Member Spotlight

By Katie Roth Photos by Shelly Marshall Schmidt

When someone sells their home and moves away, it’s not often that they move back. But that’s exactly what Mary Guynn did at New Bridge Polo & Country Club. She even returned to the same house she had built 15 years earlier. “I missed New Bridge after I left,” said Mary. “There is something special about this place and I knew I wanted to come back someday.”

Mary bought land in New Bridge in 2004. “I came to New Bridge for a polo match and I loved it,” she said. At that time, Mary lived in town, but she needed more property for her dogs to be able to run. In 2005, she built a barn with an apartment. She lived in the apartment for the next year while the house was being built.

Mary worked with architect Martin Buckley on the house. She admired the renovation work he was doing at one of the historic homes in town. “I wanted to mirror this house after that one,” she said. “I loved the eyebrow windows, slate roof and black shingles.” Mary was originally going to build a bungalow, but after living in older homes with tiny closets, she decided that when she built her own house, she was going to have huge closets. “That’s one thing I love about this house, it has tons of storage.” Mary said.

At that time, there were only a few bungalows and only one other house at New Bridge. It was desolate in the summer, and there was no pool or clay tennis court built yet. Mary was the only year-round resident; everyone else was seasonal.

Mary, an attorney with Smith, Massey, Brodie, Guynn & Mayes, was introduced to professional polo player Justin Pimsner. “Justin was one of our best clients in our law firm — but not for good reasons,” laughed Mary. It was love at first sight. Mary and Justin began dating and were engaged six weeks later.

Soon they recognized that Mary’s 10-acre property was not going to be big enough for her horses and his polo ponies. Even though Mary had barely lived in her new house for a year, she left New Bridge and moved to Justin’s 140-acre property.

At their new farm, they had a friendly rivalry with the neighbor across the street, Quartermore Farm. Mary and Justin (perhaps being a little tongue-in-cheek) named their farm Dollamor and temporarily placed large, gold dollar signs at their entrance gates.

Mary Guynn & Justin Pimsner A Homecoming Story

They would return to New Bridge on occasion to visit friends, or when Justin played polo, and always regretted leaving the community. They would even make a point to drive by the house because they missed it.

Two years ago, a series of events happened allowing them to return to New Bridge. Mary and Justin were at a fourth of July party at New Bridge, and they drove by the house and noticed it was for sale. It was Justin who really wanted the house back. They planned to sell a portion of Justin’s property and keep their horses there, but the buyers wanted the entire acreage. Coincidentally, Mary and Justin learned that an 18-stall barn across the street from the house at New Bridge was for sale. They decided the timing was perfect and they bought the house and the barn and returned to New Bridge, bringing the Dollamor name along with them.

The second time around, Mary and Justin have found that New Bridge had blossomed as a community. “Where else can you go for a trail ride in the morning, go for a swim in the afternoon, and enjoy polo at the clubhouse in the

evening?” said Mary. “It’s a dream life.” Both of them enjoy trail rides with friends, some ending on the clubhouse lawn.

The club atmosphere is important to both of them. “The fields are the best — you get spoiled playing on them,” said Justin. “Neighbors here like to do things together and we have the clubhouse as a gathering spot.”

“I think the biggest thing that sets New Bridge apart from other equestrian communities is the wide variation of lot sizes, having both small lots and larger lots for horses,” said Mary. “Plus, the club atmosphere is hard to beat.” Horses have always been a part of both of their lives. Mary was born and raised in Aiken and started riding when she was eight years old. Her parents thought she would try it for a season then quit, but it has become a lifelong passion. Mary did not own a horse growing up, rather she rode whatever was available. She got her first horse as a gift when she graduated from The College of William and Mary. She is an avid jumper and competes on a regular basis.

Justin was born in Sandusky, Ohio and read every book about horses he could find growing up. At 13 years old,

Justin’s parents sent him to Culver Academy, a boarding school in Indiana, hoping he would become more focused in school. Culver had equestrian sports, and Justin’s parents wanted him to try jumping, because it only required one horse, but he wanted be on the polo team. But that required more money, so Justin would take the seniors’ uniforms and equipment and sell it to the incoming freshman. His ingenuity was apparent — he was just more interested in riding horses than schoolwork. His roommate filled out his college application to Ole Miss and Justin was accepted, but he never actually attended a class there. Justin decided to pursue polo instead of college and it took him from Florida, to California, to Wyoming and eventually to Aiken, South Carolina.

While playing polo, Justin also learned to perform chiropractic work on horses. Today, he travels to Atlanta, Charleston, Columbia and even Florida. His clients are everything from jumpers to barrel racers. “I enjoy it because it’s a puzzle you have to figure out,” said Justin. “The owners can tell you what they think is wrong with their horse, but you really have to listen to the horse to tell you what the issue is to be able to fix it.”

Mary and Justin have been married for 16 years. They are a happy couple with an infectious sense of fun and adventure. They are enjoying the life they have built at New Bridge with their horses and dogs, Auggie, Judge and Joyce. Their second time around at New Bridge has been a blissful homecoming.■