Because it had an equestrian theme and Aiken is a place with a strong equine tradition, the organizers of Horseplay expected it to be popular.
But the fundraiser turned out to be bigger and better than they had imagined.
“Everything just came together in a perfect explosion,” said Anne Campbell, who came up with the idea for Horseplay. “Talking about it brings back so many memories.”
The effort involved finding sponsors for life-size fiberglass horse statues that artists decorated and then selling those creations to generate money.
Campbell had seen something similar in Saratoga Springs, New York, and was impressed. Lexington, Kentucky, and Ocala, Florida, also were the sites of equine-themed art projects that had benefited good causes.
“There were horses all over the street in Saratoga, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we’ve got to do this,’” Campbell said. “With its parkways, its interest in horses and its artist colony, Aiken was the ideal spot.”
Campbell contacted Fred Cavanaugh, who then was Aiken’s mayor, and he was enthusiastic. Then she got in touch with Bill Reynolds.
“Bill is the ideal partner in anything,” Campbell said. “He is totally organized, he is focused and he follows through on everything he says that he will do. He is a wonderful person.”
Reynolds became the Horseplay steering committee’s chairperson, and Campbell was the honorary chairperson.
The City of Aiken, United Way of Aiken County and Aiken Center for the Arts also got involved with the venture that would support the ArtPlay Fund, which provided art scholarships to children and the elderly.
“This is a small town, so I was hoping we would get maybe a dozen horses sponsored and raise maybe $50,000,” said Reynolds of his thoughts soon after hearing Campbell’s proposal.
Under his leadership, the committee eventually decided to set an ambitious goal of 30 sponsors, and in December 2002, the formal invitations were issued.
“In a matter of hours,” Reynolds told the Aiken Standard back then, the objective was achieved.
Artists also were excited about Horseplay, submitting more designs than were actually needed.
In all, there were 31 Horseplay statues. Their first unveiling, as a group, took place during the Horseplay Gala on Oct. 2, 2003, at the Aiken Center for the Arts.
Then, the next day, the general public got a look at the colorful horses during the Horseplay Unveiled Street Festival at the Newberry Festival Center on Newberry Street.
Afterward, the statues were moved to a variety of locations, mostly in the downtown area, so even more Aikenites, as well as visitors, would have an opportunity to enjoy them.
“I wanted Horseplay to be something for the average Joe who walks up and down the sidewalks,” Campbell said.
Then, on March 19, 2004, the Horseplay Gala Auction and Ball was held in a big tent at Ford Conger Field (now known as Bruce’s Field) the night before the Aiken Spring Steeplechase.
Nearly 600 people attended the event, and 24 of the horses were sold during an auction. The other seven horses weren’t offered because each their backers had agreed to pay a sponsorship fee plus the average auction price brought by the other statues so they could keep them.
“Hav Sum Fun” commanded the auction’s top price of $23,000. Tommy Wessinger purchased the horse on behalf of the People’s Community Bank and the Friends of Hopelands and Rye Patch. He said “Hav Sum Fun” would be donated to the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum.
Katrina Becker bought four of the statues – “Horse of Many Colors,” “Magnolia Mare,” “Horsiculture” and "Mad About Matisse.”
Art Kennedy purchased two of the horses as birthday presents for his wife, Kathy.
“It was a magical evening,” Reynolds said.
The Aiken Standard reported that $227,000 in all was raised at the Gala Auction and Ball.
In addition, according to the newspaper, sales of Horseplay-related merchandise such as calendars, posters and notecards that had begun the previous fall generated more than $100,000.
Some of the Horseplay statues can be seen around Aiken today. They include “Hav Sum Fun” and “Stonerside,” which are in the courtyard of the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum in Hopelands Gardens.
“Magnolia Mare” is in Hopelands in an area near Whiskey Road.
Among the others are “Patriotism,” which is at the intersection of Laurens Street and Park Avenue, “Palmetto/American Equine,” which is in front of the City of Aiken’s Administration and Finance Building on Laurens Street, and “Horsing A Round,” which is at the Silver Bluff Road entrance to Woodside Plantation.
