a six-inch-high, lidded glass jar with a plastic vine and some round blobs inside. The ad copy:
"Bring back those lazy summer nights when you and your friends chased fireflies. These are faux, but they're every bit as magical... The five fireflies turn on automatically at dark. Complete with faux foliage to create a realistic environment."
Yuck! Lightbulbs in a jar is NOT the same as seeing actual real fireflies light up at dusk. Another example of how removed so many people are from nature these day.

Hunt Night

Stevie Hayes of Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Foxhounds ruled at Hunt Night at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg on Oct. 17. 
Stevie, riding "Clever," won the Field Hunter Class for Riders over 35 years of age (I told him he obviously lied about his age) and the Gentlemen's Hunter Under Saddle Class.
Cheshire also took first place in the team competition.
"Winning the Hunt Team competition was quite a feat as nine Hunt Clubs from the East Coast sent teams of six members to participate in the event," said a press release on the show's website. "It was truly a sight to behold as the teams of three riders jumped the course at the same time, following each other as if out on a hunt, and taking the final fence in unison. The team of Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Foxhounds #1 with Hayes, Cindy Buchanan, VMD and Joy Slater, negotiated the course in spectacular fashion keeping a close distance to each other and jumping the last fence as a single unit."
Congratulations, all!

Reporting on the event, my fellow blogger "Horse Country Chic" said, "Fox hunting is a great sport but it takes a certain type of rider and horse. You need to be bold, aggressive, fearless, not afraid to fall off and most of the people I know who hunt are "brave" and live life to its fullest."  

Playing by the rules

I noticed a theme running through the November West Marlborough Township supervisors' meeting: the difficulty of keeping track of what's going on in a sparsely populated township without a full-time staff. Sharp-eyed residents brought to the supervisors' attention a few concerns they'd noticed in their travels:
1. A corn crib built much too close to the road along Hicks Road.

2. A structure that's being built along Wilson Road that, according to the zoning permit issued July 1, was supposed to be a barn but certainly looks like a garage with an apartment upstairs, complete with dormer windows.
The supervisors said they'd look into the situations.
"If you see something out of whack, we would appreciate a phone call," chairman Bill Wylie said.
The supervisors also said that Richard Hayne had agreed to reimburse the township for the costs of legal advertisements for the two conditional-use hearings that he canceled on short notice. You'll recall that Mr. Hayne is seeking permission to process and wholesale cheese and tomato products at his Doe Run Farm in Springdell. He has already been making the prize-winning cheese for months and selling it at his Terrain shop and local farmers' markets. No new hearing was scheduled, but the board warned they'd issue a cease-and-desist order on his cheese-making operations if they didn't receive an application from his reps in the near future.

Book shelf

Here are two early Christmas gift ideas for the mushroom-lover in your life: "Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms" by Eugenia Bone, and "The Book of Fungi: A Life-Size Guide to 600 Species from Around the World" by Peter Roberts and Shelley Evans. According to the recent review in the "Wall Street Journal," the former is an "engaging trawl through the labyrinths of mycophilia" written by a food writer from Manhattan. Perhaps these authors could be lured to Kennett Square to do a book signing somewhere in the Mushroom Capital of the World?

Busted!

Last week I wrote about the big rabbit dressed up for Halloween as a bank robber in front of a house at Schoolhouse Road and Route 926. He's been captured! Bars were erected in front of him, and a campaign sign for a district attorney candidate was displayed prominently above him. I'm sure, however, that he'll be sprung free in time for the next holiday.
As always, thanks to this creative homeowner for giving us such a chuckle.

In the zone

The monthly West Marlborough Township planning commission meeting on Nov. 1 drew a bigger-than-usual crowd, many of them curious about an unsigned flier that had been circulated around the township criticizing some proposed changes to the township's zoning code.
The zoning changes, proposed by Neil Land, attorney for the Whip, would affect not only Springdell, where the bar and restaurant is located, but also the village of London Grove at Route 926 and Newark Road. Four new uses would be permitted in the village residential zone:

1. Restaurants (but not drive-through or fast-food ones)
2. Nightclubs and taverns
3. Offices
4. Parking

Mr. Land argued the changes would allow the Whip more flexibility to find additional parking areas in Springdell for its patrons. (The lack of sufficient parking has been an ongoing headache, both for Whip patrons and some of the neighbors.)
According to the flier, however, "This proposal is ill considered and will almost certainly result in unintended consequences which can only be negative...The proposed change is completely at odds with the way of life in West Marlborough and the adjoining area."
Joseph Huston, one of a group of Springdell neighbors who have complained for years that the Whip has a negative impact on their lives, and Kristin Camp, one of their attorneys, stood up at the meeting and reiterated the points made in the flier.
The few other residents who spoke seemed to be concerned that changing the zoning ordinance would be too broad an action to solve a problem that concerns one property (parking for the Whip). They said that the township's experience with the Whip has shown that having commercial developments on small lots in villages can lead to real problems, so why would we want more of it?
The author of the flier warned, darkly: "In light of the recent development and commercial uses of the former Thouron and young properties...it takes little imagination to foresee an interested party's purchasing affected properties and turning these villages into intense commercial zones."
The planning commission is expected to make a recommendation to the township supervisors, who will make the final decision on the proposed changes.

Bridge out

On the morning of Nov. 1, a truck carrying steel plates crashed into the covered bridge on Frog Hollow Road, causing serious damage. The bridge, which spans Buck Run, is going to be closed indefinitely for repair. Looks like the residents will have their own private road for a while, although it'll mean driving all the way up to Strasburg Road if they want to get anywhere.