Aiken Preparatory School
Encyclopedia
Aiken Preparatory School is a private
, 4K-12 coeducational college preparatory school located on over 9.5 acres (38,445.2 m²) in the historic district of Aiken, South Carolina
.
Aiken Prep was founded in 1916 by Louise Hitchcock, wife of American polo pioneer Thomas Hitchcock
and mother of international polo
star Tommy Hitchcock, Jr. For most of its existence, Aiken Prep was a junior boys' boarding school for grades 4-9. In the late 1990s, through a merger with the Aiken Day School, the school transitioned to its current format. Aiken Prep's Head of School is Mrs. Deborah "Debbie" Taussig-Boehner.
The first record of a polo game in Aiken dates to March 27, 1882, in the Charleston News and Courier. Just six years after the introduction of the sport to the U.S., and four years before the first Westchester Cup matches in Newport, Rhode Island, Aiken had already been dubbed the "Newport of the South." It was the winter home of many of polo's pioneers, including Thomas Hitchcock, W.C. Eustis, and Harry Payne Whitney, teammates on the Meadow Brook team that won the Senior Championship in 1897 and '98; and later Devereux Milburn, who would team with Whitney and the Waterbury brothers to win the Westchester Cup for the U.S. in 1909, '11, and '13.
It is hard to imagine a family having a more lasting impression on a city than the Hitchcocks had on Aiken; they made a permanent preserve of the [Hitchcock Woods]-the largest urban forest in the country; established the Winter Colony, an area on the south side of town where grand mansions line red clay roads left unpaved as a courtesy to the horses; and founded the Aiken Prep School, whose alumni include the Cushmans, Bostwicks, Pete (8), Charlie (6), and Rick (6); Alan Corey, Jr. (9); the Gerrys, Ebby (9), Bobby (8), Eddy (5), and Henry (5); Phillip Iglehart (7); the Knoxes, Norty (8) and Seymour (5); Jimmy Mills (8); Billy Post (8); J.C. Rathborne (7); Jules Romfh (6); and Charlie Von Stade (8). Many of these great players learned the game from Mrs. Thomas Hitchcock, who got them started with bicycle polo at Aiken Prep and then taught them polo on what was then the "Meadow Lark Field" and is now the sand ring next to the Whitney Polo Field.
The Whitney Field, which is the oldest continued played polo field in the country, was first cut in 1882 and was the site of polo games throughout the remainder of the 19th century. In the late 1890s, Thomas Hitchcock came to town and bought the field. Later, he sold it to his good friend to W.C. Whitney, who established a permanent land trust for both the field and the racetrack surrounding it in the year 1900. The Powderhouse Polo fields, given to the polo club by Mrs. Patricia Grace Corey, are now also a part of the Whitney Trust, all but guaranteeing polo a lasting place in the life of the city.
One of the first things that attracted the equestrian classes to Aiken was the climate, with mild winters and early springs. The soil produces grasses ideal for horses, and the area remains a center for equestrian activities of all sorts, with hundreds of horses in training each year. The Aiken Triple Crown, held each spring, involves flat racing, steeplechase, and polo. The Winter Colony has become increasingly popular with carriage driving enthusiasts in recent years, due in large part to the unpaved roads; some trails in the Hitchcock Woods have also been upgraded to accommodate carriage traffic, though bicycles and motor vehicles are still prohibited.
Training polo ponies has been an Aiken tradition for at least 90 years, beginning with Fred Post in 1912. Post was a legendary horseman in his day, and his son, Billy, went on to be an 8-goal player, as noted above. The tradition continues today with the establishment of training facilities by Owen Rinehart, Adam Snow, Tiger Kneece, John Gobin, Justin Pimsner, and others. Aiken is soon to be the city with the most polo fields than any other city in the U.S.
During the "Golden Age" of polo, and through the 1950s, Aiken was the winter capital of polo in the U.S., prior to the establishment of the Gulfstream, Royal Palm, and Palm Beach polo clubs in South Florida. Games in excess of 20 and even 30 goals were commonplace. Nowadays, 302 Polo and New Bridge Polo and Country Club host 16 and 20-goal tournaments in the fall and the spring.
The first of the recent Frances Post Santamaria series, held to help preserve the historic Winthrop Field, featured two 25-goal teams and ended in a 14-14 tie. The remarkable statistic from that game was that the two teams combined took only four knock-ins, and one team did not have a shot go wide until the sixth chukker. The Aiken Preparatory School Challenge Cup, held each year, boasted two 32-goal teams, and raised the level of polo on historic Whitney Field to a level not seen there in decades.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
, 4K-12 coeducational college preparatory school located on over 9.5 acres (38,445.2 m²) in the historic district of Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken is a city in and the county seat of Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. With Augusta, Georgia, it is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. It is part of the Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area. Aiken is home to the University of South...
.
Aiken Prep was founded in 1916 by Louise Hitchcock, wife of American polo pioneer Thomas Hitchcock
Thomas Hitchcock
-References:...
and mother of international polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
star Tommy Hitchcock, Jr. For most of its existence, Aiken Prep was a junior boys' boarding school for grades 4-9. In the late 1990s, through a merger with the Aiken Day School, the school transitioned to its current format. Aiken Prep's Head of School is Mrs. Deborah "Debbie" Taussig-Boehner.
History
2007 is Aiken's 125th Consecutive Year of PoloThe first record of a polo game in Aiken dates to March 27, 1882, in the Charleston News and Courier. Just six years after the introduction of the sport to the U.S., and four years before the first Westchester Cup matches in Newport, Rhode Island, Aiken had already been dubbed the "Newport of the South." It was the winter home of many of polo's pioneers, including Thomas Hitchcock, W.C. Eustis, and Harry Payne Whitney, teammates on the Meadow Brook team that won the Senior Championship in 1897 and '98; and later Devereux Milburn, who would team with Whitney and the Waterbury brothers to win the Westchester Cup for the U.S. in 1909, '11, and '13.
It is hard to imagine a family having a more lasting impression on a city than the Hitchcocks had on Aiken; they made a permanent preserve of the [Hitchcock Woods]-the largest urban forest in the country; established the Winter Colony, an area on the south side of town where grand mansions line red clay roads left unpaved as a courtesy to the horses; and founded the Aiken Prep School, whose alumni include the Cushmans, Bostwicks, Pete (8), Charlie (6), and Rick (6); Alan Corey, Jr. (9); the Gerrys, Ebby (9), Bobby (8), Eddy (5), and Henry (5); Phillip Iglehart (7); the Knoxes, Norty (8) and Seymour (5); Jimmy Mills (8); Billy Post (8); J.C. Rathborne (7); Jules Romfh (6); and Charlie Von Stade (8). Many of these great players learned the game from Mrs. Thomas Hitchcock, who got them started with bicycle polo at Aiken Prep and then taught them polo on what was then the "Meadow Lark Field" and is now the sand ring next to the Whitney Polo Field.
The Whitney Field, which is the oldest continued played polo field in the country, was first cut in 1882 and was the site of polo games throughout the remainder of the 19th century. In the late 1890s, Thomas Hitchcock came to town and bought the field. Later, he sold it to his good friend to W.C. Whitney, who established a permanent land trust for both the field and the racetrack surrounding it in the year 1900. The Powderhouse Polo fields, given to the polo club by Mrs. Patricia Grace Corey, are now also a part of the Whitney Trust, all but guaranteeing polo a lasting place in the life of the city.
One of the first things that attracted the equestrian classes to Aiken was the climate, with mild winters and early springs. The soil produces grasses ideal for horses, and the area remains a center for equestrian activities of all sorts, with hundreds of horses in training each year. The Aiken Triple Crown, held each spring, involves flat racing, steeplechase, and polo. The Winter Colony has become increasingly popular with carriage driving enthusiasts in recent years, due in large part to the unpaved roads; some trails in the Hitchcock Woods have also been upgraded to accommodate carriage traffic, though bicycles and motor vehicles are still prohibited.
Training polo ponies has been an Aiken tradition for at least 90 years, beginning with Fred Post in 1912. Post was a legendary horseman in his day, and his son, Billy, went on to be an 8-goal player, as noted above. The tradition continues today with the establishment of training facilities by Owen Rinehart, Adam Snow, Tiger Kneece, John Gobin, Justin Pimsner, and others. Aiken is soon to be the city with the most polo fields than any other city in the U.S.
During the "Golden Age" of polo, and through the 1950s, Aiken was the winter capital of polo in the U.S., prior to the establishment of the Gulfstream, Royal Palm, and Palm Beach polo clubs in South Florida. Games in excess of 20 and even 30 goals were commonplace. Nowadays, 302 Polo and New Bridge Polo and Country Club host 16 and 20-goal tournaments in the fall and the spring.
The first of the recent Frances Post Santamaria series, held to help preserve the historic Winthrop Field, featured two 25-goal teams and ended in a 14-14 tie. The remarkable statistic from that game was that the two teams combined took only four knock-ins, and one team did not have a shot go wide until the sixth chukker. The Aiken Preparatory School Challenge Cup, held each year, boasted two 32-goal teams, and raised the level of polo on historic Whitney Field to a level not seen there in decades.