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Coaching Day at Stratford Hall raises money for preservation Date published: 4/28/2008
By KELLY HANNON Think filling up your gas tank is expensive at $3.50 a gallon? Try feeding a stable of horses. Stratford Hall's 13th Triennial Coaching Day yesterday offered a glimpse back at transportation in the 1800s and early 1900s, before the automobile and railroad took hold as the nation's preferred methods of travel. A collection of coaches, each drawn by four horses, circled the Westmoreland County property as hundreds of spectators looked on. The afternoon parade of coaches was the featured event in a daylong outdoor festival that included a tailgating competition, a basset hound and beagle demonstration, and tours of Stratford Hall, Robert E. Lee's birthplace and childhood home. Coaching Day, held once every three years, is one of Stratford Hall's biggest fundraisers. Around 3,000 to 5,000 people typically attend Coaching Day, and the number varies depending on the weather, said Nina Burke of Atlanta, honorary director of the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association. Yesterday's weather was overcast and occasionally drizzly. But Coaching Day is held rain or shine, and events went forward as scheduled. The event draws guests to the property who may not have visited Stratford Hall before, said Carol Price of Richmond, president of the Memorial Association's board of directors. Stratford Hall was built in the 1730s. Lee, future general of the Confederate army, was born there in 1807. Price thinks the Lee family would approve of Coaching Day. "I think the Lees were a family who loved to enjoy a good party and this beautiful property," Price said. David Suratgar, visiting from Oxford, England, said historic properties in Great Britain host similar events to involve the community. "This is a historic site that needs preservation, so events like this can be fun but also help preserve the property," Suratgar said. He enjoyed surveying the road coaches, many of them from England. "The coaches are beautifully maintained," Suratgar said. Benefactors of the event got to ride in the parade, sitting along benches on top of the coaches. Although movies often portray passengers of the era riding inside road coaches, the reality was different. People bathed less frequently then, Price said. "You didn't want to sit inside unless it was bad weather," she said. The coaches were a big draw, but other attendees came to enjoy food and fellowship. Many tailgating guests get into the historic spirit of the day by dressing in costume and toting along shrubbery, fine china and goblets. The tailgating contest has several prize categories, including most humorous, most elegant, and best food. Art and Doris Buswell of Colonial Beach won in the most elegant category. The Buswells staged a 1906 boating party in the Stratford Hall field, complete with a vintage Rolls Royce, a 30-pound rockfish and champagne. "It's fun," said Doris Buswell, who hosted 13 people and dressed in a sailor's costume. "I love the coaches and just the whole atmosphere out here." Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
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