Luck Be A Lady: Ellen Charles

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88 – February, 2023

By Sarah Montague

To the Manner Born

Ellen Charles sits on her sofa in her Georgetown home. Every once in a while, like dress extras in a film, one of her house poodles (one Standard, Porter, one Toy, Cashew) crosses the room behind her.

She is warm, and dignified, but, she tells me firmly in the course of our talk “she likes to win.” And she’s done that a fair bit her two sports—flat racing (the wall behind her is thick with photos of her horses in action) and dog shows. In both arenas, she competes under the name Hillwood (Hillwood Kennels and Hillwood Stable LLC), derived from the imposing family home established by her grandmother, the heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post.

Check any list of breed, group, or BIS winners at a show, and you’re likely to find Charles featured as an owner or co-owner.

She comes by it naturally. Her mother, Adelaide C. Riggs (Mrs. Augustus Riggs) raced Thoroughbreds, and bred and showed Scottish Terriers. She was also an accredited judge, and Charles says wryly, “I think I went to my first dog show before I was born.” Some of her earliest actual memories are of helping during the challenging times following World War II.

“They had trouble getting stewards, so she said, ‘I can start judging now. My daughter can steward for me.’”

In addition to the usual duties, such as managing the trophies, Charles–and a group of enthusiastic friends–acted as messengers:

Click here to read the complete article
88 – February, 2023

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