Queen’s Cup Steeplechase + Rosedale Nature Park

It was a very outdoorsy weekend not because we spent it camping or hiking but simply because we practically lived outside! With spring in full swing and sunshine plentiful, there was no better way to spend the past few days than outside. I know we’ll be sweating our faces off soon enough so until then, we’ll relish every second of temperatures in the upper 70s!

Queen’s Cup Steeplechase

On Saturday, our big plans for the day took us about an hour south to the Piedmont countryside for The Queen’s Cup Steeplechase, an event that includes a series of five steeplechase horse races, Jack Russell Terrier races, hat decorating and tailgating contests, pony rides and all-day entertainment for all ages. It’s one of our absolute favorite local events and we couldn’t wait to return again this year!

We attended the event once before back in 2019 when it occurred on my birthday and had the BEST time! We first heard about the Queen’s Cup when their PR team caught wind of Chase’s love of horses when he was three-years-old and invited us to check it out. (Flashback 2018 memory: All of the other kids in Chase’s preschool class said they were thankful for their moms or dads in their preschool Thanksgiving video and Chase said he was thankful for… horses. Ha!) Our first time attending The Queen’s Cup cemented Chase’s love for horses and we couldn’t wait to return again this year when they were kind enough to invite us back after a two-year pandemic hiatus.

(Dress: Madewell / Fascinator: Amazon / Lace-Up Sandals: Amazon / Quilted Crossbody Purse: Lola Mae / Sunglasses: Sorvino via Amazon)

Can you tell Ryder was psyched to join us this time!? He stayed back with a babysitter last time because of much-needed naps (we did the same thing with Rhetty Roo this year) and he kept telling everyone this was his “very first horse race.” Our tailgate spot allowed us to accommodate 12 guests and like last time we invited a bunch of our friends and their kids to join us for the day!

We packed the back of my car with pop-up soccer goals, cornhole, balls and toys, lots of drinks, snacks and sandwiches and had a blast! The soccer goals may seem like a random addition to a tailgate but we learned this trick from someone at The Queen’s Cup two years ago! The kids went crazy for a makeshift soccer field  that year and it was a huge hit again this year, too.

(I love this picture of Ryder and his friend Ansley. He talks about Ansley all the time and always asks for play dates with her but then when they’re together he gets all bashful and barely says a word. It’s so sweet to watch because he’ll then talk all about how much fun he had with Ansley even though he stayed close to me most of the time.)

For anyone local, both times we’ve attended The Queen’s Cup, we’ve opted for the Croup tailgating area because it’s incredibly family friendly and located near the Jack Russell Terrier races, pony rides and ice cream! (And just FYI, kids ages 12 and under attend the event for free!)

The kids loved the Jack Russell Terrier races and we spent a lot of time in this area because of the location of our tailgating spot! The dogs were hilarious and so, so energetic. Some would take off and make a beeline for the finish while others would wander on the course and even escape. It was very entertaining and fun to chat with the owners of the dogs, too.

Of course the horse races were a huge highlight of the day and we loved cheering for the horses and jockeys as they flew by us and jumped over a series of hurdles. The kids found an awesome viewing spot near the pony rides where there was a break in the hedges and we set up camp there for a while as they cheered for the horses and dug into their bowls of ice cream.

You know Ryan and I can never resist ice cream, too!

Chase would also tell you that a tiny stream located on the grounds was worth mentioning because it was stocked with tadpoles and baby crayfish. He lead a gang of his buddies in a lot of creature catching which only served to further increase his love of this event.

We made it home in the early evening and thanked Annemarie for kindly helping our family on a Saturday and watching Rhett for us. In one breath I am anxiously awaiting the day when naps will be a thing of the past in our family and we can all hang out all day long without worrying about nap time… but in another breath I know that will mean all of my kids are ginormous so maybe I’m really not ready for that milestone after all?

We rounded out our Saturday with bath time, dinner, stories and bed!

Sunday

On Sunday morning we had something fun on the agenda! After chatting with some friends about a new local park, I’ve been dying to get the boys over to Rosedale Nature Park for the past few weeks. We finally made it happen after a quick trip to Duck Donuts on Sunday!

The park is awesome and includes a new playground (fenced!), a low-to-the-ground zip line, slides built into hills, an obstacle course and short nature trails.

We easily spent an hour at the park and could’ve played longer but Rhett’s nap was looming and he let us know he was not going to be chill about missing it. We headed home, ate an early lunch and settled Rhett down for his nap while the big kids had some downtime.

The rest of our Sunday was pretty low key and included  searching for tadpoles, a bike ride around the neighborhood, movie night (Cars!) and early bed times.

I was anxious to get into bed to continue reading She Regrets Nothing and read until I could no longer keep my eyes open.

And now it’s time to get this Monday rockin’! It should be a pretty typical week over here although tonight will be a little extra fun as I’m going out to dinner with some friends. I hope you all have a great week and I hope to see ya back here again soon!