The conversion of Bruce's Field into a state-of-the-art equestrian center is proceeding at a steady pace during the first phase of an effort that started in the spring.
"As of now, we are right on time," said Ed Lowenbaum of Chicago-based Lowenbaum Rep, a real estate consulting, brokerage and investment firm.
Lowenbaum, who is the manager of the Aiken Horse Park Foundation's ambitious project, visited the 66-acre site adjacent to Audubon Drive and Powderhouse Road on Monday to view the progress.
In the infield of the racecourse, where the Aiken Spring and Fall steeplechases are run, workers for Florida-based Longwood Arenas are building five riding rings. Four are 150 feet by 300 feet in size, and the other is 225 feet by 300 feet.
The rings will have all-weather German Geo Textile footing, which is a mixture of sand and synthetic materials.
Also in the racecourse's infield, preparations are being made to construct an area for vendors that will have a concrete surface.
"When we laid this out, we had constraints," Lowenbaum said. "The biggest constraint was keeping the racecourse and as much parking (for Steeplechase events) as we could possibly keep. Otherwise, we would have laid all of this out completely different and probably would have saved quite a bit of money. But it was important to the board of the Horse Park Foundation to keep the Aiken Steeplechase Association people involved and engaged so they felt like we were continuing their mission."
The Aiken Steeplechase Association announced earlier this month that the 2015 Fall and 2016 Spring Steeplechase will be held again at Bruce's Field at the Aiken Horse Park.
Outside the racecourse, on the south side of Bruce's Field, employees of the National Barn Co., which has an eastern division based in Tennessee, are putting up the wooden frames for four barns. Plans call for four other barns to be erected nearby. They will have metal roofs and 28 stalls apiece.
Behind the Steeplechase officials' tower overlooking the racecourse, a 1,500-square-foot administration building with two offices and a reception area will be constructed.
In addition, irrigation, electric power and water supply systems are being upgraded and expanded, and roads are being built.
Bruce's Field is scheduled to host its first horse shows in September, and nearly everything is expected to be ready by then.
"The arenas should be finished by the end of July, and the barns should be finished by the middle or end of August," Lowenbaum said. "With the administration building, we aren't going to rush it. If we can get it done by the first part of September, we will, but we want to make sure we get the right builder in place to do it the right way."
The equestrian center is the dream of the late Aiken horseman Bruce Duchossois, and his visions for it are being followed while making it a reality.
Tradition was very important to Duchossois, who bought the property now known as Bruce's Field more than a decade ago. He formed the Aiken Horse Park Foundation in June 2013 and then donated the land where the equestrian center is being built to the organization later that year.
One of Duchossois' goals was for the equestrian center's structures to blend in with the stables in the historic horse district that are associated with the Aiken Training Track and other equine-related facilities.
"He wanted them to have that old Aiken feel," said John Stephens, a lawyer who is an adviser to the Horse Park Foundation and Duchossois' family.
In addition, according to Stephens, Duchossois recommended including the most up-to-date features in the equestrian center's design.
While riding around Bruce's Field with Lowenbaum in a rented red truck, Stephens used his cellphone to contact Scot Evans, who is the Horse Park Foundation's secretary, and asked him to discuss the equestrian center's development from Duchossois' perspective after turning on the phone's speaker.
"Realizing Bruce's dream is what it really comes down to," Evans said. "He always told me, 'Remember, I'm for tradition. Everything gets modernized and everything gets technical, but at the end of the day, it really is about tradition.' Bruce was adamant from day one that this was a horseman's dream. He wanted it to be user-friendly for the riders, the horse owners, the sponsors and the spectators, and he wanted it to have the Aiken atmosphere."
Dede Biles is a general assignment reporter for the Aiken Standard and has been with the newspaper since January 2013. A native of Concord, N.C., she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.