Off to the Races!

Saturday was the 120th running of the Maryland Hunt Cup, and although the day was overcast, it wasn’t chilly and it didn’t rain, so it was all good!

A group of us had each been assigned or chosen something to bring for the picnic lunch, and we all met up to drive out to the race course together. My contribution again this year was pimento cheese. I might have put a tiny bit of extra Tabasco in it, but every speck of it disappeared. We also had fried chicken, quoina salad, potato salad, cheeses and pâté, fresh asparagus, chocolate-dipped strawberries, and of course, cocktails!

One of the best things about this picnic was the gorgeous Martha-worthy arrangement of brownies and lemon bars!

In the background, you can see the collection of tin plates. They are so much more elegant than paper plates and are perfect for occasions like this. I wrote about them here. I have a pretty good collection of mixed patterns, including a few I picked up in England, but my friend has more, and they all match.

As usual, there was a spectacular arrangement of flowers. This spring has been very cool, so there was not the usual variety of blossoms and blooms, but it was amazing, nevertheless. Their creator is no less spectacular!

Our friend Sam, who painted Connor a few years ago, decided to paint our table and flowers, rather than hang out at the staring line. People stopped by all afternoon to see what he was painting. It’s not quite finished yet, so you’ll have to wait for the unveiling.

Just before post time, we headed over to the course to watch the 120th running of the Maryland Hunt Cup.

The course is over four miles long, and they make a few loops around parts of it, coming close to where we were and then riding further out into the property.

Senior Senator won by a nose, after leading for most of the race. It was very exciting.

Afterwards, we headed over to the barns to see the winners, and the runners up. All looked in great shape, and everyone had a great day. Another Hunt Cup in the books!