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have their roots in Ireland. The story goes that one day in the year 1752, after a day of foxhunting, one rider challenged another to a race (or chase^from one church steeple or “point” to another — hence the names “steeplechase” and “point-to-point.” The first American steeplechase was run in 1869 in Paterson, Ne>v Jersey.
Each weekend horse owners, riders and excited spectators gather at a recourse maintained by one of the Virginia foxhunts. The first set of
‘We’ve got our fingers
crossed. ’
— Janet O’Keefe
races, “hunter-pair” races, are for foxhunters on their own horses, horses hunted regularly during the season. Courses are set in the countryside actually hunted over. Races are both for fast time (speed), and for the pair closest to the “optimum time,” a pre-set time at the normal hunt pace. Riders ride in pairs; the time determined by the second rider to cross the finish.
Eight regular course steeplechase races follow, beginning at noon. Jockeys clad in bright colored silks weigh in, mount up, line up for the start and go (no gates here) around courses ranging from a mile to nearly three miles, with about six obstacles to jump per mile.
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