More than 250 people flocked to the Tryon Movie Theatre on Nov. 1 to see the premiere of “Tales and Legends of Tryon Horse Country,” a documentary about how this area’s horse community was formed.
Mane TV, a contemporary Internet equestrian news and information channel, was on hand to capture viewer comments. Mane TV’s Sterling Johnson reported that every person interviewed had rave reviews for the insights, rare footage and stories embedded in the documentary, which had taken producer Sally Walker more than three years to shoot and edit.
The documentary’s story line took viewers from the early 1900s when Carter Brown came to town through the introduction of horse farms such as Chinquapin in the old Hunting Country and the formation of the Tryon Hounds, Block House Steeplechase, Tryon Riding and Hunt Club, Tryon Horse Show, United States’ Tryon-based Equestrian Olympic Trials, on up to the formation of FENCE and the new Green Creek Equestrian Center. Stories about Tryon-based characters such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, David Niven and Gordon Wright added colorful anecdotes, which prompted waves of laughter.
Expounding on the virtues of Tryon were current U.S. Equestrian Olympic Team Chef d’Equipe (coach) George Morris, famed equestrians Bucky Reynolds and Betty Oare, Columbus native horseman Gerald Pack and others.
Morris, who is a well known and highly respected hunter-jumper coach in the United States and internationally, called Tryon “a horseman’s paradise.”
Oare, who grew up in Tryon as the daughter of well-known horseman J. Arthur Reynolds,  stated, “If you can’t develop a love of horses in the Tryon area, you can’t love horses.”
Pack said, “Tryon will always be known to horse people throughout the world.”
Spontaneous continuous applause broke out when producer Walker stepped on stage to express her gratitude to the people and businesses who helped make the project possible. She also thanked the Grace Foothills Church for using its equipment to project the movie for the showing and the Tryon Theatre for making the evening possible.
When asked if there would be another showing of “Tales and Legends of Tryon Horse Country” in the near future, Walker commented that a spring showing is under consideration.
“In the meantime,” she said, “people can get an exact DVD copy of the showing at The Book Shelf and Little Mountain Farm Supply beginning Nov. 15.”
According to Pack, this documentary was so important because “The history is what makes our future.”
– article submitted
by Sally Walker