“Run for the Roses,” a May event held in conjunction with the running of the 2000 Kentucky Derby, was a successful partnership between Weymouth Center and the Sandhills Equestrian Conservancy. The event raised almost $20,000 for the Conservancy and nearly $40,000 for Weymouth Center’s Capital Campaign.

The Sandhills Equestrian Conservancy was formed for the purpose of preserving open space and promoting national and international equestrian competition. Horse trails, steeplechase, dressage, hunter-jumper events are all part of the legacy of horsemanship in the Sandhills.

These events demand open spaces for trails, shows and competitive activities, insuring that land set aside for these purposes will remain intact for the enjoyment of future generations.

Five Points will be the largest horse show park in North or South Carolina. Its construction will allow for the 50th running of Stoneybrook weekend, April 7-8, 2001. Organizers anticipate as many as 20,000 to 30,000 people will attend this event.

When completed the $4 million Five Points Horse Park and its attractions are expected to have a significant economic impact on the state and area, benefiting participating both Hoke and Moore counties.

Weymouth Center is in extraordinary need of restoration and repair. As a cultural center for the arts and humanities, Weymouth offers varied programs including lectures, flower and garden shows and musical events. The Boyd house is on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as a cultural center for the Sandhills.

The North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame is at Weymouth and the Induction Ceremony annually draws a full house of honorees and attenders. Weymouth’s Writers in Residence program had 140 writers in attendance at the center for periods varying from two weeks to two months in 1999.

Christmas at Weymouth is a beloved local tradition and the Gardens and Grounds of Weymouth provide a lovely, refuge for a walk or seated break from the daily routine. Volunteers are attempting to reconstruct the gardens to their original form and style.

Weymouth is owned by the Friends of Weymouth who operate the property for the cultural enrichment of the community and surrounding areas. They are solely responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the property.

Concerned about the nearly 100 year old structure, they asked local architects, Hayes-Howell, to do a study of the building and its mechanical systems. The verdict was that repair and restoration must commence at once.

Individual pledges have been coming in and the money from the “Run for The Roses” partnership gets the capital campaign off to a “running” start.

The three years, $1 million capital campaign will enable Weymouth Center to begin a new century of service for the cultural arts and the people enriched by those arts.