Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 27 · column 1 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
By BETSY BRANSCOME
Times Community Newspapers Staff Writer
Not only will steeplechasers take to the Arundel open steeplechase “steeplethon” course for the third time ever on May 4, runners will contest the third and fourth races across the innovative crosscountry challenge.
In addition to the $20,000 NationsCup open steeplechase — a sanctioned race open to any horse, the newly-penned Paul Mellon Foxhunter ’Chase is scheduled as a lead-up to Gold Cup's cartj of sanctioned events.
The new three-mile amateur event will be run over the same natural fences found on the Arundel course — all of which simulate the variety of obstacles in the hunting field. Along with pony races for junior riders which will open the day of sport at Great Meadow May 4, it is hoped that the Foxhunter ’Chase will encourage new owner-riders to enter the sport.
Named after Paul Mellon, an Upperville-based philanthropist and long-time Golcf Cup participant, that steeplechase is limited to horses which were “fairly hunted” last season, which have made at least two starts in 1996 Virginia point-topoints and which are ridden by amateur jockeys who have not previously won a sanctioned race. These rules are meant to ensure that competition will be fair and even; without professionals in their midst, amateur riders can compete strictly against each other.
Together, the Foxhunter
89.6%