Middleburg Life | April 2016

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Volume 33 Issue 10 • April 2016 www.middleburglife.com

INSIDE: Crowell Hadden Maggie Johnston Matt Fox Kieran Norris Jim Wofford

RIDERS UP! IT IS NOW POST TIME.

The Middleburg Spring Races are off and running on Saturday, April 23 at Glenwood Park.

PHOTO BY MONA BOTWICK FOR EQUESTRAIN STYLE © VICKY MOON

PHOTOS BY: LEONARD SHAPIRO Paul Coyer and violinist Marjory Serrano

Alan Saucedo, music director

Steven Conksey on organ and harpsichord

Linda Taylor, a co-chair

Jack and Leah Ferguson, co-chair

Michela Mazuchova and Mayo Brown

Karen Chase, music director

Miho Sato and daughter Sophia

Because a Great Education is not just about What They Learn. It’s about

“Play is the highest form of research.”

Albert Einstein

Who They Become.

Childhood is about trying on lots of different ideas, identities and interests. The Hill School’s academic and co-curricular programs let each child explore every subject and activity, so they can find out where they excel, and appreciate where others do. Through every lesson, we encourage the development of strong character, self-confidence, a sense of community and a love of lifelong learning.

We invite you to visit our unique village-style campus in Middleburg, VA to find out more.

Serving students in Junior Kindergarten through 8th grade since 1926.

TheHillSchool.org 10

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APRIL 2016

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

You’re Invited to the 2nd anuual

Mrs. George C. Everhart Invitational Side Saddle Chase at the 50th Annual Loudoun Point-to-Point Races

Sunday, April 17 at 12pm Gates open: 10:30am

For parking and ticketing information visit http://www.loudounhunt.com/point-to-point-races.html or call (703) 327-3935

Presented by: Tri-County Feeds, Fashions & Finds Marshall, Virginia tricountyfeeds.com

Echo Equine Veterinary Purcellville, Virginia xeroxvoytosharmorfund.com

Greenhill Winery & Vineyards Middleburg, Virginia greenhillvineyards.com

Announcing: Lisa Delplace, CEO of Oehme, van Sweden, will present the Ladies Side Saddle Chase Perpetual Award Tiffany & Company sterling silver bowl to the 2016 United States lady rider earning the highest points at the Cheshire Hunt in Pennsylvania (March), Loudoun Hunt in Virginia (April) and High Hope Steeplechase in Kentucky (May). Presentation of this award will take place on Saturday, August 13 at the National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg, VA.

OEHME, VAN SWEDEN MIDDLEBURG LIFE

OvS APRIL 2016

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Middleburg Charter Students Show Political Prowess on CBS

By Leonard Shapiro For Middleburg Life

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atie Brennen got the word from school principal David Larson on a Thursday night, telling her that a crew from CBS News would be coming into her fifth grade classroom at the Middleburg Community Charter School bright and early the following Monday.

They’d be there to tape a segment for the network’s morning show, a timely feature on how 11- and 12-year-olds were reacting to one of the most raucous—and occasionally vicious—political campaigns in recent history.

“I was thrilled,“ said Brennen, who lives in Paris, Virginia and teaches fourth and fifth grade at MCCS. In January, she and her students had already been talking about the presidential campaign as part of their current events curriculum. She’d also asked them to formulate their own lists of the most important issues in the 2016 election.

“We’re supposed to know about all the states and all the capitals, and what better way to get into it then to talk about the primaries and debates,“ Brennen said.

“I also asked them to come up with their own platforms and what was most important to them.“ On Monday, March 14, the CBS crew began taping what amounted to a fiveminute segment that aired the next morning. Veteran CBS correspondent Chip Reid, accompanied by a producer, two cameramen and a sound technician, took over the classroom. Five of Brennen’s students from a class of ten sat on two risers and answered Reid’s questions for nearly an hour.

CBS only wanted five children, and the only fair solution was to put all the students’ names in a hat and pick the first five. With several nervous parents watching out of camera range, Reid did his very best to make the children feel at ease, and none seemed at all intimidated.

Here, for example, are some excerpts from a transcript of what was shown to an audience of millions the next morning.

To protect their privacy, CBS and Middleburg Life used only first names—Max, Ella, Brynn, Ananya and Will.

“What do you like watching about the debates, Max?” Reid asked.

“They make us, like, laugh,” Max responded.

“They make you laugh? Does anybody in particular make you laugh?” Reid asked.

“Donald Trump,” Will whispered.

“Why does Donald Trump make you laugh, Ella?” Reid asked.

“I agree with some of his platforms,” she said, “but it's just, he's never been in politics. But, somehow, he's winning.”

“If you were old enough to vote, who would vote for Donald Trump?” Reid asked. Nobody volunteered.

“No,” Ananya responded.

“What's the main reason you wouldn't vote for him?” Reid said.

“I don't think he, like, ever answers the questions,” Brynn said.

“Well, how mean he is,” Max added.

Photo by Leonard Shapiro

Chip Reid of CBS News interviewing Middleburg Community Charter School fifth graders.

Some of the students said they occasionally found it all difficult to watch.

“Are you tired of them being mean to each other?” Reid asked.

“Yes.” “Are you tired of them talking over each other?” Reid asked.

“Yes.” “Are you tired of them making fun of each other?” Reid asked.

“Yes.” “Where do you think all that started?”Reid said.

“Donald Trump,” the group said together.

“He says he's gonna make American great again,“ Reid said. “Do you believe him?”

They all said no.

“I think he's gonna make it worse,” Will said.

The students said they pay close attention to a range of issues, including immigration, gun control and terrorism.

“Donald Trump has said that one way you deal with terrorism is just keep all Muslims out of the country, from coming into the country for now,” Reid said.

“That's not the way,” Will said.

“Not all Muslims are bad,” Max said.

“Yeah, some Muslims are probably super nice,” Will said.

In the interest of political fairness, Trump was not the only politician mentioned. Asked about Hillary Clinton, Anna said, “personally, I wouldn't vote for (her). But, what I'm most worried about is, even if a woman was president, would all the women's rights issues be solved?”

“I think that barrier needs to be broken for a woman to be president,” Ella added. “But, would she do a better job?

Not necessarily.”

“What do you think of Bernie (Sanders)?” Reid asked.

“I think he's made too much promises,” Max said.

Several times during the taping, Reid complimented the students, at one point proclaiming “the wisdom in this room is astounding.” Then later, “I wish all the voters were as informed as you are.”

Katie Brennen watched it all with a huge smile on her face.

“I’ve been telling the kids that politics is not always black and white, but a lot of gray areas,“ she said. “I think that came across. I’m just so proud of all of them.”

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

PHOTOS BY: SUSAN McCASKEY

The Piedmont Child Care

SPAGHETTI DINNER Eric and Charlotte Combs

Susan McCaskey, Helen Wiley and Carol Caballero

Chelsea Green with Mickey Kopansky, Peggy Bonsee, Ashley Aiken and Libby Beeler

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Marguerite Sweeny and Megan Ryan

The Steele-Smith Family

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A Place Where Everybody Knows Your Beer

By Leonard Shapiro For Middleburg Life

beer will go in their growler for consumption off the premises, and preferably at home.

The idea for the store came from Jesse Powell, who’s parents own the Old 690 Bre wer y in nearby Hillsboro. Powell and Cockburn were both students and fraternity brothers at Mississippi S t at e , a n d s u r p r i s e , surprise, had plenty of firsthand experience as beer consumers. One day last winter, Cockburn knocked on Powell’s door and got no answer. That went on for several days.

Photo by Leonard Shapiro “Jesse just disappeared Sam Cockburn, Colby McDaniel an Jesse Powell at for three days,” Cockburn Craft Beerco said. “When he came back, he said he’d had an idea.

It’s not a tavern where everyone knows your name and the hamburgers He drew up a 30-page business plan, and are grand and a tad greasy. Far from it. when I saw it, I told him ‘I’m in.’” Another Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control rules high-school friend, Colby McDaniel, was prohibit the sale of beer or other alcohol attending Coastal Carolina college at the to be consumed on site unless food is same time, and he wanted a piece of the also being served. At Craft Beerco, only action as well.

All three decided to drop out of their munchies like potato chips are available.

The store will give a customer as many as respective schools about a year short six free two-ounce tasting samples from of graduation and invest in the new the beer taps, a total of 12 ounces in all, business. They now share the workload, the better for patrons to decide which much of which involves educating many

They were best pals at Loudoun Valley High School and now they are the three young partners in a fledgling, foamy craft beer business located in Leesburg that is definitely not your grandfather’s favorite watering hole.

It’s called the Craft Beerco and is located in a strip mall right behind the Red, Hot and Blue restaurant on Market St. And almost from the day they opened this past November, they’ve attracting a steady stream of customers looking for something far different than the brewskies you can buy at the Safeway or Food Lion.

“Once you drink craft beer, you can’t go back to Budweiser,” said co-owner Sam Cockburn of Middleburg, the grandson of widely-known horse- and cattleman Gordie Keys. “We’re offering something totally different, and more and more people are starting to come in.”

When customers walk in the door, they’re confronted with an array of 300 different craft beers in bottles and cans on the store’s well-stocked shelves. Behind the bar are 40 taps offering a wide variety of draft, craft beers to either sample in two-ounce plastic cups, or fill up 64- or 32-ounce jugs also known as “growlers.”

Another half-dozen spigots are reserved for temporary “tap takeovers,” with various craft breweries providing new products they want to test on the market.

of their customers on the wide variety of choices they can make in the store.

“I was studying environmental economics,” Powell said. “I just knew it wasn’t something I wanted to do when I finished school. I came up with the idea and pitched it to Sam and Colby. They came up with the money, and we just did it. Had the idea in March. Had the business plan in April and signed a lease for this place last June 15. We opened Nov. 15. It all happened pretty quickly.”

Prices for the draft craft beers in 64-ounce growlers range from $10 to $40. Six packs of the beer on the shelves can go from $10 to $45, mostly based on the amount of alcohol in each. A beer known as “Tweak” made by the Avery Brewing Company in Boulder, Colorado sells for $15 for a 12-ounce bottle. It has 17 1/2 percent alcohol; Budweiser, in comparison, is about 4 1/2 percent.

The demographic customer base, according to Cockburn, is usually younger adults in the 25- to 45-year-old range, many with families.

“They’re people who don’t really want to go out to the bars and drink,” he said.

“If they’re younger and single, they’ll go to a bar. If you’ve got a family, you’ll look for a good draft beer to take home.

And people like to come in and just have conversations about the beer.”

And do the millennial owners find it a tad tempting to have a few samples from all those taps during their work day?

“Not really,” Cockburn said with a smile. “If you drink your own beer, you won’t make any money. That’s the whole idea.”

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TWILIGHT POLO

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APRIL 2016

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

50 West—A Fortunate Change in Ownership

By Brian Yost Middleburg Life

A

upstairs area, which was not previously open to the public, had been cleaned out in preparation for additional tasting space. The tasting room, however, was the part of the estate that required the least work.

Outside, Diane pointed me to the parts of the property where vines would eventually grow. The 1.5 acres south of the tasting room had already been planted.

The Canneys were not wasting any time.

Other potential sites may be planted this spring. With their current vineyard holdings, the Canneys vine acreage will increase to somewhere between 80 and 100. This should easily supply the need of Sunset Hills and 50 West. There’s no cur-

few years ago, I was working on a story about Middleburg wine country and spent a weekend just taking photographs and orienting myself to the surrounding area.

In addition to the town of Middleburg, I visited many of the area’s inns, restaurants, equestrian events and some of the wineries. I’d been blogging about Virginia wine for some time and had been to all the local wineries except one. Leaves of Grass near Aldie seemed to be perpetually closed. So when I drove by and saw an “Open” sign, I pulled off of Route 50 and drove up the twisting, rutted gravel path that passed for a winery lane.

At the top, I was immediately struck by the amazing view of the Bull Run Mountains on the southern side of the valley. The property, on the other hand, appeared to be in a state of decline. The vineyards had been pulled up and general maintenance of the grounds looked like a mere afterthought.

By contrast, the tasting room was tastefully decorated with big French doors that were opened, The 50 West tasting room.

Photos by Brian Yost allowing a light breeze to flow through the space. Through the doors I could see that same spectacular mountain vista. The proprietors were attentive and exceptionally friendly, but it was obvious this was not their passion.

Nevertheless, as I departed, I felt it could be an interesting story.

I also experienced a brief lament over the lost potential of a winery venue that easily has one of the most spectacular views in Northern Virginia. In addition, the The view from the 50 West tasting room. south-facing slopes appeared ideal for the cultivation of vines.

A little more than a year went by when I received a tip from Visit Loudoun that the property had changed hands.

Mike and Diane Canney purchased Leaves of Grass and changed the name to 50 West Vineyards. Based on what I knew about their stewardship of the Sunset Hills Vineyard, that was a good sign. They had a reputation for job creation, community outreach and sound environmental practices. It’s also was fortunate that the new owners were intent on maintaining the property as a winery. This piece of prime real estate might easily have transitioned to some other use. So I contacted the winery and made plans to stop in on their opening weekend.

When I turned off Route 50, the first thing I noticed was that the winery drive had been repaired. The grounds also had seen significant maintenance, all good signs. Inside the tasting room, Diane Canney took time to speak with me and show me around the property.

It was obvious some work already had taken place, with the tasting room interior already undergoing a small facelift. The MIDDLEBURG LIFE

rent estimate of how many cases of wine will be bottled with the 50 West label, but we’ll see how it evolves in the coming years.

The property also contains a house that was previously home to one of the owners. We took a stroll through the mid-century modern structure, with small rooms, alcoves and storage areas.

The pool and surrounding yard were in a terrible state of disrepair.

Work crews labored for many weeks trying to reclaim the house from its wild state. It may have been a beautiful home in the 1960s, but it’s difficult to imagine it as a clubhouse. Still, Diane was confident it could be done and I don’t doubt her. After all, they’ve already done wonders with their other property.

In the end, this was a very fortunate change in ownership for the old Leaves of Grass property. I’m certain the Canneys will continue to invest in 50 West Vineyards and transform it into a regional showpiece. If you haven’t been there, it’s worth the trip just for the view.

Brian Yost is the editor in chief of Wine Tourist magazine and blogs about Virginia wine as The Virginia Grape.

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E G D I R E U BL Gerald Bast and Peggy Zigler

Alison and Mitchel Rhode

Mark and Susan Galbraith

Arabella Van Patten finished second on Faery Tales in the fourth race Dai Bando, owned by Bruce Smart won the Amateur Novice Rider Hurdle with Keri Brion Tailgate season is here

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Milly and Matt Baker, Ex-MFH Windy Hollow Hunt New Jersey

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

R AC E S

PHOTOS BY: CROWELL HADDEN

Diane Ingoe and Speedy Smithwick

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Chris Howells, Blue Ridge Huntsman for 30 years

Erin Swope owner, rider and trainer Iona Pillion and Porter Hunt

Jurgen and Veronica Klessner

Linda Riley and granddaughter Emma Hazelwood

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Liz Callar and rider Keri Brion

Kerstin Money and Cathy Frederickson

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MIDDLEBURG LIFE

Side Saddle Chase Coming to Oatlands

By Sophie Scheps For Middleburg Life

T

he second annnual Side Saddle Chase will take place April 17 at the Loudoun Point-to-Point races at Oatlands Plantation. The brainchild of local sidesaddle rider Maggie Johnston, this year’s race is part of a three-race triple crown that is attracting international attention.

Johnston’s inspiration began in 2013.

She saw a Facebook posting from a sidesaddle group in Ireland hoping to set a world record for most women riding aside during a single day of fox hunting.

They were calling on women from all over the world to join them.

“I contacted Devon Zebrovious (another local sidesaddle rider) and I said we have to do this,” Johnston said. “We got a group together and did all this through Facebook. We never spoke to anyone.

The reservations, the horse rentals were all online. The first time I spoke to someone was when we landed at the airport in Ireland. We got off the escalator and saw someone with a sign that said U.S. Sidesaddle Riders.”

The whirlwind three-day trip began in Dublin before heading to the countryside for a day of hunting followed by the annual hunt ball. Sixty-two women from nine different countries participated, and one talented rider stood out to Johnston.

“We met many amazing women

Photo by Middleburg Photo

including Susan Oaks, who that year set the world record for jumping aside at six feet eight inches,” Johnston said. “She’s the master of a hunt, is a dentist professionally and also races professionally. She holds her jockey license. She talked about winning the Dianas of the Chase that year.”

The Dianas of the Chase race is held each year in England. Women riding aside conquer the challenging course of Grand National sized fences. Johnston felt like staging a sidesaddle chase there

would prove to be popular.

“We found two champions for our cause—Donna Rogers, who is one of the masters for the Loudoun Fairfax Hunt, and Eva Smithwick who is a master of the Snickersville hunt,” Johnston said. “These two ladies really believed in us from the very start. It was more than a blessing. It was ‘what can we do to help you in any way, shape or form.’”

Donna Rogers helped organize Johnston’s top choice—Oatlands in Leesburg—for the venue. Rules established by the Virginia Point-to-Point Association included requiring safety vests and rated helmets, assessing the riders before they were cleared to race and having a modified course of a half-mile loop and one jump.

“I focused on public relations and advertising for the race because I thought if we were well attended that we would be able to do this again,” Johnston said.

“Once we were approved last year my whole focus was to ensure we have another race.”

Last year 7,000 spectators came out, the biggest turnout Oatlands had ever seen. Bringing new interest to the sport of racing and the land conservation needed to host such an event was Johnston’s main goal.

This year the Side Saddle Chase has expanded. The new course will feature a full mile loop and two jumps. It follows the Cheshire Point-to-Point Side Saddle

Chase that ran on March 27. On May 22, the final leg will be Kentucky’s High Hope Steeplechase.

This year, the chases will include an award ceremony at the National Sporting Library and Museum on August 13. A perpetual trophy has been purchased by a new sponsor and will be awarded to the top lady rider.

“I had three criteria when seeking out that sponsor,” Johnston said. “No. 1, I wanted our mission of bringing more awareness of hunting and racing and the need for open space to enjoy those things to match with the sponsor’s mission. I wanted that sponsor to have never sponsored a race because we wanted to demonstrate that we brought new interest to the sport. And I wanted it to be a womenled organization.”

Those criteria were met by new sponsor, Lisa Delplace, the CEO off Oehme van Sweden, a top landscape architecture firm in Washington. A vintage, one of a kind, Tiffany & Co. silver bowl also was found and will be housed at the National Sporting Library between races.

Following the trophy presentation, a panel discussion of women in racing will be held for the first time. Panelists will include local trainer Eva Smithwick and jockey Diane Crump of Linden, the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby.

Johnston will be racing both at Oatlands and in Kentucky on a borrowed paint gelding named Patty Mack. She said she looks forward to a day of racing alongside her friends, but she’s also looking to 2017.

“We’ve come a long way in two years,” she said, “with a long way to go.”

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Puppy Love for Dean and the Disabled

I

By Leonard Shapiro For Middleburg Life

f you happen to run into Joan Symansky on a back street in Middleburg walking her adorable five-month old puppy, a gorgeous Golden Retriever/ Labrador mix named Dean, try to resist the urge to stop, pet or even go all goo goo over her dreamboat dog. At least for now.

Dean doesn’t bite, scratch or slobber.

But like any elite athlete preparing for a major competition, he’s actually in serious training with Joan, and her husband Steve.

Dean is trying to learn basic commands and acclimate to new surroundings and situations on his way toward becoming a valuable service dog for a child or an adult with a disability, physical or emotional.

Joan, a retired attorney, and Steve, an economist, are “puppy raisers,’ volunteers for Canine Companions, based in Santa Rosa, California. They’ve agreed to take Photo by Leonard Shapiro on the expense, including routine medical Steven and Joan Symansky with Dean costs, and basic training for a puppy they received when Dean was eight weeks old. public, into a store, a restaurant, an office.

For the next 16 months, Dean will live at You need to get them used to traffic, noise, their farm near Middleburg, receive train- people passing by.”

It’s been so far, so very good with Dean. ing at home, on town streets and twice a “He is remarkably calm for his age,” month in obedience classes.

Joan said. “He’s a quick study and he’s also And then comes the really hard part.

Joan and Steve will have to give Dean very motivated by food. I’m lucky as a up, perhaps forever. After leaving Middle- first-time raiser. I’ve got a dog who is coburg, he’ll be returned to one of six region- operative and such a good puppy. You also al headquarters (in Dean’s case, Medford, have to give a lot of credit to the breeder.

Long Island). He’ll then begin another six They keep the dog for the first eight weeks.

We picked Dean up on months of advanced Long Island in a crate training with the orgaWant to Be a Puppy Raiser? and then had a fivenization’s instructors Canine Companions for Indehour drive down here. where they’ll learn pendence is the largest non-profit Right from the start, over 40 commands provider of trained assistance dogs he was very easy to pertinent to a person with six regional training centers deal with.” with disabilities. across the country.

Dealing with givThe trainers also Established in 1975, Canine ing Dean back some will provide a detailed Companions provides highly time next year is goevaluation for each trained assistance dogs to children ing to be difficult. It dog. Based on its difand adults with disabilities and is always is, but raisers ferent strengths, a recognized worldwide for the excelknow what’s coming, person on the waiting lence of its dogs, and quality and and how much the list is then invited to longevity of the matches it makes dogs are needed elseattend two weeks of between dogs and people. There is where.

Team Training, and no charge for the dog, its training “I’m sure it’s going eventually they’ll be and on-going follow-up services. For to be sad,” Joan said. matched with a memore information, visit cci.org or “But you start out unticulously trained ascall 1-800-572-BARK. derstanding it’s not sistance dog. Overall, going to be your dog. start to finish, each dog represents about a $50,000 invest- You also know he’s going to have a huge impact on someone’s life. That makes it ment.

Joan Symansky first learned about the easier.”

So, too, does the final, formal transfer program from Dr. Kent Allen, whose son, Forrest Allen, suffered a severe brain in- to the dog’s new owner. Raisers are invited jury several years ago in a skiing accident to what is always an emotional “graduand has benefited greatly from having a ation” ceremony, when the dogs have completed their final training and are preservice dog.

“I was always interested in dog train- sented to the person who will benefit from ing,” Joan said. “I became aware of the their remarkable skills.

Some dogs do wash out for various program reading Forrest’s blog, and I did some research. This program is so well- reasons. If so, raisers have the option of organized and they offer a ton of support.” getting them back. But the Symanskys Those twice-a-month obedience believe it probably would be a mistake classes are held at the Middleburg Ameri- to even think about such things. Instead, can Legion Hall and run by professional they find great satisfaction in watching trainer Genevieve Carter. Eight puppies Dean develop every day they have him.

“I’m really enjoying this,” Joan said. from the Middleburg area currently are “I love seeing the light bulb go on in his in training.

“Right now we’re doing basic stuff with brain. It’s fun. It’s a lot of work and a lot Dean,” Joan said. “As the dog gets older, of responsibility. But you know how much there are more meaningful things to do. these dogs mean to the people who get The biggest thing they want puppy rais- them. And that’s what makes it so worthers to do is socialize the dog—go out in while.”

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21

THE PURSUIT Alternative OF ALPHA

Investments: Diversify Your Holdings

By Missy Janes for Middleburg Life

The term “alpha” has a lengthy Investopedia definition. In short, “alpha” is the excess return over an investment’s benchmark index return. aimportfolios for “alpha”.

We see aInvestors lot of outside that Therefore, almostinall investment are solely invested Large-Cap U.S. Equities and advisors feelcan’t that help they but get shudder paid to at the “alpha”. risk. It’s especially common to chase

H

see right now because U.S. markets

have investors out-performed nonFew havedeveloped the necessary U.S. and emerging markets the combination of ability, time,over capital last few years. Despite this short-term and over toanremember investment view, control it’s important two to create “alpha”.

Regardless of things: experience, most investors have 1) International provide these goals in stocks mind:help ability to live diversification benefits. onvaluable their portfolio’s income, saving 2) Recent performance is not a reliable forindicator a child’sofeducation or their own future returns. retirement and making sure their investments are first-rate.

The global equity market is huge and nearly half of its investment oppor-

Most investors share theofchallenge tunities are comprised non-U.S. of capturing “return” of the stocks.

To put the things in perspective, that’s more than 10,000 capital markets, as companies opposed in to over 40 countries that own a sole-U.S. stock generating their “alpha.” portfolio is missing out on. That’s a lot Problem is, most investors never of lost opportunity if you choose to capture the market’s entire return. avoid the global market.

They don’t get the investment’s full If we narrow thethe focus to the “lost dereturn, rather investor’s return. cade”—the years 2000-2009, where the What’s the difference?

S&P recorded it’s worst ever 10-year

performance—circumstances were Carl Richards, a writer quoted in not the so bad forrags, globalcalls equity If financial thisinvestors. difference we broaden our view and look at the “the gap.” yearsbehavior starting in 1900Unfortunately, and ending in emotions can prohibit sound 2010, the U.S. market outperformed investment decisions and investors the world market in five decades and underperformed in the other six. This buy and sell when they shouldn’t. does not mean going out and plopping your assets in a random country’s company stock. The difference between the best and worst performing stock is noteworthy: the average best was 37.5 percent and the average worst was minus-15.7 percent. Again, diversify.

For years I’ve been advocating By exposing yourstop portfolio to both U.S. that investors trying to catch and non-U.S. equities, you achieve di“alpha”.

I encourage investors to versification benefits as well as potensettle in andexpected rely on returns an empirical tially higher in the approach, on speculation, long run. not Youbased may also sound more intelligent at dinner partiesscience if you hapbut on the irrefutable of pen to discuss investments and throw capital markets. Investing in a in a comment about how Hungary’s globally diversified, tax ofand cost markets have had one heck a year. efficient portfolio will prevail.

–Tom Wiseman

Keep Your Money

WISEMAN & ASSOCIATES WEALTH MANAGEMENT Artwork by Cathy Zimmerman

540-687-7077 wisemanandassociates.com

22

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APRIL 2016

PART TWO ealthy woodlands and hedgerows flanked by wildflower meadows and thickets with areas of tall grass nourish healthy and connected eco-systems. When properly managed, maintenance costs are reduced and native habitat is enriched.

Good soils are vital to the prosperity of all plant life. To promote natural soil processes and the beneficial organisms, develop a land management plan that utilizes cover crops, green manure, compost, and soil development strategies. The complex mix of decomposed material recycled from leaves, plants and compost develops into a nutritious organic layer of humus from which all else in the landscape emerges.

Allow tall native grasses and wildflowers to flourish by maximizing diverse native plantings. Keep mowing to essential areas. Let old fields revert to a meadow. Birds and wind disperse the seeds. Butterflies pollinate. You will save on bush- hogging costs. Control invasive plants as the meadow evolves.

Diverse meadows offer food, shelter and nest sites. Cut once or twice a year but not between April 1 and August 1 when birds are nesting and raising young.

Riparian corridors or stream-side vegetation is a complex plant community which filters water and traps sediment. The result is cleaner, purer water quality. Encourage native woody shrubs along streams, ponds and wetlands. The riparian growth shades the stream, cooling the water, which benefits the growth of healthy water insects. Resist mowing too close to this vegetative zone.

A shrub buffer also discourages flocks of Canada geese from becoming year round residents. Plant a riparian buffer by seeking assistance from local soil and water conservation professionals. A width of 50 feet is desirable.

Seedling trees and some shrubs are available for a nominal fee from county soil and water conservation districts.

Hedgerows define edges of properties and save spaces for young trees to mature and distinguish themselves. They provide byways for wildlife. When replacing a fence, leave the old hedgerows and add a wider margin where possible.

In the woodlands, air is cooled and cleaned. Water is absorbed and filtered.

Healthy layers of bio-diverse relationships contribute to future life in the country. The lives of birds are closely linked with the lives of trees and many birds need large areas of forest to breed successfully.

Dead trees provide perches, nesting sites, bug havens, food sources and hiding places for birds and small creatures.

Build brush piles, install and maintain nest boxes. Consider linking your wooded and wild areas so they connect to a neighboring property. Habitat and wildlife corridors should flow across the countryside and across boundary lines.

To maintain healthier animals and cleaner water supplies, fence out livestock from open water. Hold back mowing to stabilize banks, filter run off and keep water temperatures cooler. Mow patterns to follow the bend in a stream or a topographical line. This adds movement and visual appeal.

On the topic of stream monitoring for water quality, Save Our Streams developed a system to measure “Green roofs and track changdecrease the total es in the streams amount of runoff by that affect the retaining up to 75% watershed. Louof rainwater gradudoun Watershed ally releasing it back Watch lists orinto the atmosphere ganizations that via condensation train volunteers and transpiration.” as stream moni- Norfolk tors to collect Botanical Garden stream data and compile records.

Volunteers learn to identify macro-invertebrates and their sensitivity to pollutants and gauge water quality.

Water quality can be impaired by erosion, development, road and parking lot surfaces, pesticides and herbicides, improper disposal of toxic substances and some agricultural practices. To learn more about this program contact: http:// www.goosecreek.org/.

Rain gardens are designed to catch water, slow it down and filter the runoff.

Successful plantings include versatile plant selections that can survive both dry and wet conditions. Their roots hold the soil; the soil filters the water; and the blossoms provide nectar for pollinators.

Pollutants from impervious surfaces are captured from the first rush of water and runoff is reduced. Green roofs insulate from the hot summer sun and the cold winter winds while absorbing water and minimizing runoff from heavy rains.

A roof garden can withstand severe conditions from drought to heavy rain.

The plant textures add interest while absorbing water and making oxygen.

This is an excerpt from Missy Janes’ book, Life in the Country. A long-time Middleburg resident, she’s a writer and photographer whose work regularly appears in Middleburg Life.

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

Chocolate Quinoa Muffins I was quite surprised how well quinoa flour and chocolate go together. These muffins are light and airy and the chips give them a big chocolate boost. Quinoa flour also has superior nutritional value to wheat flour, so who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

1½ cup quinoa flour 1 cup granulated sugar 4 tablespoons cocoa powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon kosher salt 1 1/3 cup whole milk 2/3 cup light olive oil or canola oil 1 large egg 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ⅓ cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips Powdered sugar for dusting • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

• Line a standard size 12-muffin pan with paper liners.

• Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

• Mix all the liquid ingredients in another bowl.

• Mix everything together with a whisk, until you have a smooth batter.

• Divide evenly between the muffin

Shrimp and Spinach Egg Soup I added shrimp and dill to this classic Italian soup, the a perfect spring lunch or light dinner.

SERVES 4 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided 8 ounces fresh baby spinach 1 pound shrimp, peeled and cleaned 2 eggs 2 teaspoons lemon juice and zest of whole lemon 2 tablespoons fresh dill, plus sprigs for garnish 4 cups chicken stock freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste Grated Parmesan for serving • Heat a large sauté pan to medium high heat and add half the unsalted butter.

• Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and saute them until they are pink about 3-4 minutes.

• Remove the shrimp and set aside and add the last of the butter to the pan.

• Add the spinach and sauté until just cooked through about 2-3 minutes, keep warm.

• In a sauce pan, add the chicken broth and the lemon juice and bring to a simmer.

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

cups.

• Sprinkle the chocolate chips equally among the muffins.

• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

• Let cool on a wire rack.

• Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

• Store at room temperature in tightly sealed container.

• In a small bowl beat the eggs with the lemon zest and the dill.

• Swirl the simmering chicken broth and slowly add the egg mixture in a thin stream.

• Divide the shrimp and the spinach into 4 bowls and top with the egg broth mixture.

• Top with grated Parmesan and sprigs of dill.

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Middleburg Tennis Club P.O. Box 433 • Middleburg, VA 20118

(540) 687-6388 ext. 18

WELCOME HOME

Kumquat Vinaigrette

This bright clean dressing has a great citrus base and is especially good paired with greens and avocado. You also can use this to top a simple piece of sauteed Cod. 12 kumquats washed and dried 1 tablespoon honey ¼ cup rice vinegar ¾ cup avocado oil 1 teaspoon Kosher salt ½ teaspoon pepper • In a blender or a small food processor, process the kumquats until they are pureed.

• Add the honey, salt, pepper and rice vinegar • With the machine running, add the oil in a slow steady stream to emulsify.

• Drizzle over greens and avocado or sautéed fish.

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The beautifully groomed 321+ acres of this thoroughbred horse breeding & training farm rests at the edge of Middleburg. The gently rolling land is traversed with paved lanes to access the stately manor home, tenant homes, Confederate Hall, the barns and 6 furlong training track. The Georgian Style Training Barn is stunning and includes 28 stalls and a 1/8 mile indoor training track, with excellent access to the fenced paddocks and fields. $10,450,000

The former home of Sen. John Warner & Elizabeth Taylor. The sprawling 400 acre estate with a 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath home features a tile entry with curving staircase, gourmet kitchen, work-out room, stone fireplace and built-in custom cabinetry. Large windows open up to views of the rolling estate. The property is a working cattle farm and includes a barn, silo, machine sheds, $8,750,000 manager’s apartment and feeding facilities.

Magnificent horse property in the midst of the serene countryside. From the picturesque Young Road two driveways access the 107 acres of Hidden Trail Farm. The first leads to one of the finest indoor arenas surrounded by exquisite ride out. The second is the graceful, park-like drive, which parallels a creek and then gently $6,500,000 curves up to the elegant manor home.

Custom Built stone/stucco three-story home with 4 bedrooms plus large master in-law suite with separate parking and entrance. Slate roof,game room,custom theatre, workout room, study, office, dog room,custom kitchen, 4 stone fireplaces, approximately 8,000 SF. Extensive horse facilities include 18 stall barn,2 stall barn, 14 paddocks, lg. ring and much more. $5,500,000

Extraordinary estate on over 180 acres; Ideal for horses; 7 Bedrooms; New Gourmet State of the Art Kitchen & Baths; Gorgeous full wall windows, overlooking 10 acre lake; 10 stall stable, Paddocks with run-in sheds, Pool and poolhouse with fireplace, spa and new tennis courts. $3,950,000

c.1823, with a stunning tree lined entrance, offers one of the grand manor homes in the famed horse country of Upperville. Recently renovated, the home offers wonderful indoor and outdoor living areas. Porches, gardens, barns, paddocks, riding arena, pond, pool and magnificent views from the Bull Run to Blue Ridge Mountains. $3,700,000

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Magnificent 155 Acre Atoka Road Estate with gated entry opening into the private drive lined with mature trees. The charming historic manor home, c. 1827 backs to expansive views of fields and ponds. 4 tenant homes, 3 barns, indoor and outdoor riding arenas. Gently rolling pasture land with fenced paddocks and fields. Property is in a VOF conservation easement. $3,250,000

Stunning 2012 addition and complete restoration created a classic and elegant Virginia manor house. Attention to detail throughout including a custom designed kitchen open to the family room. Property also includes pool, guest house, 4 stall barn on 18 acres located in the Orange County Hunt Territory. Convenient access to I- 66, Rt. 50 and Dulles International Airport $2,999,000

726.66 acres in 14 parcels, all of which are 50 acres or larger. Accessed from Hume Road (635) and from and Black Rock Ford. Great elevation, views, open land,woods and frontage on the Rappahannock River.

Mixed game for hunting. Great opportunity for tax credits. $2,979,306

Steeped in history, the 98 acre estate of Ashleigh features an elegant Greek Revival manor house, c.1840, 2 bedroom pool/guest house adjacent to heated pool. 2 bedroom tenant home, 10 stall barn with 1 bedroom apt. and manager's office, additional 4 stall & 3 stall barn. Paddocks, pond, & magnificent gardens. 42 acres of this property are in managed Forestry Land Use. Excellent access to I-66. $2,900,000

51+ acre farm with a beautiful 4 Bedroom home with gourmet kitchen, wine cellar, great views, pool, flagstone terrace and carriage house; extensive horse facilities - 9 stall barn, covered arena, outdoor arena, 7 paddocks, 4 stall shed row barn, machine shed, etc. $2,500,000

18+ acres of mostly open and rolling land with the home sited perfectly with vast views from both front and back overlooking the pond, gardens and front fields. Cathedral ceilings, Master on the main floor, huge library/living room, private guest rooms, apartment on lower level w/own kitchen/entrance, sprawling deck w/awning. Perfect location ~ OCH territory ~ VOF conservation easement. $1,995,000

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165 +/- acres on Little Cobbler with amazing views of Big Cobbler and the Blue Ridge Mountains! Pond, Open Land, Pool, Hot Tub, 4 Lvls, 4 BR, 4 BA Brick Home w/2 Bay Garage/Guest quarters to the left of main residence, Machine Shed, Screened Porch, Wet Bar, Large Stone Courtyard and Terrace, Full House Generator, 3 Fireplaces, Approx.6,500 sq.ft.

Property is in Land Use and includes 2 parcels. $1,980,000

90 acres w/approx. 45 fenced acres and 45 acres in woods with trails. 3 bedroom manor home, Indoor and Outdoor Arenas, 2 barns open into the indoor arena, Main barn has 20 stalls, Show Barn- 5 oversized stalls, 3 tack rooms, office, 2 wash stalls, 2 bathrooms, laundry room, 14 paddocks. Manager’s cottage. 2 additional DUR’s and is in land use. $1,900,000

A picturesque and tranquil retreat nestled on 158+ acres in pristine Rappahannock County. At the end of the private drive is the historic Stone residence, c. 1745 with additional stone cottage for guests or office and tucked into the woods, beyond the home, is a charming and beautifully restored 2 bedroom log cabin. Gardens, lawn, barns, paddocks and tremendous ride out potential provide an outdoor haven. $1,845,000

An amazing custom built 4 Bedroom, 3.5 Bath Colonial on 70 mostly open acres with approximately 5000 square feet of living space. This exceptional home has been modified from an original 1810 home on site. 5 stall barn, 6 car garage, pond and more. Property is currently in Land Use. $1,800,000

The 16 room Manor House, c.1774 on 87 ACRES with expansive views-mountains, rolling hills & the property's 1300' of Shenandoah River frontage. Ballroom with dramatic Tiffany style windows. Tenant house and horse barns. VOF easement w/2 DURs. CONTINGENT upon property being divided with option to purchase more. $1,700,000

The stately mansion is sited on 8½ acres within the town limits of The Plains, VA. The size of the home and its room sizes lends itself beautifully for hosting large events. The foyer measures 48’ x 11’. The zoning allows for potential division rights or potential tax credits. Convenient to Exit 31 of I-66. $1,495,000

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NAKED MOUNTAIN - Delaplane, 276 acres of land on Naked Mountain. A true hunter's paradise! Mostly wooded, very private. Nice elevation, from 670 to 1,400.

Kettle Run stream runs through, great opportunity for tax credits. $1,159,410

MAIDSTONE ROAD - 54.21 Acres of land, half pasture, half wooded with Goose Creek frontage, Wonderful house sites and perfect location with easy access to I-66. Piedmont Hunt territory $838,860

53+ acres of beautiful, open and gently rolling land with expansive views of the countryside and distant mountains. Located in the coveted Orange County Hunt Territory of Fauquier County, this land provides exceptional ride-out potential. A home-site has been studied including engineers report verifying a site for a 5 Bedroom septic, well and potential pond site. Open space easement, land $1,300,000 cannot be divided.

Beautiful 4 bedroom, 5 bath home on over 50 acres with incredible views in all directions. Perfect for horse enthusiasts or great for enjoying country living. Elegant living spaces perfect for parties. Fencing, convertible barn, water features, lush gardens, covered porches and decks for outdoor entertaining and much more. ODH Territory. $1,299,000

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O’BANNON LAND - 50 elevated acres on a quiet road near The Plains overlooking Great Meadow with fantastic views to the west. Mostly open, some fencing, multiple house sites. OCH Territory. $640,000 82.99 acres with access from either The Plains Road or Hopewell Road. Nice elevation and several options for house sites. All wooded, with amazing view potential.

Includes a certification letter for a 5 Bedroom septic system. Property is in Easement and cannot be further subdivided. $1,395,000

This 4 level traditional recently renovated brick home beautifully blends with the custom cedar Timberpeg-3 season porches & family room addition. Horse facilities include:4 stall, center aisle barn, run-in shed, 3 fenced paddocks on 10 mostly open acres w/easy access to tremendous ride out.

Indoor & outdoor entertaining areas, pool with raised spa & multi-level terraces create a private retreat. $1,349,000

BEARS DEN - 151.61 acres in 3 parcels. (50.49, 50.48 and 50.64) Can be sold individually as well (50+ acre parcels) One largely wooded parcel, other two parcels share a pond and have wonderful views. Great location off of Leeds Manor Rd. and only minutes from Warrenton. $454,000 ea

MAIDSTONE ROAD - 50.14 Acres of Land, half pasture, half wooded with Goose Creek Frontage. Mountain and Pastural Views with pond and multiple house sites with elevation and perfect location with easy access to I-66. Piedmont Hunt Territory. $727,030 BERRYVILLE - 90.7 Acres of rolling hills bording the lovely North Hill Farm. $720,000

www.thomas-talbot.com

ThoMAs AnD TAlBoT ReAl esTATe (540) 687-6500

Offers subject to errors, omissions, change of price or withdrawal without notice. Information contained herein is deemed reliable, but is not so warranted nor is it otherwise guaranteed.

24

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APRIL 2016

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

Middleburg, Virginia 20118 APRIL 2016

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www.middleburglife.com

25

PHOTOS BY: LEONARD SHAPIRO

Andrew Stifler and Nicky Perry

The Virginia Steeplechase Association held its annual awards dinner last month at the Blackthorne Inn & Restaurant in Upperville. An enthusiastic gathering of more than 125 guests dined from a sumptuous buffet in the banquet hall and later celebrated a number of awards from the 2015 season.

Also honored were two new members of its Hall of Fame, legendary trainer, the lateThomas E. Field, and the horse, Miles Ahead, owned by Lisa and Zohar Ben Dov’s Kinross Farm in Middleburg.

Award winners included: Open leading owner, Irv Naylor; Open leading rider, Paddy Young; Open leading trainer, Leslie Young; VSA leading owner, Bruce and Edie Smart; VSA leading trainer, Doug Fout; VSA leading rider, Kieran Norris; VSA leading hurdle horse, Arrakis (Over Creek Stables); Open leading hurdle horse, Andi’amu (Ballybristol Farm); Open leading timber horse, Grinding Speed (Michael Wharton); VSA leading timber horse, Dakota Slew (Maggie Bryant) and VSA leading horse on the flat, Candy Man (Noble Stables).

Randy Rouse and Will Allison Stephanie Malavich and Don Yovanovich

Cynthia Tucker, Michael and Karen Crane

VSA leading rider Kieran Norris and Don Yovanovich

Jeanne and Mike Morency with Genevieve Frost

VSA leading owners Bruce and Edie Smart 26

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It’s Fine Dine and Wine at Grandale Vintner’s Table

By Sophie Scheps For Middleburg Life

G

randale Vintner’s Table marks something of an evolution in the fine dining experience.

Known as the Grandale Restaurant for the past ten years, a shift from the formal to the more casual atmosphere has left new and old patrons thrilled.

Located just outside Purcellville, Grandale Vintner’s Table is situated on a historic farm along with 868 Estate Vineyards. The winery has been in operation since 2012. The brainchild of three families, the winery is named after the rolling hills of the property, the tallest of which is 868 feet high.

“Before we were fine dining. You would walk in and there were white linen tablecloths and original artwork on the walls,” said Nancy Deliso, one of the owners. “People came for special occasions like marriage proposals. It was a little bit of a challenge with the winery next door because people would come and ask where they could eat and we would have to turn them away because they didn’t meet the dress code.”.

Nancy and her husband, Peter, operate the winery with winemaker Cal DiManno and the Charron family. Head chef Arthur Clark has been working at the restaurant from the beginning.

The group bought the property four years ago and since then has planted 30,000 grape vines over 17 acres. The farm features a pre-Civil War manor home and dairy barn along with the tasting room and restaurant. Their own kitchen garden produces the heirloom tomatoes, Swiss chard and other vegetables used each day.

“The building that was the tasting room was here but it was sort of like a community center,”Nancy Deliso said.

“They did theater programs and 4-H programs for the kids so it was multi-use.

Then when we bought it, we did some interior renovations.”

Over the next several years, the vineyard will expand to about 40 acres and a new tasting room will be built up on the hill. The existing building will become event space and the rest of the property will be kept natural for customers to enjoy at their leisure.

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

While the quality of the food at Grandale hasn’t changed, the accessibility has.

The more laid back dining room will still provide the upscale ambiance some guests desire.

“You can do a wine-tasting at the restaurant,” Deliso said. “We have a beautiful cheese and charcuterie plate with really fabulous artisan cheeses. They are decadent and elegant and beautiful. Now you’re wine tasting in a different atmosphere. The tasting room is more crowded and higher energy so it’s nice to have both options.”

Chef Clark’s creativity seems neverending. Each week, four feature dishes are on the menu. Specialties like lobster hash topped with a poached egg and chili chicken with a lemon oil drizzle have already captivated diners.

“The chef also loves to build things,” Deliso said. “He took a wine barrel and burst it open and took the staves and dyed them with red wine. Then he formed them into the antipasto plates. He wants the presentation of the food to be representative as well.”

Alongside each menu option is a wine or brew pairing. The wine list extends past just 868 wines and features other Loudoun County options as well as international varieties. Deliso’s favorite, however, is the 868 Monarch wine, named for a special project.

“We do a project on site where we hand raise Monarch butterflies,” Deliso said. “We plant the milkweed and collect the eggs. Then they get placed in an incubator and we feed them and then our customers get to release them. The Monarch wine is in celebration of that and I think it says a lot about who we are.”

Both children and adults are welcome to come and enjoy what 868 Estate Vineyards and Grandale has to offer. Along with the Monarch Project, there are daily scavenger hunts and special “Walk off your Wobble” hikes to the top of the hill the day after Thanksgiving and St. Patrick’s Day. “What we want is for people not to just come once a year for a special occasion,” Deliso said. “We’d like them to come once a month and have something different to enjoy each time.”

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A Treasured Asset Returns to Hill School Next Month

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MIDDLEBURG LIFE

Grace church concert SerieS

Grace Episcopal Church The Plains, Virginia

Photo by Kenneth Garrett

Saturday, april 16, 2016 at 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Richard Hooper

Some of the team working for Blair Lear - Maria Angel, Janice Darnell, Elizabeth Badin, Rose Roberts, Wendy Reid and Gretchen Whitman. .

Like Father Like Son at Marshall Post Office This is the fourth in a series on rural post offices in the Middleburg area

By Dulcy Hooper Middleburg Life

“I

t is very labor intensive around here in the morning,” said Blair Lear, postmaster in Marshall.

Lear’s day had begun, as it often does, at 5 a.m. with a huge shipment of parcels arriving from Amazon. “And we haven’t even received the UPS shipment yet.”

Lear has served as Marshall’s postmaster since 2005.

“I had been in Amissville,” he said.

“And in 2004, my boss asked if I would help out briefly in Marshall as officer in charge.”

Lear said that while it was hard to leave Amissville, he’s grateful for “the pleasure of working with such a wonderful staff of 11 experienced and hard-working individuals here in Marshall.”

Lear was familiar with the post office from an early age. His father’s career had been with the post office and he was instrumental in developing the concept of large regional centers from which mail is distributed.

Lear began working for the post office after high school, saving money for college and returning during school breaks while a college student. After obtaining a degree in business management, he moved on to private industry for over 15 years. In 1992, as a single father, the post office became his chosen career.

“The post office has been changing and adapting over the years,” Lear said.

“But I’m a big proponent of letters – they are so much more important than email, and that’s never going to go away.”

Nor will catalogues, according to Lear.

“All indications are that people prefer to sit down at home with a paper catalogue, and not view them online,” he said.

Profits from first-class mail diminished with the ascendancy of the internet.

“People began paying their bills online and sending emails rather than letters,” said Lear, who added that Amazon is a “big part of the postal services’ future.”

An act of Congress in 1912 authorized Parcel Post and spurred the growth of the great mail-order houses, leading to 300 million parcels mailed within the first six months and having a tremendous effect on the national economy.

Years later, UPS and FedEx dominated MIDDLEBURG LIFE

parcel deliveries. However, that is changing and evolving, as well: UPS and FedEx are now moving more of their own packages through the U.S. Postal Service.

In talking about Marshall’s carriers, Lear said “it’s a hard job, and all of our rural carriers here go well beyond the call of duty.”

One of Marshall’s carriers drives a 60mile route.

“One day this week, for instance, she set out with over 2,000 pieces of mail and more than 80 parcels for 512 deliveries,” Lear said.

With computerized processing and sorting, Lear has records for each day’s mail and noted that “when a mail carrier puts a letter in our mailbox, that is often the first time anyone has touched the letter, other than the individual who sent it in the first place.”

Also going beyond the call of duty, according to Lear, is the staff working behind the counter.

“Maria Angel, who’s been with the post office for 24 years, and Janice Darnell — they know all of our customers,” he said with great pride. “They know them and care about them and do such a great job.”

Lear is clearly knowledgeable about the post office’s long history. Pointing to a stack of receipts for fuel, he asked, “Did you know that the Post Office has the largest fleet of vehicles in the country? Or that it was once the largest employer, with around 800,000 employees?”

There’s much about the post office’s rich history that many have probably forgotten. Benjamin Franklin’s, for example, was the country’s first Postmaster General, serving in that position under both the British crown and the Continental Congress of the fledgling United States.

Two other postmasters went on to become presidents later in their careers— Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman.

And other famous postal workers include such iconic individuals as Walt Disney, William Faulkner, Conrad Hilton and Charles Lindbergh.

And who remembers what a ZIP Code is? Launched on July 1, 1963, the Zoning Improvement Plan assigned a five-digit address to every address in the country.

In Marshall, it’s 20115.

The Marshall Post Office is located at 8361 W Main Street, in Marshall. It’s open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

Gospel concert

Washington Performing arts children of the Gospel choir

Formed in 1993 to celebrate the tradition and inspirational root of gospel music on America’s main stages, Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir showcases uniquely talented young voices in their own distinctive style of high-energy performances. This multidimensional choir works with some of the area’s noted choral directors who enhance the choir’s training, performance quality, and disciplinary skills.

Under the direction of artistic director, Stanley J. Thurston and music director, Michele Fowlin, the Children of the Gospel Choir has proudly performed at The White House, The National Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela, and the Inaugural Prayer Services for President Barack Obama at the Washington National Cathedral.

Grace episcopal church 6507 Main Street the Plains, Va 20198 Single Ticket $25 · Student $15

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Free admittance to anyone under 18

For information and tickets: www.gracetheplains.org or 540-253-5177 x 107

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MIDDLEBURG, UPPERVILLE & PARIS

100 Years in Hunt Country House & Garden Tour SUNDAY, APRIL 24 1pm - 5pm MONDAY, APRIL 25 10am- 5pm Tickets are $40 on tour days and will be available at our headquarters, Buchanan Hall in Upperville, as well as at the National Sporting Library & Museum. Advance Tickets are $35 and may be purchased online at www.vagardenweek.org or at the following retail outlets: The Fun Shop and the Pink Box in Middleburg; Christine Fox and The Town Duck in Warrenton; the Loudoun Convention Center in Leesburg; and Harris Teeter in Purcellville, Lansdowne and Aldie (Stone Ridge).

APRIL 2016

For more information, go to www.flgardenclub.org or call June Hambrick at (540) 878-8220.

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Moore, Clemens & Co Middleburg

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Middleburg’s Master Mechanic Is a Driving Force

By Leonard Shapiro For Middleburg Life

A

s a youngster growing up on the St. Louis road near Middleburg, Matt Fox always did like to take things apart—radios, motorcycles, car engines—and then put them back together.

Turns out that would be perfect training for his life’s work as the masterful mechanic at Middleburg Exxon since the early 1990s.

“I just wanted to see how things worked,” Fox said. “I’d always try to put it back together, too. I usually did.”

These days he always does, and hundreds of Middleburg area residents depend on him to keep their vehicles purring smoothly down the road. Fox said there’s nothing he’s ever been asked to fix that’s been too intimidating to even try.

The quizzical look on his face tells you that’s just a ridiculous question to even pose.

Fox has been a fixture at the station since 1987 when he began pumping gas and cleaning windshields part time for the man who first hired him, the station’s late owner, Billy Journell.

“I just showed up one day and got the job,” said Fox, who graduated from Loudoun Valley High School and kept working at the station when he attended junior college at NOVA. For two years, he was on the job by day and taking advanced auto mechanic courses at night.

“In high school, I did tires and oil changes,” he said. “Wayne Monroe was the head mechanic back then, and he would start to give me more and more complex jobs to do. When he decided to leave and start his own business in the early ‘90s, I took over. Billy never really said anything to me. We knew Wayne was leaving and it just kind of happened.”

Since he first began taking cars apart, they’ve become increasingly more complex, mostly because so many components are computer driven. It requires Fox to constantly keep up with the latest technology, enrolling in continuing education courses and doing plenty of reading.

“Cars are definitely better and safer, ” said Fox, an ASE certified master technician for cars and light trucks. “It used to require a lot of mechanical skill to take MIDDLEBURG LIFE

care of them. Now it requires more computers. You might have a brake pad problem where you can see they’re just worn out. Or you could have a diagnostic problem that will require computer sensors and miles of wiring.”

Fox said he spends more money these days on new software than he does on the actual tools of his trade. “You still do have to get specialty tools,” he said. “But most of it is computer updates. It didn’t used to be like that.”

One problem that hasn’t changed much over the years doesn’t need a computer program to ferret it out. Instead, he employs one of the most basic diagnostic methods of all—his own sense of smell.

“Rodent damage is a big problem out in this area,” he said. “They can be quite challenging. They’ll eat the wires. And you have to find the source of a bad smell.

You’ll look around in there and you don’t know why he did it, where he did it or what he was thinking. But mice and chipmunks, they can get anywhere.”

His nose knows for sure.

Meanwhile, Fox has had plenty of opportunities to take his skills elsewhere, a major car dealership, a larger repair business. But he said he’s perfectly happy exactly where he’s been since his teenage years.

“I like the area,” said Fox, who lives with his wife, Nicole, and their sixthgrader son, Christopher, a few miles away near Haymarket. “Everybody knows me.

But my favorite part of the job is the people.”

And a long list of people repeatedly use his services. He takes most of his jobs by appointment, with an average backup of four or five days. Still, if there’s an emergency or a repair that must be done immediately, he’ll try to get to it as quickly as possible.

“Everyone is usually very understanding,” he said. “If I can, I’ll try to make it happen.”

Occasionally, Christopher will come to work with his dad.

“He likes being here,” Fox said. “He loves anything mechanical. I think he really is a lot like me. I know there’s a whole pile of disassembled stuff in his room.”

Though probably not for long.

22939 Middleburg Life March 2016-PressReady.pdf

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In The Field And At The Races Middleburg Life photographers Douglas Lees, Crowell Hadden, Doug Ghelsen and Karen Monroe captured the Warrenton and Piedmont point-to-point races as well as the Piedmont Fox Hounds invitational joint meet with Orange County Hounds, followed by a hunt breakfast at Milton Sender’s Dencrest

At Piedmont, Alveda Batef, Gretchen Kuney, Jacqui Porter, Jacob Porter and Patty Milligan. Photo by Middleburg Photo

Brian Jarvis and Laura Jarvis at the joint meet. Photo by Middleburg Photo

At Warrenton, Teresa Croce won the Virginia bred/sired flat race on Gumper. Photo by Douglas Lees

Charlie Carroll and Mo Baptiste.

Photo by Middleburg Photo

Coming Home.

Photo by Middleburg Photo

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MIDDLEBURG LIFE

Laurie McClary and Milton Sender.

Photo by Middleburg Photo

Ivan Blumberg and Janie Motion at Piedmont.

Photo by Crowell Hadden

Maggie Bryant’s Dakota Slew with Mark Beecher won the Rokeby Bowl. Photo by Crowell Hadden

Fletcher Slater and Caitlin McNaughton at Piedmont. Photo by Crowell Hadden

The Noble Stables partnership won the Open flat race with Kingofalldiamonds: Charles Steele, trainer Neil Morris), Pam Ryder, Gail Clark, Helen Steele. Photo by Douglas Lees

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

Erin Swope won the Amateur/ Novice rider hurdle race with Slaney Rock at Warrenton.

Photo by Douglas Lees

Doug Fout was leading trainer at Warrenton with three wins and a second including winner Imperial Rule with Kieran Norris, up in the Maiden Hurdle. Photo by Douglas Lees

APRIL 2016

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June 6th thru June 12th Jumper Rating CSI 4* Feature Classes include: $216,000 Upperville Jumper Classic Sunday afternoon, June 12 $20,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, Saturday evening, June 11 $40,000 Welcome Stakes Friday evening, June 10 $35,000 Upperville Speed Stake Thursday evening, June 9

Grand Finale Sunday Highlights include: Hunter Breeding Classes

Photo courtesy of Teresa Ramsay

“Horses & Horsepower” Auto Show Art Under the Oaks Art Show and Sale Jack Russell Terrier Races

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MIDDLEBURG LIFE

An Exceptional Estate Showcases Excellence ‘Mount Gordon Farm’ Features Extraordinary Compound Within Orange County Hunt

A

s springtime makes its presence felt across the local area, some exceptional estate homes are coming to market. Few will rival – and, arguably, none will surpass – our featured property for April.

Mount Gordon Farm sits on 128 acres within the Orange County Hunt, close to The Plains, and is highlighted by a showplace, 13,000-plus-square-foot manor house, constructed in 2006 and emblematic of the best in conception, design and craftsmanship.

But that is just the beginning, as the estate also features a separate guest cottage with pool; farm-manager residence; three additional support residences; and abundant equestrian facilities that include a 12-stall, center-aisle stable with tack room. There is even a artist’s loft/ studio facility as part of the package.

The property currently is on the market, listed at $11,750,000 by Helen MacMahon of Sheridan-MacMahon Ltd. Incomparable views are the centerpiece of any discussion of Mount Gordon Farm, with vistas of the Blue Ridge among the highlights. Perimeter stone walls and four-board fencing ensure privacy, while Bartons Creek meanders through the property, and a large, spring-fed pond is an added accoutrement.

The main house is a testament to exceptional visual design. Showcasing copious space yet retaining a sense of charm and warmth, the property is home to exceptional finishes and any number of aesthetic surprises. An elevators whisks you between levels.

The grand, two-story entrance foyer is a taste of all that awaits on our tour, and we move seamlessly into the living room, all the while capturing spectacular western views while being complemented by two fireplaces and a tiered, circular staircase.

Holiday gatherings will be right at home in the formal dining room, while the kitchen is designed for the gourmets among us.

A family room (with bar), den, conference room and his-and-her offices are among the additional amenities on this level, as is the master retreat, a study in rarified, sumptuous elegance.

On the upper level, we will find a large guest suite with separate lounge area, along with two additional bedrooms (each en-suite). There are two covered porches that provide vistas of the western terrain.

The lower level is home to a large game/entertainment room with wet bar; a fully equipped caterer’s kitchen; a brick wine cellar with eat-in area; an exercise room; and the property’s fifth bedroom (currently in use as an administrative office). There is access from this level to the four-car garage.

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

Facts for buyers Address: The Plains, Scott District, Fauquier County.

Listed at: $11,750,000 by Helen MacMahon, Sheridan-MacMahon Ltd. (540) 687-5588.

A guest cottage is located near the pool complex, while the loft building (mentioned earlier) is a living testament to the past, as it once served as a support building to a grist mill.

Each of the other homes on the property, while secondary to the main estate

home, are elegant and creative in and of themselves.

Mount Gordon Farm represents an opportunity to own a stunning piece of the local real estate market, truly a showplace to call your own.

Articles are prepared by Middleburg APRIL 2016

Life’s real estate advertising department on behalf of clients.

For information on the home, contact the listing agent. For information on having a house reviewed, contact the Middleburg Life real estate advertising department at (540) 687-6059.

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An Olympic Horseman Looks Back at Fun and Games

By Jim Wofford For Middleburg Life

FIRST OF TWO PARTS Middleburg’s Jim Wofford won a team silver medal at the Mexico City Olympics aboard Kilkenny in 1968. Over his illustrious career, Jim won team silver at the 1972 Munich Olympics, individual silver at the 1980 Fontainebleau Alternate Olympics, individual bronze at the 1970 World Championships and team bronze at the 1978 World Championships. He’s also served as president of the American Horse Shows Association and vice president of the USET and been inducted into the U.S. Eventing Hall of Fame. Today, he travels the country as a highly sought after clinician and coach. This article first appeared in The Practical Horseman.

I

was born in a different century. What with computers, cell phones and jet planes, I’m continually reminded of this. I’ve also been connected with horses all my life and lived through some changes in the sport. I thought I’d take a look back, and tell you about some things I’ve seen along the way.

I have an unusual vantage point, because I literally grew up with the U.S. Equestrian Team. I was born and raised on Rimrock Farm, a Kansas horse farm that backed up to Fort Riley, home of the U.S. Cavalry between 1920 and 1945.

I had thousands of acres of shortgrass prairie to ride over, and I had some hair-raising experiences out there with my four-legged friend, Tiny Blair.

I remember riding out onto the military reservation early in the morning, dressed in blue jeans, ragged T-shirt, high-topped tennis shoes and no helmet. I carried a fishing pole, with a rifle tied to one side of the saddle and a gunnysack full of PBJ sandwiches and Dr. Pepper tied to the other. Basically, I was a one-man (boy) crime wave on horseback.

My family had an unusual connection with the Olympics, so I’ve always remembered things based on the Olympic quadrennial.

My father, Col. John W. Wofford, rode on the 1932 Olympic show-jumping team in Los Angeles and was a reserve on the 1936 team in Berlin. The first Olympics I remember were in London in 1948. The U.S. Army was still in charge of all three Olympic equestrian disciplines, so the riders all were officers.

The horses for the most part were owned by the Army, and the grooms and farriers were all enlisted men. Master Sgt. Harry Cruzan was Major F.F. Wing’s groom then, and I remember him telling

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Jim Wofford on Gamecock

Jim Wofford

Photo by Douglas Lees

me that they had a heavy wooden trunk for each horse, an additional one for the vet, one for the farrier and one full of whiskey! I think whiskey played a larger part in those people’s lives than it does now, which is progress.

It was common in that era for young officers to ride in more than one discipline. Gen. Guy V. Henry, later Chief of Staff, U.S. Cavalry, rode in both dressage and show-jumping in the 1912

•

APRIL 2016

Photo by Marilyn Mackay-Smith

Olympics in Stockholm. In 1932, Gen. Harry D. Chamberlin won the individual silver medal in show-jumping and was on the gold-medal eventing team.

In 1948, Gen. Frank S. Henry won team gold and individual silver medals in eventing and a team silver in dressage, only the second American rider ever to medal in two Olympic disciplines. Ask me about the biggest change I’ve observed since then, that would be my answer: riders these days are specialists.

Years later, I commented to my mother that team selection was getting more and more competitive.

“You have no idea,” she responded.

During Prohibition in the 1920s, the Army Horse Show team would go up to the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. The horses would ship up on special trains and the team would always take a certain horse who wasn’t much “count” when it came to jumping, but was hell to kick, and no customs officer in his right mind would get in the stall with him.

On the way to Toronto, they’d store their hay behind Widowmaker, and on the way back down they would build a wall of hay that concealed a year’s supply of

whiskey for all concerned. “You just think teams are competitive these days,”my mother said. “Those young officers would have killed each other for a chance at a year’s supply of whiskey.”

I was only three during the 1948 London Olympics, so I remember very little. I do recall the damage done by Germany’s Blitz during World War II was still evident everywhere. Rationing was still in effect, so my mother brought an extra steamer trunk full of Hershey’s chocolate bars, silk stockings and other necessities.

She also brought a case of rice, unavailable since 1939. Fortunately, I found a way to jigger the lock on the trunk and break into the chocolate stash, so I stayed sugar-buzzed the entire trip.

While Gen. Humberto Mariles was winning the gold in show-jumping on Arete, I snuck into the enclosure at the base of the Olympic flame tower in Wembley Stadium to do what little boys do. A horrified English Bobbie, helmet and all, chased me over the fence, calling me a “horrid little boy.” He did not know how right he was.

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

PHOTOS BY: CROWELL HADDEN

Amy Webb Burke and Cody Anderson

The huntsman and whip head out

Joan Barrett with the Warrington Foot Beagles

George Graham and Susan Ross

The Waldingfield Beagles look forward to going out

Features

REX PETERSON and JOE FARGIS Riding Clinics from the best

540-687-5255 •

www.FoxChaseFarm.net

REX PETERSON May 6, 7, and 8th: Hollywood Horse Trainer Rex has a special ability to work with problem horses and hard to work with horses. Will conduct private and group lessons. His films and TV shows include: Winter’s Tale (2014) Seven Days in Utopia (2011) Arthur (2011) Secretariat (2010) Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009) Appaloosa (2008) Flicka (2006) Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005) Hidalgo (2004)

The Ring (2002) Black Knight (2001) All the Pretty Horses (2000) The Patriot (2000) Runaway Bride (1999) Simpatico (1999) The Horse Whisperer (1998) Technical Advisor, Stunts Hush (1998)

Buddy (1997) Sgt. Bilko (1996) Wild Bill (1995) Black Beauty (1994), Animal Trainer Silent Tongue (1994) Son-In-Law (1993) Far and Away (1992) Winter People (1989)

Three Amigos! (1986) The Black Stallion (1979) TELEVISION Temple Grandin (2010) Crazy Horse (1996) Adventures of the Black Stallion (1993)

JOE FARGIS, Olympian: May 29th and May 30th Olympic Gold Medalist Joe Fargis will be conducting a clinic at Fox Chase Farm in Middleburg, Virginia on Memorial Day weekend, Sunday and Monday.

Olympic Gold Medalist Joe Fargis will be conducting a clinic at Fox Chase Farm in Middleburg, Virginia on Memorial Day weekend, Sunday and Monday.

Joe Fargis is best known for his double Gold Medal performance at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Respected and admired by the full spectrum of the show jumping world, he also serves as a wonderful ambassador of the sport, giving clinics all around the world.

Clinic Fees: 1 Day $160.00 2 Days $300.00 to register, please call 540-687-5255 or visit this link on website: www.FoxChaseFarm.net/special-events/special-tours MIDDLEBURG LIFE

APRIL 2016

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Help and Collecting Dogs

By Richard Hooper Middleburg Life

B

oth British and Americans divide breeds of dogs into seven groups. For the Brits, their terminology of gun dogs, pastoral and utility dogs correspond to the American sporting, herding and non-sporting groups.

Both countries use hounds, terriers, toys and working dogs for the other four groups. It’s simple enough until one discovers, for instance, that a Boston terrier is not a terrier, but a toy.

Among other consternations there is the poodle. Thought of as French, it was originally bred in Germany as a water dog for retrieving game, but today both the standard and miniature are classified as non-sporting (utility in the UK). And the toy poodle? In the U.S., it is a toy, but in the UK, it’s still utility.

Some years ago, when I first heard the term “collecting dogs” I stumbled a bit in trying to place this group within the traditional universe of classification.

As it turned out they were not an official group or a specific breed, but a group more like circus dogs who could be almost any breed and mongrels, too.

Collecting dogs were almost an exclusively British phenomenon that existed for about a hundred years,

beginning in 1860. The dogs usually wore slotted boxes to collect money on trains, at train stations, markets or on the street and at special events.

Some meandered alone. Others were accompanied by humans. Some collecting dogs used another technique.

They took the donated coin in their mouth and then dropped it in a box.

This carried the occupational hazard of swallowing the coin. After the natural death in 1898 of one collection dog, 17 coins and a few pebbles were found in its stomach. It also was not unknown for the dog, with coin in mouth, to wag its way to the butcher or baker to make a favorable exchange.

The collecting dogs (and they had to be licensed as such) were trained for their purpose. For many, this included only approaching well-dressed gentlemen in the course of soliciting.

In his book, Amazing Dogs (Cornell University Press, 2001), Jan Bonderson described the two types of collecting dogs. One group was owned by railway or hospital charities and collected solely for those particular charities. Other collecting dogs were privately owned and could be rented by those whose situations were such that they could appeal to the public for charity. It was usual for the dog to wear a small sign stating the purpose

READY. SIT. GO.

THEN

Help’s silver collar and engraved medallion. of the appeal.

The railway dogs are of particular interest. The dynasty of London Jack, working from Waterloo Station, began in the 1890s and ended with London Jack V in 1931. Some of the dogs would ride the lines. One would hop from the platform onto a train, walk the aisle collecting coins and hop back to the platform just as the train was leaving the station.

The dogs became celebrities, and their activities were frequently recorded in the press. The first to gain fame was Help, a collie trained in 1880 by a railway guard John Climpson. He took Help with him on the London-Brighton Line. Climpson also loaned Help to guards on other lines and it is believed that Help had collected on every train line in England, Scotland and Wales.

On Jan. 1, 1884, Help was presented an engraved silver collar hung with a large medallion engraved in part, “I am Help, railway dog of England, and travelling agent for the orphans of railway men who are killed on duty.”

Help also was awarded a special silver medal at the Bristol Dog show of 1884.

In 1891, when Help’s soul ascended to doggie heaven, his earthly remains were

MIDDLEBURG

THERE

Courtesy of a private collector

stuffed and placed on display under a glass case at Brighton Station.

Perhaps shocking to us today, this was the eventual outcome of many of the collecting dogs, whose taxidermied remains were put on display at hospitals and train stations. As was said of Tim, an Irish terrier, who worked at Paddington Station and was a favorite of Queen Victoria: Our pet we may still gaze upon Tho dead, like life in form and limb For what he did at Paddington, Now Roland Ward is padding Tim. The last of the collecting dogs was Laddie, an Airedale terrier, who was active at Waterloo Station until 1956. A fuller account of collecting dogs can be found in Amazing Dogs by Jan Bonderson, Cornell University Press, 2011, the major source of information for this article.

(Richard Hooper is an antiquarian book expert in Middleburg. He is also the creator of Chateaux de la Pooch, elegantly appointed furniture for dogs and home.

He can be contacted at rhooper451@aol. com.)

PRICE REDUCED

$475,000

Blanche Raff

DC'S PREMIER AIRCRAFT MANAGEMENT AND WORLDWIDE CHARTER FIRM CALL FOR A QUOTE TODAY www.ProJetAviation.com Charter@ProJetAviation.com 703.889.8558 36

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Certified Buyer’s Agent Licensed MD, DC, & VA

202-365-1575 C 703-760-8880 O Build your dream home on this gorgeous 9+ ac. lot. Rt. 50 road frontage insures easy access in all weather conditions. Gently rolling terrain provides ideal building site. Percs for 4 BR.

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OWNER FINANCING POSSIBLE.

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

McEnearney.com

MaRSHaLL

$2,800,000

WatERFORD

$899,000

LOvEttSvILLE

$749,000

LEESBURG

$799,000

Uniquely crafted 4-bedroom, post-and-beam home surrounded by 118 acres of rolling meadows and woodland with magnificent views of the Blue Ridge. 2 large support buildings and 1200 SF office. Potential vineyard. 10306 Ada Road.

"The best of Waterford Ridge" Lovely, sunny, Henley Model sits on a beautiful fenced lot with a tree-lined back yard on a private cul-de-sac street. Completely upgraded gourmet kitchen, outdoor kitchen with fireplace, tiered theater room & much more.

Formerly part of Catoctin Stud.

Charming farmhouse on 33 acres with 3/4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, wood floors, granite, stainless appliances. 10-stall bank barn.

Subdividable, AR1 zoning allows potential antique, winery/brewery, and more. Convenient to MARC.

Stunning “former Marquis Model,” .89 acre, spectacular mountain views, backs to golf course. 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, expansive chef’s kitchen, hardwoods, wet bars, 3 fireplaces, owner's suite.

Lower level bedroom and full bath. 3-car garage.

Lynn Hoover

Christy Hertel

Jackie Hagenston

Mary Dionisio Roberge

703.571.3570 LynnHoover.com

LEESBURG

$750,000

703.624.6283 ChristyHertel.com

MIDDLEBURG

$547,000

Historic home built in 1900 and completely updated in 2007 with a new master bedroom, new master bath, large walk-in master closet, renovated kitchen, dining area, living room and library. Must see!

Walk to Middleburg's shops and restaurants! 4-bedroom, 2.5bath townhome with 2,960 SF! Features tall ceilings, elegant moldings, oak floors, formal living and dining rooms, large kitchen, and master suite with spa bath.

Cecelia Mahan

Barbara Bennison 703.863.8581 BBennison.com

WOODStOCk

$3,950,000

703.738.8270 MaryRoberge.com

LOvEttSvILLE

$1,099,000

This 481 acres is nestled in the heart of Shenandoah Valley and offers 360° of spectacular views of the Blue Ridge, Allegheny and Massanutten Mountains.

Development Potential. Call Candice for additional information or to tour the property.

Luxury home on 3 acres for the outdoor enthusiast. New 2-stall barn and fenced paddock. Miles of ride-out for horses or ATV. Salt water pool, stone shop, Potomac River access, 9000+ SF offering 6 bedrooms, including 2 masters & guest wing. Near MARC.

Candice Bower | Bradley Clarke

Jackie Hagenston

540.454.1452 WillowPointEstate.com

703.623.6605 | 703.220.5707 ShenwoodFarm.com

PE Sa N LE D IN G

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703.675.8008 CeceliaMahan.com

540.454.1452 MillcreekMeadowFarm.com

LEESBURG

$3,450,000

Phenomenal income-producing Estate/Vineyard on 23 acres with rare trout stream. Over 8000 SF, main level owner's suite, built-ins, gym, sauna and more.

Carriage house, apartment, pool.

Breathtaking views, scenic vista, 5-acre vineyard.

Mary Dionisio Roberge 703.738.8270 MaryRoberge.com

®

LEESBURG

$659,000

MIDDLEBURG

$877,400

A perfect 10! Only 2 years young and backs to a preserve!

Exceptional home with 4 bedrooms, and 4.5 baths. Great for entertaining with a spectacular view! Enjoy the scenery on the awesome new deck!

Beautiful custom home on 4.2 acres in the countryside of Middleburg. Horses allowed.

Three great levels with complete in-law/au pair suite in walk-out lower level. Two studies, sunroom, gourmet kitchen, three-car garage. Welcome Home!

Joyce Santiago

Rachael Remuzzi

703.244.1344 JoyceSantiago.com

703.609.8462 RachaelRemuzzi.com

MIDDLEBURG OFFICE 540.687.5490

LEESBURG OFFICE 703.738.8282

7 W. Washington Street Middleburg, VA 20118

PURCELLvILLE

$485,000

Great location in Village Case.

Gorgeous, sunny, open floor plan with 9’ ceilings, hardwood floors, plantation shutters, granite countertops, built-ins and moldings. New back porch and English Garden with slate patio backs to woods. Move-in ready!

Christy Hertel

703.624.6283 ChristyHertel.com

107 N. King Street Leesburg, VA 20176

Established 1980 • Alexandria • Arlington • Leesburg • McLean • Middleburg • Washington, DC • Maryland MIDDLEBURG LIFE

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PHOTOS BY: DOUGLASS LEES

Chasing the Past and Future Virginia Steeplechasing: The History and Future of the Sport in the Piedmont was co-hosted recently by the Mosby Heritage Area Association and the National Sporting Library and Museum at the Library. An impressive panel of experts led the forum: Will Allison, ex-MFH and president of the Virginia Gold Cup Association, Alfred Griffin, ex-MFH and director of racing for the Virginia Gold Cup, Will O'Keefe, race director of the Virginia Fall Races, Don Yovanovich, president of the Virginia Point to Point Association and Rob Banner of the Great Meadow Foundation.

Anne Marie Barnes

Alfred Griffin and Will Allison

Donna Rogers and Jerry Fishback

Marshall

real estate

Linden House – Circa -1905

Gracious and charming home in-town Warrenton on 2.6 acres. Large center hall opening to spacious rooms, high ceilings, beautiful hardwood floors, fireplaces, and a feeling of warmth and serenity. Lovely grounds and gardens help to increase the desirability of this wonderful place. A delightful pool-house with great room with fireplace, kitchen, bedroom, and 1.5 baths is adjacent to an exciting in-ground pool with waterfall. All of this plus oversized 2 car garage and dog kennel makes this a very special property.

$1,350,000

Anne Hall 540-341-3538

annetalksrealestate.com 38

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APRIL 2016

Meg Mullery Sales Associate/Realtor® Defining the Professional Practice of Real Estate

540-364-9500 Office • 540-878-3307 Cell

8390 W. Main St., Marshall, VA 20115 Meg@Marshall-Real Estate.com Marshall-RealEstate.com

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

Rich Gillespie, Executive Director MHAA

Joe Dempsey and Rob Banner

Walt and Marissa Hasser

Middleburg Life Adf.pdf

1 1/5/16 AM Will O’Keefe and8:20 Don Yovanovich

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MY

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MIDDLEBURG LIFE

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BADGER LEN

Contact Us: info@middleburglife.com

The Masters and Middleburg Are Closely Connected

VICKY MOON

Editor and Advertising Director (540) 687-6059 vickyannmoon@aol.com

LEONARD SHAPIRO Columnist & Feature Writer

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Heidi Baumstark Richard Hooper Megan Betsy Burke Parker Catherwood Emily Tyler Morgan Hensley Sophie Scheps Dulcy Hooper Marcia Woolman

TO ADVERTISE

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Doug Gehlsen Douglas Lees Crowell Hadden Karen Monroe Sophie Scheps Missy Janes

in

DESIGNER: Elisa Hernandez PUBLISHED BY: Greenhill Media LLC

MIDDLEBURG LIFE Middleburg’s oldest and most respected newspaper covering the people, lifestyles and trends

Call Vicky Moon

112 W. Washington St. P.O. Box 1770 Middleburg,VA 20118 (540) 687-6325 www.middleburglife.com

540.687.6325

All editorial matter is fully protected and may not be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the publisher. All unsolicited manuscripts and photos must be accompanied by return postage; the publisher assumes no responsibility. Middleburg Life reserves the right to reject any advertising. Distributed in Middleburg, Upperville, Aldie, Millwood, The Plains, Rectortown, Delaplane, Paris, Boyce, Leesburg, Marshall and Warrenton.

or email: vickyannmoon@aol.com

Sing Into Spring 2016

Featuring classical works and choruses from well-known Broadway shows Performed by

The Warrenton Chorale The Handbell Ensemble &Youth Chorale

Friday, April 22, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 23, 3:00 p.m.

Warrenton Presbyterian Church

Tickets available April 6

Suggested Donation- $15 adults & $5 children K-12 at: Great Harvest Bread, g.whillikers Toys & Books, New Baltimore Animal Hospital, Allegro Community School of the Arts, and at the door www.warrentonchorale.org

4

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APRIL 2016

I

By Leonard Shapiro For Middleburg Life

Amazing.

And some of the drama I’ve witnessed has been equally incredible.

At my first, in 1992, popular Fred Couples hit a shot at the signature 12th hole, a short par 3 over water, that defied every law of gravity. Somehow, his ball stuck to the short grass on a closely mowed slope in front of the green and did not roll back down into the pond. He turned a near double bogey disaster into a breathtaking par, and went on to win the tournament by two shots, his only major title.

Five years later, Tiger Woods, a 21-year-old African-American prodigy in

t’s an annual rite of spring, just as colorful as the Middleburg daffodils, only more in shades of green. It’s The Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia, and as this April edition of Middleburg Life goes off to press, I’m going off to cover my 25th as an accredited member of the golf-writing media.

There’s a far more relevant connection to Middleburg at this year’s event than a local Oscar Madison heading south for a week. The focus here should be directed to ten players in the elite field who are represented by our town’s long-time resident sports agent, my friend John Mascatello. He and his wife, Beth Ann, are both Hill School parents and active members of this community.

Several of John’s talented clients also must be considered among the very top favorites to prevail and don the coveted green jacket that goes to the champion.That list includes Jason Day of Australia, No. 1 in the world golf rankings, and Americans Rickie Fowler, No. 5, and past Masters champion Zach Johnson, No. 20.

Four other clients are ranked in the world top 40—Kevin Kisner, J.B. Holmes, Mark Leishman and Bernd Wiesberger. And past PGA Tour winners Charley Hoffman, Vaughn Taylor and Andy Sullivan round out MasPhoto by Leonard Shapiro catello’s Masters roster.

John Mascatello His arguably best-known charge won’t be at Augusta National. That would be John Daly, a two-time major his first full season as a pro, blew away the champion who recently made his debut field, setting records for scoring (18-unon the senior Champions Tour. With his der par) and margin of victory (12 shots). addictive, wild-child lifestyle and occa- It was a breathtaking performance for sionally self-destructive personality, some the ages, but what I remember most was might say it’s been a miracle Daly man- watching Woods walk through a masaged to get to 50 in the first place. Then sive crowd to the first tee before the final again Mascatello’s guidance, damage con- round. I was standing next to then-Washtrol and patience probably helped make ingtonian Lee Elder, the first black golfer ever to play in the tournament in 1975. that possible. But I digress.

As I looked behind me on the balcony For me, the Masters has been so mesof the second floor of the clubhouse, the merizing for so many years and the sheer same historic scene was being viewed by beauty of the place is definitely a factor. more than 50 Augusta National employThe course’s signature azaleas someees—waiters, cooks, dishwashers, janitors how are always in glorious full bloom all around a property that was a massive and housekeepers, virtually all of them African-Americans, as well. And as I nursery before it was a golf course.

And then there’s the grass. A few years glanced over at my friend, Lee Elder, tears ago, I visited the club to gather informa- of joy were streaming down his face and tion for a story. From behind the club- he was unable to speak.

It’s one of the most memorable sports house, I watched 20 men walking abreast moments I’ve ever witnessed and virtudown the first fairway, with all eyes looking down. Every once in a while, one or ally impossible to top. But this year, it will another would bend down and pluck be more than enough to pull hard for a Middleburg/John Mascatello connection something out of the ground. to prevail, perhaps in a tense When I asked about it latplayoff. I’m picking Rickie er, I was told that greenskeeFowler, and you heard it here pers from courses all around first if you’re reading this voluntarily descend on the before Sunday evening on venue each year a few weeks before the tournament—othApril 10. Not quite a Middleerwise known as the “toonburg favorite son. But close a-ment.” They walk every enough. fairway for days, removing (You can reach Leonard clover or minuscule weeds as Shapiro at badgerlen@aol. they go along. com) MIDDLEBURG LIFE

In the Country, Who Needs Big City Dog Grooming always 911 in an emergency.”

When Sophie and Isabel were puppies, I had signed them up tout de suite for grooming in Georgetown. The place we chose is legendary, as are the prices, a fact I kept to myself for as long as possible Then came the inevitable.

“Why didn’t you tell me how much all this grooming was costing?” Richard asked. A scheduling issue had resulted, requiring him to fetch the pups for the first time. “And please explain why any dog would need a lavender shoulder massage.”

“Well, it’s for their overall Sophie Photo by Richard Hooper sense of emotional and physical well-being,” I said. somewhere. While we eventually got around to finding a local dentist, we’re “It’s recommended.”

“What about my overall sense of welllagging behind on doctors, lawyers and being?” Richard asked. hair salons.

“This is not about you,” I said. “By the “Where would I go if I cut my finger while cooking?” I asked Richard one way, I hope you left a good tip?”

“Tip?” night.

“Haven’t you even noticed how much “I don’t think that will happen,” he replied, a subtle reference to the fact that I I’m saving on my hair?” I asked, hoping to gain traction in what was shaping up as an don’t often cook.

“But you know what I mean,” I replied. unpleasant conversation.

“Your hair has been looking really “It’s kind of strange. We don’t even know good lately,” he said. “Much more natural.” where the nearest hospital is.”

“Natural” was my own color and “But we could make our way to the emergency vet with our eyes closed, my own haywire texture, all of which seemed very unnatural to me. Prior to right?”

“Right,” I noted. “Well, I guess there’s the girls’ extravagant grooming needs,

By Dulcy Hooper Middleburg Life

T

hree years ago, our beloved pups, Sophie and Isabel, made the transition from city to country life with nary a woof of dismay.

They were seven years old and accustomed to a predictable regimen of leashed walks on urban sidewalks and occasional visits to the local dog park. Those visits were more for our benefit than theirs, as they clearly had an unabashed disdain for such contrivances.

Sophie and Isabel made the move to the country with joyful enthusiasm, relishing the abundant bounty found in green pastures and the breathtaking panoply of skunks, raccoons, rabbits, foxes, chipmunks and deer. They are likely still dreaming about a memorable walk through a field at Wingfield Farm — the ground quaking with the thunderous approach of a pack of hounds who swiftly coursed around them without so much as a backward glance.

My husband Richard and I spent a great deal of time meticulously planning for their seamless transition: veterinary care, grooming, specialty care and an abundance of toys, treats and food. Like anxious parents, we arranged for records to be forwarded, documenting every sneeze and stumble from their “before” lives.

As for our own medical records, they’re probably abandoned in a warehouse

I had routinely spent the better part of one Saturday morning a month on foil treatments, Japanese straightening, heat re-texturizing and anti-frizzing. It was all in the service of achieving straight hair with “sun-kissed highlights.”

But I’d given it all up. And now, it seemed, our days with the fancy dog grooming salon were numbered, as well. I called the following week and the owner’s daughter answered the phone.

“I’m really sorry,” I said. “My husband just doesn’t understand.”

“We hear that a lot,” she said. “Some of our regulars set up special accounts so it won’t become an issue.”

“I wish I’d thought of that earlier,” I said. “But the cat’s out of the bag now.”

The girls went back for one last grooming, complete with all the frills.

They made a great fuss over our pair of Chinese Crested Powder Puffs and kissed them goodbye. We left with a basket full of bows and ribbons, conditioners for their fur, balm for their paws and lavender for their well-being.

We began taking them to another grooming location, which was less expensive by a mile, but still far from inexpensive. Later yet, we switched to another location, a short walk from our house, where the philosophy is “Dogs are Dogs.”

As for me, I began going to a barber shop, where a no-frills haircut was cheap and fast.

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Discover More at CustomBarnBuilding.com APRIL 2016

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

SM.ML.4/16.12 properties

3/31/16

11:39 AM

Page 1

Mount Gordon Farm

Fairview

Faraway Farm

The Plains, Virginia • $11,750,000

Middleburg Area • $2,975,000

Boyce, Virginia • $2,300,000

128 acres and immaculate 3 level, 13,000+ sq ft stone & shingle main house • 5 BR • 8 FP • Exceptional finishes on every floor • Caterer's kitchen • Elevator • Spa • Separate guest cottage • Pool • Farm manager residence • 3 additional tenant houses • 12 stall center-aisle stable • Pond • Extraordinary land w/ incomparable views extending beyond the Blue Ridge Mts • Orange County Hunt

Solid stone home with copper roof on 70 acres • Original portions dating from the 1700’s • First floor bedroom & 3 additional suites • Original floors • 8 fireplaces • Formal living room • Gourmet kitchen • 2 ponds • Mountain views • Stone walls • Mature gardens • Pool • Log cabin • Piedmont Hunt

Circa 1904 Colonial home • 3 BR • 3 1/2 BA • High ceilings • Gourmet kitchen • 5 FP • 90x200 covered arena • 12 total stalls • Main barn redesigned by John Blackburn • 4 bay garage with apartment • 12 paddocks • Asphalt drive & security gate • Heated pool • Property has 2 DUR’s and whole house generator • Hilltop setting with mountain views

Helen MacMahon

(540) 454-1930

Trough Hill Farm

Helen MacMahon Paul MacMahon (703) 609-1905

(540) 454-1930 Ann MacMahon (540) 687-5588

Westwind Farm

Paul MacMahon

(703) 609-1905

Greystone

Middleburg, Virginia • $1,950,000

Middleburg, Virginia • $1,950,000

The Plains, Virginia • $1,900,000

MAJOR PRICE REDUCTION! • A pastoral 5 bedroom c. 1830 farmhouse and a grand stone pavilion • Elegant but unfussy • 103 acres of open farmland • The pavilion serves as a pool house, greenhouse, banquet room, and guest quarters • Great location • Property sold in “AS IS” condition

Classic Middleburg colonial, completely redone in 2009 • 5 BR • 4 full BA, 2 half BA • 2 FP • Gourmet kitchen • Top of the line finishes throughout • 2-car attached garage • Beautifully landscaped • Sweeping unobstructed mountain views • 21.08 gently rolling acres • Fenced & cross fenced • 3 stall barn, tack & hay storage

Ann MacMahon Paul MacMahon

Paul MacMahon

Circa 1807 • 33 acres ideally located between Middleburg & The Plains • Rare quarried stone exterior, 10-foot ceilings • Period mantels, original wood floors, two-story front porch • 3 BR/3 BA, each a private suite • Historic stone barn includes one BR/BA apt, heated tack room, 6 stalls • Carriage barn • 3 paddocks, large turnout field, run-in sheds, auto waterers • Whole farm generator • Pond • Orange County Hunt

(540) 687-5588 (703) 609-1905

Willow Way Farm

(703) 609-1905

Duck Pond

Helen MacMahon

(540) 454-1930

Foxhall

Middleburg, Virginia • $1,625,000

Boyce, Virginia • $1,027,000

Round Hill, Virginia • $1,000,000

Prime Middleburg location • House completely redone in 2004 • Hill top setting with panoramic mountain views • 3 BR • 3.5 BA • Main level master suite • Pine floors • Beautiful millwork • 2 FP • Attached 2-car garage • Beautiful windows • Gracious room sizes • 4-stall barn • In-ground pool • Lovely gardens • 31.05 acres recorded in 3 parcels

Fine 4 BR, 2.5 BA house on 39 acres • Well cared for and well maintained • Wrap-around porches • MBR on main level • Kitchen and baths updated • Lovely property • Excellent 4 stall barn with H/C wash stall and heated tack room • Board fencing • Paddocks • Very good run-in shed • Level land, mostly open • Pond • Invisible fence on 10 acres • Blue Ridge Hunt territory

Historic property in protected area • First offering since 1951 • 3 log structures circa 1690, 1720, and 1940 connected to create charming home • 4 BR, 3 BA, 3 FP & beautiful floors • Huge boxwoods • Needs updating • 33.89 acres mostly open • Creek • Solid barn • Original structure Quaker meeting house

Paul MacMahon

Tom Cammack

(703) 609-1905

Stonecrest

Paul MacMahon

(703) 609-1905

(540) 247-5408

Dogwood

Jay Street

Bluemont, Virginia • $995,000

The Plains, Virginia • $870,000

Middleburg, Virginia • $530,000

Beautifully maintained stone and stucco house • On crest of the Blue Ridge • Large views to the east • Perfect for entertaining and gatherings of extended family • Over 7000 sq ft, 5 BR, 6 FB, 1 HB, 3 FP • 2 MBR suites, one on main level • Finely appointed in all respects • Landscaping, automatic security gates, & estate fence ensure privacy • Garages for 5 vehicles

Private 10 acres between Middleburg and The Plains • 3/4 bedroom home • Open floor plan • Large front porch with views to the west • Traditional materials such as stucco exterior and metal roof • Wood floors • Fireplaces • Built in book shelves • Beautiful plantings and fenced yard • Great location and easy maintenance

Quiet village living • 2 blocks from the center of town • 3 level fieldstone townhome • Garage • Hardwood floors • Granite counters and bright open floor plan • Back yard is fenced for dogs and privacy • Blue stone terrace is great for grilling and entertaining • Easy maintenance and great conveniences

Tom Cammack Ann MacMahon

Helen MacMahon

Helen MacMahon

(540) 247-5408 (540) 687-5588

info@sheridanmacmahon.com www.sheridanmacmahon.com MIDDLEBURG LIFE

(540) 454-1930

(540) 454-1930

110 East Washington Street • P.O. Box 1380 Middleburg, Virginia 20118 (540) 687-5588 APRIL 2016

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This

That Photo by Leonard Shapiro

Teachers from the YMMN Art School based in Schenzen, China, including school founder Ming Tao Wang (left), recently toured the Middleburg area with John Weidlein of Hunger Run Farm near Middleburg.

Leslie and Wayne VanSant and daughter Beatrice made a spring break trip to Kentucky where they were able to visit with Triple Crown Champion American Pharaoh.

Sheila Harrell, AnnMacLeod, Sally Hosta, and Vaughn Gatling.

Photo courtesy of the National Sporting Library & Museum The National Sporting Library & Museum will host the Historic Garden Tour on Sunday, April 24 and Monday, April 25. It will do the same for the Hunt Country Stable Tour on Saturday, May 28 and Sunday, May 29. The Civil War horse sculpture in front is by Tessa Pullan of Rutland, England, commissioned by Paul Mellon in 1999 to honor the 1.5 million horses and mules that were casualties of the Civil War.

National Sporting Library & Museum Front and Center The National Sporting Library & Mu- ley and a stately 1913 Georgian Manor seum in Middleburg will be featured as house in an English park-like setting. part of two widely-anticipated events. The Then on Memorial Day weekend, Satfacility is dedicated to preserving, pro- urday, May 28 and Sunday, May 29, the moting and sharing the literature, art and library and museum will be part of Trinculture of equestrian, angling and field ity Episcopal Church’s 57th Annual Hunt sports.

Country Stable Tour from 10 a.m. to 5 On Sunday, April 24 and Monday, p.m. featuring Thoroughbred breeding April 25, the library will be farms, show hunter barns, among the notable stops fox hunting barns and counFor details on the as part of Historic Garden try estates. garden tour go to: Week in Virginia. Visitors at Some of the stops on the flgardenclub.org or the museum will be treated stable tour include: Salem call 540-878-8220. to interpretive floral designs Oaks, Takaro Farm, Fox For details on the Hunt to accompany selected exChase, Trappe Farm, The Country Stable tour go hibits.

Oaks, St. Bride’s and Wind to trinityupperville.org This year’s garden tour Fields. During the tour, or call 540-592-3711. features four spectacular the museum will feature a houses in the area. All are special art exhibit of horse located within the 18,000-acre Crooked paintings.

Run Rural Historic District and the MosFounded in 1954, the library has over

by Heritage Area. Among the sites on the 24,000 books dating from the 16th to the tour are an immaculately restored 1812 21st century and the museum houses exFederal farmhouse overlooking Paris Val- hibitions of fine animal and sporting art.

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he Middleburg Tennis Club recently completed its annual winter tournament and has added a well-deserved new twist. The Ann MacLeod Spirit Award goes to the player who “is the most energetic and congenial participant. The player who best exemplifies Ann’s contribution to our sport.

Ann represents the attributes that we all aspire to, but seldom reach: graciousness, enthusiasm and a great sense of fun along with a love of the game.” This year’s winner? See photo: Sheila Harrell,

Photo by Leonard Shapiro

Spirit Award Winner Ann MacLeod, Sally Hosta and Vaughn Gatling, club manager.

And the 2016 tournament champs? In the women’s event, champions Sharon Clinton and her partner, Daphne Himelfarb, defeated finalists Kelsey Leachman and Sharon Hess. Third place went to Mona Botwick and Sheila Harrell. In the men’s tournament, Bill Stern and Sid Silver won the title, defeating finalists Scott Andrews and Tom Dunlap. John Pennington and Bill Lee finished third.

Photo courtesy of E. Dover

Mabel had a long winter and is out of the closet. She wants to see Gomer Pyles and Rick Collette and all her other friends at the Chinn Lane Yard Sale on Saturday, April 30.

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

Emma Pell with her pony Forget Me Not.

J

ust like the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano, the horse show peeps have returned to Middleburg after the winter in Wellington, Florida. Just in time to enjoy a bit of green grass and prepare for the Upperville Horse Show scheduled June 6-12. Among those returning: Kitty and Johnny Barker, Lauren Peterson Fellows, Emma Pell, Elizabeth Wiley, Denice and Roy Perry, Leslie Hazel, Ann Thompson, Joe Fargis, Leslie

Photo by Leonard Shapiro

Kopp, Chiara Parlagreco Carney, Barb Roux, Sloane Coles and her mother Julie Coles (who is recovering nicely from hip surgery, thank you very much). Sloane’s father, John Coles of Thomas and Talbot, went back and forth. Jim Thompson of Washington Fine Properties was also around as well as Tracey Weinberg, Mike and Wendy Smith, Alison Firestone Robitaille and many others.

Photo © by Middleburg Photo

Susan Oakes of Ireland won the inaugural running of The Mrs. Miles Valentine Memorial Sidesaddle Race at Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds Point to Point in Unionville, PA recently. She rode Fort Henry, owned and trained by Stephanie Boyer, and is expected to be among the ladies competing on Sunday, April 17 in the sidesaddle race at Oatlands for the Loudoun Point to Point races.

C

ongrats to Marshall’s Red Truck Bakery and owner Brian Noyes. A letter he wrote to President Obama about the trials of launching a rural bakery when the Great Recession hit made its way to the president’s desk last month.After he learned that when the economy rebounded, the bakery, with its original location in Warrenton, had two stores shipping thousands of items across the country and grew its staffing tenfold, POTUS responded with a hand-delivered letter to the bakery. And Red Truck’s award-winning sweet potato, pecan and bourbon pie

Natalie Lacaze, branch manager, Tone the Popcorn Monkey and Sebastien Costantino were among the guests at the recent reception held at the Sona Bank in Middleburg.

made its way back to the White House.

The president celebrated the story and the pies on “National Pi Day” (3/14–get it?) with a posting on The White House Facebook page.

Photo © by Stephanie Knapp

Members of the Mt. Olive Church in Rectortown paused for a photo after leading the singing of hymns during the community Easter Sunrise service at Trinity in Upperville.

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

ight local breast cancer non-profits were helped last month by funds from Loudoun’s Cherry Blossom Breast Cancer Foundation. Local grants included $25,000 to Leesburg’s Healthworks community health center; $10,000 to Blue Ridge Hospice; $7,000 to Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers; $2,000 to Casting for Recovery; $4,000 to Loudoun Breast Health Network; $10,000 to Novant Health System; $1,000 to The IIIBs Foundation; and $6,000 plus a $19,000 reallocation of a previous grant to Inova Health Foundation. The group was founded in 2007 and named in memory of breast cancer victim Cheryl Clayton Atkins.

And, speaking of spring…The 53rd annual Upperville Garden Club Daffodil Show will be held at Buchanan Hall in Upperville on April 12, with thousands of daffodils on display. This year’s theme is “Historic Virginia Mansions” the InterClub design will be “Mount Vernon” and the arrangement will be “Federal Style.”

Other themed arrangements will highlight Monticello and Morven. The doors open at 2 p.m. and afternoon tea will be served. Although the show is free, donations are always appreciated. Details: 540554-4551.

Ducks Unlimited recently awarded our own Robert Bonnie, Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment for U.S. Department of Agriculture, the 2016 Wetland Conservation AchieveAPRIL 2016

ment Award. It was announced during a breakfast ceremony at the 81st annual North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Pittsburgh. Bonnie received his award in the Senior Federal Official category, one of six awards given each year.

As Under Secretary, Bonnie oversees the U.S. Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service on a variety of natural resource issues that impacts conservation in public and private lands across all 50 states. Before his current role at the USDA, Bonnie served as a senior advisor to the Secretary of the USDA Tom Vilsack, where he focused on environment and climate change issues.

Loudoun Therapeutic Riding (LTR) has acquired Spirit Serving Veterans (SSV), a non-profit founded in 2010 in Middleburg dedicated to assisting veterans and their families through un-mounted therapy. Executive Director Joanne Hart said, “My longtime associate in the world of equine therapy and SSV founder, the late Pam Milner, dreamed of expanding services to those who have served this country. LTR began in 2011 at Morven Park in Leesburg, as Equine Services for Heroes. The program offers riding, carriage driving, equine facilitated learning and equine facilitated psychotherapy to aid individuals in recovery from traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress and physical wounds, including amputation.

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Must be able to pass a pre-employment and random Drug Screenings, Background Check, Credit Check, DMV Check and Employment Verification.

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You’ll have flexibility to create a schedule that works for you. We expect you to work 25-30 hours a week, 5 days a week, in our office during regular business hours. Work 9-2, 10-3 or 12–5; it’s up to you. The ideal candidate will have significant computer experience, excellent communication and customer service skills and two years experience in a finance or mathmatical field. Excel, QuickBooks or payroll experience a plus.

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Bret Copeland, James Iker and Doug Johnson

Allie Curran Anderson and Katie Fitzgerald

Valerie Lee and Chris Cerroni

Orange County Hounds Barn Dance Orange Hill Farm owned by Bryce Lingo hosted the Orange County Hounds for their annual barn dance and live auction. Members of OCH and other local hunts gathered for cocktails, dancing, and bidding on fabulous items like handmade silk scarves and weekend hunting trips to Aiken, SC. Photos By Sophie Scheps

Doug Larson, Catherine Wilkins and Beth Larson

Leslie Hazel and Suzanne Vos

Jill Monk, Maria Tousimis and Megan Witt Jimmy Parsons and Jimmy Drunagel Mo Baptiste and Tom Wiseman

Oscar Revere and Tara Revere

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

Leah Palmer and Matt Cahir

Reg Spreadborough and Natalie Wales

APRIL 2016

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What’s Goin’ On

T

TO ADVERTISE

in

middleburg Life

Call Vicky Moon

540.687.6325

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22 West Market Street Leesburg, VA, 20176 Office: 703.443.1757 www.huntcountrysir.com

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Each Office Is Individually Owned And Operated.

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$1,399,000

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APRIL 2016

he 91st running of the Virginia issues. The event is April 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Gold Cup, one of the premier Tickets are $30 for adults, $15 for students steeplechase events in the coun- and proceeds benefit ArtWorks for Freetry, is scheduled Saturday, May 7 dom and Doctors Without Borders. Call at Great Meadow in The Plains.

866-974-0767.

After great success with pari-mutuel Middleburg Community Center: K betting, the perk continues on site. The “Just Crate It,” an art auction of wooden Virginia Gold Cup, and October’s In- crates painted by local artists, is April 8 ternational Gold Cup, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Call 540-687-6373. are the only Northern Kundalini yoga has been added to Virginia venues to offer MCC’s yoga program. Kundalini yoga Of sanctioned betting. The uses postures, movement, breath and Note: widely-acclaimed West meditation to relax and heal mind and Point Alumni Glee Club body. The gentle yoga class, designed for will sing the National senior adults, is Tuesdays from noon-1 Anthem at the event, performing at noon. p.m. and Kundalini yoga is Thursdays The Middleburg Hunt point-to-point from 8-9 a.m. Eight classes are $96 with is Sunday, May 1 at Glenwood Park with sessions pro-rated with later registrations. a 1 p.m. post. Prizes will be awarded for Jedi Academy (ages 5-12) will be best bonnet, best bow tie, best traditional Wednesdays from 5:15 to 6 p.m. and cost tailgate and most creative tailgate. $89.95. It starts April 6 through May 11.

On April 29, the Middleburg Hunt Pilot School (grades 3-5) is April 15 from sponsors a concert featuring the Ashby 9 a.m. to noon, for $9 per child. Students Run band on the lawn at the National will learn the basics of flight and apply Sporting Library & Museum from 6-8 their skills in Aviation Ed’s Mobile Flight p.m. with Virginia wine and beer avail- Lab. able. Open to the public, and all sales benPre-K Robotics (ages 3-5) are Wednesefit the NSLM. The museum also will be days from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.starting April open that night.

20 through May 25. The cost is $90. And The Arts: Under the direction of artis- finally, MCC will hold its “Hello Pony & tic director Stanley J. Thurston and music Horse camp for children ages 2-6 and 5-12 director Michele Fowlin, the Children of at Stonelea Farm. Camps begin on Saturthe Gospel Choir will perform at Grace day, April 9 and run through May 21. Call Episcopal Church in The Plains on Satur- 540-687-6375. day, April 16 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $25, Middleburg Library: On April 5, and $15 for students, with a reception to Kristin Wipfler will discuss “better nutrifollow. Go to www.gracetheplains.org or tion for better health” starting at 7 p.m.

540-253-5177 x 107.

On April 6, the Nature Book Club for The Loudoun Ballet Company (LBC) children kindergarten through fifth grade will perform The Sleeping Beauty on will study “insects inside and out.” PiedMay 7-8 at Dominion High School in Sterling. Advance tickets are $15 for children 12-under and seniors, $20 for adults and $25 for premium seats. Tickets at the door are $25. Performances are 6 p.m. Saturday, May 7 and 4 p.m. Sunday, May 8. Go to www.loudounballet.org.

In partnership with the Community Music School of the Piedmont, a classical The Washington Performing Arts Children of the music concert featuring the Gospel Choir will perform on Saturday, April 16 at Shenandoah Conservatory Grace Church in The Plains at 6:30 p.m. For details musicians will be performed 540.253.5177 on Saturday, April 9 at Buchanan Hall in Upperville at 4 p.m, with mont Environmental Council: A lecture works by Schumann, Chopin and Averitt. by Doug Tallamy on “A Case for Native Contact 540-592-3040 or piedmontmu- Plants,” is scheduled April 12 from 7-8:30 p.m. at Highland School in Warrenton. sic@aol.com.

Middleburg’s Byrne Gallery presents Tallamy is a professor in the Department “Champagne and Flowers,” a new exhi- of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at bition of oil paintings, watercolors and the University of Delaware.

Madison's Mountain Heritage: An multi-media works through April 30.

Three noted painters, Jim Rodgers, Sandra Open House at Graves Chapel” is schedIafrate, and Lida Matheson Stifel, are fea- uled April 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Take a trip back in time to learn about the mountured for this show.

Lesley Lee Francis, granddaughter of tain culture of Virginia’s Blue Ridge.

Land Trust of Virginia: The LTV, beloved American poet Robert Frost, visits the Barns of Rose Hill April 22 at 7 p.m. Goose Creek Association and Blue Ridge to talk about her new book, “You Come Wildlife Center will host a free screening Too: My Journey with Robert Frost,” a of the film “Project Wild Thing” at The Hill School April 22 at 4:30 p.m. and 7:15 memoir and biography.

Castleton in Performance (CiP) pres- p.m. The documentary chronicles one ents “A Time to Break Silence,” an annual man’s personal quest to get his children off series that brings together activists, artists, the couch and into the outdoors. Contact educators and musicians to discuss social Kerry Roszel at 540-687-8441.

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

F IN E P RO P E RT IE S I N T E R N A T I O N A L

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

APRIL 2016

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ProPerties in Hunt Country LIGHTNING ROAD

GREENVIEW w

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CHIMNEYs

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PRICED BELOW APPRAIsED VALUE. This working farm of 316 lovely acres with rolling meadows, large ponds, stream and pastures. Main residence dates back to 1752 with recent upgrades and additions offers 3 Bedrooms and 2 ½ Baths. Old stone and frame tenant house with 3 Bedrooms and 1½ Baths. There are 9 additioanls agricultural outbuildings. Property is NOT in easement.

Motivated Seller. Price firm, *as is* $1,700,000

Haymarket - Custom built colonial on 34+ parklike acres laced with walking/riding trails, 7000+ sq.ft., richly appointed, custom decorator touches. 5 Bedrooms, 5 ½ Bath, cathedral foyer, large Gourmet kitchen, large deck, 3 fireplaces, swimming pool and tennis court. Lower level has large game room and full gym. Separate guest apartment, attached 4 car garage. Easy access to I-66. $1,499,000

The Plains ~ One of Fauquier County's oldest properties on 17.3 acres. The main house, c1790 is stucco over frame and has heart pine floors, beamed ceilings, 5 Fireplaces, 6 bedrooms 5 full and 2 half baths. It is surrounded by boxwood and perennial gardens with a lovely pool, pool house and stone cabin guest house. An old Virginia Classic and a must see! $1,435,000

10 s. MADIsON

MOss HOLLOW

MERsEY ROAD

~25 YEAR EsTABLIsHED BUsINEss~

An outstanding, well built 2 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath cottage on over 50 tranquil acres in Markham, perfectly located minutes from Rt.66. This lovely home takes advantage of nature and privacy with views of Cobbler, Buck and Rattlesnake Mountains from the expansive rear porch with the rustling of Thumb Run Creek nearby. One level living with Stucco, Standing Seam Metal Roof and many exceptional details throughout ~ A must see! $1,200,000

Middleburg - Colonial on 12+ acres rolling pasture land & woods. 2-story Foyer with slate flooring, formal Dining Room & Living Room with fireplaces, glassed-in Family Room, newly renovated Gourmet Kitchen. 5 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths. Main level Master Suite. Traditional details include crown molding, chair rails, hardwood floors & slate roof with copper gutters. Attached 2-car Garage, Pool, Pool House, 6Stall Barn, fenced paddocks & dog kennel.$1,179,000

Anne Marstiller (540) 270-6224

Handsome Building, Turn-Key & Inventory in the center of Historic Middleburg. Stunning upscale home items, crystal, unique gifts, cards, custom stationery, gourmet chocolates and much more.

Approx. ½ of inventory is offsite and included in sale.

Owner willing to help buyer get established. $1,400,000

Rebecca Poston (540) 771-7520 105 WALNUT sTREET

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Barrington Hall (540) 454-6601

Rein duPont (540) 454-3355

Cricket Bedford (540) 229-3201 BUCHANNAN GAP

LAND

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Anne Marstiller (540) 270-6224

MILLWOOD - Rare opportunity to own 190 beautiful, private acres on the outskirts of the 18th c. village of Millwood. Build your dream home on a hilltop site with mature trees and sweeping views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Plenty of open, rolling land for horses. Stream on the western perimeter. Total of 5 DURs and one exemption. $1,650,000

TO BE BUILT. Rare in-town parcel on quiet street.

High quality, custom home by well-known local builder.

1st Level features Foyer, Den, Living Room, Dining Room, gourmet Kitchen with all high end appliances that opens to Family Room with fireplace, French doors to rear deck. 9' ceilings & hardwood floors. 2nd Level has Master Bedroom Suite with sitting area, walk-in & luxury Bath. 3 more Bedrooms & full Bath. Separate Laundry Room. Lower Level has walk-out stairs, large Rec. Room and/or 5th BR with Bath. Plans available. $799,000

Cricket Bedford (540) 229-3201

CROOKED BRIDGE - Beautiful 10 acre parcel offering spectacular frontage and views of Goose Creek. Mature hardwood trees, private road and installed well are some of the features of this parcel. Convenient to Leesburg, Middleburg and Purcellville with easy access to the Dulles Greenway. $399,000 ROKEBY ROAD/UPPERVILLE - 1.84 acre parcel with 3 Bedroom septic Certificate on hand. Mostly wooded with fantastic views to the east! Great opportunity to own in a prime location! $350,000

Immaculate custom built home atop Bull Run Mtns on 8+ private acs. Many windows & skylights bring nature into this 3 Bedroom, 2Bath home. Gourmet Kitchen w/brand NEW appliances, granite & ceramic tile flrs.

Great Room with Cathedral ceiling, stone Fireplace & Hardwood floors Spacious Master Suite with new carpeting & Luxury Bath. Full walk-out basement w/woodstove & ready for Bath. Front porch, rear deck & 2-car Garage. $635,000

Cricket Bedford (540) 229-3201

Please see over 100 of our fine estates and exclusive country properties by visiting www.THOMAS-TALBOT.com Susie Ashcom Cricket Bedford

THOMAS AND TALBOT REAL ESTATE

Catherine Bernache

A sTAUNCH ADVOCATE OF LAND EAsEMENTs LAND AND EsTATE AGENTs sINCE 1967

John Coles

Middleburg, Virginia 20118

Rein duPont Cary Embury

(540) 687-6500

Phillip S. Thomas, Sr.

Barrington Hall

Celebrating his 54th year in Real Estate.

Sheryl Heckler

Julien Lacaze Anne V. Marstiller Brian McGowan Jim McGowan Mary Ann McGowan Rebecca Poston Emily Ristau Jayme Taylor

Offers subject to errors, omissions, change of price or withdrawal without notice. Information contained herein is deemed reliable, but is not so warranted nor is it otherwise guaranteed.

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APRIL 2016

MIDDLEBURG LIFE

Maggie Johnston Savors Sidesaddle in Every Way

By Sophie Scheps For Middleburg Life

M

aggie Johnston’s passion for horses and tradition are perfectly encompassed in her love for riding sidesaddle. For the past decade, Johnston has been fox hunting, showing and most recently racing while riding with both legs on one side.

“You ride sitting square, you just don't have a leg on the right,” she said. “You use your seat bones to give commands. You really need a saddle that fits properly and you’re good to go.”

Johnston grew up in Leesburg across the way from Oatlands Plantation. She began riding at the age of four and competed in three-day eventing for many years. In 1998, she decided it was time for a change of sport and decided to stop eventing.

“I met this woman who was the master of the hunt at the time and she invited me to come out,” Johnston said. “I started fox hunting that year and I loved the camaraderie and the tradition and the beauty of the land we ride over.”

During her first exposure to fox hunting, Johnston clearly remembers the moment she first saw a woman riding sidesaddle. She said the sight was mesmerizing.

“I remember it very specifically,” she said. “One day when I was out hunting in Maryland I looked ahead of me. We were

Johnston immediately felt at ease in this traditional riding position.

“Since then, every horse that I’ve owned or borrowed I have ridden sidesaddle,” she said. “I started hunting and did some shows and the more you get into it, the more you learn about the attire and the traditions and it really blends beautifully with fox hunting.”

Sidesaddle dates back to antiquity and was developed as a riding style that allowed women to remain modest with an apron covering their legs. The rules of attire to signify status such as whether you are Maggie Johnston Photo by Middleburg Photo married, single or a widow are still used today by sidehacking in after a long day and a woman saddle enthusiasts. Most named Sarah was on a leggy chestnut riders have strong passion for discovering with four white socks riding sidesaddle. vintage pieces.

There was a fallen tree and as we hacked “That's the fun of it,” Johnston said. up to it she simply jumped over it. It was “We all trade vintage habits. We ride in the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. vintage saddles and know the history of It was like the whole world stopped and I who rode in them before. A lot of care is said to myself ‘I have to do that someday.’” given to rebuild and re-flock them so they Johnston ended up buying her first remain in use.”

Mark Thompson, a professional sidesaddle soon after and took lessons from local expert Devon Zebrovious. horseman and widely-acclaimed coach

and trainer based in Aiken, S.C. and Millbrook, N.Y., has worked with Johnston in sidesaddle and was effusive in his praise for her.

“No matter what you ask of her she just does it,”Thompson said. “She has such compassion for the sport and works so hard to get it right.

"She was an incredible ambassador for sidesaddle and the Cleveland Bay breed at Breyer Fest in Lexington, Kentucky, letting kids try sitting in the side-saddle and allowing them to pet and lead her horse around the Horse Park grounds. It’s been a privilege and great adventure to work with Maggie."

The close-knit group of sidesaddle riders also has allowed Johnston to connect with women all over the world. She’s had the opportunity to hunt in both Ireland and France in the past few years.

In the U.S., she has her colors with the Snickersville Hounds but hunts all along the eastern seaboard.

Johnston currently has two sidesaddle mounts. Along with being one of the lead organizers of the Sidesaddle Chase at the Loudoun Point-to-Point at Oatlands on April 17, she will be racing herself that day.

“People think it’s feminine and very pretty and men are amazed by it,” Johnston said. “But at the end of the day, I find it remarkable that it’s something old that is now new.”

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Sanctioned by The National Steeplechase Association APRIL 2016

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Jockey Kieran Norris Jumps at Chance to Ride

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I’ve worked for, their horses all do well.

But he has set days when we just work on jumping. He has good staff back in the barn so he can spend his time out on the track watching us train.”

Fout’s attention extends beyond the horses. Norris said his pre-race instructions give him an extra needed boost.

“He’s good confidence-wise, too,” Norris said. “No trainer makes you nervous, but he fills you with the most confidence so you go out feeling like you’re going to win. He rode a lot himself and that makes a big difference. Some trainers like to restrict you with a lot of instruction, but he lets you do what you need to do.”

Norris tries to ride in every race at any given meet. After he’s assigned his Goose Creek horses, he then contacts other trainers to pick up more rides. The

he sound of galloping hooves marks the beginning of springtime in the Middleburg area as well as the thrilling return of steeplechase and point-to-point racing season, always popular with spectators and horsemen alike.

Middleburg-based jockey Kieran Norris, honored recently as the Virginia Steeplechase Association’s leading rider in 2015, is gearing up to run at several upcoming local meets, including the Middleburg Spring Races set for Saturday, April 23 at Glenwood, just outside of town.

Norris is originally from County Waterford, Ireland. Riding from the age of ten, he was the only equestrian in the family. His mother’s side owned some breeding stock and his father’s family had an interest in a different type of racing—greyhounds.

Nevertheless, Norris became an avid fox hunter as a teenager and after attending university in Ireland, a friend offered him a job that changed the course of his life.

“He was working at a stable and got me involved,” Norris said in his delightful Irish brogue. “He told me to come out and help him a couple mornings a week. I was there for about three or more months before they told me I should go out and get my jockey license.”

At 21, Norris was already several years behind most of his competitors. But what he lacked in youth, he made up for with experience. After Photo by Douglas Lees a successful seven-year riding career Kieran Norris in Ireland, Norris was ready for a new adventure.

“At first I didn’t even know there were worst part of the sport for Norris is sitting jump races in America and I wanted a around in the jockey room and waiting change,” Norris said. “The places I was around to get back in the saddle. working had lost horses and owners and And the discipline and physical prowit was either finish what I was doing or ess and fitness to ride in seven or eight make a change so that’s when I decided to races is daunting. come over here.”

“I ride six days a week,” he said. “I get Starting out in Saratoga Springs, New up at 5:15 in the morning and try to get on York he eventually made his way to Mary- my first horse at 6. I start with Neil Morris land and competed in races there working and then I go to Doug’s and I’m done by for the late trainer Thomas Voss. Every- 12:30. Then when the young horses come where he raced, he noticed a number of back to Smitten Farm in the late spring, fine horses from Virginia.

I’ll be there in the afternoon to about 3.”

“I saw Richard Valentine’s horses and This year winning consistently over really liked how they looked so I asked hurdles at the Middleburg Spring Rachim if I could come work for him,” Norris es on April 23 is Norris’ main goal. The said. “That’s how I got in touch with Doug popular venue of Glenwood is his favorite Fout, who I currently ride with. This will track. be our second season.”

“The Alfred Hunt…is better than any Like all trainers, Fout, who operates of them,” he said. “It’s faster and everyone out of Goose Creek Stables, is particular is able to watch. Some of the tracks you go about how his horses run. His main focus out and might as well been out alone in a is ensuring they are well-schooled jump- field and you can’t hear anything. When you are in Middleburg and can run past ers.

“His horses are probably the best the crowd and can hear the shouting, it’s jumpers that I ride,” he said. “Most people just a really fun meet.”

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Crowell Hadden at work.

Photo by Crowell Hadden

Crowell Hadden: An Artist With a Camera and Canvas

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hrough his exquisite paintings and photographs, Crowell Hadden has mastered the art of capturing beautiful hunt scenes of horses and hounds. His work has graced homes, studios, magazines and newspapers, including the pages of Middleburg Life.

“His photos are fabulous. He really is an artist with a camera and a canvas,” said Vicky Moon, Middleburg Life’s editor and author of “The Middleburg Mystique” among her eight books. “I’ve been working with him for 20-plus years. All of his work is magnificent in every way.”

His paintings and pen-and-ink sketches can be viewed and purchased at The Four O’clock Fox, a Middleburg antique shop. He also restores old photos and takes photographic portraits of people or pets with studio lighting right in customers’ own homes.

How did it all start for Hadden, who now lives in The Plains?

He grew up on Long Island in a family of horse lovers and fox hunters. His stepfather, William F. Dobbs, was the master of New York’s Meadowbrook Hunt, originally “Meadow Brook Club,” the oldest, continuously operating polo club in the U.S. first established in 1881.

Basically, he grew up riding and loving horses.

As a schoolboy in art class, he was always good at painting and drawing.

“I always wanted to paint horses, but they looked terrible,” he said.

So his stepfather encouraged him to copy paintings of 19th-century artists such as Sir Alfred James Munnings, known as one of England’s finest painters of horses. Other classic artists he tried to duplicate included J.F. Herring, John Ferneley, and Benjamin Marshall.

After seeing one of his paintings of a Munnings work, Dobbs urged him to break family tradition of attending Yale,

and enroll in the prestigious Art Students League of New York. Hadden studied commercial art and thought that’s where his focus would lie.

The first two years of art school, Hadden drew nude models.

“That was in the early ‘60s—I was 18 years old. I’d always heard that was the best way to learn drawing.” And he was right.

To get to the Art Students League, he remembers driving to the Glen Head rail station in New York and taking the train to school. On the way home one day while riding the train, “I doodled a horse,” he recalled. “It was perfect. Suddenly, I could draw horses.”

In 1967, Hadden moved to Virginia and lived at Llangollen, the Upperville estate then owned by Elizabeth “Liz” Whitney Tippett, a wealthy socialite and philanthropist who owned horses, was an accomplished horse show rider and became a successful owner and breeder of race horses. She was friends with Hadden’s parents and was his godmother.

“I lived at a cabin at Llangollen,” he said. “I lived there for 30 years painting scenes of the farm and polo fields.”

Tippett also commissioned Hadden to copy all of her original horse paintings. Today, Llangollen includes 1,100 acres, is privately owned, and is under conservation easement.

Hadden later did a painting of Dobbs on a horse named Perennial with foxhounds all around him. Perennial came from Llangollen and Mrs. Tippett. Before long, Hadden started getting more commissions to paint other people and scenes.

“I started painting a J.F. Herring horse painting called St Giles,” he said. “It took me 900 hours to paint. A man from Sotheby’s came down and appraised it for more than $200,000. I signed it with just my first name, as many artists do.”

In the 1970s, Hadden would take photos and paint from the picture, which is how he meandered into serious MIDDLEBURG LIFE

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A painting of William F. Dobbs, Hadden’s stepfather, and his horse, Perennial.

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Liz Tippett and two of her horses in front of Llangollen.

Swing into

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MIDDLEBURG LIFE

sold,” he said.

Hadden does mostly photography, including photographing over 300 weddings. But by this summer, he will be doing many more paintings—“my first love,” he admitted.

Peggy Stewart, owner of The Four O’clock Fox, recalled a woman who came into her shop and saw one of Hadden’s acrylics, a country scene of a cow standing in a stream.

“The woman couldn’t believe it was an acrylic; she thought for sure it was an oil painting,” Stewart said. Another time, she sold 14 of his pen-and-ink sketches of horses and hounds. “They bought all fourteen. His work is just very vibrant and very expressive.”

Over the years, Hadden has had three art idols: DaVinci, Michaelangelo, and Rembrandt. One time when wavering over what to do, he was challenged with this question: “What would DaVinci have done?”

That’s when he knew he had to paint it just the way the Renaissance artist might have done.

“I love horses, fox hunting and you can’t paint or photograph horses if you don’t know horses,” he said. “It’s really about the nobility of the beast.”

(Crowell Hadden’s website is www. crowellhaddenphoto.com and he can be reached at 540-532-2075. His photos can be viewed and purchased at www.crowellhadden.smugmug.com. His fine art paintings can be purchased at The Four O’clock Fox located at 15 E. Federal Street in Middleburg.

FOR

photography. He also knew the late Howard Allen, the well-known Middleburg photographer who was a trusted friend of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and allowed Allen to make countless photos of her and her children.

“Howard developed my photos; we were very good friends,” said Hadden, who had come to the Middleburg area after President John F. Kennedy was killed in November, 1963. “I was painting when I heard he was shot. I dropped my brush. I couldn’t believe it.”

In 1995, he married Rebecca Hadden, and passed his love of art to his stepdaughter, Sophie Ruspoli, who studied at the Corcoran and Yale University School of Art. He gave Sophie her first manual camera and she now lives in New York working in graphics and photography.

She also “installs” million-dollar paintings in art galleries.

The Haddens’ daughter, Ophelia Hadden, works with the Peace Corps in Mongolia.

“I’m so proud of her,” he said. “What an honorable thing to do.”

Hadden also was hired by real estate companies to take interior and exterior photos of prime properties. That was still back in the days of film photography.

“F-stops and shutter speeds—that’s what you need to know in photography,” he said. “You get a better knowledge of photography if you learn on film.”

Later, realtors started doing their own photography; but one time, a property wasn’t selling. “So, they hired me to shoot the house, and shortly after, it

E S OF T R U ST

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