President C. P. Brown Reports
On Riding & Hunt Club
To have everyone es cooperative
in all the activities of a commu
nity as are the people Tryon
is a mark which we hope will never
be lost.
As the Tryon Riding & Hunt club
is strictly a communitv affair
striving to rerve this communitv
in its special way, and having
had such who’ehearted supoort, in
its various activities, the writer
feels that some of the inside work
ings and problems should be gen
erallv known.
Almoi t evervone knows that the
club’s chief purpose is to foster
good snortsmanship and facilit ; es
fo»’ greater horseback riding
activities.
Membershin in the club is vol
untarv with d”es the same now a®
thev were in it- fi~st vear. Each
ypp r the entire receipts of the
club are expended and e p ch vear
it. starts out with a clean slate.
The exDenditures of the club year
lv include, trail work (done by
farmers and mountain people);
fire fighting, trail m»rkirio\ main
tenance of Harmon Field through
out the year, caretaker’s salarv,
insurance on buildings at Harmon
Field, expense® for picnics, etc.
The Horse Show. Steeple-chase.
Hunter Trials, Gvmkhar ,) and
activities held at Harmon
H'ield a**e now self-supporting, but
s he deficit of these in the past
has been met bv the club.
The Riding & Hunt has built
rnd maintained all the buildings,
equipment at Harmon Field with
the exceDt’on of the ladies rest
room and the large barn. A tract
of eleven acre® of land was pur
chased and paid for by the club
and deeded to the Town of Try
on, after a caretaker’s house had
been built on it and the land
levelled and seeded.
No one familiar with Tryon can
be unaware of the excellent work
done by the Harmon Field commis
ion during the time the community
supplied it nor the large personal
exoenditure of our great friend
W illiam Mehaffey, who has carried
th.r- border of interest and main
tenance himself so long.
There is still an obligation of
some sixteen hundred dollars on
the center piece of Harmon Field
which must be paid by next Sep
tember. The Riding and Hunt Club
is ready to do its part. Mr. Me
ha'fey will be glad to have dona
tions from others who feel that
Harmon Field from the standpoint
of a community play ground should
be rupported.
Now as to the horseshow as a
community affair —An interested
citizen personally rented the land
for the first two shows. The fi r.t
year the show was sponsored by the
Chamber of Commerce and the
recond year by the Tryon Country
Club. By the time of the third
the Riding and Hunt Club 9
formed and has since sponsoreci
it, but with the cooperation of the
entire community. It is a communi
ty affair and if it ever loses that
phase there will no longer be an
excuse for its continuance.
Also, a word about the Tryon
Hounds might be instructive. The
hounds are supported by the sub
scription of ten men, interested in
hunting, in addition to their dues
to the Tryon Riding and Hunt
Club; howeve\ any member of the
Riding and Hunt Club is entitled
to ride to the hounds.
The benefits to the community
f'orn any project which promotes
good-will, good sportsmanship and
pleasure are invaluable.
The helpful suggestions and criti
cisms of all interested in Tryon’s
future are solicited.
Tryon is about to enter intfPy
new era and it is most important
that the old principles of simplicity
and community interest prevail.
There is no personal aggrandize
ment in community projects; such
projects ere the direct reflection
of a community’s thinking and
lQ6cllS.
Our constant gratitude to the
generous and genial land owners
over whose land Tryonites and vis
itors ride can only in a small meas
ure be expre sed by entertaining
them at the horse show. Daily ap
preciation is expressed by the vis
itors of Tryon who are most appre
ciative of this couftesv.