Carter Brown
Carter Brown arrived in Tryon in 1917 and that was the time that the horse became important to Tryon for reasons other than transportation.
Local historian and former Tryon Riding and Hunt Club President Colonel Charles C. Ross, U.S. Army (Retd), better known as "Chuck," gave a history of the horse in Polk County, the history of the Tryon Riding and Hunt Club and of Brown's time in Tryon to the Polk County Historical Association. Ross spoke in front of about 50 local residents.
Ross said due to the efforts of one man, the year 1917 marked the beginnings of the modern era of the horse in Tryon. Brown came to Tryon from Michigan and opened the Pine Crest Inn, a "hostelry where affluent northerners came to spend their winters on horseback or at the golf course," Ross said. "Carter Brown was not the only horseman of that time; but, he was the man who put Tryon on the map as a horse center," said Ross.
Following World War I, Brown founded the Tryon Riding and Hunt Club in 1925 and served as the club's first president. He started a fox hunt in 1926, was with the Tryon Hounds for many years, was the "guiding light" of the Tryon Horse Show and the "father" of the Block House Steeplechase.
The Tryon Horse Show was founded in 1929 and the first Steeplechase was held at Harmon Field in 1934 with a variety of stout fences, timber and brush and even a water jump, Ross said. After three years, the race was discontinued and after World War II, the first Blockhouse Steeplechase was held in 1947 at the Block House site.
The "big race" at that time was run for a purse of $500. By comparison, the race today carries a reward of $25,000 and the total purses for four jump races and one or two flat races is $67,000.
Ross also spoke of the history of the horse in the Polk County area that most probably dates back after the landing of the Spanish Explorer, Hernan de Soto, on the coast of Florida in 1539 and his subsequent march inland through Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina.
The Tryon Horse Show, Ross said, was an A-rated American Horse Show Association event and was held on Wednesdays. Many of the riders were local and there was a huge barbeque, free for all landowners who allowed the Tryon Hounds to hunt their property. "The event was so popular that the schools were let out and most businesses closed for the afternoon," Ross said.
For most of the Tryon Horse Show days, it was held at Harmon Field and in recent years has moved to the Foothills Equestrian Nature Center (FENCE), however some smaller shows are still held at Harmon Field.
The Tryon Riding and Hunt Club also used to hold a junior horse show at Mr. and Mrs. Willis Kuhn's Cotton Patch. The Cotton Patch also gained fame as the training site for the U.S. Equestrian Team in preparation for the 1956 Olympics. Equestrian greats such as coaches Bert de Nemethy and General Tupper Cole and riders Billie Steinkraus, Hugh Wiley, Frank Chapot, George Morris and Jack Burton all trained here.
The first two winners of the Block House were Austin Brown's "Bluish," ridden by the owner. Austin Brown, one of Carter Brown's sons, also won the fourth Block House. The first North Carolina Timber Cup was won by Carter Brown's other son, Carter Wilkie, riding his horse, "Dwight."
The Tryon Riding and Hunt Club instituted the form of eventing in Tryon and still runs two horse trials annually. With the plethora of horse events in Polk County, the Tryon Riding and Hunt Club can no longer organize all the events, but has encouraged such clubs as the Carolina Carriage Club, the Blue Ridge Hunter Jumper Association, Foothills Riding Club, River Valley Pony Club and the fox hunts to hold shows, rallies, hunter pace events and many others.
The Pine Crest Inn was constructed in 1906, and has welcomed guests since equestrian Carter Brown converted it to an inn in 1917. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
