Country Spirit Magazine Spring 2019

Piedmont Media, LLC

Spring 2019

Sidesaddle Equestrienne Alexandra Arabak & Jockey Jack Doyle

Prepare

for the

Horse Season Middleburg Spring Races April 20 Virginia Gold Cup May 4 Hunt Country Stable Tour May 25-26 Upperville Colt & Horse Show June 3-9 Country Spirit • Spring 2019

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

Editor’s Note

Spring Has Sprung and Hoofbeats Follow As I begin tap, tap tapping at the computer keyboard in the middle of March, there’s a whiff of spring in the country air this early morning.

The TV weather folks are saying 70s by mid-day, and I want to believe them. I’m hearing chirping birds outside my window for the first time in a long winter while.

Throughout our horse-heavenly territory, frisky foals are starting to romp on fields all around.

Our Spring issue of Leonard Shapiro Country Spirit has something of an equine focus, what with so many horse related events on the upcoming calendar.

We’ve got stories relating to the Middleburg Spring Races (April 20), the Virginia Gold Cup (May 4), The Hunt Country Stable Tour (May 25-26) and The Upperville Colt & Horse Show ( June 3-9).

We’re running an excerpt from a first novel—“Cowgirl”—written by local author Judith Ayers Burke that’s a riveting account of a grueling western long-distance horse race. It’s accompanied by her own intriguing history as a long-time government environmental executive.

And there’s plenty more for our non-horsey readers.

Middleburg resident Sean Clancy, one of the country’s finest racing writers, wanders away from the four-legged set to tell the story of a remarkable long-distance human runner.

We have a profile of Rev. Weston Mathews, the dynamic young rector of Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains; M.J. McAteer’s story about an important project documenting the shameful history of segregated schools in Loudoun County, and local historian John Toler’s tale on the Partridge School, a pioneering efforts to provide rehabilitation and training for mentally-challenged and brain-injured children that operated from 1956-1970 near Gainesville.

On a personal note, I’d be remiss in not noting the recent passing of one of my personal writing heroes, the great sports journalist and novelist Dan Jenkins, who died last month at 89. There are countess tributes written by many of his friends, present company included, that are easily accessible online.

One of them included an interview with Jenkins talking about his personal mantra when writing about the sports he covered.

“Be accurate first, then entertain if it comes natural,” he said. “Never sell out a fact for a gag. Your job is to inform above all else. Know what to leave out. Don’t try to force-feed an anecdote. If it doesn’t fit your piece, no matter how much it amuses you. Save it for another time. Have a conviction about what you cover. Read all the good writers that came before you.

“Don’t just cover a beat, care-take it. Keep in mind, you know more about the subject than your readers or editors. You’re close to it, they aren’t. I think I can say in all honesty that I’ve never written a sentence I didn’t believe, even if it happened to be funny.”

I’m hoping all our writers at the magazine—better yet, just about any journalist at all—reads those words and takes them to heart.

But I digress.

So now, with a delightful hint of spring flooding the senses, we’re offering our loyal readers another intriguing mix of words and photos from all around our gorgeous corner of the globe. It’s definitely the season to catch the Spirit.

Leonard Shapiro Editor badgerlen@aol.com Country Spirit • Spring 2019

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Cover Photo

Spring Forward to Summer Fun & Fitness!

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Managing editor: Jill Palermo, jpalermo@fauquier.com Page designer: Cindy Goff Contributing photographers: Caroline Fout, Missy Janes, Douglas Lees, Middleburg Photo, Crowell Hadden Contributing writers: Justin Haefner, Sebastian Langenberg, Sophie Langenberg, Lizzie Catherwood, Caroline Fout, Sean Clancy, Megan Catherwood, M.J. McAteer, Jimmy Wofford, Leslie VanSant, Anita Sherman, Carina Elgin, Louisa Woodville, Tom Wiseman and Mike du Pont Advertising Director: Kathy Mills Godfrey, 540-351-1162 kgodfrey@fauquier.com Production Manager: Cindy Goff, cgoff@fauquier.com Ad designers: Sawyer Guinn, sguinn@fauquier.com Annamaria Ward, award@fauquier.com For advertising inquiries contact Leonard Shapiro at badgerlen@aol.com or 410-570-8447

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

Doug Ghelsen and Karen Monroe of Middleburg Photo are off to go racing with this issue of Country Spirit. Alex is wearing a lovely habit, with Jack in his colorful jockey silks.

Sarah Pemberton assisted with styling.

It was an honor and a pleasure to have both these highly-accomplished riders in our studio. Jack had just returned from his annual winter hiatus in his native Ireland and drove all the way to Middleburg from Monkton, Maryland for the photo shoot.

For the cover portrait, they used a mono light with a 22” beauty dish and fill light provided by a strip 12x36 box and an additional mono-light to illuminate the backdrop.

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PHOTO BY SEBASTIAN LANGENBERG.

La Hacienda owners Cesar Ramirez, Arnoldo Vides and Jose Vides.

By Sebastian Langenberg

All of their dishes are authentic and always use the freshest ingrediThere are 850 residents in the ents. Their chimichangas are a besttown of Middleburg, and now there seller, and true connoisseurs also are 14 restaurants. recommend the carne asada. There’s Do the math. That’s 60 residents a full range of Tex-Mex dishes, and per eating establishment. And La other favorites include the Burrito Hacienda, the newest eatery, is a wel- California and an 8-ounce “Steak a come addition to the town’s culinary la Mexicana.” scene because it brings authentic The owners say they’re planning Mexican and Tex-Mex food back to to become involved with other comMiddleburg. munity events around town. “We Owners and brothers Jose and Ar- definitely want to get more involved noldo Vides are not new to town, or and see how we can help,” Ramirez the food business. recently told Loudoun Now. Arnoldo started cooking for Jean In addition to their weekly speMichel Lacaze back in 2006 at the cials, the restaurant also plans to hold very same location when it was special events. On Cinco de Mayo— known as Julien’s cafe and the menu as in May 5—a Mariachi band will offered French cuisine. Arnoldo entertain diners, maybe a first for brought his brother into the restau- Middleburg. And don’t forget to try rant business a few years later. a scrumptious adult beverage known When Lacaze decided to retire as their Skinny Margarita. and return to his native France last Why the name La Hacienda? year, the Vides brothers jumped at A hacienda in Spanish means an the opportunity to start their own estate or ranch, usually with a large restaurant, opening for business this main house and often with horses past December. grazing in surrounding pastures.

They were joined in the enterprise That’s obviously a perfect fit for an

by Cesar Ramirez, their business part- area that prides itself on its equine ner who has been in the restaurant in- reputation. The new owners also dustry for 22 years, including 20 years wanted to create a restaurant that with the Foster’s Grill chain as a re- will be truly embraced by their local gional manager. Arnoldo and his wife, clientele.

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“Business has been really good,” to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and Jose Vides said. “We are busy most 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Satdays.” urday.

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Champagne, Polo and The Great War

By William H. (Mike) du Pont

Grandfather Hulbert with his daughter Marie Louise Hulbert, Mike du Pont and Victor du Pont donkey Victoria and Daddle, the duck.

In Northern Virginia early in the 20th Century, the hunting was great, the parties were grand and everyone was having a wonderful time.

And then came 1914 and the beginning of World War I. The U.S. did not immediately join the war effort, but many young American men and women, including some from our area, wanted to make a contribution to help our friends in France.

They left colleges, public high schools and prep schools to seek adventure and possibly make a difference in the war effort. Many joined the American Field Service, where they ended up in the American Ambulance Service driving wounded soldiers from the front to hospitals behind the lines.

My grandfather, W. P. Hulbert, decided to join this effort. Before leaving for training, he told his mother he was going to France, and when he returned he wanted to settle in the Middleburg area.

He also asked if she would consider purchasing a farm for him.

She generously consented and acquired Stonehedge, a farm located on Hulberts Lane halfway between the The Plains Road and the Hill School Road. Grandfather trained in Allentown, Pennsylvania, then travelled to France where he, like so many others, became an ambulance driver.

Grandfather never talked much about his war experiences, but I do remember him speaking about his time at Chateau Thierry in the Champagne District.

He got to know a few of the grape-growers there and also brought back from Paris certain additives 8

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

for champagne-making. He always said that learning what went into champagne caused him to never drink the stuff again. I suspect he consumed enough bubbly during his few years in the Champagne District to last him a lifetime.

Grandfather often was shot at by the Germans as he was driving the wounded back to Paris. After the war, for his service, the French Government awarded him La Croix de Guerre and La Medaille d’Honneur (for acts of courage and devotion). He never told any of us what he had endured to earn them.

America entered the war in 1918 and folded the American Ambulance Corps into the U. S. Army.

Grandfather was made a Captain and stayed on in Paris after the cessation of hostilities.

While there, he met a most attractive young lady working in the Nursing Corps named Mary Chittenden. They fell in love and, upon returning from France in 1920, they married and moved into Stonehedge to resume the wonderful life in Middleburg.

My mother, Marie Louise Hulbert du Pont, was a product of Grandfather’s first marriage, and she spent much time at Stonehedge with her father and step-mother. They were busy growing their own family that eventually consisted of four children Catherine, Helen, Billy (W. P. Hulbert, Jr.) and Elisabeth.

My mother was particularly fond of her grandmother Bessie (Elisabeth Johnston Hulbert), a thoughtful person, an artist, musician, and huntress.

Every year, she took my mother into Washington for lunch and a movie for her birthday, August 14.

Mother recalled that Route 50 was a dirt road from Middleburg all the way to Camp Washington, just north of Fairfax. The round trip almost always involved at least two flat tires.

Mother also helped ride polo ponies from Stonehedge to Phipps Field just south of route 50 on Goose Creek. Grandfather played polo there, as did one of his teammates, Baldwin D. Spillman from Warrenton.

Mr. Spillman also drove ambulances in France during the war and perhaps that’s where Grandfather made his acquaintance. Grandfather was often involved in arranging practice games, accomplished by calling Mrs. Yates, the local telephone operator in Middleburg.

Calls were made in those days by first turning a crank on the side of the phone. Soon Mrs. Yates would come on the line.

“Yes, Mr. Hulbert, what can I do for you?”

Grandfather replied, “Mrs. Yates, I would like to arrange a practice polo game Thursday, may I speak to Mr. Clark?”

“Mr. Hulbert,” she replied, “Mr. Clark is in New York this week. But I know who your teammates are and I’ll call and arrange your practice game. What time do you want to play?”

The games were arranged, the players and ponies always showed up, and thank you so very much Mrs. Yates.

This is another in a series of articles by William H. (Mike) du Pont, a long-time Middleburg area resident and former MFH of the Orange County Hounds.

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Its Been a Very Merry Move for Le Petit Marche

By Sebastian Langenberg

ideal stop for those wanting to wow dinner guests or judges at the next tailgate competition.

And why the move from Marshall?

“I wanted to be in Middleburg because of the robust village activity,” Reardon said. “Lots of people walking down the street.” The relocation from Marshall already has paid off.

Her Middleburg location is easier for customers to find and park, and sales are up due to the higher foot traffic.

The Merry Moo Market, once located in Marshall, has a new name, and a new location, but the same gourmet favorites, and many new additions, as well. It’s now called Le Petit Marche and is open for business on Washington Street, across the street from SONA Bank.

“Le Petit March is exactly what it is called! It’s a tiny market!” said Gail Reardon, the owner and operator of the store. Reardon sells all manner of scrumptious foods, and specializes in fresh meats and seafood.

“My seafood comes from a supplier that services the top tier restaurants from New Jersey to North Carolina,” said Reardon. “What makes them different from other suppliers is they send their trucks directly to BWI Airport and to the Baltimore port.

They load up their trucks and then it’s distributed. When you compare that to the big stores like Food Lion or even Wegmans, they have these huge distribution chains so even if it says fresh, it’s normally frozen before it hits the store and is then thawed out.”

PHOTO BY SEBASTIAN LANGENBERG Reardon makes certain that her meat Le Petit Marche owner Gail Reardon in her new selection is fresh, the Middleburg gourmet food shop. animals humanely raised and only fed top-quality feeds.

Reardon also has made several Reardon also has been selling even changes in her new location. She’s more game in Middleburg than she expanding her wine collection, and ever did in Marshall. She carries all sorts of unusual meats, from rabbit, has started showcasing local artists, to quail to wild boar. Looking for a with paintings displayed on walls place to transform your typical meat all around for sale. And last month, and potatoes dinners into something she also introduced a limited lunch truly special? Then Le Petit Marche menu. Like everything else in this is the place to shop. And the prices fabulous food emporium, the fare is are reasonable market value, without delicious.

Le Petit Marche is open Monday the so-called “Middleburg Markup.” through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 Le Petit Marche isn’t only about p.m.

It’s located at 5 West Washington fresh meats and seafood. Reardon Street in Middleburg. For more inforalso has a selection of beers, cakes, mation, call 540-827-4711 or visit crackers, cheeses, seasonings and sides that make Le Petit Marche the lepet-itmarche.org

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

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PROM SEASON IS HERE RENT YOUR TUXEDO AT WARRENTON JEWELERS

A Special School Once Flourished Near Gainesville

By John T. Toler

ne of the pioneering efforts to provide rehabilitation and O meaningful training for mentally-

on mental and psychological problems was more than just academic. One of J. Richard and Miriam Speck’s three children, David (1932-2000), was born severely mentally and physically handicapped, requiring constant supervision and care.

challenged and brain-injured children originated at the Partridge School, which operated from 1956-1970 on a former dairy farm property west of Gainesville.

The goal was to provide a regional Origin of the school After creating the Partridge fountreatment and training program, contrasted with the state institutions then dation, in 1954 Emelyn and Miriam started a small school for seven menin existence. tally handicapped The school boys in Herndon. was owned by the The purpose was George Everett to demonstrate Partridge Memothe family’s phirial Foundation, losophy that “… named for the whatever a perlate patriarch of son’s limitations, the family, which he or she can and included three must feel that they family members are part of the who were highlyworking world.” qualified in the The experitreatment and ment worked, and rehabilitation of During its existence in Prince William, in January 1955, children suffering the Partridge School enjoyed much a second school from a variety of local support, much of it provided was opened in mental and be- by volunteers. In this 1966 photo, havioral problems. director Mrs. Miriam Speck (seated at Springfield. This Dr. George E. left) goes over plans with Mrs. Robert led to yet another this Partridge (1870- Burnett, Mrs. Cam Hunter (standing) expansion, time to the 5551953) attended and Mrs. Lois Ross, who handled acre farm west of Harvard, and in public relations for the school.

Gainesville.

1899 earned a After renting doctorate in psythe property for a year, the foundation chology at Clarke University. During purchased the farm from V. E. Wickhis medical career, he conducted landersham, of Washington, D.C. Long mark research into psy-chopathy—the definition and diagnosis of certain per- ago, it was known as Meadow Farm, sonality disorders. It was Dr. Partridge the home of Judge John Webb Tyler.

With room to grow, enrollment at ur MeditationRings are based on the ancient Tibetan Prayer Wheels. The practice of turning the prayer who coined the medical term, “sociowheel helps increase good karma and purify negative thoughts. upon these same principles our the Partridge School doubled to 28 Not valid with other offers.

One perBased person. path.”

MeditationRings are designed to have one or several outer bands that you can physically spin around His wife, Emelyn Newcomb Par- students, and in 1957 a building on an e actual ring, this is said to bring the wearer good luck and fortune and a sense of serenity and peace.” tridge (1869-1963), studied at the adjacent farm was rented to provide inUniversity of Massachusetts, and in dividual training for the more severely 1921 became a fellow in psychology at handicapped children. In 1958, these Clarke University. For several years she students were moved to a new building was a consulting clinical psychologist on the school property.

Community support for Partridge for the Baltimore Public School SysSchool was quickly offered. In Septem. She was also the author of several tember 1956, 25 members of four Lichildren’s books.

Their daughter, Miriam Partridge ons Clubs – the Fauquier, Bull Run, Speck, born in 1902, earned her bach- Manassas and Middleburg clubs – elor’s degree at Boston University, and joined together in a community service conducted graduate work and research project to rebuild the half-mile enat Yale and Johns Hopkins in clini- trance road from U.S. 29 to the school.

“The school is not endowed, and cal psychology. She later was a fellow must meet expenses through school in research at the Training School at fees and contributions,” read an article Vineland, N.J. and the Yale Psychoin the Sept.

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

the project include redecoration of the inside of the house and the purchase of playground equipment. Also needed is visual aid materials for the teachers.”

Notable progress

Vocational training at Partridge School included weaving, furniture refinishing, pottery and handcrafts.

Older students were offered courses in maintenance and domestic employment. A greenhouse was erected at the school, and a craft and gift shop opened on U.S. 29-211 just east of Gainesville.

Closely following the progress of their students, a new unit for children ages four and up with minimal brain damage, moderate disabilities and normal intellectual potential were grouped together in a separate program called the Tappan School. While sharing the same speech, recreational and play therapists, the two schools had different child care and instructional staffs.

Wishing to support the school, in September 1957, the Social Action Committee of the Fairfax Unitarian Church voted to sponsor a Boy Scout troop there, and in March 1958, an impressive open house was held at Partridge School, highlighted by the renovation of the former dairy barn into a dormitory, studio and classrooms.

Much of the building materials and paint had been donated by local businesses, and some of the labor done by the students themselves – efforts that made them quite proud. The main house was later refurbished as well.

In February 1959, the Partridge School received three yearly grants of $25,000 each from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation of the U.S. Deptartment of Health, Education and Welfare. As part of a demonstration and research project, the money was used to pay salaries of additional staff required for the vocational education and job placement. At the end of the first year of the grant, the school had grown to 62 students and 37 staff members.

By 1961, it was clear some of the older boys were ready for employment apprenticeship placement. This required a separate facility as the final stage in preparation for “…taking part in the working world.”

At the time, Emelyn and Miriam were living at Waverley, north of Haymarket, and the Waverly Lodge was set up on the property to meet this need. Later, the boys were transferred to the Loudoun House, a facility in Manassas. Ultimately, there were five such facilities in outlying communities.

After Emelyn died in 1963, Miriam assumed the role school director.

A board of trustees was set up, as well as an advisory board of 40 prominent citizens and professionals.

In addition, a parents’ group of about 100 members actively participated in various projects and special events. The Partridge Guild was organized in 1967

to explain the rehabilitation program to surrounding communities, and to describe the ways volunteer organizations could play a role.

Partridge School became a part of the community. On Saturdays, the school van brought the boys to Madison’s Barber Shop for haircuts, and on Sundays, children were brought to local churches to attend worship services.

At Christmas, local church youth groups often took the neediest children shopping, and the Boy Scouts at Partridge sold Christmas trees at the gift shop, raising money to purchase uniforms and pay for Scout summer camps.

William Skinker of Marshall joined the school staff in 1967 after returning from Vietnam. He recalls that the students had a wide range of physical and mental disabilities, and the teachers were patient and always “did the best that they could” for the children.

Don’t miss the next

COUNTRYSpirit

Final days

By 1969, Partridge School was suffering from serious financial and management problems. Grant aid and the revenue provided through CHAMPUS had dried up, “…and a series of mechanics liens and lawsuits had been filed against the property for unpaid bills,” according to research by Donald L. Wilson, Virginiana Librarian at the Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center in Manassas.

William Skinker recalls that staff was paid but told to hold their checks until funds could be found to cover them. The ongoing crisis hurt the school’s reputation and upset the trustees.

In September 1969, Miriam took a leave of absence to open a new facility in Tucson, Arizona. She leased the former Sahuro School in Tucson with the option to buy the property, according to the Tucson Daily Citizen.

With very little notice, the Partridge School in Prince William quietly closed by the end of 1970, and the school property sold to Elmer Hoehn in early 1971.

However, problems quickly piled in Tucson. Staff was cited for failing to get proper approvals for fundraising, and in December 1971, there was a tax lien against the school for unpaid withholding taxes and FICA. The end came in August 1972, after two female patients ran away from the school and complained about conditions there. After an investigation, the permit to operate the school was revoked. It closed on Aug. 23, 1972, and less than two weeks later, the Daily Citizen reported that the property had been sold.

It was later reported that the foundation had ceased to exist, and a noble experiment—at least as far the Partridge family was concerned—was over.

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Aldie Ruritan BINGO Night Saturday, May 18, 6:30 pm Middleburg Community Center Tickets: $35 per person

Includes 8 BINGO cards 1 50/50 Raffle ticket Dinner by Hammerdown BBQ 1 ticket for Beer/Wine Soda/water/coffee Birthday Cake

Celebrating Sarah Douglass’ 100th Birthday!

Reservations Recommended. Call Tommy 703.471.4911 or Tucker 703.327.4206 Additional bingo cards, martinis/mixed drinks/beer/wine, and raffle tickets available for purchase on site Sponsored by Aldie Ruritan

Lots of fabulous prizes for BINGO Winners!

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

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The Trinity Episcopal Hunt Coun- a stunning space for the training and try Stable Tour will take place on Me- development of sport horses. There morial Day weekend on Saturday, May are exquisite fields and an outstanding 25 and Sunday, May 26.This year marks show ring for training horses to jump the 60th anniversary of the Upperville and perform competitively. and Middleburg event benefitting the The Middleburg Agricultural Rechurch’s Outreach program. search and Extension (MARE) CenIn alphabetical order, we begin with ter was established in 1949 through the Chestnut Run Farm, a first-time generous donation of land and facilities Stable Tour participant. The 130-acre by the late Paul Mellon. The farm covproperty is home to Mary Ann Ghad- ers 420 acres in the heart of the hunt ban and Thomas Ackerly and includes country. It’s home to Virginia Tech’s instate-of-the-art stables for 20 horses, ternationally renowned equine research an indoor arena, and the outdoor cross- and educational programs focusing on country training grounds. Several dem- the healthy horse and environmental onstrations are planned, including side- stewardship through pasture-based nusaddle equestrienne Alexandra Akabak. trition.

Jim and Katie Fitzgerald’s 150-acre Affectionately called “the training Thoroughbred breeding facility, Chilly track” by locals, this historic equestrian Bleak Farm in Marshall, makes a wel- center and originally founded by Melcome debut on this year’s stable tour. lon, the Middleburg Training Center Visitors will see is in the final stagthe broodmares, es of renovation. their newborn It’s a tradition to foals and yearlings stop by early Satheaded to the sales urday morning to in Kentucky and see Thoroughbred Saratoga, N.Y. horses condition Then, hopefully, and train on the they’re off to sucracetrack. cessful racetrack The facility is careers. now owned by Chuck Kuhn, Gum Tree founder and ownFarm of Middleer of JK Moving burg began in 1995 Services, North as Franny and Walter Kanstein- Melanie and Peter Hitchen with their America’s largest independent mover began raising youngest daughter, Elaina enjoy a ultra-fine Merino visit with a big friendly bay horse on ing and storage company. Kuhn sheep organically last year’s tour. has placed the and turned their property in conserbeautiful fleece into garments and wool pieces such as vation easement to preserve the site for blankets, fingerless mittens, baby wear future generations.

Orange Hill, owned by Bryce Lingo, and capes.

Hickory House Farm, owned by dates to the 1800s as a noted equestrian Mimi Abel Smith, is part of the Or- property, hosting numerous hunt meets ange County Hounds territory and is and producing top quality Virginia-bred

Stable Tour

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60th Anniversary The stables at Oak Spring have been transformed in a stunning adaptive reuse as accommodation and meeting space for scholars, artists, and educators visiting the Oak Spring Garden Foundation near Upperville. horses for over a century. It’s now the and every imaginable cross-country home base for trainer Snowden Clarke, challenge these horses will encounter. who specializes in producing quality The home, stables and multiple outyoung horses for jumping, showing and buildings were designed by noted local architect Tommy hunting. There Beach. will be jumpSet on 340 ing and training acres in the heart exhibitions as of Middleburg, well as introducSalamander ing visitors to the Resort & Spa’s farm’s cashmere Equestrian goats, Serama Center has a chickens and call 22-stall stable, ducks.

120 x 240 outIn the spring At Bryce Lingo’s Orange Hill, horseman door arena with of 2017, Paul Snowden Clarke begins the training of Thor-Turf footMellon’s wish young hunters and show horses in this ing, 25 on-site became a real- indoor space where they can all focus acres, nine turnity when reno- on the future. out paddocks vations were and miles of completed on the barn, converting its interior into trails. The facility offers unique proaccommodation and meeting space for gramming for all levels, interests and scholars, artists, and educators visiting ages of aspiring equestrians.

The 360-acre St. Bride’s Farm, just the Oak Spring Garden Foundation (OSGF), while preserving its distinc- outside the village of Upperville, was established in 1916 by Cary Langhorne. tive character as a barn.

OSGF was founded in 1993 by the The current owners are committed to late Rachel “Bunny” Lambert Mel- breeding a successful line of Amerilon and encompasses 700 acres of the can show jumpers. Many are ridden by Mellon’s beautiful Oak Spring estate, Laura Kraut, an Olympic gold medalincluding their home, gardens, library ist and one of the top 25 riders in the and broodmare barn. The foundation is world who is sponsored by St. Bride’s.

The Hunt Country Stable Tour dedicated to inspiring and facilitating scholarship and public dialogue on the is the primary fund-raiser for Trinity history and future of plants, including Outreach and the tour generates over the culture of gardens and landscapes $50,000 for the greater good annually. and the importance of plants for hu- Proceeds provide financial support to organizations that enhance and enrich man well-being.

Mike and Wendy Smith’s Poplar the lives of people in need. Included Grange Farm houses their young show missions are SOME, supporting the and steeplechase horses as well as their homeless in D.C, Piedmont Childcare, favorite retired horses. In their pur- and Helping Haitians.

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A Return To The private collection of jewelry designer Elizabeth Locke’s micro-mosaic jewels will be on view at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, April 27 through September 5.

The exhibit is a fascinating juxtaposition of antique and modern craftsmanship enabling a lost art to come to life once again. Ms. Locke, of Millwood, first became fascinated with micromosaics when she lived in Florence, Italy. She was intrigued by the beauty of their original colors that had not faded and the miniscule tiles that could only be seen when closely observed from an angle. At the time, she had no idea that later in life she would become a jewelry designer and that the unusual tiny mosaic plaques would become so important to her.

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

The Grand Tour

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

17

Vineyard View

Wine Tasting Pleasure

By Peter Leonard-Morgan

They passionately assemble one bottle per vintage/year of production, for as far back as they can go, and voilà, they have the ingredients for a “vertical tasting.”

I met with one such collector recently, an old friend who was understandably proud to show me his collection of local Loudoun County wines. They were meticulously racked, one vintage above another, in order of ascending year and of the same type.

I asked him to explain this fascination, and it comes down to the exploration of a deeper understanding as to how various production years differ for otherwise identical wines, and why that might be the case. Was it too much rain one year, or an early frost another, which created different tastes and smells, and better or worse wines? This phenomenon is known in the wine world as vintage variation, and a vertical tasting is a great way to explore such variations.

Greater swings in variation generally occur in more challenging growing climates, and Virginia is certainly one of those regions. We know all too well how spring and summer can be extremely wet or very dry, whereas California, for

Let’s face it, the success or failure of any product comes down to how good it is, and will customers buy, and continue to buy

it.

Wine is no exception.

And when it comes to Virginia wines, wine-lovers have been buying increasingly more over the last few decades, demonstrating that the Commonwealth’s wine makers are doing a fine job.

And then there is the tifosi, to coin the Italian for “fans,” who adopt favorite vineyards and wineries, become wine club members and loyally pick up their monthly, quarterly or semi-annual bottle allocations, to ceremoniously share them with friends, or in the case of collectors, laying them down to, one hopes, age gracefully.

Taking it a step further, there are those wonderful and intrepid connoisseurs who focus on specific blends, or types, from their top local wine makers.

example, enjoys a far more predictable climate, ideal for wine production.

My buddy has lived near a veritable agglomeration of small to medium farm wineries since 2006, when I first met him.

Our friendship developed through an enjoyment of running on some of Loudoun’s prettiest gravel byways, enjoying friendly competition at running events. But now, full disclosure. It was a shared love of the vinifera which ensured that our families congregated often and at length to do what humans have done for centuries—socially interact over a bottle of good wine.

He went another step further, collecting these consecutive vintages and, from time to time, uncorking a selection and discussing in a group setting the pros and cons of each.

Through belonging to a number of local wineries’ clubs, and being in the enviable position of stockpiling various types (for example Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir), aficionados like my friend also are able to host “horizontal tastings.”

That involves the same vintage year

and type but wines from different wineries are compared. This fun and fascinating tasting helps to select favorite wineries and winemakers by being in a position to judge on an apples to apples, or should I say grapes to grapes, basis.

I would encourage anyone to try this with friends and family—start with just a couple of consecutive years of the same wine, or two identical years/types from different producers, and you’ll soon be on the way to more in depth comparison parties! Santé...

Jill Stanley-Smith, Tim Smith and Edward Stanley conducting a Breaux Merlot Vertical Tasting at their cozy home wine cave.

INTRODUCING THE STARTER REWARD PROGRAM

for the 2019 Spring Virginia Point to Point Races! Any Virginia Owned or Trained horse that starts in a flat, hurdle or timber race will recieve $200 per start.

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

The Starter Reward program is funded by the Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA), whose purpose is to sustain, promote and expand horse breeding and horse racing industries in Virginia.

JUNE 3 - 9, 2019 FEI Rating CSI4* Presented by St. Bride’s Farm

THURSDAY, JUNE 6 | $30,000 Upperville National Grand Prix FRIDAY, JUNE 7 | $71,200 Welcome Stakes CSI4* SATURDAY, JUNE 8 $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby • $35,700 Upperville Speed Stakes CSI4* SUNDAY, JUNE 9 $208,000 Upperville Jumper Classic CSI4* Sunday highlights include: Hunter Breeding Classes • “Horses & Horsepower” Auto Show • Jack Russel Terrier Races

upperville.com | uchs1853@gmail.com Country Spirit • Spring 2019

19

Discover your challenges.

Discover your strengths.

Discover your potential.

Tiptoe Through

By Vicky Moon

Discover Wakefield.

When you foster curiosity and risk-taking, something remarkable happens. Students become critical thinkers. Good hearts become great ones. And our graduates become capable, ethical, articulate leaders that take on the world.

Mark your calendars now for the Historic Garden Week Tour “Country Roads of Southwest Leesburg” on Sunday, April 28 from 1-5 p.m. and on Monday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Explore the countryside of southwest Leesburg to visit four gorgeous properties and five unique gardens. This tour will take you down Canby Road to Lincoln and Mt. Gilead. Enjoy vistas of rolling hills and pristine creeks white strolling among the garden foliage.

Discover what a college-preparatory liberal arts education could mean for your child, Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12.

Visit www.wakefieldschools.org or call our Admissions team at (540) 253-7600 The oldest part of the house at Lark Rise was built of stone and brick in the mid1700s by Minor Bartlow.

Lincoln area homes are brimming with Quaker history while Mt. Gilead features a peony garden like you’ve never seen before. Canby Road offers a grand, exacting Williamsburg reproduction home and distinctive gardens. Be sure to take in the newly restored gardens at Oatlands, funded by Garden Club of Virginia HGW tour proceeds.

Lark Rise at 19026 Shelburne Glebe Road in Leesburg visitors will see a charming Federal-style Quaker farmhouse nestled on 11 acres in the rolling hills of the Goose Creek Historic District. The oldest part of the house was built of stone and brick in the mid-1700s by Minor Bartlow. Family heirlooms include a chandelier purchased from the White House during the McKinley administration and oil paintings obtained from the William Randolph Hearst Collection in the 1930s. A glorious Linden tree highlights the front yard where the entrance is lined with boxwood, hosta and a variety of spring plantings.

Springdale Village Inn in Purcellville was built in 1832 by abolitionist, govern-

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Springdale Village Inn in Purcellville was built in 1832 by abolitionist, government official, writer, educator and evangelical Quaker Samuel M. Janney.

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

the Tulips

ment official, writer, educator and evangelical Quaker Samuel M. Janney. Originally a girls’ boarding school, it was used as a soldiers’ hospital serving both the North and South during the Civil War. The five-acre property includes a brook, wooden bridges, gardens and benches along wooded trails with native wild flower

For your special day see us.

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Stony Lonesome is one of the most stately homes in the village of Mount Gilead. gardens commonly grown 100 years ago. The Federal-style manor house boasts 25 rooms, eight fireplaces and a charming sun room. Listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, it has the original Quaker pegs and dumbwaiter and now houses a commercial kitchen.

Stony Lonesome at 38683 Mount Gilead Road, Leesburg is one of the most stately homes in the village of Mount Gilead, the original stone 2½-story home and north wing were built circa 1790.

The 38-acre property with its spectacular peony and heritage rose collecThe tour headquarters tions continues to be maintained as a will be at Oatlands showplace. The well-kept grounds are Carriage House Museum. enhanced by old trees, four ponds, old Tickets (good for both days) are $40 stone fences, and assorted farm aniin advance and $50 the day of the mals and pets. event. One property is $25. For details: Woodcrest at 17636 Canby Road, Leesburg@vagardenweek.org.

Leesburg was meticulously crafted in 1988 as an example of early Georgian style (1730) architecture, set on 33 acres that give the property commanding views to the east. A raised limestone terrace overlooks a gated pool garden shaded by Autumnalis cherry trees. Adding texture and color to the area are boxwood hedges, spring bulbs, flowering shrubs, perennials, and espaliered retaining walls. This is open for the first time.

confections of quality 10. South Madison Street, Middleburg, Virginia 540.687.3909

Leesburg – “Country Roads 1 Hidden Treasures”

Home & Garden Tour

Sunday, April 28 1pm–5pm 1 Monday, April 29 10am–5pm The Leesburg Garden Club welcomes you to Historic Garden Week – “America’s First and Largest Open House.” Explore the country roads of the southwest Loudoun County countryside and visit gorgeous homes and gardens along the way. Take in the rolling hills, historic byways, and peony gardens like you’ve never seen before!

For tickets and more information about this and other tours as part of Historic Garden Week go to

vagardenweek.org This tour is brought to you by the Leesburg Garden Club and the Fauquier Loudoun Garden Club. Both are affiliate clubs of the Garden Club of Virginia.

Woodcrest was meticulously crafted in 1988 as an example of early Georgian style.

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

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Force of Nature Will Allison Is Mr. Gold Cup

By Don Clippinger William H. Allison, co-chairman of the Virginia in Virginia, it’s Virginia Gold Cup day. In 1985, the Gold Cup and International Gold Cup, is one of Gold Cup was a big event on the steeplechase calthose rare individuals who makes you feel as though endar, with 20,000 attending and nearly $50,000 in you have been a friend forever. It’s a gift, and Alli- purses. son has used that gift in positive ways to benefit his Allison took over as Gold Cup president in 1995 many endeavors. and continues to hold that position. Five years later, Simply put, he gets things done. he became race chairman, and now shares that title Through determination and gregarious good with Al Griffin Jr., also a dentist, an NSA board will, he’s built the Virginia Gold Cup-this year on member and chairman of the Promotion and May 4-into one of the richest race meets on the National Steeplechase Association schedule. The orphaned International Gold Cup arrived in Virginia in 1985, and he’s worked to make it a major stop on the fall steeplechase calendar.

A son of Warrenton, Allison has made his life there. Horses are one of his passions, but not his sole focus. A 2011 newspaper feature marking his 80th birthday described him as a “public servant, community activist, patron of the arts, sportsman and, as many will testify, a kind person and good friend.”

He began riding in his teens, and he was in a Virginia Military Institute cavalry unit and graduated in 1953. He obtained his degree from the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry four years later. After a tour in the Army, he returned to Warrenton in 1962 and joined a dental Will Allison with Virginia State Senator Jill Vogel. practice that his maternal grandfather, James O. Hodgkin, had started in 1875. He contin- Growth Committee. ues to practice part-time.

With the Gold Cup board, Allison pulled all the He first became involved with the horses as a levers to make the event what it is today. The Gold member of the Warrenton Hunt in 1964. He was Cup has professional leadership provided by Execuhonorary secretary in 1980 and served as its joint tive Director Diane Jones, and top-line marketing master from 1985 until his retirement in 2000. He and public-relations in place. now rides for pleasure and is an avid golfer.

In the Washington area, the Virginia Gold Cup Allison’s community involvement also grew over has always been the place to be on that first Saturtime. He’s been active in Rotary, the Warrenton day in May. Attendance has soared, to 70,000 on Free Clinic, Piedmont Environmental Council, and occasion, and the purse is now $100,000, the highthe Boys and Girls Club, among others. est for a timber race along with the Maryland Hunt But arguably his greatest achievement has been Cup. The event also has a prime hurdle race, the the Virginia Gold Cup, whose board he joined in $75,000 David Semmes Memorial (Grade 2).

1985. In much of Thoroughbred racing, the first Allison also has worked to build the InternaSaturday in May means the Kentucky Derby, but tional Gold Cup into a significant fall event. Its 22

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

purses totaled more than $350,000 last year, with a program featuring the $75,000 International Gold Cup over timber and the $75,000 David L. “Zeke” Ferguson Memorial (Grade 2) over hurdles.

When Virginia pari-mutuel racing ran into a dry spell with the closing of Colonial Downs in 2012, Allison was part of a task force that formed the Virginia Equine Alliance to maintain the racing industry in the Commonwealth, and he serves as the organization’s treasurer. Colonial Downs is scheduled to reopen this year under new ownership.

“We’re very fortunate to be associated with the Virginia Equine Alliance,” Allison said. “At the time, we were the only active pari-mutuel license, and we kept the lights burning for Thoroughbred racing in Virginia. Through the Alliance, for 2019 we added $1.25 million to steeplechase racing in Virginia.”

The International Gold Cup inaugurated pari-mutuel wagering in 2013 under the supervision of the Virginia Racing Commission, and the Gold Cup followed the next spring. Last fall, the International Gold Cup program was sent worldwide by the popular wagering platform Xpressbet.

Allison sees the wagering, both in Virginia and around the world, principally as a way to allow more PHOTO BY DOUGLAS LEES people to experience American steeplechasing.

“The exposure is fantastic,” he said. “It’s hundreds of thousands of people. It’s the greatest thing for jump racing.”

Don C. Clippinger is director of communications for the National Steeplechase Association.

General admission car passes are $100 (allows entry of car and up to six occupants). All entering the grounds under General Admission and going to the north or south areas, must have a wrist band, $25. All children 12 and under free with an adult.

Members Hill badges, $55.Tickets are available at area Harris Teeter stores and discounted with a Har-ris Teeter VIC card. Call 540-347-2612 for details or go to vagoldcup.com.

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

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Middleburg Millwork

Flooring Specialists and More 14574 Lee Highway, Amissville, VA 20106

Early’s Carpet, Inc. 540-937-5500

M-F 9am to 5 pm ~ Sat 10am to 4pm EMERGENCY SERVICES Day, Night & Weekends Available

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The Largest In-Stock Inventory of Carpet, Area Rugs, Orientals, Vinyl, Hardwood, Laminate, Ceramic & Remnants!

The Largest In-Stock 14574 Lee Highway, Amissville, VA 20106 0am to 4pm Inventory of 540-937-5500 RVICES Available Carpet, M-F 9am to 5 pm ~ Sat 10am to 4pm Area Rugs,EMERGENCY SERVICES Visit Us Online: hometown carpet Day, Night & Weekends Available www.earlyscarpet.com Orientals, know…

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Vist Us Online: www.earlyscarpet.com 24

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

The Largest In-Stock of row: Carpet, Bob Ball, Adrian GrimesInventory and in the back Kenny Melbourne, Doug Barnett, Jimmy Beatty and Steve Bell.

Area Rugs, Orientals, Vinyl, Hardwood, Bob offered a tour of the store to Stepping through the door at MidLaminate, Ceramic & Remnants! dleburg Millwork, Inc. brings back memories of those classic small town hardware stores of the past.

Back in the day, walking through those doors often provided a feast for the senses, with a variety of tools, gadgets and gizmos eye and the warm, VisittoUs Online: comforting smell of fresh-milled www.earlyscarpet.com lumber and sawdust. The staff always seemed to understand whatever your project called for, exactly what product would help get the job done. And if you were lucky, maybe there was a penny candy jar by the cash register.

At Middleburg Millwork, that same feeling is still alive, from the shelves filled with all manner of tools, hardware, nails and countless bits and pieces for any project, to the friendly staff helping customers find and implement home improvement solutions.

It’s clearly a trip back in time, including the candy.

MMI opened its doors on April 1, 1969, and was founded by owners David Ball and Dan Burner. Cabinet-makers by trade, the two men had been working at Northern Counties Cabinet-Making and Building Supply in Upperville when they saw an opportunity to open a shop in Middleburg. The old Boyd Ford dealership building was transitioned from car sales and garage to a cabinet-making shop and retail lumber yard.

“It wasn’t long before they began filling requests for hardware, supplies and more,” said current owner Bob Ball, David’s son. “At the time, Middleburg was growing, and they were helping to build it.”

You can definitely hear the pride in Bob and his wife Joyce’s voices when they speak about the store, now a Middleburg institution as it celebrates its 50th anniversaryVisit year.Us Bob and Joyce Online: have owned the store since 2001, when www.earlyscarpet.com David retired. It’s a family business that also supports Middleburg families with hardware, lumber, millwork and design services.

a writer while carrying his grandson, Cade. He also shared his essential mission statement: provide customers with quality products, knowledge and customer service they can’t get from the big box stores at prices that can compete or beat them.

“On any given day, there is more than 150 years experience here at the store,” Bob said as he described the MMI team, including Joyce, Cindy Wines, Kenny Milbourne, Jimmy Beatty, Doug Barnett, Steve Bell, Adrian Grimes and Jennifer Kaiser. Everyone on staff is friendly, warmly welcoming long-time customers or first-timers.

In one section, there are drawers filled with custom created-by-hand profiles used to make molding and cabinets. Bob pulled a few out and offered a story behind each one— this was for so-and-so’s kitchen, that one for the dining room, and so on.

“We’ve invested in the Kitchen and Bath Design Studio and are offering four lines of cabinets to fit any budget or home design dreams,” Joyce said, adding that local craftsmen are part of the installation and design teams, which also helps better the community’s economy.

“We want to be sure that people know MMI is here and ready to serve them,” she said.

As a recent example, seeing a need they could help fill, MMI started to carry Statesman shavings for their customers with horses after Southern States closed its doors earlier this year.

“In the early days, my father and this store helped outfit many homes in town,” Bob said. “Now, we’re working to maintain it. We’re proud members of the Middleburg Community and ready to build the future together.”

Middleburg Millworks is located at 106 South Madison Street and is open Mon-day to Friday, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon. Learn more at https://mmilh.com.

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Initially, New Middleburg Monogram Shop Offers Personal Touch

• Acute, chronic, and preventive primary care, mobile, 24/7.

• At any location -– home, work, school, wherever you like.

• YOU choose the day, time, place, and length of your visit.

• Whether you NEED this (due to immobility) or whether you PREFER this (for the privacy, convenience, personalization).

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PHOTO BY VICKY MOON

Mary Kennon Woodson and her mom, Alex Woodson, have recently opened WW Monogram in Middleburg.

By Sophie Scheps

Piedmont Regional Art Show & Sale Opening Gala Friday, May 17, 6-8:30 pm For Artists & Sponsors - Additional Guests $15

The Art Show & Sale continues

Saturday, May 18, 10 am to 6 pm & Sunday, May 19, Noon to 4 pm Admission Free – Donations welcome

72 Years Supporting the Arts in Our Community

Grace in The Plains

www.gracetheplains.org www.facebook.com/artshowatgrace 6507 Main Street, The Plains, VA 20198 540-253-5177x104

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

monogrammed items,” said Mary Kennon. “We thought Middleburg would On Saturday, March 9, Middleburg be a good market for this store. After welcomed its newest business on Madi- about a year of working on it, it’s finally son Street, a lovely shop where area cus- come to fruition.” tomers can put a personalized touch on The name WW honors the late virtually anything the heart desires.

Walter Woodson, Alex’s husband and WW Monograms, opened by Mary Kennon’s dad who passed away in mother-daughter duo Alex and Mary 2017. The cheerful cornflower blue sign Kennon Woodson, will serve to initial, was his favorite color. logo or otherwise customize a variety Located on site is a large, industrialof merchandise available in the store or sized monogram machine that can hanany sort of item customers bring in. dle most materials, including leather, Lining the shelves are a number of and can produce a thousand stitches a fun ideas for potential monograms, in- minute. The acrylic entertaining items cluding hats, tote bags, baby blankets, will be done off site and shipped directly serving trays and an already stand-out to the customer. The options for personfavorite, linen cocktail napkins. On the alization are endless. walls are colorful paintings by family Once an item has been chosen, friend and artist Diana Ansley, depict- books of thread color and typeface are ing scenes from her summers spent in brought out. Anything from the tradiMaine that also are for sale (but not tional to the avant-garde is available. monogrammed!).

The turnaround time is within a week.

“We will continue to add things,” Mary Kennon has had extensive trainAlex Woodson said. “I think it would be ing on the machine, and Alex plans to great to have covers for lacrosse sticks, learn that craft as well as figuring out field hockey sticks, tennis rackets.” the new electronic cash register they’ve “And additional items for men too, stationed at the front counter. wallets, or handkerchiefs,” added Mary “My husband has helped start a webKennon, who has recently returned to site for us,” Mary Kennon said. “You can the Middleburg area after getting mar- see the items we offer, and while you ried. She has a background in hospitality can’t shop online yet, we will be expandmanagement. Alex previously worked ing that.” at the CIA before staying home to raise WW Monograms is open seven days a Mary Kennon and involve herself in week, Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. various community organizations. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Check “My mom and I have always loved them out online at wwmonograms.com.

UPCOMING PSO CONCERTS FOR 2019...

PSO Unplugged The PSO welcomes its Rock Ensemble to the stage to perform timeless hits from The Beatles, Janis Joplin, The Moody Blues, Jefferson Airplane and more...

SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2019 - 5PM Cocktails begin at 4PM BUCHANAN HALL, Upperville, VA

Celesti Voci A celebration of the heavenly voice...the most beloved Arias and Duets of all time!

Soloists: Emily Casey, Nakia Verner, Joshua Boullion SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2019 - 3PM HIGHLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Warrenton, VA

The New World SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2019 - 3PM H. Lee Brewster, PSO Concertmaster, violin soloist COPLAND - Fanfare For The Common Man BARBER - Violin Concerto DVORAK - Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” HIGHLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Warrenton, VA

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

27

Tom Wiseman

Are You an Orphan Policyholder?

Millions of life insurance policies are sold every year for all types of risks; protection for a young family, buy sell or key man coverage for a business, estate liquidity, second marriages etc.

The statistics portal “Statista” estimates that over 60% of U.S. households own some type of life insurance. Over 28 million policies were sold in the U.S. in 2017. More recently, investment grade life insurance is sold as a type of ROTH IRA, and newer policies even come with Long Term Care riders to assist with elder care.

Tom Wiseman The problem? Life insurance is “sold” as a onetime shot, and the agent that sold it to you has little to no incentive to service you over the years. Life insurance is an asset, even if it is term insurance. It requires management, just as your portfolio does.

Consequently, our reviews of old policies as part of the planning process for a new client often yields a mess. Policies sold in high interest rate environments about to lapse; term policies long beyond the original maturity with skyrocketing premiums, wrong beneficiaries. We’ve seen it all.

People buy life insurance to insure against whatever the risk is at the time.

The policy itself is often lost or thrown in a drawer somewhere, and the premiums are just paid when the bill comes in. Often there is no attention to the annual statements, nor an understanding of rising mortality rates, lower crediting rates or even worse, a carrier raising its cost of insurance rates.

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

What? Raising rates?

That’s right. Recently Transamerica, as an example, announced in 2015 that it was raising the cost of insurance in some of its universal life policies by almost 40%. Voya, the company that bought ING’s and ReliaStar’s block of term business, is now getting out of the “new” life insurance business.

That means that all the millions of clients who own the popular “ING Term” products will have little to no option for conversion when their policy matures at the end of the 10-, 20- or 30-year term. If those clients still need insurance and have health problems, they’re in trouble.

Speaking of health trouble, did you realize that your “old” life insurance policy may be worth more than its surrender value? This is another big mistake we often see. People who for whatever reason have a shorter than normal life expectancy due to some health issue just let their old policies lapse, or they surrender them without having them evaluated on the secondary market. Even term policies can be sold.

Years ago, I sold a million-dollar term policy to an old friend. He moved to Florida close to the end of his ten-year policy term. When I checked in with him around the end of the term, he told me he had a pretty serious case of aggressive cancer, but he was determined to beat it. He didn’t want to see his premium go from about $2,000 a year to almost $19,000. In the end, we negotiated a sale of the policy to a third party, my client enjoyed a payment of over $200,000 and he is still going strong today.

In short, go back to your original agent or meet with a life insurance professional for a second opinion and an annual review.

The Secret Wisdom of Nature

By Vicky Moon

In this, the final book in The Mys- drive these incredible phenomena? teries of Nature Trilogy, Peter Wohlle- And why do they matter?

Wohlleben describes the fascinating ben follows his very successful previous works: The Hidden Life of Trees and interplay between animals and plants The Inner Life of Animals with a capti- and answers such questions as: -Why are wolves and ravens such vating look at the amazing natural connections that hold our world together good friends?

-Just how are salmon affecting tree in The Secret Wisdom of Nature. growth?

Tr a n s l a t e d -Do lifeforms from his native communicate German by Jane “Peter Wohlleben’s across species Billinghurst the curiosity about the boundaries? book considers: natural world, his As the author trees, animals, has written: “In and the extraor- sense of wonder at its nature, not only dinary balance of complexity and beauty, does one cog conall livings things and his clear and nect with another; with stories from compelling writing have everything is also science and obsercombined in this book, connected by a vation. network so intriAs many of us The Secret Wisdom of know, after years Nature. As you read these cate that we will probably never living in the country, nature is full pages you will understand grasp it in its entirety. And that of surprises: de- why I so admire him and is a good thing, ciduous trees af- am so in love with his because it means fect the rotation of that plants and the Earth, cranes work.”

–JANE GOODALL animals will alsabotage the proways amaze us.” duction of Iberian By introducing us to the latest sciham, and coniferous forests can make it rain. But what are the processes that entific discoveries and recounting his

own insights from decades of observing nature, one of the world’s most famous foresters shows us how to recapture our sense of awe so we can see the world around us with completely new eyes.

Taking us on a tour of an almost unfathomable world, he describes the fascinating interplay between animals and plants and how they influence, support, and communicate with each other. Introducing us to the latest scientific discoveries and recounting his own insights from decades of observing nature, the world’s most famous forester shows us how to recapture our sense of awe so we can see the world around us with completely new eyes.

Wohlleben’s books have sold millions of copies around the world, including my favorite “The Hidden Life of Trees.” He spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany before leaving to put his ecological ideas into practice. Today he manages a forest academy and an environmentally friendly woodland in Germany, where he is working for the return of primeval forests.

Published by Greystone Books, it is available in Middleburg at Second Chapter Books, 13 East Washington Street.

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Racing to the Finish Line All Over Virginia

By Darrell Wood

highly-anticipated return to Colonial Downs in New Kent this summer.

The five-week, 15-day day meet will begin August 8 and continue through Sept. 7 with racing scheduled every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 5 p.m. A special Labor Day program will be held on Monday, Sept. 2 at 1 p.m.

The country’s top three-year-old turf horses will compete in the 17th running of the Grade 3 Virginia Derby on Saturday, August 31.

Colonial Downs, which will open a Rosie’s Gaming Emporium complex at the track in late April, features the widest grass course and second largest dirt oval in the country. The Secretariat Turf Course is 180 feet wide and the dirt track is 1 1/4 miles long, second only to Belmont Park, which is 1 1/2 miles around. Colonial Downs is off I-64 at Exit 214, halfway between Richmond and Williamsburg. More information is available at www.colonialdowns.com.

A five-week harness racing season will again go to post beginning Sept.

13 at the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds in Woodstock. Pacers and trotters will battle over the half-mile oval every Friday at 3:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. Betting also is available on all the races.

Parking and admission are free and the action is family friendly. The track is located off I-81 at Exit 283, halfway between Winchester and Harrisonburg in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. More details are at www. shenandoahdowns.com.

For the latest Virginia racing news and events, go to www.virginiahorseracing.com. Better yet, spend a day at one of these events and support these equine athletes and the hard working support staff that operates behind the scenes.

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

Photo Courtesey of Middleburg Photo

Spring weather appears to be settling in at last, and that means Virginia equine enthusiasts can continue to feast on a savory slate of steeplechase and point-to-point racing events that dot the Commonwealth’s landscape each year.

The 2019 summer racing scene will be even more enticing since Colonial Downs, the state’s only pari-mutuel thoroughbred racetrack, is back in business and will reopen after a sixyear hiatus. And pari-mutuel harness racing will return for a fourth straight year at Shenandoah Downs in Woodstock this fall.

This year, the Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA) is funding a new starter reward program called “Points to Points Pay.” Any horse that starts in a flat, hurdle or timber race which is owned by a Virginian or trained by a Virginian will receive $200 per start.

It’s an effort to increase participation and build field size at these events.

“The VEA recognizes that the point-to-point circuits are a vital element of steeplechase racing and we want to do everything we can to promote and support them in Virginia,” said VEA Executive Director Jeb Hannum. “They’re an important first step for many horses and they give young riders an opportunity before going to the sanctioned meets. We hope the Reward Program will encourage new owners and broader participation this year.”

Highlight of the annual calendar is the 94th running of the Virginia Gold Cup races on Saturday May 4 at Great Meadow in The Plains. The afternoon festivities generally attract 70,000 spectators and feature both a tailgate and hat contest, terrier races and nine horse races—six hurdle/timber events followed by three flat races.

Thoroughbred racing will make a

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33

Historic Upperville Horse Show Jumps Into A New Era

COURTESY PHOTO.

The show concludes with the $216,000 Upperville Jumper Classic on Sunday, June 9.

By Leonard Shapiro Barbara Roux has been going to horse shows around the country and abroad for years, either competing herself or watching professionals handle her horses. In her first year as president of the upcoming Upperville Colt and Horse Show, she clearly has a solid handle on the

wants and needs for both exhibitors and spectators.

“I think it’s fair to say that when you go to other shows, you gather other ideas and get a better understanding about what their priorities are,” said Roux, whose family owns St. Bride’s Farm in Upperville. After last year’s event, she added, the show conducted a survey “and asked people

PHOTO BY VICKY MOON

The lead-line class for young children, on Saturday June 8, remains among the most popular events on the schedule.

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

what we did right, what they’d like to see improved and what to discard.”

This year the oldest horse show in the country (1853) is celebrating its 166th anniversary. It opens “under the oaks” on Monday, June 3, and runs through Sunday, June 9, at the Grafton and Salem Farms show grounds. The week concludes with the $216,000 Upperville Jumper Classic on the final day, featuring some of the sport’s elite riders and horses.

As a result of that survey, as well as significant input from Roux and her board, a number of changes will be implemented.

They include an expansion of Ring Two, improvements in the Grand Prix warm-up area as well as an upgrading of internal roads all around for a better driving and pedestrian experience. For the first time, the show also will include a Masters Class for riders 50 and over.

There’s also a significant sponsorship agreement with Mars Equestrian that will include an expanded 1853 Club area for fine dining and spectating all during the week. The 1853 Club, which sold out for the 2018 show, will have a seating capacity of close to 600 this year.

And chocolate lovers will be able to overdose on what some have described as “The Mars Experience,”

meaning all manner of the company’s chocolate lines will be available for tasting, as well as free-flowing chocolate fountain for decadent dipping. It’s a pilot program at Upperville the Mars company hopes to launch at other major horse shows in the future.

Upperville annually attracts hundreds of world-class equestrians who compete in disciplines ranging from show jumping, hunters and equitation to local ponies, in-hand breeding, sidesaddle and racing Jack Russell Terriers. And the Saturday June 8 lead-line class for young children remains among the most popular events on the schedule.

Roux said she’s had a “wonderful experience,” in her first year as the show’s president, “mostly due to our board. They are tremendously creative and competent and they work so well together to bring new ideas to the table to build a better mousetrap.

“We actually start the process during the show. We walked around last year with notebooks to see how we could tweak things. At our first board meeting, we addressed the needs, they were sent to committees and then they came back to the board and we got them done. It’s been a very positive experience, a very inclusive environment.”

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Questions, please call 540.347.2612 or vagoldcup.com Country Spirit • Spring 2019

35

MIDDLEBURG MONTESSORI SCHOOL

540 687-5210 www.middleburgmontessori.com

For Local Tennis Pro: A Tough Decision

By Amanda Rodgers

The words “love-hate relationship” often come to mind when many professional athletes look back on their careers.

I’ve played pro tennis for over seven years, four of them part-time while I was at Syracuse University, and the other three full-time after I graduated.

And now, I’ve decided to move in another equally challenging direction.

That fuzzy, yellow ball has taken me all over the world and brought so many amazing people into my life.

Reminiscing about all the triumphs, pitfalls, lessons learned, and mental toughness created, I realize that every moment, large or small, had an impact on my life, and for the better.

The decision to leave the tour is the hardest I’ve ever made, but it was the right choice. Many factors were involved, and most had nothing to do with the sport itself. Nothing is truly permanent, but for now, I’m content with my choice to pursue my second passion: broadcast journalism.

I started playing sports as a young child. Goofing off with my classmates from Hill School during clinics at the Middleburg Tennis Club is how I grew to love tennis. And playing many different sports growing up is how I became a better athlete.

Fortunately, I come from a family with an extensive athletic background, so I was able to start at an early age.

I knew I wanted to go pro even before I got to college. But when I arrived at Syracuse, most of my teammates shared the same vision, so we all guided each other. Surrounding myself with people who pushed me and supported my career made a huge difference transitioning from college

to the pro ranks.

Tennis is a perfect balance of elegance, yet fierceness. It’s even more so at an elite level, and can also make grown men and women cry. Playing sports as a career, while quite amazing in some ways, also is accompanied by plenty of bag-gage not seen by spectators watching in person or on TV. And speaking of television, I’m now working as a news producer at ABC7 in Sarasota, Florida and also doing a communications internship at the Women’s Tennis Association in St. Petersburg.

I gravitated towards studying journalism in college not only because it’s so needed in our world, but because of the high-stress environment. Broadcast journalism favors those who can handle pressure situations. As a tennis player, I’ve had more than enough practice with that.

I’m extremely grateful to have landed a job in my field so quickly after re-tiring from professional tennis. Although my days of competing at that level in sports are over, what I learned and developed as a player has helped me move on-to the next phase in my life.

I admit I do miss the competition.

I miss the butterflies before playing a match. I miss the adrenaline rush after a big victory, and yes, I even miss the ago-ny of defeat, maybe because it’s so satisfying to recover and win again.

My advice to anyone looking to play college or pro athletics is to enjoy the ride. It goes by so quickly.

And now, I can’t wait to see what the next chapters bring.

Creating Capable Children Amanda Rodgers in action on the women’s pro tennis circuit.

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

Middle-

Family friendly club New Tennis Training Center to Open Soon!

Full Memberships:

Tennis, Dining, Fitness, Swimming Club House & Special Events Awarded United States Tennis Association Mid-Atlantic Section 2018 Outstanding Tennis Facility Contact: Vaughn Gatling, General Manager Middleburg Tennis Club, (540) 687-6388 ext. 101

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

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Perspectives on Childhood, Education, and Parenting

Bulldozing Parents Need Not Apply “Many parents try so hard to fast-track their children and to smooth their path…that they allow them (their children) little scope to solve problems and to learn life lessons from their choices and conduct.”

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The recent revelations of the role of a number of parents in college admissions scandals was not a surprise to many.

It’s a common misconception that an American child’s acceptance to an elite college will lead to a successful adulthood, and some parents show a willingness to pay a high price to attain this, legally or illegally. It was somewhat predictable that desperate parents would seek a quick-fix shortcut to give their children an unearned advantage.

It seems an under-reported aspect of these stories—of surrogates taking SAT exams, of photo-shopping the bodies of athletes beneath the applicants’ heads, of paying bribes to college coaches to ensure admissions—is the effect of this on the teenage children.

Did they know/understand?

Were they complicit?

One of the underlying hard lessons these parents are communicating to their child is “we do not believe that you are good enough without our intervention.” The message also underscores the parents’ belief that in difficult circumstances or competition, cheating is okay. It can work. That is the greatest crime in this story, one that is certainly not hidden from the children.

Nearly two decades ago, Robert Evans, psychologist, consultant and author, wrote what I consider to be an outstanding guide on parenting and schooling, called Family Matters.

He reflects on the unique challenges of modern families (two-parent wage earners, hectic schedules and so on) and offers ways schools can respond to these family changes, as well as a framework for effective parenting.

Evans asserts that the concepts parents need to embrace in order to help their children become successful students and mature adults, are simple to understand, but not easy to execute.

They require commitment and time, and consist of three important principles of child-rearing: 1. Nurture—“unconditional positive regard, basic warmth. Think Mr.

Fred Rogers, I like you just the way you are.”

2. Structure— “a framework for conduct, expectations, behavior and perforTom Northrup mance.”

3.

Latitude— “support for a child’s autonomy, freedom to learn from experience and to express oneself. To let (children) do their own problem-solving in developmentally appropriate ways.”

Evans emphasizes that there are no magic bullet techniques and encourages parents to ignore such simplistic advice. He’s reassuring in his conviction that a “good enough” application of these principles will suffice. My experience in observing effective parenting over many years supports this conclusion.

So what are we to learn from this most recent example of parental malpractice?

My belief is that the foundation for a successful adulthood is constructed in the first fourteen to eighteen years of life by loving families with the reinforcement of good schools. This base is more important than the four years of college, whether elite or not.

All parents feel some anxiety for their children’s future. That such anxiety may lead to inappropriate or even illegal behavior provides a lesson for us all, a reminder not to try to control outcomes for our children.

It’s essential that we step back and provide them the latitude to learn from their experiences and decisions— good and bad. At the same time, we need to be available to support and listen to them, especially when they seek our counsel.

Our responsibility is to prepare them for the difficulties and pain of life’s path, not to “smooth” it for them.

That deprives them of the very skills they need for the journey.

Long-time educator Tom Northrup is Head of School Emeritus at Middleburg’s Hill School.

Edwin Washington Project Illuminates Segregated Schools’ History

By M.J. McAteer

During the era of Jim Crow, an education was no given for the black children of Loudoun County. Their parents and teachers often had to fight for the money to keep their “colored” schools open.

“Many of these people were humble subsistence farmers, but they demanded that their kids have a better life by having an education,” said Larry Roeder, who is heading up a project to preserve the history of the county’s segregated schools.

He calls these every-day people “heroes of education” and said they literally would go the distance for their children’s futures, sometimes walking from farm to farm to gather signatures on petitions asking authorities for the money for teachers, supplies, and even heating.

For many years, the records of Loudoun’s public segregated school were thought to be lost, but, about a decade ago, ledgers, reports, and correspondence from that era turned up in an abandoned Leesburg school.

That find has since become the backbone of Roeder’s “Edwin Washington Project.” It’s named after a selfdescribed “colored boy,” who made just $5 a month for his work in a Leesburg cafe back in the late 1860s, but made

sure to secure “the privilege of coming to school” when his work allowed. The young Washington took advantage of every chance he had to further his education, and the project name honors his tenacity.

Roeder’s task is imposing. The room the county has loaned him in the Round Hill Community Center, itself a former school, is piled high with boxes of materials found in various stages of neglect.

The contents all need to be documented, copied, preserved, organized, and made available on the project’s Website (https://edwinwashingtonproject.org/ ).

A bank of tall shelves that looms behind Roeder’s computer desk holds rows of acid-free archival boxes containing documents he’s catalogued so far. They represent many man hours, and, at about $20 a box, a good bit of money, too. The school system isn’t able to pay Roeder for his time or materials.

The Library of Congress has even pitched in to help the cause. Roeder had a school ledger from the 1920s he couldn’t read because it had been covered over with newsprint. The going rate for use of a multispectral imaging machine, which can see through paper layers, is $1,000 a page. That was an obvious no-go for the project. But the Library of Congress, which has such an imaging machine, did the job for free.

Since then, Roeder has conducted many interviews for the project, talking to former students and teachers whose personal reminiscences add life to the writ-ten record.

Obviously, the Edwin Washington Project is a labor of love for Roeder.

“I saw a lot of prejudice growing up abroad, and I am determined to make a difference in that area,” he said. “People deserve to know what happened to their ancestors.

“It’s a story to be told.”

Once its experts analyze the data, the obscured text should be re-vealed.

Roeder is ideally qualified to save this previously neglected slice of Loudoun history. He’s a retired diplomat who specialized in protecting cultural assets from war, and he holds a master’s degree in forensic and library science.

His interest in the county’s segregated schools was kickstarted by being asked to do a history of Prosperity Baptist Church in his home of South Riding, once a black enclave known as Conklin.

PHOTO BY M.J. MCATEER

Larry Roeder

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39

Living to Fight in the MMA Cage

By Leonard Shapiro

Carsyn Nash began with a simple goal of trying to get fit with a sport that wouldn’t bore her. She quickly eliminated running, swimming or cycling and instead decided to take classes in jujitsu. Little could the Fauquier native know there would be a confining cage in her future, not to mention opponents with the ability to inflict serious pain.

And yet, Nash—now 26, back then a student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond—loved that gym at very first sight, and fight.

And three years later, after earning a VCU degree in Spanish this past December, she packed up her diploma, a couple of suitcases, her Husky, Zeus, and drove with her mother, Jodi Nash, across the country to Albuquerque, New Mexico in pursuit of a future career in the rough and tumble world of mixed martial arts (MMA).

Her mom, an attorney and long-time Warrenton resident, has been totally supportive of her daughter’s MMA pursuit, if not more than a touch wary. Once they got to Albuquerque, she helped Carsyn find a place to live, furnished the onebedroom apartment in a day, then headed back to Virginia. She left her daughter to fend for herself in one of the nation’s elite MMA training centers, the Jackson-Winks Fight Academy.

The facility has produced a number of top MMA competitors, including Holly Holm, best

Carsyn Nash strikes a pose. known for a kick-in-the-head knockout of then undefeated bantam-weight champion Ronda Rousey in 2015. That evening, a crowd of 56,000 stunned fans in Melbourne, Australia witnessed

one of the greatest upsets in combat sports history. They all went home.

Rousey spent the night in the hospital.

Carsyn knows that sort of dangerous outcome is always possible any time she steps into the cage. But when she does, she totally transforms from her usual persona into a stone-cold fearsome force. Normally, she’s a soft-spoken, gentle soul with a gorgeous singing voice who once spent several years working for the World Pediatric Project, translating for impoverished families seeking medical treatment for their children in the U.S. “When I graduated from college, I thought about doing (MMA) just as a hobby,” Carsyn said in a telephone interview. “But the more I stayed away from the cage, the more I really missed it.

I honestly feel so liberated and free in there. So I decided to go for it now. And I really wanted to give it 100 percent. I had a lot of options, but this just called out to me.”

After her initial fling with jujitsu, Carsyn incorporated the other necessary skills—boxing and grappling—into her training sessions. She now has a 4-1 MMA amateur record, giving her the confidence to apply. and then be accepted, to train with ten other women at the elite Albuquerque gym. She hopes to turn pro by 2020 in a sport where top fighters can earn six-figure checks, and sometimes more.

Her parents, who are divorced, are her biggest fans. Her dad, Gary Nash, lives in the Williams-

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burg area and has seen her fights.

Carsyn attended Fauquier High through her junior year before finishing at Wellsprings Academy in North Carolina, and excelled in every team sport she tried growing up. Her mom said she’s also witnessed a significant transformation in Carsyn as she got more serious about MMA. “I saw a remarkably transitioning person,” Jodi said. “It sort of pressed the reset button for her.

She got focused in her life. It centered her. The focus she found at the gym, the discipline, have now become life skills. And as I watched this happen, I became more enthusiastic about what she was doing.”

Jodi also admitted “I did become conflicted. It’s brutal to watch. But once she starts fighting, I’m a raving mad woman. I’m her biggest, rowdiest fan.

Sometimes, I don’t even remember what I’m yelling.”

It really doesn’t matter, Carsyn said, because she can’t really hear much anyway when she’s in a match.

“I’m very aggressive in that cage,” she said. “Not outside, but when I’m in it, I guess the animal instincts take over. It’s like playing chess while you’re taking a beating. You have to fight intelligently. I

feel very proud when I get out of the cage. You don’t give up, you just keep going.” She’s already had some painful injuries. In her only amateur loss in a New York arena, she suffered a nasty black eye.

She’s had a broken nose, a dislocated collarbone, torn knee ligaments and once had to take three months off from training to heal properly.

“Sometimes you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable,” she said, adding that she also knows this passion for the fight, for the cage, won’t last forever.

“I’m giving myself four years out here training with the best to see if I can make a comfortable living,” Carsyn said. “I’ll regroup if I have to, but I’ll always keep training. It’s changed my life completely. I just love what I’m doing She also knows her mother, a fine collegiate gymnast and athlete herself, probably does not.

“My mom is very emotional,” Carsyn said. “I don’t think she likes this. But she supports me in everything I’ve ever done. When I lost that fight, it was super hard on her because I took a lot of damage. But she’s an amazing mom. I hate doing it to her, but I want to make her The Queen of MMA. “I know I can do it.”

Carsyn Nash was included on a big New York fight card.

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“COWGIRL” Is Fiction; The Grueling Tevis Cup Is Not “She was quite a sight, this woman. The kind of woman who, at 38, was still turning heads. She was beautiful, yes.

But it was also because of the way she rode.”

T

he horses knew there was trouble before anyone else. You could tell from the way they were whinnying and nickering, shifting their weight and pawing the ground, snorting steam out their nostrils in the chilly predawn air; communicating their worries in horse language they know and the rest of us can only guess at.

When it comes to deducing the mysteries of science or solving complex equations, I’m not one to put too much stock in a horse’s smarts. A typical Arab weighs about 1,100 pounds, and only twenty ounces of that is brain. But when it comes to sensing hazard, they are certifiable geniuses. Einsteins with hooves.

Horses have only been domesticated for 5,000 years or so. For the fifty million years before that, their ancestors got on in this world by being the first to run away from bad stuff and the last to stop.

All it takes is for one to spook and the rest start acting up. And the more of them there are, the more distraught they become. Horses are herd animals, so you’d think they’d be fine around other horses. But a bunch of strange horses just adds to their stress. It turns out, like a lot of us, they’re only comfortable with their own herd.

Imagine what it must have looked like at the start of the Tevis in 1985, when 199 horses—well, technically, 198 horses and one mule—all got skittish at the same time.

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

It was like a wave that came up from the back, going horse to horse, unsettling all of them until the starting line of the most famous endurance horse race in the world had turned into a big, jostling sea of equine angst.

Bit by bit, the riders began paying attention, too.

Heads whipped back toward the cause of the commotion which seemed to be coming from an area near the lodge.

In 1985, the Tevis began at Squaw Valley, the ski resort made famous by the 1960 Winter Olympics.

It was late July, so the lifts weren’t in operation. But the folks who ran the resort turned the lift lights on to help illuminate the predawn.

In some ways that only added to the confusion, giving everyone shadows and casting faces in that not-quite-bright-enough light where you can’t really see anything clearly.

Volunteers positioned to assist at the start were holding hand radios. When they began to squawk the same message, the humans finally caught on to what the horses had figured out a few minutes earlier: something was amiss.

“Medical emergency at the lodge. We need a doctor fast,” the radios screeched, minutes before the 5 a.m. start. Which was a feverish enough time without throwing a medical emergency into the mix. Some of the riders craned their necks to scan the area near

the lodge. It was too dark to really see much. Others immediately turned their attention back to their mounts, knowing that turmoil and horses are never a good mix.

Only one rider felt compelled to check out what was going on.

She was quite a sight, this woman. The kind of woman who, at 38, was still turning heads. She was beautiful, yes. But it was also because of the way she rode.

The way she carried herself. She was five-footnine if she was an inch, a powerhouse of a woman with broad hips and shoulders, ample breasts and bulging thigh muscles. Her blond hair was plaited in a single thick braid that fell to her waist. Her tight Wranglers and red boots with pointy toes announced she was not one to trifle with. Take a package like that and give it the kind of serious sapphire-blue eyes that looked as if they were on loan from a marauding Viking, and folks take notice.

I think it only added to the mystery that she didn’t talk much about herself. Folks knew she came from Lodi, a California ranching town. And they knew she showed up at the Tevis each year driving a pickup truck without hubcaps, hauling a faded red trailer that had “All-American Cowgirl 1977” emblazoned in foot-high, peeling white, block letters.

Which is why everyone called her Cowgirl.

Judith Ayres Burke’s First Novel a Wonderful Winner

By Leonard Shapiro

It happened on a family riding and camping expedition back in the 1990s when Judith Ayres Burke was still living in California. One morning, in a mostly empty pasture, she noticed an old pick-up truck pulling a trailer that had “All American Cowgirl” written on the side.

“I wanted to talk to the driver, but she left before I had the chance,” Burke recalled. “Then I started to think ‘Cowgirl?

Who is she? What kind of a woman is an All-American Cowgirl?’”

Burke never found her in real life. But over the intervening years, that Cowgirl rattled around in her head, to the point where she did a ton of research, countless interviews and finally wrote her first novel called—what else?—“COWGIRL.” An environmental executive in government

(EPA) and the private sector, Burke now lives in the Middleburg area. She’s spent many hours writing and revising, to the point where this riveting piece of fact-based fiction set in 1985 has been published, and is now available on Amazon and bookstores.

Cowgirl’s backdrop is the famous Tevis Cup, a 100-mile, 24-hour endurance ride started in 1955. The ride climbs up and over California’s Sierra Nevada range, with 18,000 feet of ascents before descending down to the desert. Riders experience temperatures from below-freezing to 110 degrees.

Burke who both rides and drives, has never tried a Tevis. But she and her attorney husband, Jack, and their daughter, Coventry, a fine hunter-jumper rider, have volunteered at Vet Checks during the race to help assure horses are healthy enough to continue.

“Most fiction is a reflection of personal experience,” said Burke. “I always wanted to write a book with strong characters and with a mother and daughter having a life-changing horse

PHOTO BY ECAB BERG

COWGIRL Author Judith Ayres Burke experience. “ I hope readers will get the larger reality—that there are bits and pieces of Cowgirl in every woman. I think every horsewoman can recognize parts of themselves. And ‘to finish is to win’ captures the spirit of The Tevis Cup.” Judith Ayres Burke has finished COWGIRL And it’s clearly a winner, as well.

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

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Parks Offer a Way to Navigate the Countryside

By Carina Elgin

To “get lost” in the country is to escape the hectic pace of modern life.

After a long, cold, muddy winter, the sweet, fresh air and chirping birds tell us to slow down and enjoy nature’s multi-sensory display.

Even country dwellers can benefit from the diversion and relaxation of well-run parks. Rural Fauquier County has a wonderful system of nine parks, with 941 maintained acres of land and 122 acres of water. Supported by the Fauquier County Department

COURTESY PHOTO

Orienteering teaches participants how to navigate by map and compass.

of Parks and Recreation, all offer picnic pavilions, playing fields, and educational programs.

Some of the parks even offer fishing and boating options. Monroe Park, near Goldvein, features Virginia’s one and only Gold Mining Camp Museum. While no park visitors have “struck it rich” yet during gold panning demonstrations, they sure have fun trying. Monroe also offers an ADA Accessible playground (as does the Warrenton Aquatic and Recreational Facility/WARF).

C.M. Crockett Park in Midland is the county’s largest lakeside park, with boat rentals and “catch and release” fishing. Among the many educational programs and classes, Crockett evenfeatures “Dogsledding 101.”

However, Crockett Park is not just about “getting lost” in the country, but also about “not getting lost.” Crockett Park offers Orienteering, a sport very popular in Scandinavia, that teaches participants how to navigate by map and compass, a needed skill for all outdoorsmen, including hunters and hik-

ers, since GPS devices can break, get lost or malfunction during bad weather.

Crockett Park Manager Craig Johnson started orienteering as a Boy Scout, and continues to share his enthusiasm of the sport. “It’s is a fun way to get outside and have an adventure,” Johnson said. “You’re doing something healthy, while learning useful skills.”

Scandinavians learn Orienteering in school. In fact, Orienteering is so big in Sweden that one of the country’s largest sporting events, Oringen, features 15,000-20,000 competitors each year.

They come from 40 different countries, with competitors of all ages and skills.

Orienteering has even morphed to have horse-back orienteering, ski orienteering and even wheelchair orienteering.

If you’re interested in learning about how to use a map and compass, and maybe even try competitive Orienteering, start at Crockett Park or contact the nearby Quantico Orienteering Club (www.qocweb.com).

You might want to get “lost in the country,” but definitely not in the woods.

A Swede, Björn Kjellström, is recog-

niz ed as introducing the sport of Orienteering to the United States. He helped invent the modern-day compass, with a protractor base, and liquid damping chamber for the magnetic needle, having it manufactured and sold through the Silva brand, still available today. He also wrote the classic book, “Be Expert with Map and Compass.”

On public view at The American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia for the very first time will be antique compasses Kjellström collected around the world and then donated to the Boy Scouts of America. Some are from the 1700s. And, on May 5, they will be celebrating World Orienteering Day, with instruction and races. Get more information at www.americanswedish. org/exhibitions/outdoor-adventuresnavigating-nordic-way Carina Elgin lives in The Plains, VA, and is the daughter of the late Björn Kjellström.

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Scene Seen Barbara Jo Rubin (front left, standing) put in an appearance at the track in Charles Town to celebrate the 50th anniversary of becoming the first female jockey to win a recognized thoroughbred race in the United States.

She is joined by other retired female riders: (left to right on horseback) Laura Carson, Natasha Bracaloni, Odessa Clelland, Lori Bourne and (left to right on ground level) Barbara Jo Rubin, Kristy Petty, Judy Grams. All eyes will be on the West Virginia Breeders Classics races on Saturday, October 12 to see if a female jock will cross the finish line first. Stay tuned. PHOTO BY COADY PHOTOGRAPHY.

At Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains, Rector Weston Mathews and Chili Cook Off Chair Neil Polhemus congratulate Best Corn Bread Winner Fiona Earle and Best Chili winner Niyi Ladigo. Mrs. Ladigo said her secret was making everything from scratch,including soaking the beans overnight and getting up at 6 a.m.to cook her chili. That’s dedication! PHOTO BY CARINA ELGIN.

Darcey Justin has sent word to Country Spirit about a poetry contest for students in K-12 in honor of National Poetry Month (April). Students are invited to write an original and unique poem about a Fox for our all town event Foxes on the Fence. Contest deadline is Wednesday May 1, at 6 p.m. Details: Foxesonthefencepoetry@gmail.com.

Get ready, get set, go.

The Middleburg Humane Foundation (MHF) is hosting a “Blue Jean Ball” celebrating the non-profit’s 24th annual gala, and 25th year of service to the surrounding communities.

MHF encourages you to leave the tux at home and wear your favorite “jeans and gems” for an inspiring program and auction. The Ball, which is open to the public, will be held April 27th, 2019 at Fox Chase Farm – Middleburg Barn. Details at 540-364-3272 or middleburghumane.org/blue-jean-ball/ Country Spirit • Spring 2019

45

Rector Weston Mathews: A Saving Grace in The Plains

By Leonard Shapiro

Reverend Weston Mathews, the dynamic young rector at Grace Episcopal Church, has taken a somewhat circuitous route around Virginia to his current position in The Plains.

He grew up in Winchester, earned undergraduate (history) and graduate (education) degrees at William & Mary, taught history for six years in rural Nelson County, went to seminary in Alexandria and served as an assistant rector at a 5,000-member church in Richmond before joining Grace Church in July, 2017.

There also were several other outof-state stops along the way, including high school in Rhode Island and what he described as a life-transforming internship in a predominately African-American Episcopal church in Washington, D.C. while he was attending the Virginia Theological Seminary.

And when it was time to make a choice on where he and his wife, Hannah, now immersed in a postdoctoral fellowship at Boston University, would land, the lure of the Virginia hunt country finally won out over several other tempting job possibilities. One involved becoming the rector at a church in Boston, the other an intriguing combination— serving as a Brown University chaplain coupled with leading a Liberian Church in Providence, R.I. “But when I came to visit Grace and met the people here, all the memories came flooding back,” Mathews said, sitting in an ante room near his office in the stately 13th century English Gothic-style church building. “It reminded me how much I loved the Virginia Piedmont and loved being in a place that embraces conservation, the beauty of the land, music and the arts.

“I totally fell in love with the people, and this magnificent church sitting in this beautiful village. I felt called here.”

Speaking with some of his parishioners, many in his flock also have become enamored with their 37-year-old rector who’s boyish visage surely would easily allow him to pass as a college sophomore. They marvel at his energy, they look forward to his insightful Sunday sermons and they are delighted that the church has become exactly what Rev. Mathews always had in mind when he accepted the job.

“Weston has brought energy to Grace Church, at a time we needed some,” said long-time parishioner Paul Smith. “He’s shown us that God’s love is in community, and Grace has an open-door policy to everyone.”

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

Rev. Mathews said he came to The Plains because “I saw unlimited potential here for a ministry. I saw people’s gifts and talents, and the beauty of the church is just amazing. One of the first things I wanted to do was to learn how to make the church into something like a community center every day of the week. I wanted to have this church as the center of life in The Plains.”

And less than two years into his tenure, that’s precisely what its become.

PHOTO BY VICKY MOON

Rector Weston Mathews at Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains.

In addition to its regular services, Grace also has become a rich cultural center. It’s now home base for two different theatre groups—The Dark Horse Theatre Company and Shakespeare Opera Theatre—as well as its long-running popular Grace Concert series and Piedmont Regional Art Show (May 17-19). On

Rev. Mathews watch, a Grace Speakers series has been added along with open-to-the-public classes in painting, sculpture, and meditation.

“Churches were always incubator for the arts,” Rev. Mathews said.

“This is like back to the future.”

Rev. Mathews went back to his own past to recall the lessons he learned while interning at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church near Capitol Hill under a cherished mentor, its African-American rector, Paul Roberts Abernathy.

“Paul was a died-in-the-wool existentialist,” Rev. Mathews said.

“There was a lot of art, a resident theater company. He was skeptical of the old-time religion and it had a diverse membership. It was a place where creativity and seeking truth were honored. It had a real effect on me. It was totally different from the traditional churches I’d grown up with myself in the Hunt Country.”

Rev. Mathews has clearly made his own significant impact at Grace.

The year before he arrived, Sunday church attendance averaged 78.

In his first year, it grew to 117 and now is close to 130. It’s also become a regional church, with parishioners traveling from as far away as Winchester, Front Royal, Alexandria and Washington.

The church also has another major project underway—the creation of a faith-based Montessori school that will start in the fall. Renovations are underway for five classrooms that will serve 55 children from ages 18 months to six. A new school director is expected to be named this month.

Rev. Mathews also is particularly proud of another program known as “The Wood Ministry” which involves parishioners chopping wood gathered from land all around the area and distributing it to needy families who need it for heat.

“We have people who live in abject poverty around here,” Rev. Mathews said. “People come here week by week who may be homeless, hungry, or even living out of their cars.

Churches should be open to people from all walks of life, and we need that in our community.”

One of his favorite quotes comes from the Rev. Martin Luther King, who once said “we’ll either live together as brothers and sisters or perish together as fools.”

“It’s more than just being civil,” Rev. Mathews said. “It’s about love and acceptance. And a church is a school of love when it’s doing its job….It’s on us to honor our values and to understand that each person has infinite worth, and value.”

Piedmont Regional Art Show May 17-19 The 72nd Piedmont Regional Art Show and Sale is scheduled May 17-19 at Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains, with over 300 artists expected to exhibit their work.

The first show in 1947 was inspired by the Reverend Harold Peters, an artist himself. Today, the show has grown to involve volunteer efforts of the entire parish and is a popular regional spring event. Over the years, the show has featured the works of artists of all ages and levels of experience, including the work of established professionals.

The show is a major fundraiser for the church, netting $18,500 in 2018 to benefit the church’s many ministries. This year, it kicks off Friday, May 17 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. with the Opening Gala for artists and sponsors. It continues Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, May 19 from noon to 4 p.m. There is no admission fee, though donations are gratefully accepted.

This year’s honorary chair is artist Lilla Ohrstorm. Among this year’s jurists are fellow artists Robin Hill, Marci Nadler and Claudia Pfeiffer.

For more details, visit www. gracetheplains.org. To contact the show, email artshow@gracetheplains. org, or call 540-253-5177, Ext. 104.

Entertaining with Emily

RUSSIAN BLINIS

By Emily Tyler

Russian Blinis

Vlad and Yulia Tereskov arrived at The Hill School with their then, Kindergarten daughter, Michaela a few years ago. Prior to making Middleburg their community, the Tereskovs moved from Russia to the Washington area to pursue their careers, after graduating from the prestigious Moscow State Physics Department. Yulia designs user experiences and Vlad runs a software company. They they quickly found out Middleburg was a community full of dog and horse lovers which made them feel at home. One of their favorite childhood memories is related to the celebration of Maslenitsa, which is a greatly awaited Eastern Slavic religious and folk holiday.

Maslenitsa is celebrated the PHOTO BY EMILY TYLER week prior to Great Lent and Vlad and Yulia eighth week before Eastern Tereskov with their daughter, Michaela. Orthodox Pascha (Easter).

The blini has been part of the Russian tradition for more than a thousand years. They can be eaten with butter, sour cream, fish, caviar, ground meat, vegetable filling, honey or jam. According to ancient custom, the first blini was always put on the window for those are in

The classic blini need, and also to honor those who have died.

To this day, blini considered a Russian traditional dish and favorite treat.

Custard Lace Blini It is very important to heat the pan well before adding the butter which will help the blini not to stick and gives the blini the lacy holes. Fill your Blini with your choice of sweet or savory filling and enjoy!

• 2 cups kefir (plain, unsweetened) • 2 cups all-purpose flour • 2 eggs • ½ teaspoon baking soda • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil • Sugar to taste ( use 3 tablespoons for sweet fillings, 1 tablespoon for savory) • ½ teaspoon salt • 1 stick unsalted butter, for the pan 1. In a large bowl combine kefir, eggs, flour, salt, sugar mix well 2. In a cup of boiling water add ½ teaspoon of baking soda, stir and add to the batter 3. Let the batter rest of 5 minutes 4. Add the olive oil and mix again 5. Heat a saute pan to medium high heat and then brush the pan with butter 6. With a ladle pour the batter into the pan swirling in a circular motion until the batter spreads evenly over the bottom of the pan.

7. With a spatula, loosen the blini and flip over when the first side is golden brown 9. Remove from the pan after 1 minute and stack on a plate 10. Brush the pan with additional butter and repeat the process until all of the batter is finished 11. Place a few tablespoons of your favorite sweet or savory filling on the blini, roll up and enjoy!

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

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This That It was a big night for host Don Yovanovich and Mike Smith at the Virginia Steeplechase Association awards dinner at the Middleburg Community Center. Smith was honored as the VSA Leading Owner, and two of his horses also were winners: Le Chevalier was Open Leading Timber Horse and VSA Leading Timber Horse and Mercoeur was VSA Leading Hurdle Horse.

PHOTO BY VICKY MOON

Lori Keenan McGuinness, co-chair of the Goose Creek Association, and Sally Price, executive director of the Land Trust of Virginia, greeted supporters and friends at The Hill School for a reception and screening of the documentary “RANCHER, FARMER, FISHERMAN.” The Goose Creek Association and the Land Trust of Virginia sponsored the event. The film is based on the book by Miriam Horn of the Environmental Defense Fund. PHOTO BY VICKY MOON

Le Petit Marche 5 W. Washington Street, Middleburg, VA 20118 540-827-4711 Monday-Saturday 11-6PM Middleburg’s Little Gourmet Store MEATS: Steaks Tenderloins Standing Rib Roast Lamb Shank Lamb Racks

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Bethann Slater with her brother, David Grosso.

As the head of the Middleburg Montessori School, she flawlessly organized the recent Art of the Piedmont show at the Middleburg Community Center. PHOTO BY VICKY MOON

Always fun to see someone from Middleburg out of context. Artist/sculptor Hurbert Phipps had a reception for his show “Journey Continued” at the Coral Springs Museum of Art in South Florida, on view March 16-May 18. Shown here, Rocket. “I like things that are different,” he said. “That’s what fascinates me about abstract art; the mystery of it.”

And finally, this little out take on “da feet” on the cover shoot.

Nothing like a “leg up” for Alex Arabak, standing on a couple of books to bring her up to Jack Doyle’s height of 6-foot-2.

MIDDLEBURG PHOTO.

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

49

Bill Turnure Builds an Architect’s Life in Middleburg

By Sebastian Langenberg

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homes where they raised families and built their lives.

Bill Turnure landed a job in AlexHe also has a number of buildings andria right out of architecture school to his credit that he’s either designed at Notre Dame. After six months, he or renovated in the village, includwas let go because the company did ing the Federal Court office complex, not win an anticipated contract. Still, the library addition and a renovation as is often the case, what initially first of the Thaiverse restaurant. He also seemed like terrible bad luck was ac- converted what was once a Washtually a stroke of great fortune. ington St. hardware store into three Turnure had begun looking for separate shops, including the Wiley another job when he heard that venWagg, and he’s erated Middlebeen involved burg architect in building or William (Billy) re - d e s i g n i n g Dew was adda number of ing to his firm.

Middleburg Dew had deresidences. signed or renoAmong his vated many of more interestthe buildings ing clients was that are still a couple from Wa s h i n g t o n England. They Street mainasked Turnure stays, including to design an the Middleburg English cottage Bank, the Midfor them on dleburg Comland they had munity Center, recently purthe ABC Store, chased. They the Middleburg wanted TurPost Office and nure to capture a remodeling the feel of their of the Red Fox native land, so PHOTO BY SEBASTIAN LANFENBERG Inn. they flew him Turnure in- Middleburg architect Bill Turnure to Britain for terviewed with five days, where Dew on a Friday and began his first he toured the countryside and visited day with him the following Monday. a number of houses, gathering new He worked there from 1978 until ideas all along the way.

1986 when he decided to take the “We brought materials back from next step and went out on his own England, including flint, fountains, with a partner. It lasted for eight and other nice features,” Turner said. years, until Andy Stuart tragically “That was a lot of fun.” developed multiple sclerosis and was Turnure isn’t just a local business no longer able to continue. At that owner; he also has been a long-time point, on April 1, 1994, Turnure be- chairman of the Middleburg Historic came the sole proprietor of Middle- District Review committee, serving burg-based Turnure Architecture. for 30 years. And among his favorite “It’s a great place to practice archi- projects has been designing what will tecture,” said Turnure, who is 63 and be the future home of the Middlespent his teen-age years in Wilmington, burg Museum, a 1,200-square-foot Delaware. “The people in and around structure to be attached to the town’s Middleburg appreciate nice design.”

Pink Box on Madison Street.

And now, as he celebrates 25 years “It’s relatively small,” Turnure on his own, Turnure still has an abid- said. “But it’s going to tell the story ing affection for his chosen profession. of Middleburg itself, the people, the “I find it’s thrilling to have an idea religious aspects of the town. They come into your mind, and you devel- just need to raise the money to get it op that and you put it down on paper, all done, about $1 million that will be and then you develop construction used to build it and also sustain the drawing,” he said. ”Then the structure building in the future.” is built and it’s on the landscape for The goal is to have the museum open generations. And it’s a nice piece of by the end of the year, and Turnure bearchitecture that people will enjoy for lieves it will add even more luster to a a long time.” town he calls “an absolute gem.

Turnure is particularly proud to “There are some beautiful struchave clients still living in the homes tures,” he said, “and Middleburg is a he designed for them years ago, living, breathing organism.”

There’s a Little Mystery Surrounding Ashby Inn’s Chef

By Mara Seaforest

TV cooking competition.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I enjoyed it, but I’m glad to be back here.”

At that point, he reluctantly clammed up. He’s contractually obligated by a cast-iron-clad agreement to withhold any information until the show’s producers lift their veil of secrecy.

Speaking with a gentle accent betraying his West Virginia roots, Spates makes it seem as if the extraordinary dishes that appear on diners’ tables at the historic inn are simply something he whipped up with whatever was handy in the kitchen.

And that may partly be true. His first secret?

Stock that kitchen with the freshest, best raised, most succulent foods available.

The second?

Let those stars shine on their own. Cook them perfectly, a skill he admits takes PHOTO BY MARA SEAFOREST years to acquire using only In his signature russet coat, Chef Brad turns a simple side of asparagus into a flaming work of a few other ingredients that art. will best complement them.

Bradley Spates, executive chef at the Ashby Inn in Paris, Virginia, says his model for culinary success is simple: acquire a few exceptional ingredients and cook them until they’re delicious.

Spates recently had the opportunity to demonstrate this supposedly simple ability during the filming of a national

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To prove his point, he guided a visitor into his kitchen to watch him prepare a dish featuring asparagus spears allowed to stand with their feet in wine, then sautéed with shallots and shaved parmesan cheese. After a few minutes of impressive flames, the fragrant dish was presented with another layer of shaved parmesan and a sprinkling of microgreens.

Perfection.

Soates has been commuting to Paris from West Virginia since taking over the Ashby kitchen last October. He enjoys the raw beauty of the scenery at both ends of the drive. He loves the countryside as much as he loves cooking.

He’s clearly proud of the many ways his five-year ownership helped revitalize McFarland House in Martinsburg mostly by staging 200 weddings a year—providing a great boost to the local economy.

A competition Spates doesn’t have to be hush-hush about caps his favorite memories of McFarland House.

“We did an event called the ‘Valley Chef Showdown’ for three straight years,” he said. “We’d shut down Main Street and have four chefs from four

different restaurants come in and compete. I was the host.”

“And then,” Chef Brad spread his arms wide, as if embracing the whole of Ashby Inn, “this position opened up.”

In addition to creating new dishes, he also enjoys training a new generation of cooks how to get back to basics, like making a roux for the basis of sauces once basic to haute cuisine.

And yes, he thoroughly enjoys doing weddings at Ashby.

“It’s the most important day of someone’s life,” he said. “I love being a part of that. Even though I’m a big, burly guy and brides and grooms might look at me like I’m crazy, I really know how to get every little detail of a wedding right.”

Spates reflected on the changes he’s seen during his restaurant career.

“When I was younger, it was like no one wanted to be from West Virginia.

Now, we’re the farmers, we’re out of the city, we’re the cool kids!”

Even cooler: Spates soon will be on national TV in the show he can’t even name. When it does air, his name, Ashby Inn and Paris, Virginia, should be on everyone’s bucket (and roux) list.

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51

It’s a Different Side of Riding for Alexandra Arabek

By Vicky Moon

Alexandra Arabak began riding and taking lessons at age five.

“I learned the basics of walk, trot and canter to showing on the A- circuit, pony club and instructing lessons myself,“ she told Country Spirit recently.

As a teenager, she started to pretend to go aside while cooling her horse out after lessons. Her friend’s mother, “an avid side-saddle rider in her day,” pulled out two side-saddles for practice on ponies, and that was it.

She now credits local veteran side-

saddle aficionados Maureen Britell and Devon Zebrovious as mentors. During the season, she grabs every opportunity to go chasing in the field as well as at the point-to-point races.

This spring, Arabak will be doing side-saddle demonstrations as part of the Trinity Church Stable tour on May 25-26 at Chestnut Run Farm in The Plains, where she works part time as a barn manager. Then, during the Upperville Horse Show June 3-9, she’ll be among a throng of elegant ladies

COURTESY PHOTO BY KAREN KANDRA

Alexandra Arabak takes a jump while out hunting in Maryland.

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019

Although she currently competing in the side-saddle classes in the main ring commutes from Fairfax, “I conon Saturday, June 8. sider Middleburg my home, and I’m Now, 21, Arabak is a student eager to stay involved in the hunt comat George Mason University munity and become more involved studying business marketing in racing and showing both aside and and looking to pursue a career in astride thanks to the string of young real estate development. horses I recently had come into trainA n d what’s the best part ing.” of riding aside?

Arabak appreciates Middleburg’s “It’s hard to say,” she said,“because it’s small town feel. She and her puppy, honestly hard to describe how great it Bug, visit friends at the Middleburg feels to just swing Tack Exchange your right leg frequently and over the saddle. “The feeling of galloping often frequent Ask anyone who across such beautiful hunt has seen me side- country with your right the Common ways in the hunt leg wrapped tight around Grounds coffee field and they’ll shop. your saddle and apron tell you the same “Our local thing: ‘you could flowing in the wind is hard restaurants are hear her just coo- to top,“ Alex Arabak said. fantastic, and the ing to her horse “Riding aside gives me the feeling of walking the entire day.’” confidence to feel like I can down the street And the most do anything on the back not knowing who difficult part? you’ll run into “If there are of a horse… even if I am next can’t be beat,” ‘missing’ a right leg.” two phrases you’ll she said. “Middlehear on an infinite loop, like a broken record, in any burg does not disappoint and it’s been side-saddle lesson, it’s ‘right toe down one of my favorite places in Virginia and in’ and ‘right shoulder back.’” since I was a child.”

Jockey Jack Doyle Could Ride Before He Could Walk

By Leonard Shapiro

PHOTO BY MIDDLEBURG PHOTO

Jockey Jack Doyle is expect to ride in the Middleburg Spring Races and the Virginia Gold Cup. It’s a long way to (and from) Tipperary for steeplechase jockey Jack Doyle, a native of that Irish county who now lives and works in Monkton, Maryland and has developed into one of the nation’s finest steeplechase riders since he first came to the U.S. five years ago, not really intending to stay.

He’ll be competing on the spring steeplechase circuit up and down the east coast, including both the Middleburg Spring Races at Glenwood Park

on Saturday, April 20, and in the Virginia Gold Cup on Saturday, May 4.

Not bad for a lanky, 6-foot-2 rider who came to America for a summer job in 2014 “just to try something different.”

Doyle had been riding “even before I could walk” at his father’s Suirview Stables in Tipperary. Pat Doyle has been a long-time Irish point-to-point trainer, and when Jack told him he wanted to visit the U.S. one summer, he put him in touch with highly successful

Monkton trainer Elizabeth Voss.

“They were looking for a rider,” Jack Doyle said. “I had some victories in Saratoga that summer. Then I went back, applied for a visa and came back here to work for Elizabeth. It’s been great.”

For Doyle and the trainers and owners who employ him, it’s also been a lot of win-win. He’s won 65 races and over $2.6 million in purses over the last five years and in recent seasons has always been at or near the top of the jockey standings.

“It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do,” he said, taking a brief break from a recent cover photograph shoot for Country Spirit. “I don’t know anything different. It’s just really hard to explain what it’s like to win a race. There’s no other feeling like it. Horses are the only things that make sense to me.”

There was one feeling he hopes never to experience again. Two and a half years ago, while riding in a jump race at Belmont Park in New York, his mount tumbled badly “and the horse came down straight on top of me, just squished me,” he said.

He was lucky to escape with “only” a broken pelvis and tailbone that left him in the hospital for five days. He was told it would take six to nine months to recover enough to even think about riding. But he was back in the saddle and competing again three months after the spill.

“You kind of accept that you’re going to get hurt doing this job,” he said.

“It’s going to happen sooner or later.”

Doyle wants to ride for as long as he can, but it really isn’t that long a way to Tipperary. He goes back home for three months every winter to help his father at the stable, and at some point, he’d also like to train horses.

These days, it’s all about the riding, with a bit of time off for another sporting pursuit—the game of golf.

“I’m not very good,” he said.

Unless he’s on a horse, of course.

The Middleburg Spring Races on Saturday April 20 is the quintessential event to welcome spring. Surrounded by Virginia’s celebrated horse country, the tradition continues with this year’s 99th running at Glenwood Park. Steeped in tradition, its rich vivid history dates to 1911 when Middleburg Hunt’s Master of Fox Hounds, Daniel Cox Sands, organized the first Middleburg Hunt Race Meet. Gates open at 10 a.m. and activities include: vendors, stick pony races, family fun area. First race at 1 p.m., first annual hat contest at 2:30 p.m.

For ticket options from reserved enclosure to picnic parking contact 540-687-6545 or visit middleburgspringraces.com.

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Real

Cooper Ridge

Come enjoy country living in this recently renovated home on 22 acres ideally located just ten minutes from the villages of Middleburg, Upperville and Marshall. There’s plenty of room for children to play and animals to roam. At the right price, the house could be offered walk -in ready with furnishings provided. Bring your family and friends- en-

tertaining is a breeze in the chef ’s kitchen with adjoining great room, formal living and dining rooms.

The light filled home at Cooper Ridge offers over 6,000 square feet of living space, hardwood floors, ten-foot ceilings and five fireplaces. A fully finished basement includes an exercise studio with sauna, play room, second laundry room, space for

Cooper Ridge is just minutes away from Middleburg, Marshall or The Plains.

home theatre, and extensive storage.

The spacious fourth level is now a home office but could be easily be translated into another bedroom, artist’s studio, or play room. The master bedroom suite has a fireplace, bathroom with heated floor, Carrera marble and large closet/dressing area.

There are three guest rooms, one above the family room with an en suite bathroom and fireplace-- the perfect place for a teenage child, au pair or the in laws. A two level 15 x 50 porch overlooks the gardens and is an enchanting place to take in evening sunsets. A delightful garden cottage, with raised beds, is ready for your vegetable garden. Mature flowering plants are found throughout the serene setting. There is a 20 x 24 run in shed and pastures ready to fence. All that is missing is you.

Cooper Ridge is listed at $1,895,000 by

The surrounding verdant countryside of Cooper Ridge.

54

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

Mature trees and shrubs as well as elegant flowerbeds are found throughout the serene setting.

OLREA, Emily Ristau at Thomas and Talbot Real Estate 540-454-9083

Estates

Pot House Corner

Historic Pot House Corner sits on 11+ acres tucked amongst large farms just minutes from the village of Middleburg. It features a brick main house, studio building (old potters studio) and four rental accessory dwellings. There is terrific income poten-

tial. Current owners have updated every building on the compound. The main house has two bedrooms, with master on main level and two and a half baths.

A covered porch leads into a fenced English garden with a greenhouse. Just beyond the garden is

The main house at Pot House.

the studio with two large workspaces and full bath.

The main house and studio were the original buildings where potters made bricks in kilns as far back as the 1700’s for nearby homes at Foxcroft School, Huntland and Farmer’s Delight.

Four additional unique dwellings include two matching one-bedroom, one bath detached frame cottages (known as the North Cottage and South Cottage). There is also a one bedroom /one bath Barn Apartment that is sited above a three-stall barn with copper roof and tack room. Completing property is the one bedroom, one bath stucco Gate House with private porch and garden. The property includes three fenced paddocks, stonewalls, hedges, sweeping lawns, a small pond and mature trees all in a storybook setting.

Asking $2,150,000

Pot House includes a three stall barn.

The interior of the studio with the original brick kiln.

Contact: Cricket Bedford at Thomas and Talbot Real Estate, 540-229-3201 Country Spirit • Spring 2019

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when I took pictures,” Garrett said.

He graduated Ken Garrett with a degree in has seen the world anthropology from many times. In the University of 2018 alone, he Virginia in 1976. circled the globe His father, Bill twice in a private jet. Still, Fauquier Garrett worked County is where at National Geohe chooses to live. graphic at the time, Sporting a disfirst as photo editor tinctive red beard and then editor of and an ever-presthe magazine. So, ent twinkle in his the younger Gareyes, the gregari- Ken Garrett’s most renowned rett moved to New ous Garrett said, work was featured on National York City, gaining “Back in the ‘80s, Geographic’s cover, Tutankhamun. experience shootI drove around for ing photos for cortwo years and fiporate clients, and nally found the gravel road leading to a for major magazines like Time, Life, hillside of brambles in Broad Run that Smithsonian, Fortune and Forbes.

I still call home.”

When his dad retired in 1990, GarThe highly acclaimed National rett got the chance to use his degree, Geographic photographer moved to doing archeology stories for National Great Falls with his family when he Geographic. Early on, his interest in was nine. ancient cultures took him to Central “I always knew I wanted to be a America, to cover Mayan, Olmec and photographer,” Garrett said over coffee Aztec ruins, as well as modern-day in his professorial-looking tweed jack- lifestyles. His complete survey of the et. A self-described “dark room rat,” he “Dawn of Humans” documents the took several photography workshops prehistoric ancestors of human evoluafter graduating from Herndon High tion theory, through fascinating photoSchool. graphs of human fossils.

I was told to get a good liberal arts Garrett’s photos from inside the degree, instead of a degree in photog- most sacred tombs of Egypt is some raphy, so that I’d have something to say of his most renowned work, featured

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A Storyteller With a Camera

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Fauquier County photographer Ken Garrett in Antarctica. in National Geographic’s Tutankhamun and Cleopatra traveling museum exhibits, and related publications. In 2020, he’s looking forward to leading National Geographic Expedition’s first Nile River cruises, eleven-day journeys designed for upmarket tourists.

Recently, National Geographic expeditions have been filling Garrett’s calendar. Those two around-the-world trips in 2018? They were 24-day private jet excursions for 75 people, to thirteen UNESCO World Heritage sites, from Machu Picchu in Peru, to the Taj Mahal in India, and more. Garrett provided lectures on the upcoming destinations and even gave photography lessons to the paying guests.

In January, 2019, Garrett was the official photographer for a ten-day “Environmental Tourism” trip for National Geographic expeditions to Antarctica.

Asked what his favorite part of the trip was, Garrett’s face lit up with a quick response: “the penguins! The Gentoo were the most photogenic, while the Adelie were most playful and fun to watch. I can’t really tell you which is my favorite, just like you can’t say who is your favorite kid.”

It’s clear one of Garrett’s favorite places is his home base of Fauquier County. His Knowledge and enthusiasm for the area has led him to become deeply involved with preserving local

history and conserving the beautiful land of Virginia’s Piedmont.

“The battle over Disney’s America in the early 1990s was interesting,” he said. “It galvanized our community and built lasting friendships, as different groups got together.”

To show “the real thing,” Garrett helped create Hallowed Ground: Preserving America’s Heritage, published in 1996, showcasing the historic Virginia Piedmont and why it demands protecting. Garrett was also the photographer for a 2008 book, Journey Through Hallowed Ground: Birthplace of the American Ideal. It features the 180- by 75-mile stretch of land from Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville to Gettysburg, Pennnyslvania as the epicenter of U.S. heritage and history.

When he’s home, Garrett is stays very busy in his Northern Fauquier community. “Redbeard,” as one friend calls him, can be found delivering soil to neighbors and rescuing friends with broken-down cars, when not operating his John Deere tractor or hanging out with his golden retriever, Cleopatra.

He’s clearly kind, compassionate, and beloved by those who know him.

Ken Garrett also considers himself a storyteller, perhaps more than a photographer. And, he certainly does have countless magical stories to tell.

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57

Adventureman Passes Through Middleburg

By Sean Clancy “Where are you?”

“I don’t actually know.”

That’s how my first conversation with “Adventureman” went recently.

Jamie McDonald was running along some road, near some town on some marathon on his “Super U.S. Solo Run” that started in Washington (the state) and will eventually finish in Gloucester, Mass. in about a month.

“I’m trying to get to Bowling Green,” McDonald said.

Like each time I’ve thought about Adventureman over the past year, I had to check a map. Ah, right, Bowling Green, below Fredericksburg. Trying to calculate when the 32-year-old British adventurer/author/motivational speaker would be near Middleburg, I did some rough math multiplying by 26 and losing count quickly.

“When do you think you’ll be near us?”

“I don’t actually know.”

Notice the trend.

This is what happens when a man is running solo across the country, a jogging stroller called Caesar and about 60 pounds of gear (tent, bag full of running shoes, souvenir hats, laptop, British flag, etc.) as his only companion, raising money as his only goal and a year-long visa as his only boss.

Adventureman started his journey, well this leg of his journey (he’s run across Canada, biked from Thailand to England, set a world record on a stationary bike) last April, debarking from Cape Alava, Washington, the westernmost point of mainland U.S. He’s traversed south through Oregon, California, east across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and north through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.

He’s dodged rattlesnakes, nearly been arrested for squatting and counted on the kindness of strangers through a step-by-step journey across America.

I’ve been following Adventureman for years, ever since he began to take on challenges—adventures—to raise money for children’s hospitals around the world.

All of us have wanted to be adventurous, all of us have wanted to drop everything and go, right? I traveled in the passenger seat next to Steinbeck and Charley, crashed through the icebergs on Endurance and have drawn my finger across the jagged line from Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin. But that’s about as far as it goes, just wistful moments of escape, too many adult compromises to actually do it.

As for Jamie McDonald, well, he’s doing it.

From Gloucester, Great Britain (10.8 miles from Cheltenham Race58

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

to scale buildings course), McDonin a single bound. ald was born with By the end of syringomyelia, a the party on a rare disorder in Thursday night, which fluid builds we had an enup in your spinal tourage, an arcord. senal of runners In and out to join Jamie on of hospitals his run Saturday. throughout his We would need childhood, Mcthree, four, five Donald was told cars, hell, may-be he would spend a bus. We would the rest of his life run in shifts, in in a wheelchair. waves, in teams Well, syringomyof bivouac, we elia had never met would take turns Adventure-man. push-ing Caesar, By 9, the sympwe would wave toms eased and PHOTO BY SEAN CLANCY flags, banners, the McDonald began Annie and Miles Clancy have roar of the crowds to move, began Adventureman right where they want lining the roads to run, began to him. would carry us to play tennis, began our destination. his journey that would eventually take him over the Rocky meets Rudy.

Big hat, no cattle.

Rockies on foot in the dead of winter,

By Saturday morning, it was three through war-torn countries on a bicycle, around 5,000 miles of America and of us—Adventureman, Emily Hannum and I wedging Caesar (so four to our doorstep in Middleburg.

I picked up McDonald at Inova of us) into Hannum’s Jeep and setting Hospital in Falls Church in late Febru- off for Old Colchester Road near the ary and we were old friends in a matter Occoquan River, about 20 miles south of minutes as we made the hour drive of Washington, D.C. In the rain. In to Middleburg. Stopping at the Upper the cold rain. I left my phone in the Crust Bakery to pick up cookies for car, purposefully, slid on an Aqueduct that night’s party, I asked the dumbest knit hat and wedged a bag of supquestion I’ve ever asked (and that’s a plies onto Caesar. Jamie and Emily quickly deemed me the Weakest Link long list).

“Are you hungry?” I asked a man (the truth actually doesn’t hurt when it comes to running) as we set off for deswho is running across America. tination unknown.

“I could eat,” McDonald said.

Pounding up a long winding road A couple of sandwiches later, he was satisfied, at least for a bit. Two hours without a hard shoulder, then down the later, I picked up my son Miles from same twisty road, over a creek, and up school. “I can’t wait to meet this guy,” again, Caesar slowing Adventureman Miles said, as we headed home. “You’ll up the hills (thank God) and forcing love him, Miles. You’ll love him.” Jamie him into a defensive stance, knees out, made fast friends with Miles and An- toes slapping, down the hills, we fell nie, like a brother who came home for into a natural rhythm, three runners, Christmas, his stories flowing, our im- three friends.

We moseyed past signs, gates and aginations running wild.

Thursday night, Jamie entertained walls with military names, past incesand inspired a room full of adults at our sant litter you might not have noticed house and Friday morning, he enter- except you have a guest with you, over tained and inspired a room full of kids a bridge, an otter (could have been a at Hill School. A man in a red cape do- beaver) rolling on his back and diving ing the impossible, eliciting cackles of into a mud-colored creek. We chatted about opioid addiction, about circumciglee and heads full of dreams.

He was quickly everybody’s brother sion, about why we run, about why we who had come home for Christmas. Ja- don’t run. We ran into civilization, well, mie spoke about discovering the super- sprawl, past a Taco Bell, a Pizza Hut, a hero in each of us, he asked us about the 7/11 and past another Taco Bell, Pizza superheroes in our lives, he asked us to Hut and 7/11.

We made a right into a neighborwhom we were superheroes, he talked about what “more to life” meant to us. hood, found a dirt path through a He asked us for silence to think about schoolyard and meandered our way each. Like any good superhero, he made to Mount Vernon. Jamie suggested us think, made us dream, made us want we stop for a beer at the Mount Ver-

non Inn. Never one to pass up a beer, I passed up a beer. Emily shot me a thankful grin, Jamie a confused shake of the head. Emily forged ahead in a high lope, occasionally she looked back, occasionally she turned back.

We ran, we simply ran.

We ran so far and so long, the cold rain became a constant, a forgotten presence in our running void. Conversation waned like it does on long runs, the rhythm of our feet, the heaving of our lungs, the slow passage of time becoming the conversation. I hadn’t run this far in a decade, well, 11 years to be exact when I ran the Austin Marathon in Texas. It had been too long, old friend. Without a watch or a phone and without a goal or desire, the miles ticked past.

Joyous had long since turned to tortuous when Adventureman spotted a coffee shop in Alexandria.

“Let’s stop in there for something warm to drink.”

We didn’t hesitate, drifting to a stop outside the door, Caesar the only one still willing to go.

“That’s 20 plus,” Jamie said.

Emily looked at me and offered the first syllables of an exit strategy, almost apologetically, “I’m OK if…” I said, “Me too, me too, that’s fine, that’s good, that’s good for me…”

With Jamie destined to get to Arlington National Cemetery (to complete another marathon) eight miles away, we needed more than an exit strategy, we needed an exit. For a moment, there was a tinge of remorse, but mostly satisfaction, knowing it was over. Our shoulders shivered as we ordered three hot coffees and food – quiche for Emily, hot ham and cheese for Jamie and avocado toast for me.

We lowered gingerly (the Weakest Link the most gingerly), around a small round table. A man reading The Washington Post stared for a moment, then looked down, perplexed but disinterested. We ate, mostly in silence, welcoming the warmth and the sustenance. When we looked up, we smiled, smirked, a shared moment of ecstasy and anguish.

Coffee slugged, food gobbled, Emily called an Uber and Jamie repacked his backpack. Our miles over, Jamie’s still ahead, nobody wanted to leave. We hugged – long, slow, wet hugs in the middle of an Alexandria coffee shop.

And, that fast, it was over. We waved and walked out.

“I’m a little sad…” Emily said.

“Me too,” I said. “It’s hard to believe we just met him Thursday, it’s like we’re saying goodbye to an old friend.”

And in a way, we were. An old friend.

A real-life superhero.

Country Spirit • Spring 2019

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Country Spirit • Spring 2019