'You get dirty:' Guests tromp through mud at rain-logged Point-to-Point at Winterthur

On Sunday, you either embraced the rain at Winterthur Museum's Point-to-Point Steeplechase, or you sucked it up. 

There was no in between. You could tromp through the mud, or you could stay home. 

"You get dirty," one six-year-old succinctly put it, not seeming to mind the possibility one bit.   

Usually, guests wear seersucker and elaborate hats to Point-to-Point, spreading out blankets on the grassy hills overlooking the horse track. It's often the first chance of the season to show off new spring dresses and shoes. 

Not so this year. 

Some wore dresses, but rain boots, jeans and raincoats were also in abundance. Waterproof duck shoes were paired with fascinators and see-through ponchos. 

The grounds were wet and muddy as rainstorms swept the area, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood watch for the entire state.

Sunday's Point-to-Point, NASCAR get wet with heavy rain, flood watch

Soggy Sunday for Point-to-Point, NASCAR race in Dover

A series of horse races scheduled to start at 2 p.m., with purses ranging from $10,000 to $41,000, were first delayed, then canceled because of deteriorating conditions. People started departing early, some slipping and sliding in the muddy parking lot when they attempted to leave. 

An antique carriage parade was also canceled. 

Even tailgating proved to be tedious this year, with water quickly pooling up underfoot. 

On Facebook the night before the event, one woman was offering her tailgating spot, four adult wristbands and seven under-21 wristbands for just $250, though she did not say if she was selling them specifically because of the bad weather. 

Adult tailgate admission is $50 full price, while admission for those under 21 is $30. The price of tailgate parking spaces varies, beginning at $250 and ranging up to $1,000. 

There are no refunds. 

John and Pat Steel, from West Chester, Pennsylvania, said the thought of staying home did cross their minds, but they'd paid more than $500 so they and their grandkids could attend the event. 

"It's a family tradition," John Steel said. "We've been coming for 15 years." 

In that time, he said, it's only rained heavily twice. 

"The other time was much worse," he said, describing how tow trucks were needed to pull people's cars out of the mud. 

"We know we're going to get wet. We're just doing our best with umbrellas and raincoats." 

Not everybody was so practical. There were a number of people wearing garbage bags as makeshift ponchos or white dresses, just asking to be splashed with mud. 

Christina Anderson said when she woke up Sunday morning, she was rethinking her blue-and-white striped sundress with matching hat. She was going to change her outfit, but her husband, Garry, talked her out of it. Instead, the Middletown couple strolled the grounds looking like something out of a magazine spread. 

"My only regret," Christina Anderson said, "is muddy feet and flip flops."  

She held out one of the grass-covered appendages for inspection, then shrugged. 

Some families were less thrilled by the deluge.  

A dad walking past with his kids commented wryly that his son would need new tennis shoes. Small huddles of teenage girls stood throughout the grounds, trying not to shiver. 

Lisa Lindell and Tracie Hunt were in the sucking-it-up camp. 

They had bought grandmother Sheila Calhoun tickets to Point-to-Point as an early Mother's Day present and hesitated before saying that, yes, they were having fun.

"We're cold," Hunt said.  

But the day was about Calhoun, whose family had recently been surprised to learn that she loves horse racing and even keeps a notebook with race stats. 

"I watch it on TV," said Calhoun, who has always wanted to go to Point-to-Point and was thoroughly enjoying the experience in a white hat with red and blue flowers.

"I just love the horses. They're so beautiful."  

More about Point-to-Point

Point-to-Point benefits the continued maintenance and preservation of the garden and estate at Winterthur. This year marked the event's 41st anniversary. 

The day featured pony races, a parade of foxhounds, tailgating, horse racing, events for children and more. 

Find out more at winterthur.org. 

Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.