Middleburg, VA May 25, 2008
Mary Anne took us out to visit her horse, Oakley. She is a real beauty with a shiny black coat and a white star on his head. He is about 12 years old and is training with Mary Anne to be a jumper.
We drove to Middleburg and Upperville, Virginia to the Hunt Country Stable Tour. What beautiful countryside, with rolling hills filled with grass and dense forest. The sky was filled with blue and temperature was perfect for Sunday afternoon outing.
We stopped off first at the Historic Goose Creek Bridge were they had just finished with a re-enactment of a Civil War Battle. It was a delight to mingle amongst the folks dressed in civil war costumes. One lady had a heavy cotton dress with buttons carved of wood, just like they would have had in the 1860’s. We crossed over the Goose Creek bridge which was built between 1801-1803 during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. It is one of the last original four arch stone bridges in Virginia. In the past a toll house stood to the east of the bridge with rates of 3 cents for a horse and up to 12 cents for a carriage.
During the Battle of Upperville fought on June 21, 2863 this bridge was a choke point bringing conflicting forces from the under Union General Alfred Pleasonton in direct battle with Confederate General J. E. B. Stuart. The Union army won that day forcing the Confederates to retire to high ground to the west.
Driving through country road, some paved, some not we went to the Trappe Hill Farm, home to Thoroughbred mares and foals, yearlings, race horses in training and hunters. Horse business is big in this area and the grounds are breathtaking. There was a bucket of carrots to feed the horses. I had to join in right along with the little kids holding out their hand with a carrot. The horses gladly obliged by using their lips to lap up the little carrot pieces.
A building next to the stable held a workshop of Jean Clagett artist sculpting horses, hunting dogs and of course the fox. It was interesting to see the process. The artist had used the bronze foundries in Loveland, which I had toured many years ago. On that tour I watched as the foundry was connecting all the bronze pieces of long horn steers. That sculpture was over ten feet high.
The setting for this farm was very tranquil next to a pond with yellow iris reflecting in the water and tall willow trees draping over the water’s edge.
Next stop was Rokeby, home of the famous Mellon homebred champion thoroughbreds. The grounds were immaculate and stables had glistening brass nameplates and hardware for each horse. There was also a dairy farm where they made the most delicious cheeses that we had the opportunity to taste. The brown swiss produce about 8 gallons of milk a day. There was a month old calf we were all petting who I understand drank about 1 ½ gallons of milk a day himself. The place was so over the top with manicured grassy fields on rolling countryside with tips of red barns, silos and house scattered through this ten thousand area spread.
This was a delightful end to our eastern journey.