April 2020 Issue

Energy for Athletic Performance

I received a request for an article that would discuss aerobic vs. anaerobic activity and the types of feed advantageous for both. This subject matter could develop in many different directions because there are many multi-discipline horses these days. I am hoping to simplify this broad subject in this short article. If you want to chat in depth about this subject, I do welcome phone calls. All horses use fuel in this order: fat, carbohydrates, protein. We never want to get to the point of using protein for fuel as that would be burning muscle. I will follow up later with an example. Horses that use aerobic energy (with oxygen)

Down on the Farm | Living the Dream

Ah, the good life! That small, little farm you’ve always dreamed of. A few acres out in the country — but not too far — where you can raise some chickens, have a nice vegetable garden, maybe a few cows, and a horse or two for the grandchildren. You’re thinking of a place like Barefoot Farms of Belton. Nestled in the rural — but not too rural — countryside outside of the quaint Upstate town of Belton, Barefoot Farms has it all. Sitting on about 25 acres, owners Steve and Kathy Whitby raise chickens (200, give or take), turkeys, cows, goats, pigs, horses, a mini-horse named Minnie Pearl, and assorted

Dance like everybody’s watching and you don’t care

Writing about dancing seems very counter-intuitive to me. I have always felt rhythmically challenged, which has never made sense to me given my deep love for music. From elementary school age into well past my college years, I was a musician. I dropped out of the dreaded piano lessons as a young child but begged until my mother conceded to rent my first flute. Several flutes later I was a regular performer and had embraced several other instruments with some proficiency. I love music, and some music compels me to sway in my seat, bob my head, and tap my feet or fingers or both. But rarely am I compelled

The possibilities of Red Rubber Boots

I’m not sure why, but people seem to want to come up and talk to me when I’m wearing my red rubber boots. With or without the dog. Any time of day. Downtown or in the woods or at a store or anywhere in between. It may be simply the color of my boots that draws people to me when I wear them. They are a bright, true red. Like Superman’s boots. Or Dorothy’s ruby slippers (without the sparkle and glam). There are wonderful associations to be made with either — like saving the world, or returning to the safety of home. Iconic fashion designer Bill Blass even believed that

What’s Cookin’ Aiken?

“Nurture Home gave me stability and was a place where I could be still, gather my thoughts, and find out which steps I needed to take in order to be successful. It’s great that I’ve been able to come to this point where I can transition out and know that I will not be homeless again.” Ada G. Local Chefs Cookin’ For A Cause Looking for delicious signature dishes, beverages, a laid-back atmosphere, and entertainment? Well look no further. You will find it all at the 20th Annual Aiken’s Cookin’ with Celebrity Chefs fundraiser benefitting our own Mental Health America of Aiken County programs (MHA-Aiken). Gather together at The Big

Be Strong

“All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you’re not good enough or strong enough or talented enough. They will say you’re the wrong height or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO. A thousand times no. Until all the no’s become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no quite firmly and very quickly. AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES.” — Nike I grew up playing every sport imaginable. My father was in the hospitality industry. We had the privilege of living in a golf community with

Beyond the Barricade | SRS ties that shaped our community

When you ask Barbara Morgan, former South Carolina 2nd Circuit Solicitor, about her father, she smiles and says, “He was the ‘real deal’ — a soldier, a public servant, a man committed to family, country, and community.” Robert L. “Bob” Morgan grew up in northern California and received an appointment to West Point. After his graduation from the USMA he served in the Korean conflict and was then stationed in Japan, assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers to help rebuild that country’s infrastructure. Later, with his wife and 3 young children in tow, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received advanced civil and nuclear engineering degrees.

What Theater Taught Me

A Love Letter to the Aiken Community Theatre Your community theater is doing a lot more than just putting on productions. As this month’s character trait is enthusiasm, I started thinking about the things in life that I’m enthusiastic about, and it wasn’t difficult to realize that theater undoubtedly tops my list. I love watching theater and ogling over the sets, the costumes, the actors — it’s one of my favorite things to do. This love and passion is largely because until I left for college, theater was at the absolute center of my life for seven years. While I was ready to move on to bigger and better things,

Cabinet of Curiosities | Aiken Bella Magazine

April Cabinet of Curiosities | If you think playing golf is hard today…

If you think playing golf today is difficult, let’s take a trip to the late 1800s and early 1900s. Several golf courses existed in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) at the turn of the century. The first golf course in our county was the Palmetto Golf Club of Aiken, which was founded in 1892 by Thomas Hitchcock. Next up was the Hampton Terrace Hotel’s golf club in North Augusta, laid out in 1903 for guests of the North Augusta hotel. This article will focus on those two golf courses. Not for the faint of heart. A quote from an 1899 article about the upcoming match between Augusta’s Bon Air