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In 1930, several influential horsemen including Thomas Hitchcock, Temple Gwathmey, and Harry Worchester Smith, founded the Aiken Steeplechase Association. The very first official race was run in Hitchcock woods along the Aiken Hounds draglines and had over one thousand guests in attendance. Among these guests, some who came towns across the state like Camden, were several hundred students from Aiken Prep and Fermata School.

To learn more about the history of the Aiken Steeplechase and the Aiken Steeplechase Association, visit their website here: http://www.aikensteeplechase.com/


Photo by the Aiken Steeplechase Association.

A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, The Aiken Steeplechase Association continues to this day to host two steeplechase racing events each year that are sanctioned by the National Steeplechase Association each year. The Imperial Cup is held in the spring and in the fall, the Holiday Cup.

This year’s 27th Running of the Aiken Fall Steeplechase, the Holiday Cup, will be held at the end of the month on Saturday, October 27 with festivities beginning at 9am that morning when the gates open. The event includes a variety of activities that the entire family can enjoy—a Village of Shops featuring local and out of town vendors that sell art, jewelry, clothing, and equestrian related items; a Paddock Playground for children with games, crafts, and other fun activities; Stick Horse Races with categories from 4 & under to teens and adults; and a Hat and Costume Contest.

The main events—the races—begin promptly at 1pm with the first race, followed by the traditional Carriage Parade at 1:15pm. Three more races follow before the fifth and final race at 3:30pm.

How are you preparing to attend The Holiday Cup this year? At The Willcox, we offer several ways to help you prepare for the big weekend.



Book an appointment in our full-service Salon & Spa to help you relax and pamper for any and all Steeplechase events that you plan to attend. Look your best at Steeplechase this year by preparing your skin with a facial, getting your nails done, or by having your hair and make-up done the day of. To book your appointment, please call us at 803-648-1898. We suggest calling early—our appointment times will book quickly!



Be the hit of your tailgate party (and ensure an invitation back to next year’s tailgate!) by bringing one our Steeplechase Tailgating favorites:

• Chicken Liver Pate
• White Bean Hummus with Olive Tapenade & Grilled Pita Bread
• General Tso’s Caulini with Peanuts, Scallions, & Cilantro
• You can call or visit the Restaurant to order your tailgate dish. Bring a plate of your own for us to prepare the food on for you, or use one of our sustainable take-away containers.
  
  We are excited for the 27th Running of the Aiken Fall Steeplechase, and we hope to see you there on October 28th!

Here at The Willcox, we are immensely proud to call Aiken our hometown. In our opinion, it is the best Southern town to live, work, and play in. You’ll find our town tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the big city life, and down the oak tree lined roads. It’s a truly enchanting town that’s filled with incredible history and plenty of Southern charm. Life is a little slower here—people still take the time to say hello, ask how you’re doing, and to sit a spell on their front porches.

If you live in Aiken or if you’ve visited before, we know that you agree whole heartedly with us that it’s a beautiful town that must be experienced in person.

It’s filled with unique local shops and restaurants. The Aiken Steeplechase, held each autumn and spring, is an event not to be missed. It’s one of the only cities in America where horses have the right away and where it’s not uncommon to see horseback riders along our quaint streets. Aiken is home to one of the country’s largest urban forests, Hitchcock Woods, and it’s a great place to experience history.

Aiken is a place like none other.

Last year, everyone else agreed with us and voted Aiken as the South’s Best Small Town in the Southern Living South’s Best Awards. We want to help Aiken bring home this award again! We’re proud to share that the town we call home has again been nominated as Best Small Town.

You can vote for Aiken (Best Small Town) and for The Willcox (Best Hotel) through October 9 by clicking here.

Throughout the summer, if you’ve dined with us in our restaurant, you have seen quite a few specials from our Executive Chef Ed. Did you know that many of these specials were sourced directly from our local farms and farmers from the Aiken County Farmers Market?

The Aiken County Farmers Market, open several days a week from sunrise until noon, is filled with incredible local produce from farms across the state of South Carolina. You’ll also find fresh flowers, locally grown meats, and locally produced cheeses, honeys, baked goods, and more. It’s a place to gather, to share stories, and to swap recipes with one another as new friends are made each and every week. The Aiken County Farmers Market has a long history in Aiken—one that dates back to the early 1900s—and we’re happy to see the market still up and running today.

You can visit the market on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from sunrise to noon year-round. Our own Chef Ed personally takes a trip there each week to source items from local farmers to create his weekly Farmers Market Special in our restaurant. These delicious specials have been popular with our guests this summer! Did you happen to dine with us while the Zucchini Fritters with Marinara Sauce were on the menu? We’re sharing the recipe for that special with you today.

The Greystone Inn on Lake Toxaway, originally built in 1915 by Savannah heiress Lucy Armstrong Moltz has reopened under new ownership, The Willcox’s own Geoff and Shannon Ellis. They invite you to come relive the gracious lifestyle of a bygone era where exceptional hospitality and quiet beauty awaits guests.

Nestled peacefully in the Blue Ridge Mountains, this stately Swiss-style mansion has silently held court on the shores of the private and pristine Lake Toxaway for over a century. The mansion has been meticulously brought back to its original grandeur by its new owners. Guests of The Willcox can expect to experience the same welcoming atmosphere and quality experienced in Aiken at The Willcox’s sister property on Lake Toxaway, a quick three hour drive away.

The Greystone Inn has 30 luxurious guest rooms and suites, a restaurant with panoramic views of Lake Toxaway and surrounding mountains, meeting spaces ideal for corporate retreats, and a pampering spa. Guestrooms and suites will be located in the various levels of the original mansion as well as in the two separate lakeside accommodations, the Hillmont and the Lakeside Suites. All are quiet and sumptuous with restful cloud-soft beds, many have crackling fireplaces, magnificent views of the lake and mountains, private terraces, and deep soaking tubs. Guests will feel at home the moment that they step through the doors into the lobby of the mansion with it’s original fireplaces, mountain charm, and spectacular views over Lake Toxaway. Those familiar with the restaurant at The Willcox will be thrilled to know that The Willcox’s former executive chef, Chef Regan, is in the kitchen again and preparing decadent meals at The Greystone Inn.

Long a recreational paradise, there’s a wealth of activities in the soaring mountains and on the shimmering lake for guests to enjoy throughout their stay. Explore the lake by kayak, paddle board, or by an evening cruise on the Miss Lucy. Enjoy an afternoon of golf, tennis, or croquet at the Lake Toxaway Country Club located a short walk from the guest rooms. Venture out to experience the “Land of the Waterfalls,” try your hand at the ancient art of falconry, hit the trails on horseback, climb a mountain, tube down the river, or get your adrenaline pumping with whitewater rafting adventures. There are endless things to do, although it’s perfectly alright to do nothing at all.

The azaleas at Augusta National are as much a part of The Masters as the green jackets, Amen Corner, and the $1.50 pimento cheese sandwiches. They provide a stunning and colorful backdrop to the prestigious golf tournament. August National even has even named a hole on their course, No. 13, after the vibrant flower. The azaleas are in full bloom right now in Aiken, and are even more beautiful ever this year.

A short half-hour drive from Augusta National, we enjoy The Masters here at The Willcox. This year’s tournament is shaping up to be an incredibly historic week and to celebrate, we will be serving the Azalea Cocktail at our lobby bar. Come in and have a taste of this traditional Masters’ cocktail as you discuss your predictions on this year’s tournament.

If you can’t make it in, try your hand at crafting The Azalea at your home to enjoy while watching the final rounds this weekend.

 
The Azalea Recipe

• 1 ounce lime or lemon juice
• 1 ounce pineapple juice
• 3 ounces gin
• Dash of grenadine

Mix 1 part lime or lemon juice with 1 part pineapple juice and 3 parts gin in a cocktail shaker with ice. Add a dash of grenadine in to achieve an azalea shade of pink. Shake well and pour over ice.

Come and enjoy an Azalea with us this week during The Masters!

A short three and a half hour drive north of us, on the shores of Lake Toxaway in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, you’ll find the historic and charming Greystone Inn. With rambling terraces, porches filled with rocking chairs, misty mountain mornings, and cozy fireplaces, the Greystone Inn is a serene retreat where nostalgic pleasures, gracious hospitality and quiet beauty awaits.

The Greystone Inn was originally built in 1915 by socialite Lucy Armstrong and her husband George, and was named Hillmont. When Lucy sold the property many years later, her only wish was that it would be enjoyed by many. Hillmont opened it’s doors for the first time as the Greystone Inn in the summer of 1985. The Willcox welcomed the Greystone Inn into her family late last year and renovations have begun with an opening date of May 9, 2018.

“We started renovations two days after we closed,” owner Geoff Ellis said. “There were holes in the roof and leaks all over the place. It was important to quickly try and put a seal around the property so that no more damage could be done.”

“The original mansion needs the most attention and we are focusing there with new bathrooms, a new bar, a new kitchen, larger common areas, new paint and wallpaper, upgraded electrical and plumbing, a new HVAC for the entire building, new carpet, and new furnishings,” Ellis said. “All of the buildings will be renovated in one way or another.”

Generations of families have come to stay at the Greystone Inn throughout the years, and those who are making their plans to come back once the doors are open again will notice changes throughout the property that have brought the home back to life.

“You’ll notice the warm feeling that you get when you arrive,” Ellis said. “You’ll also notice that we have opened up the living rooms and common areas to be more like what it was when Lucy Armstrong owned it. It is more accessible and will flow more like Lucy intended when she built the home.”

One cannot help but notice all of the historical beauty that surrounds the Greystone Inn. From the exterior design and the original stone fireplaces to the shallow rise staircase (which allowed for women to easily walk the stairs in their long dresses), the original glass windows, the stone paths, the flower boxes outside the bedroom windows, and the stonework all around the property, it is evident that this elegant and grandiose home was designed just after the turn of the twentieth century. It’s historical charm is everywhere that you look and is becoming more evident as the home is coming back to life.

“From day one, we saw this magnificent property that had not been cared for in a very long time,” Ellis said. “All we wanted to do was breathe life back into her. Within hours of closing on the property, we began taking out the window air conditioners from all the rooms. We could instantly feel that she was starting to breathe again. We still find challenges everyday but can feel her smiling as we are getting things done to ensure that she will be around for another 100+ years.”

The Greystone Inn will have 30 guest rooms, a restaurant, meeting spaces, and a spa. Nearly every guest room will feature either a fireplace, a view of the lake, or a private deck.

From board retreats to family reunions, weekend getaways, and weddings, you’ll find the perfect place to stay and celebrate at the Greystone Inn year-round. Reservations are open now—please visit www.greystoneinn.com to bookyour stay on Lake Toxaway!

At The Willcox, we’re fortunate to be able to lend a helping hand to our neighbors in need around the Aiken community. One way that we’re able to help this fall is by raising funds through a dinner to benefit Mental Health American of Aiken County and their Nurture Home.
 
Nurture Home is a transitional housing shelter for women and children in need that helps restore their hope. Since 2009, 103 women and 125 children who were homeless have been served through Nurture Home. They are offered individualized support, facilitation of resources to achieve stability, and a safe, calm environment. Nurture Home is proud to be able to empower each of the women to become self-sufficient.
 
For only $60 a ticket, gather with us for an alfresco family style dinner on Wednesday, October 18th to benefit Nurture Home. We’ll have an incredible, locally sourced dinner prepared by our talented Chef Regan, wine, and live music for your enjoyment.
 
Tickets are available now and are offered on a first-come, first served basis. Please visit us or give us a call today to reserve your ticket!