Springtime In Horse Country

Rich in equestrian tradition, Aiken, South Carolina, is one of the South’s most beautiful small towns.

- Valerie Fraser Luesse

CHOOSING A THOROUGHBRED racehorse is like trying to draft a professional football team by looking at a group of 10-year-old kids,” says racing icon Cot Campbell of Aiken, South Carolina.

Campbell would know. The 89-year-old saw his first race when he was 12. After a successful advertising career, he founded Dogwood Stables in Georgia and created the practice of syndicating horses—making ownership more accessible by allowing multiple investors to share the cost, which is steep. When Campbell and his wife decided it was time to simplify, they moved to Aiken, a horse-loving town rich in tradition.

You don’t have to spend much time at this photogenic spot less than an hour northeast of Augusta, Georgia, to see why any horse lover would gravitate here. As you drive through the tunnel of live oaks on South Boundary Avenue and make your way to Two Notch Road Southeast, you’ll need to slow down—way down—as you pass what Campbell considers some of the finest training facilities in the world. (A word on etiquette: Never enter a private stable without an invitation from the owner, drive very slowly near stables and training facilities, and always give horses the right of way.)

In Aiken’s horse district, you might get lucky and hear the thunder of hooves at the Aiken Training Track, where the Aiken Trials are held every March (aikentrainingtrack.com). The solitary live oak on the track marks the burial spot of Blue Peter, a 1948 champion Thoroughbred from Aiken.