Although the heyday of the "Winter Col-
ony" has passed, remnants of that time
make Aiken the charming town it is today:
serpentine walls embracing old manses
(oddly called "cottages" back in the day);
a canopy of live oaks over South Boundary
Avenue that have stood the test of time; a
horse show in the woods that has changed
little since its inception in 1916.
The horsemen of the late 19th and early
20th centuries applauded the mild climate
and sandy soil in and around Aiken as be-
ing beneficial to their horses. The same
holds true for trainers today. Although
the Thoroughbred conditioners at the Aik-
en Training Track no longer take sets of
young horses into the Hitchcock Woods,
the horses gallop over a track that was
built in 1941 and one that has produced
40 champions – from Elkridge to Kelso to
Pleasant Colony. They can also take qui-
et hacks down the clay roads that make
up the unique horse district: four square
miles only blocks from the center of town
… and horses have the right-of-way.
