Readers share favorite stories of Forest Acres’ Webb’s Riding Academy

Little did I know that when I asked readers for their memories of riding at Webb Riding Academy – once situated on Trenholm Road and owned by an adored man, Hughes Webb Sr. – that I would receive the many, many number of recollections that I did.

Here are some of them. Enjoy.

“We moved to 5015 Trenholm Road in September, 1946. The two-story house is still there. At the time there were three children in the family. We discovered Webb’s Riding Academy quickly and rode there frequently. All the riding we did was led by Mr. Webb’s helpers – all young men or teenagers – and on the trails in the then undeveloped area between Webb’s and Lake Katherine.” - Robert Freeman, Knoxville, Tennessee

“In elementary school, I took lessons at Webb Academy from a very patient teacher named Mrs. Coleman. I remember inadvertently ‘pulling back the reins and kicking’ one day and the horse suddenly upped his pace. Mrs. Coleman quickly stopped the horse and explained why new riders should not do that. Very useful lesson in paying attention to cause and effect!” – Susan Harvin, Columbia, South Carolina and Fredericksburg, Virginia

“My sister and I had a horse there back in the mid to late 1950s named Dixie Belle, a big, beautiful pinto pleasure horse … wonderful memories from ‘living’ there with Mr. Webb’s wise guidance and gentle presence over us … If we ever had a question about how to handle our horse or asked (Mr. Webb) for advice on our riding posture or the best saddle soap for cleaning our tack on rainy days, his gentle suggestions were always helpful.” – Anna-Louise Long, Charlotte, North Carolina

“I would have lived there in the stall with my horse, Star, in the 1950s if my parents and Mr. Webb had allowed it.” – Caroline Cash, Key West, Florida

“I took many years of riding there. I loved everything about being there, even cleaning hooves. My only embarrassing moment was when a little Shetland pony threw me. I was riding bareback and having so much fun and WHAM, I was off. Riding made me feel free and with not a care in the world. I was at Mr. Webb’s even when not riding, just helping out in the stables.” – Betty Caldwell Cross, Matthews, North Carolina

“Mr. Webb judged lots of horse shows in the area. I had several horses growing up in Forest Acres. We frequented the tack room that Mr. Webb had at the stables. I remember picking out American Saddlebred saddles, bridles, horse coats, halters and grooming equipment in his large tack room.” – Mary Kay Sample, Greensboro, North Carolina

“(Mr. Webb’s) is where it began for me at age 3 or 4. I fell madly in love with our four-footed friends. I entered my first and only competition there as a ‘lead in’ at no more than four years old on Mr. Webb’s own horse, Lady…Some of the happiest times of my life…” – Gil King Cavanagh, Columbia, South Carolina

“I kept a horse named Butch there for a while … I spent time ‘trail’ riding throughout the area that now includes Clemson Avenue and all the ‘college’ streets, as well as the Lake Katherine area behind Webb’s which was almost totally undeveloped at the time (1948-1952). There is a picture in one of my mother’s scrapbooks … of my brother, George, being awarded a ribbon in a Webb Riding Academy Horse Show.” – Jane McCutchen Brown, Charleston, South Carolina

Back in the late 50s and early 60s, the South Carolina State Championship Horse Show was held at the (state) fairgrounds. One of the awards given that covered all participants was the Hughes Webb Sportsmanship Award.” – Peter Buyck, St. Matthews, South Carolina (Writer’s note: Mr. Buyck won the award in 1960. Congrats, Mr. Buyck!)

“I learned to ride there on a pony at about 5 years old … Mr. Webb was friends with my father who took me there … Mr. Webb left the Trenholm Road place and bought a large amount of acreage off the Sumter Highway. That became his new facility. It was a very large place. That was where my parents bought my first horse for only $300. I am sure you have received an email from my Aunt Sissy Ashby in North Carolina. She rode and trained at Mr. Webb’s on Sumter Highway. Sissy showed ‘Josey of Calamara’ in Madison Square Gardens. (Mr. Webb’s) was a big part of my life. I remember it all as if it was yesterday.” – Karen Brodka, Blythewood, South Carolina

“I was one of many of the 1950s children who spent many happy hours at (Mr. Webb’s) stables. I took riding lessons from Edie Milling and later had my own large pony, Lady. I remember hacking to a field where we played ‘Kitty Wants a Corner’. There were schooling shows and we rode under the lights on hot summer nights … a wonderful part of my childhood in Columbia.” – Martha Lott, Tryon, North Carolina

“My family was one of the early families that moved to the new suburban heaven of Forest Acres in 1948 … I was almost 6 years old, the roads were all dirt. Mr. Webb’s clientele rode horses all through our neighborhood much to our delight … On Saturdays during school months and any day in the summer, we would ride our bikes down to Mr. Webb’s and watch people taking lessons … (Mr. Webb) seemed like a nice man and never tried to run us away … He was also kind enough to let us go behind the stable in the summer where he dumped manure and dig the biggest and most select worms for our fishing trips in Gill’s Creek and Lake Katherine.” – Harry Shealy, Aiken, South Carolina

“I grew up on Limestone Street, about a block and a half from the stables. My mother attributed the flies we had around the house to the proximity of the stables. I grew up hearing the noise from the horse shows and later hanging out around the stables, looking at the horses, petting the horses, trying to ride them. One incident I remember clearly. I must have been in the 5th or 6th grade. My friend, John Grant, who is a vet in Summerville, I think, and I went down to the stables to hang out. We worked around to the back of the grounds … until we came to the paddock where the ponies were kept … Mr. Webb used them to provide pony rides at the neighborhood children’s birthday parties. In any case, we would lure the animals to the fence, would spring onto their broad backs and ride them – bareback and with no bridle and reins – into the middle of the paddock. Generally, the ponies would turn their heads and try to bite us. We would scramble off their backs and run for the fence …We would do this until we were tired or the ponies refused to come when we called.” – George Burnett, Columbia, South Carolina

“My great love and appreciation of horses began when I was about 6 years old (1953). I am now 68 and continue to ride and fox hunt in Camden … I discovered Webb’s when my parents had just built a house on Lakeshore Drive, not far from the barn. Dad took me to the barn and rented an adorable Shetland pony for me to ride. Mr. Webb required that a parent lead the pony. Therefore, on countless occasions, my dad jogged around that ring, leading the pony, teaching me to post a trot! I was in heaven … There was a creek that ran through the property and there was something about it being infamously known for ‘Submarine Races.’ I never knew exactly what that meant, but figured it was a place to smoke, drink beer …” – Carol Walton Stevens, Columbia, South Carolina

“I took riding lessons at Webb Riding Academy on Trenholm Road for two and a half years in the early 1950s. I remember Mr. Webb would walk around the track with me and that I rode an older horse that was slow. No racing around the track for me. Mr. Webb was a great riding instructor.” – Kermit McCarter, Orangeburg, South Carolina

“The best memories of my childhood in South Carolina were of my horse and riding (at Mr. Webb’s). I took lessons, then acquired my own horse. We went to horse shows around the state and had gymkhanas at the stable. It was wonderful.” - Shirley Price, Evergreen, Colorado

“My first horse, Cheyenne, was stabled at Webb’s … I was 9, I believe, so it would have been 1958 …Webb’s was really just down the way from where we lived on Chicora Street. Cheyenne was a black and white pinto … The height of my time at Webb’s was the day I got to ride Cheyenne to my house! All the neighborhood kids came over. That was really a special time.” – Mary Douglass, Seattle, Washington

“I grew up about six blocks from the stables … I was fortunate to have owned a horse, stabled at Webb’s. Mr. and Mrs. Webb took a special interest in me and my brother when our mother Fay Reyner Aroneck passed away from breast cancer in 1957. From there, I would spend every afternoon at the stables, learning to ride my horse, Lightning … On Saturdays, I rode my bike from home to the stables, helping stack hay in the barns, feeding the chickens …” – Charles M. Aroneck Sr., the Bahamas

“In the 1950s, as a teenager, I rode with many people at Webb’s. Most embarrassed I’ve ever been – I was taking part in a horse show at Webb’s and neglected to tighten the girth properly on my horse. I learned a lesson that night – always recheck the girth! As we were riding around the ring, my English saddle started slipping to the side. I kept trying to reposition the saddle, but to no avail. The judge finally stopped everyone, let me get off, tighten the girth and resume the show. I think I got a fourth place out of sympathy! Another event took place on a day when some of us thought it would be cool to ride horses on Forest Lake Country Club’s golf course. Boy, did we get in big trouble over that!” – Gloria Crawford Douglass, Columbia, South Carolina

“I took riding lessons (at Webb’s) as a PE requirement while a student at Columbia College. I think we were transported by the college in a van. I remember the (Webb’s) staff was patient.” – Bee K. Brown, Sumter, South Carolina

“Webb Riding Academy brings many memories for me since I was raised on Clemson Avenue across from the riding academy. Mr. Webb had a son, Billy, about the same age as my sister … We spent many hours with Billy playing around the horses and in the creek. The creek is still there … (It) allowed us many hours of catching crayfish and minnows … Mr. Webb was always most gracious to all and his horses were like pets to us…The riders were free to roam all over the area. It was country! Soldiers from Fort Jackson often came and rode at Webb’s on the weekend.” – E. Jean Cockrell, Columbia, South Carolina

“I grew up in the Lake Katherine area of Columbia, and was quite familiar with Webb Riding Academy. The riders used to ride by my house quite often … Mr. Webb was always good about letting us come and watch the riders. He was especially kind to my brother, Buddy, who was a special needs child. One experience with Mr. Webb and my brother sticks out in my mind. On this particular day, Buddy was agitating to go ‘see the horses.’ Waiting until no one was paying attention to him, Buddy scaled the backyard fence and took off ‘to see the horses’ … His route took him right through the swamp that lay between our house and Webb’s. A short while later, we realized that Buddy had disappeared and, knowing where he had wanted to go, we figured he had headed to Webb’s. Of course, it did not occur to us at that time that he would have gone through the swamp. After an hour-long search by us and the neighbors, Buddy was still not found; so, the police were called. By this time, my father and most of my relatives had arrived. After the police searched for another hour without success, the police chief had an idea. Knowing the swamp needed to be searched and knowing it was dangerous for anyone to go in on foot, he decided to call the Sheriff’s Horse Patrol. Because it would take too long for the deputies to bring their own mounts, he asked Mr. Webb for permission to use his horses. Due to the emergency, permission was granted…It was fast approaching dark and Buddy had still not been found, and the searchers were about to give up; when, here came Buddy, running out of the swamp right by Webb’s without a scratch on him.” – Francy Fenzel Goodrich, Columbia, South Carolina

“I moved to 4870 Kilbourne Road in 1955 as a 5-year-old. I never rode at Webb’s, but back in 1958-1960, kids could leave the house in the morning and show up for lunch and supper. No supervision needed. It was a safer time. I would push my bike up the hill to Brennen Road and ride to Webb’s a couple of times a month. I would walk to the barn and pet the horses, feed them a little hay and just take in the smell. Then push the bike up the Brennen hill and ride home. It was always a good day when I did that. I do love the smell of a horse barn to this day.” – Dan Munn, Columbia, South Carolina

“Mr. Webb kept chickens all around. They ate spilled grain and kept mice and rats away. (John Dunbar’s) horse got very attached to a crippled chicken who sat on the door of his stall most of the time. The chicken finally died and the horse was visibly upset. It made all of us sad.Other fun facts: When the stalls were cleaned, the manure was put on a pile in the back of the property. People would come on a regular basis and buy it for their roses and other plants. I would imagine a lot of folks missed having that good, cheap fertilizer so close by!” – Lydia Downing Clary, Columbia, South Carolina

“Mr.Webb moved his stables to Hopkins and I boarded my horse there for years during the ’60s and ’70s. He was the true southern gentleman. He had a tack shop at the stable in Hopkins and we would sit around the stove in there and tell horse tales. The shop smelled of leather and pipe tobacco from Mr. Webb’s pipe. Wonderful aroma. A fellow named Fletcher worked for him feeding horses and bringing them into their stalls at night. Fletcher must have been at least 100. Mr. Webb would take him into Columbia to visit relatives at least once a month. Mr. Webb took care of him, providing a house and taking him to the doctor.” – Linda Sinclair, Lexington, South Carolina

“As a freshman at the University of South Carolina in 1957, I selected horseback riding for my PE requirement. The classes were at Webb Riding Academy ‘way out’ on Trenholm Road. I was in McClintock Dorm and fortunately a girl across the square had a car … and I could ride with her. I was reported to the dean of women because I had been seen on campus in slacks … I had to cover my slacks with a skirt or be sent home! We had a wonderful time out there and lots of laughs with Suzie, a horse who would lie down whenever she decided to do so, whether or not someone was riding her!” – Anna Blythe, West Columbia, South Carolina

“My life was Webb Riding Academy. My Welsh/Quarter Horse was named Skippy, my best friend in the world! … I used to put wisteria in Skippy’s forelock and ride him in the back ring with no tack.” – Lucy Geiger Stackpole, Cashiers, North Carolina

“I grew up directly behind Webb’s … a quick run down the dirt road to the woods behind Webb’s, where I could follow a tiny path through the woods, cross a plank bridge over the creek, maneuver around the big manure pile on walking boards to the last stall on the back line. I kept my little black Welsh pony Robbie at Webb’s from the time I was 10 until Mr. Webb had to move out to the Sumter Highway. I spent every waking hour I could at the stables, and it was so hard to get me to keep track of time as the days grew longer in spring that my mom had a big bell hung outside our back door, which she could ring loud enough for me to hear when I was at the stable, though I could always claim that Mr. Webb’s chickens were being noisy or I was brushing my pony in his stall or it was raining on the tin roof … I was completely immersed in my pony and the world at Mr. Webb’s.” – Beth Slocum, Minneapolis, Minnesota

“While at Webb’s, my brother Tom and I rode Dinah on the dirt roads of Forest Acres, sometimes riding her (to our home) on Idalia Road where many neighborhood children would ride her.” – Sara Stork, Columbia, South Carolina

“Mr. Webb was a true gentleman. He always had a calm demeanor about him. And he always wore a hat.” – Creighton Coleman, Winnsboro, South Carolina

“Spent my youth at Webb’s. My brother and I both met our wives there. We would ride to Forest Lake Shopping Center and tie our horses in back and eat lunch at the drug store.” – Michael Davis

“I have been in and out of the horse business since the strong foundation (Mr. Webb) gave me. I’ve trained horses, been highly involved in therapeutic riding, and now my daughter and granddaughter are on the show circuit. All have several world championships.” – Irene Brock

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 7:00 AM.