Horse Racing on the Sassafras by Barbara Heck

Combining riveting equestrian sport and pageantry, rich Tidewater history, and breathtaking waterfront vistas, the Mount Harmon-Wicomico Hunt Point-to-Point will welcome spectators, competitors and vendors from Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware on April 10 to its Earleville, Maryland plantation.

Set on the beautiful 200-acre Mount Harmon Plantation preserve where four centuries of history and nature intertwine, the inaugural running of the point-to-point races will include spectacular views of the Sassafras River on three sides of the property along a three-mile timber course that features 21 new jumps, with tailgating along the green and homestretch. The races will be the only waterfront Point-to-Point in the country. 

“The Mount Harmon-Wicomico Hunt Point-to-Point connects us to our colonial and equestrian roots and showcases Mount Harmon’s pristine natural surroundings and open spaces,” Mount Harmon Plantation Executive Director Paige Howard said. “Our partnership with Wicomico is exciting on two fronts – both organizations are dedicated to preserving open spaces and nature while fostering historic connections between equestrian sports and land preservation.”

Proceeds from the Mount Harmon-Wicomico Hunt Point-to-Point Races will benefit preservation efforts of both organizations. 

Featuring amateur riders who are members of a hunt, the event is recognized as a meet by both the Delaware Valley Point-to-Point and the Maryland Steeplechase Association. The day will showcase 10 races including six timber races and one flat race. The program kicks off at 10:30 a.m. with three pony races for children from age six to 15. The day will also include an exhibit of the Wicomico Hunt Hounds, an Antique Carriage parade, judging of the all-important Tailgate Competition, an Open Air Food Court, and a Tavern & Marketplace with artisan and equestrian vendors and merchants. 

Following the three morning pony races, paddock time for the afternoon timber races is 12:45 with a 1 p.m. post time. The feature race, the Wicomico Hunt Cup, an open event, goes to the paddock at 2:45 and the post at 3 p.m. 

Continuing a tradition dating to 1836 in England when fox hunters raced their horses from church steeple to church steeple to keep their horses fit after the season ended, point-to-point racing today is overseen by The Jockey Club. 

“Fox hunting is often misunderstood in this country,” said Steve Isaacson, President of the Mount Harmon Board of Directors, Race Chairman, and a riding member of the Wicomico Hunt Club. “It’s very different from the blood sport of centuries past; today the sport is called fox chasing. It’s all about hound work, land preservation and open space and not about finding and killing the fox.” 

 

Founded in the 1920s by a group of men in Salisbury, Maryland, to enjoy the centuries-old sport of “riding to hounds”, the Wicomico Hunt Club today is the only remaining hunt on the Delmarva Peninsula sanctioned by the Masters of Foxhounds Association. The club hunts properties in Wicomico, Queen Anne’s, Kent, and Cecil counties. Huntsman Marty Morani is a Chestertown native and Jt. Masters Ed Fry, Jim Griffin, Jane Rhoades, Melissa Wade call Kent County Maryland, Sussex County Delaware, Caroline County Maryland, and Caroline and Anne Arundel Maryland Counties home respectively. 

“The enthusiasm for this event is over the top,” Ed Fry noted. “Support is exceeding anything we envisioned and the Wicomico Hunt Club is happy to partner with Mount Harmon in these exciting new races.” 

The Mount Harmon-Wicomico Hunt Club Point-to-Point is the latest chapter in a storied history of horse racing on the Sassafras. In the late 1700s, Sydney George, Jr., owner of Mount Harmon, maintained a stable of 60 racing horses and a private racecourse on the property. In 1830 when the Maryland Jockey Club reorganized and received a new charter from Congress, owner of neighboring Rose Hill, George Thomas Marsh Forman, was elected its first president.

Originated as a land grant of 350 acres in 1651 to Godfrey Harmon from the second Lord Baltimore, Mount Harmon thrived as a tobacco plantation in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1963, Marguerite du Pont de Villiers Boden purchased the property and set about to restore it to the time when her ancestors lived there during the golden age of tobacco. 

Beginning with the Tockwogh Indians and Captain John Smith’s exploration of the Chesapeake Bay and the Sassafras in 1607, exhibits on the property explore the history of the waves of European settlers who came to the Chesapeake region to seek their fortune in the new cash crop, tobacco, the evolution of agriculture on the Eastern Shore in the 18th and 19th centuries and present-day preservation efforts to showcase and share this rich history. 

 

In 1997, the Friends of Mount Harmon purchased the property with the mission of preserving and interpreting the plantation for the education and enjoyment of visitors. Today, Mount Harmon features a restored 18th century manor house, a formal boxwood garden, and nature trails on 200 acres of pristine open space in a waterfront setting. 

Run over a new course designed by Jay Meister and Brooke Boyer, the Mount Harmon-Wicomico Hunt Club Point-to-Point Races will honor influential horse people on the Eastern Shore. The Allaire du Pont Bowl commemorates the late breeder of the great gelding Kelso and owner of Woodstock Farm, the Hamilton Fox Memorial Race honors Wicomico Hunt Club founder and Salisbury attorney Hamilton Fox, the H. Brooks Durkee Memorial Trophy remembers the late Maryland Steeplechase Association jockey and trainer, and the Marguerite du Pont Villers Boden Ladies Race pays tribute to the work Mrs. Boden did to restore Mount Harmon to its present state.

“The focus of our Mount Harmon-Wicomico Hunt Point-to-Point is on the races and outside site features, so the manor house will not be open for tours on April 10th,” Howard said. “Our visitor center exhibit featuring four centuries of history at Mount Harmon will be open, as well as our plantation outbuildings including hearth cooking in our colonial kitchen so visitors can get a flavor of the living history that will be showcased at our National Revolutionary War Reenactment Festival May 21 and 22, when the manor house will be open for tours.

“The Point-to-Point will be a great day out to enjoy exciting, jump races, and a beautiful day in the country at one of Maryland’s most historic sites. After two years of the pandemic kept everyone cooped up, we are especially excited to provide lots of ways to get folks off of their devices and connect with nature and history,” Howard continued. “A day at Mount Harmon out in the beautiful countryside enjoying spring Point-to-Point races will be just the ticket.”

Tailgate, sponsorship and advertising opportunities are still available and are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. For tailgating, vendors and sponsorships, visit mountharmon.org. For race information, contact Brooke Boyer at 302-530-6975 or [email protected].

 Barbara Heck is retired senior administrator at Washington College and now a nonprofit consultant. Photography by Jim Graham.