Canfield Derby Day party raises funds for horse park

May 7, 2017 at 12:06a.m.

Canfield

Saturday was a doubly special day for horse lovers at Tippecanoe Country Club’s second annual Derby Day party.

Friends and families, with many of the women wearing wide-brimmed derby-style hats, enjoyed Southern cuisine and sipped mint juleps while waiting to watch race favorite Always Dreaming win the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby.

It was particularly meaningful to many of the participants because proceeds from the event benefited Buckeye Horse Park on 47 acres leased from Mill Creek MetroParks on U.S. Route 224 in Ellsworth Township.

Specifically, Buckeye Horse Park wants to build an all-year heated riding facility, said Barb Wright of Canfield, one of the event organizers. “We’re trying to expand our offerings,” she said.

Long-range goals include establishing a program for inner-city children and a therapeutic riding program, Wright said.

Other Derby Day organizers were Dorothy Romeo and Liz McGarry, director of development for Hospice of the Mahoning Valley.

Sally Kish, president of Buckeye Horse Park, said the $60-per-person Derby Day party is a “fun way to raise money.”

Honorary chairmen of the Derby Day event, Drs. Robert and Patricia Miller Cuttica, who donated a dinner for eight at their Canfield home prepared by Robert, an amateur gourmet cook, for the silent auction, said they became horse lovers when their daughter got heavily involved in showing horses.

“Involvement with horses is a wonderful activity for kids. It keeps them too busy to get into trouble,” said Robert, who has not yet decided what to prepare for the people who win his gourmet dinner.

Other activities were a basket auction and raffles. Gambling on the derby was not a formal part of the event.

“The draw for us is the Buckeye Horse Park,” said Barbara Shultz of Boardman, who was with her husband, John.

“We support a lot of animal-related charities,” she said.

June and Alan Kretzer of Canfield attended Saturday’s event because they had a good time at the 2016 derby party; and Sally Reedy of Boardman, at the derby party with her husband, Bill, said it is a “chance to dress up and have a good time.

Among the youth volunteers helping with Derby Day were New Springfield High School sophomores Abbie Zoldan, Hannah Karabin and Caitlin Morozov, who said, “It’s fun, and I love to see the derby.”

Nancy Brooks of Canfield, director of sales for the country club, said the Derby Day party is a “win-win for everyone. People are very willing to give to this event.”