Couple keeps coming back to see Steeplechase, Aiken

There is nothing like the thundering of horses' hooves on a Steeplechase Saturday.

It is a deep love for the races that brings Jim and Natalie Pierce back to Aiken from North Carolina for the 26th year to view the Spring Steeplechase. They began traveling here in 1983 and haven't missed a year since.

"We love the races, first of all," Natalie said. "We love the town; the town is wonderful."

She said it can take visitors back to a different time with its historic mansions, dirt roads and old Southern charm.

And the couple has made a lot of friends here over the years that they can't wait to see at every Steeplechase.

The Pierces met Cecil Atchley when they traveled to Aiken in the early '80s. Then they met Al Darlington, a noted name in the equine industry, who has been a jockey, an exercise rider, jockey valet, trainer and radio show host. His career spans six decades, having started at the racetrack in 1948 at the age of 13.

From there, they have become acquainted with trainers, jockeys and others associated with the industry.

"We've gotten to see it (Steeplechase) from the trainers' perspective with Al, the media perspective when Al and Cecil hosted a radio show together and from the jockeys," Natalie said. "We've met a lot of great people."

Once "Steeplechase virgins" themselves, the Pierces have now taken it upon themselves to introduce people who have never seen an equine event to Steeplechase.

One such person, Donna Barnes, knows a bit of what to expect today.

"I think I will see lots of people in hats, dressed up and beautiful horses," she said.

Natalie nodded enthusiastically. All of the women in her group have hat fetishes, she said.

Six Steeplechase regulars and six "virgins" are attending with the Pierces, who have tickets for the Guarantor Tent.

"I can't wait to see their faces," Natalie said. "All of a sudden, you feel the ground shaking and see the horses - there is the adrenaline. You can make it whatever you want to be. I categorize Steeplechase as some of the best times of my life."