Timeless Blessings

Fast forward through the centuries to Thanksgiving morning in Aiken's Hitchcock Woods, where there is excitement afoot. The rhythmic sounds of hooves draw ever closer, as do voices hushed as though entering a sanctuary. One by one, riders pass through the brick entrance of the Memorial Gate, their distinctive forest-green jackets lush against the fall foliage. On this day, their starched stocks. polished boots, and black helmets are church-clothes, for they mark a holy occasion for both attendees and participants.

The gathered crowd awaits the traditional Blessing of the Aiken Hounds, the benediction of St. Hubert that has been offered for more than a century over this oldest continuous group of hunting hounds in the country. The words delivered by a local cleric will beseech the Lord for protection of the land, the animals, and the people who participate in the sport. Though there are many versions of St. Hubert's Blessing, they universally reflect the precepts of the patron saint's philosophy.

In 1914, following World War I, Louise Eustis Hitchcock founded the Aiken Hounds, a club originally named the Aiken Drag. From its inception, the club eschewed live fox hunting for a version of the hunt in which fox scent is applied, or dragged along trails through the forest for the hounds and riders to follow. The organization, explains Larry Byers, the club's joint Master of Fox Hounds, is dedicated to "the indefinable relationship between man, horse, hound, and countryside."

To understand the sanctity of the occasion, one must understand the history of Aiken, the culture, and the legacy of Louise Hitchcock. The story began in the late 1800's when Aiken drew American's elite to its mild winters and the restorative health properties of the rolling countryside. Among them was Louise Eustis, whose aunt brought her to the area in hopes of improving the young woman's physical health. Louise later wed wealthy sportsman Thomas Hitchcock, and the avid horseman discovered Aiken to be the perfect environment for his outdoor interests. The couple soon came to represent the equestrian culture and lifestyle of the community. Wealthy Northerners, many of whom were heirs to great fortunes, flocked to the sporting resort, creating a winter colony of glittering socialites.

But they were far more than beautifully dressed elites frolicking in the woods. The philosophy held by sportsmen for hundreds of years, was reflected in their care to preserve the land and provide for the well-being of both land and animal. Then, as now, the Aiken Hounds are proponents of maintaining the health of the bucolic countryside, a heritage that is often overlooked by those who do not understand the symbiotic relationship celebrated by the sport.

After Louise Hitchcock's death, her family would later gift 1,191 acres of woodland to the entity now known as The Hitchcock Woods Foundation. Today, that land is part of more than 2,000 acres established to protect and maintain the woods in perpetuity for recreational use and enjoyment by the people of Aiken, and it honors the legacy and traditions of its namesakes, Louise and Thomas Hitchcock.