The Trotting Tracks in Pinehurst, North Carolina

Greetings!

This year Libby and I ventured to North Carolina for school vacation. We visited our friends in Carey and together we travelled to the Outer Banks. At the same time, my cousin Clark and his wife Judy were visiting family. Clark had scheduled time in Pinehurst, NC to see friends who were training trotters at the Pinehurst trotting parks. My friend Phil and I drove the sixty-six miles to Pinehurst to see my cousin and the trotting tracks.

The first track is actually two tracks: a 1/2 mile and 5/8 mile. The second track is a full mile track. The tracks are owned the city of Pinenhurst and operated by the city's recreation department. If not owned by the city, these tracks would probably fall into the category of 'lost trotting parks.'

The tracks are used by horse men and their trotters until 1:00 pm. After 1:00 the community uses the tracks as walking parks.

Perhaps there is a lesson for us as we lose more open space to development. Trotting parks are typically prime real estate. Just maybe we need to look at preserving and celebrating our past, then to encourage real estate development that might possible occur elsewhere.

Stephen Thompson