Willowdale

What a fun afternoon my friends and I had at the Willowdale Steeplechase on Sunday!
The weather was perfect and the races were fun to watch, especially when we got to cheer for jockeys we knew. We had an excellent vantage point, standing in the back of a Jeep a little ways up the slope near the finish line. Between races we wandered around, greeting friends (one fellow assured us there's going to be a Triple Crown winner this year), looking at the antique cars, browsing through the shops, admiring Hood's new BBQ trailer and then heading to the paddock to check out the horses for the next race. (Toward the end of the afternoon, we basically lolled around in the sun, moving only to get another brownie or pretzel.)
Some people made tailgating their priority, setting up entire bars and lavish buffets and bringing in kegs, porch furniture with cushions, and topiaries. While the adults ate, drank and socialized, the kids ran around, tossing lacrosse balls, baseballs or footballs, blowing soap bubbles and splashing in the little creek. There were plenty of dogs.
This steeplechase tends to be a little dressier than others, and there were lots of fancy hats and sundresses. I couldn't help but notice that bright orange seems to be the "in" color this year.
This was my last steeplechase for the season. Though the spring started out with the freezing mud and sleet of the Cheshire Point-to-Point, the rest of the races I went to -- Willowdale, Brandywine Hills and Fair Hill -- had marvelous weather. And even Cheshire was a memorable experience ... in its own way.