Has the Triple Crown piqued your interest in equestrian events?
The Morristown and Morris Township Library is happy to host local historian W. Barry Thomson, who will give an illustrated presentation about the rich and varied equestrian heritage of the Somerset Hills and Morristown areas in the library’s lower level Meeting Room on Sunday, June 3, 2018, at 2 p.m.
Since the late 19th Century, when families of wealthy and socially prominent industrialists and financiers from New York and Newark first began to establish lavish country estates in the area, the history and culture of the region has been inextricably linked to various equestrian pursuits and international competitions under the auspices of the United States Equestrian Team.
Thomson will provide an overview of the area as it developed into a colony of wealthy and influential families, then will survey many of their many equestrian activities.
His lavishly illustrated talk will then focus on two of those activities: The history of the “Farmer’s Day” races that have evolved into the Far Hills Race Meeting steeplechase event held each October, and the history and art of the elegant four-in-hand road coaches that were owned and driven by some of the area’s estate owners.
The talk will include the little-known story of the elegant four-in-hand English road coach that once ran a scheduled weekly route between Morristown and Bernardsville.
This program is sponsored by the FRIENDS of the Library.
