Giving Generously

TR&HC has a long history of supporting the local surrounding communities through philanthropy.

Over the Years

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During the Club’s early years, volunteers from the Tryon area donated time, money, and materials to build the show grounds at Harmon Field, a 36 acre park with three show rings and 140 permanent stalls.  

One of TRHC’s lasting legacies has been giving back to the community, most often through our sponsorship of the Annual Charity Horse Show which began all the way back in 1928.  The show has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past nine decades. Records show in the 1930’s, proceeds went to the Polk County Helping Hand and the Polk County Tubercular Association.  In 1950, a substantial contribution was made to support the US Equestrian Team which trained in Tryon then. Proceeds from the 57th show went to the Polk County Animal Protection Society.  Proceeds from the show were used to fund college scholarships starting in 2007.  Then, from 2010-2013, a Charity Jumper Challenge was added from which $5,000 of the prize money was donated to eight local non-profit organizations, spanning animal rescue, childrens’ causes, family care, medical support, equestrians, education, the arts, and environmental causes.

Recent Times

In 2018, the Club brought back the traditional, historical Carter Brown BBQ at Harmon Field and besides providing a free meal to hundreds of local folks, all proceeds are being used to improve the equestrian facilities at the Field.

From 2014 through 2017, the Club averaged donations of $25,000 annually to a variety of community and equestrian causes. In 2018, the Club nearly doubled its contributions to $46,000--$8,000 went to various community causes including our college scholarships, and $38,000 went to various equestrian organizations including FENCE, FERA, PEER, TROT, and the Club’s brand-new Equestrian Grant Program.

In 2019 to date, TRHC has supported Tryon with $3,100 for construction of a new Parade Morris the Horse.  We provided a free dinner for over 340 people at the Carter Brown Community BBQ for a cost of over $7,500.  We brought back the first TRHC Horse Show at Harmon Field since 1987 at a cost of $12,000 to support this brand new show.  We helped sponsor a book launch of equestrian author Mary Alice Monroe ($750) and became a Platinum Sponsor of the August 2019 Tryon Sesquicentennial Celebration ($1,600) taking place on August 30-31.