By Chris Barber
Contributing Writer

When horse racing season rolls around to the Delaware Valley every spring, it brings with it several months of weekend events called “point to points” and “steeplechases.”

On Sunday, the Brandywine Hills Point to Point came back to the Myrick Center in Pocopson Township for the 82nd time.

In keeping with the recent traditions by the sponsoring Brandywine Red Clay Alliance, the event offered much more than a series of horse races over scenic country landscapes to the finish line.

In fact, about half of the activities in its 2025 return included events and fun for youth in addition to its passionately sought adult races.

Shortly after the gates opened at 11 a.m., children’s activities and refreshment centers opened up in the garden area. At noon and for the next two hours, the schedule was dedicated to youth and even infants.

“I think the reason we get so many people coming is because the youth activities that are included. That’s a big part of our purpose,” Brandywine Red Clay executive director Jim Jordan said.

Several pony races for young riders followed, and then the lighthearted contests for the very young took place with the landline and bouncy horse events.

These early pony races included riders under 16 years of age and covered shorter distances.

Like their adult counterparts, the winners received trophies and the “Best Turned Out” recognition.

“Best Turned Out” includes the grooming of the pony as well as the appearance/garb of the rider.

Many of the kids were exquisitely dressed in fancy horse-racing attire.

Then the fun began.

The landline race was for the very youngest children who were placed atop a horse or pony and the parents (or other adult relatives) led them a short distance down the stretch.

The next four children’s races were called “Bouncy Pony Races.”

Children were offered inflated little horse toys and given the challenge of racing them to a finish line. There was giggling and laughing and rambling all over the field. Still, the winners of each race were recognized.

The fun was capped off by a visit from the foxhounds of the Radnor Hunt. The foxhounds came barking in with wagging tails, and they greeted the spectators along the side of the track.

By 2 p.m., the adult races followed with timber races over fences on a 3-mile course with 17 jumps.  They included the Side Saddle, Open, Novice, Amateur Apprentice and Ladies races. The Ladies and Amateur Apprentice races were combined to include just five competitors.

The races were ensconced on the sidelines by tailgaters – folks who parked along the race course and brought food, sometimes exotic and beautifully laid out.

The tradition of races among riders who ordinarily gather for fox-hunting throughout the year came along the better part of a century ago, according to the legends, when one challenged another to see which horse was faster from one farm to another.

The other springtime horse racing events in the area include the Radnor Hunt, Winterthur Point to Point, the Cheshire Races, the Willowdale Steeplechase and Mount Harmon Wicomico in Cecil County, Md.

Proceeds from the annual Brandywine Valley Point-to-Point races go to the Brandywine Red Clay Alliance to help them fulfill the mission of promoting and preserving the natural resources of the Brandywine Valley.

The Brandywine Red Clay Alliance sponsors an annual creek-side cleanup, a trout rodeo, summer camps and a variety of environmental education projects.