OUR STORY......

 

Windsor Trace CDE was developed in 2015 in the Windsor Trace community in Windsor, South Carolina near Aiken. With the help of the Aiken Driving Club and a small group of dedicated people, it was started from scratch. It was no easy feat trying to get something big going with little money but thanks to many sponsors it happened!

The dressage ring and cones arena were on Bev Lesher’s "Courage to Lead Farm".  Section A and Section C (at that time) were across the North Windsor Road in Ben Christensen’s pine forest.  Section E was on the north side of the road and wound around several properties.  There were obstacles for the marathon on the farms of Beth and Dan Steinke, Bev Lesher, Susan and Bob Burrows and Lisa Singer. But where would the stabling go? The idea of “neighborhood stabling” was born.  Several very kind neighbors offered stalls or paddocks to competitors who then just drove their horses over to the event. No one was stabled more than 1/4 mile away.
 
In 2018 Windsor Trace CDE became an entity of its own and a 501c (3). Since then, different charities have received a portion of the show proceeds. Most recently, the Large Animal\Rescue Team (LART) of Aiken has benefitted from the organization's generosity. LART is operated by Aiken Public Safety and was started about 10 years ago to fill a need in the Aiken equine community. They are on call 24/7 for large animal emergencies in and around the Aiken County.

Then life changed! Bev Lesher decided to sell her farm that was the central portion of the show grounds!! What now?  Thankfully, Clara Hendin purchased the property now known as “Greenfield’s” and has graciously allowed Windsor Trace CDE to continue to use the farm for the show and other smaller events. 
 
IN 2021, the show was selected to host the American Driving Society's North American Championships for the Preliminary and Intermediate divisions.  Due to the larger number of entries that would be attending, the neighborhood stabling concept would no longer be sufficient. Lisa Singer reconfigured some of the paddocks at her farm to accommodate the new stabling requirements. Tent stabling was erected in one of the paddocks and the two adjoining paddocks were used for trailer parking. It all worked out just fine!

Windsor Trace CDE survived Covid and the development of other carriage driving events and competitions and will continue to be held as long as Lisa has the energy, the volunteers and the sponsor support.

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