A Love for Horses

A Love for Horses. . While visiting St. James Farm during weekends, Chauncey and Marion McCormick indulged their passion for equine sport by riding horses. Although all three of the McCormicks' sons learned to ride while young, it was Brooks' love for his Shetland pony that foretold what the farm was to become in later years: An equestrian estate devoted to education, philanthropic duty and recreation with a love for horses as its inspiration. , , Brick Stable , After co-organizing a hunt club, the McCormicks built a red-brick, Colonial-style stable at the center of St. James Farm in 1930. Inside the structure, 12 box stalls , six per side , flanked a center aisle. The wooden stalls were partitioned by vertical iron post imported from England. , , The Herd Grows , When Brooks McCormick appointed a director of equestrian operations, St. James Farm had only five mares, one stallion and two older horses. At Brooks' request, the director traveled to England, Ireland and Germany to purchase horses for breeding and show. In time, the herd grew to 35 horses used for dressage, hunting and eventing. In addition, six ponies were kept for the farm's therapeutic riding school. Of course as the herd grew, so did areas for stabling the horses. , , The Hunt Club , St. James Farm abutted Cantigny, a 500-acre estate owned by Chauncey's cousin, Colonel Robert R. McCormick. Chauncey and the Colonel often enjoyed the hunt, a sport of tracking and chasing a fox with hounds by horseback, and riding their combined properties at over 1,000 acres. When neighboring property owners extended the use of their lands, Chauncey and Colonel McCormick co-organized the DuPage Riding and Hunt Club in 1928. The McCormicks built the jumps on their estates, and the club paid the expenses for installation and maintenance on neighboring farms. In turn, the farmers were afforded the contracts to build the jumps on their properties. Participation in the hunt was by invitation only. A scent, rather than a live fox, was laid for the hounds and hunt to follow. , , The club became known as the DuPage Hunt Club and later merged with another to become the Wayne-DuPage Hunt Club.