Country day drive and tour of historic horse properties plus al fresco dining at White-North preserve in Hunting Valley. The Horse Country Tour was our most popular event of 2009 and is back this year better than ever with a different driving route and many new things to see.
Yes, soon it will be time to rev up your favorite Mercedes for a summer day of touring fun in the name of open countryside. You will enjoy this dynamic tour as you travel pastoral back roads and visit private country estates.
What is the Horse Country Road Tour? The tour is an MBCA Western Reserve Section event to raise funds for the Western Reserve Land Conservancy and the preservation of open countryside across the 18 counties that make up our region. This year’s event will begin the day around 11am with a light brunch of coffee and Danish at the White-North preserve (3160 Chagrin River Road, Hunting Valley 44022), meeting and greeting each other and visiting the horses. Then it’s on the road as the first Mercedes drives into an afternoon of charm and fun as you see why wealthy Cleveland industrialists were attracted to this area’s natural beauty.
The White-North property is rich in horse history dating back to 1915 when Windsor T. White owned over 1,000 acres on both banks of the Chagrin River. White-North – once a pillar of the sporting life – still boasts vast acres of open meadows with historic stables and out buildings along river frontage, all preserved through the efforts of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. This is just one of the sites on our day tour of country roads, cobble courts and bridle paths, which hark back to a more peaceful and unspoiled past – a rural past worthy of preservation. And when our afternoon tour winds down, we return to White-North to enjoy a social mixer and tour. Around 5pm we sit down to a gourmet al fresco buffet and share stories of the day’s adventures while enjoying a musical quartet.
You are invited to attend. Rain or shine. The entire day’s events, including dinner, are $55 per person and advance tickets are required as this event sells out ($25 of your ticket is tax deductible). You have the choice of arriving at 11am for the full day, or arriving at 4pm for buffet dinner and stable tour. Please respond early – space is limited!
To register, return the RSVP card included in the invitation from the Western Reserve Land Conservancy or Contact Kim Bihler at 440-729-9621 ext. 112 or kbihler@wrlc.cc.
More questions?… contact Tom Barratt at 216-533-7192
See you at the Horse Country Road Tour – 2010