SUMMER 2019
WyattTeller is Fauquier’s first in the NFL
We’ve Got Game Take a look at Fauquier’s competitive side as we highlight the county’s breakthrough athletes
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SUMMER 2019
IN THE
SUMMER 2019 – WE’VE GOT GAME
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PHOTO BY VINCENT SALES
COURTESY PHOTO
LIFE & STYLE 19 They’re obsessed with the area’s pro sports elite – Sit in on the superfan roundtable 23 Take a walk on the wild side with these foot hunters 24 Game for golf? Hear the story about the day Arnold Palmer played a round at South Wales
49 PHOTO BY PAM OWEN
FACES & PLACES
FARE & FLAIR
31 On assignment with photojournalist Randy Litzinger
43 Here’s the scoop: We’ve got your guide to summer sweets
35 Teller: from Liberty to the NFL
45 What’s on the menu? Seasonal salads to savor
36 Impressive roster of pro athletes started careers here 38 Around the world with soccer star Kevin Coleman
26 Hockey? Here? Yes!
39 Mike Duvall’s time with MLB
28 Funny name, fun game: Find out all about pickleball
41 Retired jockey Peter Walsh talks about overcoming adversity
47 Meet me out at the ballpark for a special stadium brew 48 Bluebirds making a comeback: Learn how to bring these beauties to your backyard 49 It makes you itch just reading about it -- the 4-1-1 on poison ivy
EXTR AS
ON THE COVER
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Wyatt Teller has added nearly 65 pounds of muscle since his high school days at Liberty High, as clearly evident in his Buffalo Bills team photo on the front cover. He now tips the scales at 314 pounds – he weighed 250 when at Liberty, and at 6’4” easily measures up to his NFL peers. A fifth-round pick out of Virginia Tech, Teller helped the Bills go from averaging 97.3 rushing yards per game in weeks 1 to 9 to 158.3 during weeks 10 to 17 once he was inserted into the starting lineup at left guard in week 10. One clear change that observant local sports fans will recognize on the standout athlete is his new ’do; just before his interview with freelancer Josh Dorsey and cover photo session, Teller cut off most of his Game of Thrones-length brown, curly hair.
Seasonal Tidbits ........................................... 8 Then and Now ............................................. 11 Side by Side ................................................ 14 The Last Word ............................................ 50
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THE SPORTS ISSUE Published quarterly by Piedmont Media Address 41 Culpeper Street Warrenton, VA 20186 Phone: 540-347-4222 Fax: 540-349-8676 Publisher: Catherine M. Nelson cnelson@fauquier.com Editor: Betsy Burke Parker betsyburkeparker@gmail.com Managing editor: Robin Earl rearl@fauquier.com Advertising Ad director: Catherine Nelson 540-351-1161 cnelson@fauquier.com Consultants: Renee Ellis rellis@fauquier.com Patti Engle pengle@fauquier.com Tony Ford tford@fauquier.com Anthony Haugan ahaugan@fauquier.com Rebecca Rosa rrosa@fauquier.com Marie Rossi mrossi@fauquier.com Design Production Designer: Sawyer Guinn sguinn@fauquier.com Layout: Vincent Sales vsales@fauquier.com Ad designers: Cindy Goff cgoff@fauquier.com Annamaria Ward award@fauquier.com Vincent Sales vsales@fauquier.com
We asked, they answered: Contributor’s query On the sidelines or on the playing field - What’s your game? Pat Reilly grew up in a family of girls before Title IX and missed the chance to compete at conventional sports. She loves beagling, water aerobics and playing “garbage ball” at the WARF. They say golf is a good excuse for a walk, but she thinks beagling is too. Admitting she’s no athlete, Betsy Burke Parker says she prefers the athletic partnership of competitive equestrian sports – participating and watching, and the leisure-time pleasure of riding with friends. It’s something she’s done for more than five decades, today making it a business as a trainer and catch rider. Mara Seaforest once performed in a ballet that also featured two members of the Washington Redskins football team, the closest she has ever come to participating in sports. “If it involves special shoes and heavy breathing, that’s athletic enough for me,” she says, always happy to dance like no one’s watching, as long as no one’s watching. Alissa Jones says she disliked playing any sport requiring a ball or puck when she was growing up, probably, she adds, because when she attended the British school in Portugal, field hockey was mandatory, and she “always got hit in the ankles by the puck.” Returning to San Diego at 17, she danced her
way through high school and college at Peninsula Dance Arts Company. Freelance photographer Randy Litzinger played football on the fields where “All the Right Moves” was filmed, hockey in the rink where “Slapshot” was filmed. Randy says he only stopped playing hockey a few years ago, after a concussion sidelined him. He once won four face-offs versus future 180-goal NHL player R.J. Umberger in a high school hockey game. Like all who didn’t have the skills to play the game, Chris Six became a sportswriter. Beyond dragging his golf clubs around the country, he’s a fan of the game, roots for American University basketball and all things Philly, but says he’d “give it all up for a shot at Formula One.” In his salad days author-editor Steve Price rode horses, fished and played tennis and softball at every opportunity. Now in his somewhat wilted maturity, he “rides accommodating horses, fishes in untroubled waters and applauds athletes who excel in all varieties of sport.” For writer and designer Sawyer Guinn, “sports” mean personal endeavors, the non-traditional athletic pursuits of backpacking and rock climbing. He’s also played ice
hockey for nearly 20 years, and was on the championship-winning team in Fauquier’s only hockey league this spring. Pam Owen is a writer, editor, photographer and passionate conservationist. She engaged in a variety of sports as a kid and as an adult, including baseball, softball, volleyball, flag football and horseback riding. Her favorite is hiking to enjoy nature. Other than watching the Olympics, the only sport she follows is baseball. Since both hips were replaced during the past 16 months, James Ivancic says he’s “more of a watcher than a doer when it comes to sports.” He still likes to play tennis with his son, but can’t get to anything outside the reach of his outstretched racket arm. “I’ve been a baseball fan since my Little League days and take in a Potomac Nationals game from time to time. I still can’t hit a curve ball.” Former USA TODAY sportswriter Peter Brewington has been sports editor of the Fauquier Times since 2001. He loves covering high school football, and playing softball, pickleball and golf. Local educator John Daum says he “loves his Sunday football in the fall.” He adds that while he doesn’t expect
any miracles from the Redskins this season, he’d love to see a play-off run soon. Wine writer Mary Ann Dancisin says her sports activities are limited due to her busy schedule in the local industry. She attributes her “extraordinary upper arm strength to uncorking thousands of bottles of wine at thousands of wine festivals over the years.” Josh Dorsey grew up in Winchester, playing high school soccer and baseball, though he’s had his most love and admiration for football. On Saturdays in season, he cheers his alma mater, the University of Tennessee, and on Sundays, the Redskins. Josh has been a sports writer for seven years, plus works as a teacher in Prince William County and activities leader at Dominion Valley Fitness Center. Freelance writer Fred Hodge has written for the Fauquier Times since 1978. “I only pay attention to high school and college sports. Really don’t care about pros.” Jeff Malmgren played basketball and baseball in high school and college, and does pickup basketball and golf these days. The WNBA is his favorite sports league, but he’s also a Chicago Cubs and Green Bay Packers fan.
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When it comes to sports, do you play the field?
As far as internet dates go, this one seemed promising. He appeared to be everything his profile indicated – good job, no kids and a long list of interests. He said he’d been triple-letterman prep and toptier college athlete – middle school baseball districts, high school swim team captain, college track, club soccer, office billiards league and neighborhood softball. He jogged for fitness and worked out at a local gym. He was fit, trim and pretty good looking. The conversation flowed over that weekday lunch (in a public place, don’t worry, mom). I was in my best reporter mode, asking leading questions and giving insightful feedback, listening to understand, not listening to respond. I mentioned horses once or twice, saying I was going riding after lunch (special thanks to my former roommate who counseled me to “have a built-in evacuation route,” in case this date with a stranger went south). He eventually sensed it was more interview than date, and – to his credit – he attempted to give me the floor. “So tell me,” he seemed sincere enough. “Besides horses, what do you do?” “Oh, goodness! What don’t I do! Foxhunting, steeplechasing, eventing, showing, competitive trail, dressage, a little broomstick polo! I even did a musical freestyle last year. I used a Queen medley,” I beamed at my clearly well-rounded repertoire. My mind was racing ahead to date No. 2. “I used Fat-Bottomed Girls for my trot half-pass!”
“
Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.
– Pro football coach and player Mike Singletary
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SUMMER 2019
cessant
I laughed. He was stone silent. I stopped mid-chuckle and began to gather my belongings. This guy figured everybody was like him – sports ADD. And I figured everybody was like me – sports OCD. I was disappointed, but as I drove away, it made me wonder – Was I so different? Turns out, not necessarily. When we heard about the Central Sports Complex nearing completion, it triggered the inFauquier Sports Issue. I hoped it would at last answer this lingering question: When it comes to sports, must we specialize or can we diversify? The writing and photo team went running to find the answer. Piedmont Media’s sports dream team of Peter Brewington, Fred Hodge, Jeff Malmgren and Josh Dorsey dug deep with some of the county’s elite athletes, from cover boy and NFL powerhouse Wyatt Teller to former MLB player Mike Duvall. Fred walked down memory lane with the long-retired coaches of Fauquier High’s championship squads, while photographer Randy Litzinger took a look back at 16 years of Fauquier sports history. On the recreational end of the sports spectrum, Alissa Jones delved deep to deliver a comprehensive survey of county training facilities, with Chris Six mapping golf in the area. Historian Norm Schulze even let sports drive his Then and Now feature, combing 50 years of files for a vintage Marshall High School football team photo he took in 1952. The regular departments played along – wine writer Mary Ann Dancisin found a winning combination with Naked Mountain’s sangria punch, and beer writer John Daum combed the region’s sports stadiums for the best in brew. And it was Mara Seaforest who unwittingly answered my question about diversity versus uniformity, finding more homogeneous than divergent in her research piece that smacked of summer – a virtual contest pitting soft-serve ice cream against hard scoop. She declared the match a draw. “We all win,” she says. “That’s the point.”
SUMMER 2019
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COUNTY TIDBITS
County tidbits Longer days, warmer nights: Get out and play Our list is but a starting point. Check the Fauquier Times and online at fauquier.com for new listings updated daily. There’s an app for that
Don’t whine about the lack of wine apps: The Fauquier Wine Council has created a new interactive tool. Fauquier Wine Council President Jason Murray recently announced that the council has released a new app, one designed to show what’s going on at Fauquier County wineries. The app includes an interactive map with winery locations, hours, events and policies. Murray says for the past couple years, the council has pushed its marketing effort into social media and technology with an updated web site, a bigger Facebook and Instagram presence and the new app. Additionally, the council is working on creating partnerships with the office of economic development, the Fauquier County Chamber of Commerce and several others to bring awareness to Fauquier wineries as tourism destinations. fauquierwine.com
Ag Fair planned in July
The Virginia Cooperative Extension Fauquier County Unit will host the Fauquier Agriculture Exposition July 11 to 13 at the Fauquier Fairgrounds. The Fauquier Ag Expo will highlight agriculture in the community through livestock shows, an exhibit hall with art and home-grown produce and agricultural technology demonstrations. The expo is free. fauquieragexpo.org
Rock on
Flatbeds and Tailfins in Remington hosts a Buddy Holly tribute band, the RaveOns, for a special July 20 concert. The Rockabilly review begins at 7 p.m. Mountain Highway plans July 27, and Randoll Rivers does an Elvis tribute show Aug. 10. Order tickets via eventbrite.com.
Get hooked on fishing
Crockett Park in Midland offers one of the county’s best opportunities for fishing. An annual fishing derby is held on the lake, with prizes in all age categories. southprogrammer@fauquiercounty.gov
Awww, shoot
Warrenton Rifles Junior Shooters Warrenton Rifles and Junior Shooters are part of the American Legion Junior Shooting Sports Program. This is a gun safety education and marksmanship program that encompasses the basic elements of safety, education, enjoyment and competition. Shooters use the .177 caliber air rifle. Boys and girls can participate, and disabled youth are encouraged to join. Three members of “The Warrenton Rifles,” American Legion Post 72’s junior shooting sports program, have earned the National Rifle Association’s coveted “Distinguished Expert” award for air rifle. legionpost72.org
Warrenton Town Limits: June 28
On June 28, the town hosts a free family-friendly community event with live music, a kids’ zone, free swimming at the WARF, vendors and more than 100 local restaurants and food trucks. There will be fireworks at dark. warrentontownlimits.com
History academy COURTESY PHOTO
Up, up and away: Annual balloon festival scheduled in August The historic Flying Circus in Bealeton has airshows every Sunday through October, with their annual balloon festival schedule Aug. 17-18. Dozens of hot air balloons launch each morning and evening, with rides available and lots of special events planned. flyingcircusairshow.com 8
SUMMER 2019
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area runs the National History Academy, a five-week summer residential program June 23 to July 26. Students are based at Foxcroft School in Middleburg, touring the region weekly to discover the rich history of the Piedmont area. A recent report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that only 18 percent of high school seniors showed proficiency in American history and just 23 percent were proficient in civics. Of the seven subjects included in the report, students scored lowest in their knowledge of U.S. history. “We cannot have a democracy without future leaders and citizens who know
PHOTOS BY CHRIS CERRONE
How to make your garden grow
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by? Deadhead, and have your flowers moving on Keeping your garden and yard lush and full of beautiful blooms all season long may seem like a daunting chore, but deadheading summer flowers will encourage more growth and give you an extended blooming season. Deadheading means, quite literally, taking the “dead” “head” off your flowering plant – pinching spent blooms to transfer a plant’s energy from trying to revive the dead or dying flower to producing new ones. It makes the garden much more tidy. Deadhead flowers any time they begin to fade. Toward the end of summer and into fall, you may want to allow certain plants the opportunity to go to seed. Some plants have attractive pods that will enliven the fall garden, and others will provide food to wildlife in the cooler months. The main point of deadheading plants is to make your flower beds look good, so don’t drop spent blooms on the ground; carry a basket or bucket to collect them. This also helps prevent disease as decay-
ing plant matter can mold. Not all flowers require deadheading. Peony, liatris and most bulbs will only produce one round of flowers per season. Most flowering vines, periwinkle and impatiens do not need deadheading. Many annuals and perennials respond well to deadheading and will reward you with three seasons of bloom.
and understand our history,” said JTHG president Bill Sellers. “Students acquire a new appreciation for the foundations of our society through our history. historycamp.com
day, Sunday Sketch events on the first Sunday of each month and coffee with the curator events on second Saturdays. nationalsporting.org
Fall in love with lavender
Seven Oaks Lavender Farm in Catlett has Summer Bloom Fest planned June 29-30. The celebration includes food trucks, local crafts, lavender sales, picnicking on the farm and more. sevenoakslavenderfarm.com
More than a library
The Open Late series , equine sculpture workshop and art workshops at the National Sporting Library and Museum in Middleburg features music, local wine and Virginia craft beer. There are free gallery talks every Wednes-
Perennial pinching
Although you aren’t technically deadheading perennials, by cutting back certain fall-blooming plants during the growing season, you encourage sturdy, full growth. Fall mums, for example, respond extremely well to pinching back – you can even use a weedeater to cut them down a couple times in summer. It’s easy to remember to do it once on the summer solstice, once on July 4. Like summer flowering plants, once a mum blooms, they’ll stay more attractive by deadheading.
First Fridays in Warrenton
Warrenton’s historic Main Street becomes a festive pedestrian park every first Friday through October. Vendors line the street, along with entertainment and games. Shops remain open late, some with wine tastings, sales and special events. Event host Experience Old Town Warrenton listed event dates: July 5: Salute to our Services August 2: Dog Days of Summer September 6: Art Attack oldtownwarrenton.org
COUNTY TIDBITS
Take it from farm to table, all summer long: Fauquier County Farmers Markets keeping it real, and green, through November The Warrenton Farmers Market runs Wednesdays through October, and Saturdays through November. National Farmers Market Week is an annual celebration by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to highlight the role local farms and farmers play in the nation’s food supply chain. This year’s celebration -- the 20th year -- is Aug. 4 to 10. • There are more than 8,700 farmers markets nationwide. • Almost a fifth of farmers market farmers are younger than 35. • Farmers receive 15.6 cents on the dollar when selling
to a supermarket. At farmers markets, farmers receive the entire dollar, minus any fee they pay for the vendor space. • Most farmers markets are managed by local volunteers. • More than 85 percent of farmers market vendors travel less than 50 miles to sell at a market. More than half travel less than 10 miles. • Pay strict attention to local “seasons” for fruits and vegetables to ensure the items you’re buying really are local. virginiagrown.com fauquiercounty.gov
Leave it to Tammy to Manage the Details.
Call
540-270-9409 for an appointment.
PHOTOS BY CHRIS CERRONE
Horsing around
• The Great Meadow International CIC*** is Aug. 22 to 25. greatmeadowinternational.com • Great Meadow Twilight Polo is Saturday nights through September. Three games begin at 6 p.m. Lessons are also available through the club. greatmeadowpoloclub.com • The oldest pony show in America, the Warrenton Pony Show turns 100 this year, June 26 to 30 at the historic Warrenton Horse Show Grounds. • The 120th annual Warrenton Horse Show is Aug. 28 to Sept. 1. warrentonhorseshow.com • Twilight jumper classes are set once a month Friday evenings at Great Meadow. Show dates are July 19 and Aug. 9. greatmeadow.org
Tammy RoopDBA 540.270.9409 www.tammyroop.com 85 Garrett Street Warrenton, VA 20186
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Then and Now: 1952-2019 6
THEN & NOW 7
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Spot the differences in this 1950s gridiron matchup and today’s forgotten field When working as school photographer at the old Marshall High School, Norm Schulze often shot football games, held on a cow field down a path through some trees just off of U.S. 17 south of I-66. The interstate, of course, wasn’t put in until much more recently.. Some 67 years later, Schulze says this particular photo brings back memories of a simpler time. “It says so much as I look into the player’s eyes displaying his grit,” Schulze says of the 1952 shot. “And then there is the determination of the opposing team member. “There are the approaching teammates rushing to help. This photo captures perfectly the old-fashioned football spirit.” To access the field, long abandoned and grown over by brambles and new-growth forest, spectators would drive through a wooded area, then turn right, past a barn to the playing field. It was at this entrance, Schulze says, where student ushers stood to collect the game’s entrance fee. The athletic field, when not used for football, was a cattle pasture for then-owner J. C. Lewis. On homegame days, a school-day duty of male upperclassmen was to go to the farm to pick up cow pies.
On one occasion, Schulze recalls, the clean-up didn’t happen. Coach Joseph Tosti issued a public apology in the Fauquier Democrat that week. In addition to errant cow pies, Schulze points out that the field was, of course, natural grass, not artificial turf, “allowing things to get pretty messy when rains came before or during games. The field often became a muddy mess.” To replicate the 1952 photo, Schulze relied on his memory to find the old field. It’s on private land, he says, but he asked the homeowner if he could scout around behind the old farm buildings to find his original shooting position for the “now” photo. “This was a very muddy path to follow, and in areas of stickers and weeds,” he recounts. But after a few minutes and a few false starts, “lo and behold, (the outlines of the old field) soon appeared, in surprisingly great shape considering the time lapse. “I believe that I was within 10 yards of where I took that 1952 photo.” The 1952 game featured Marshall High playing Leesburg or Luray in an October afternoon match. Randy Slack is being tackled while teammate Roger Budd, no. 12, hurries to assist.
PHOTOS BY NORM SCHULZE
Key 1. Football pads in the 1950s did not offer the degree of protection as today. Helmets had no face guards, and there was little skull padding. 2. Field lines were marked using an uneven spread of lime right before the game. 3. Only two officials were on the field. 4. Down markers were light chains, manned by volunteers. 5. On the sidelines, fans would shift
up and down the field to stick close to the action. 6. At each end zone, an all-female cheerleader staff performed noisy routines throughout the game. 7. With no lights, all games were played in the daytime. 8. Most cars on the sidelines are Chevrolets; it is not known if that was because of brand loyalty or a popular local dealership, or both. 9. Games were played on natural pasture grass, with cow-pies cleared out just before kickoff. SUMMER 2019
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SIDE BY SIDE
Fauquier’s
1963-64 Fauquier High boys basketball roster WHITEY CASSELL CARLTON WINE TAYLOR PEARSON CLINT MCCULLOUGH BOBBY WINES FRANK FOLEY CHARLES FOLEY DONNIE GOLIGHTLY WALLY RICH DAVE MEADOWS FREDDIE LEGG RAYMOND FIGGINS PHOTO BY RANDY LITZINGER
Fauquier’s first boys basketball coach Buddy Glascock returned to the school’s old gym for this photo. Now 91, he guided the Falcons to the region final in 1963-64, which was the equivalent of the state semifinals back then.
Falcons’ first boys basketball team made equivalent of state Final Four Stories by Fred Hodge
Brand new in 1963, Fauquier High School opened boys basketball practice in November with an amalgam of players from the county’s three high schools at the time – Cedar-Lee, Marshall and Warrenton. No one knew how the new mixture of athletes would fit together for the first-year team. Also, how would players respond to higher level of competition? Fauquier’s football team had faced the same questions in the fall and finished 3-6-1. Would the results be the same on the hardcourt? The task of assembling a cohesive unit went to Mark “Buddy” Glascock. Glascock attended Marshall Elementary, but his high school years were spent at Carlisle Military Academy in South Carolina and Episcopal High School. He graduated from Hampden-Sydney College, where he played football and baseball. After teaching in southern Virginia and a stint in the military, he returned to Fauquier County as a math teacher and basketball coach at Marshall High School. He became the Falcons’ top man after eight years as head coach at Marshall. He won two district championships there and shared a third with Nokesville High school. Fauquier would tackle a 16-game regular-season schedule including 12 contests in the Group 1-B Northwestern District. Glascock opted to keep a 12-man squad, the majority 14
SUMMER 2019
of them being former Marshall and Warrenton players. In his mind, the elements for success were present. “Our first year at Fauqiuer we had Warrenton’s team and my team, and they were both good,” the 91-yearold Glascock says, noting Warrenton had lost only three games the previous winter, all at the hands of the Marshall Wolves. As far as any internal animosity, Glascock believes the issue never existed. “They were just good kids. They just wanted to play basketball.” Whitey Casssell, at 6-foot-7 and still one of the tallest players in Fauquier history, had come over from Warrenton after averaging 10.1 points a game. Clint McCullough and Donnie Golightly also became effective rebounders and interior defenders. Scoring was expected from Carlton Wine and Taylor Pearson. Wine had averaged a countyhigh 15.6 an outing the previous winter. When asked which teams on the schedule would present the greatest challenges, Glascock laughs. “All of them. They all look tough. “Wish us luck. We will need it.” Fauquier broke quickly from the gate. The opening with a 55-50 win over Herndon, and, the next four foes would fall by an average of 19 points. The early success drew the county’s attention, yet questions existed on sustainability. “Are Falcons for Real or Will Bubble Burst?” was the headline above an Alan Poe column in the De-
cember 19, 1963 Fauquier Democrat. The sports editor wrote of the Falcons’ developing chemistry, citing the coach’s catalytic efforts in the five weeks they had been together. “The Fauquier team fielded by Buddy Glascock is a credit to his coaching ability,” Poe wrote Fauquier took its 5-0 record into the Christmas holiday, but the biggest test of the season loomed in the opening week of 1964 in the Handley Judges. The Judges would knock Fauquier from the unbeaten ranks, 57-42. “We had a terrible time trying to defend Handley. They could shoot from outside, and they had height too,” recalls Glascock. Fauquier went 6-4 the next 10 games, experiencing problems against uptempo teams, Poe wrote. Glascock’s crew stabilized with solid wins versus Culpeper (70-33) and George Mason (84-69). Being a new school, Fauquier was chosen to host the league semifinals and championship game for home court advantage. The semifinal opponent was James Wood, the No. 2 seed. Falcons notched a 79-47 rout to earn a berth in the championship. Some 1,676 paid fans crammed four and five deep into the Falcons’ gym to watch them crush Herndon, 79-47, in the finale for the school’s first-ever trophy. The Falcons now found themselves bound for the University of Virginia for the Group 1-B Northern Region tournament to play nearby Albemarle in a regional semifinal. Fauquier built a 35-18 halftime lead over the Patriots in a 71-55 victory. Cassell had his top game of the season with a 24-point, 22-rebound night. “That was the best I’d ever seen him play,” Glascock recalls, adding that the center had plenty of support: Wine added 21 posts and Pearson
First year results
Beat Herndon 55-50 Beat Osbourn 57-26 Beat James Wood 60-44 Beat Osbourn 45-35 Beat Loudoun County 54-35 Lost to Handley 57-42 Beat Loudoun Valley 53-39 Lost to Culpeper 45-40 Beat George Mason 61-50 Beat Herndon 50-42 Lost to Handley 73-56 Beat Gar-Field 67-50 Beat Loudoun County 47-32 Lost to James Wood 76-50 Beat Loudoun Valley 51-50 Lost to Gar-Field (no score found) Beat Culpeper 70-33 Beat George Mason 84-69
Northwestern District Tournament
Beat George Mason 67-49 Beat James Wood 67-49 Beat Herndon 79-47
Group 1-B Northern Region Tournament Beat Albemarle 71-55 Lost to Stafford 68-60
Final record: 17-6 17, as the trio accounted for 60 of the team’s total. Glascock thought he had a accurate picture of Stafford, his opponent for the regional title fray. The 20-2 Indians had the leading Group 1-B scorer in the state. But in the game, it was little-known Calvin Burton who sank bomb after bomb en route to a game-high 28 points in a 68-60 win. “Burton, I’m afraid, we left him alone,” Glascock now says with a chuckle. “He was shooting from way out there.” Ironically, Burton would reappear in the Fauquier High sphere a few years later when he became a science teacher at the school. The Cinderella Falcons finished 17-6 with their run ending one win short of the state final, a remarkable showing for the brand-new high school. Wine averaged 18.6 points per game and earned first-team all-district honors from the coaches. Cassell (10.9) McCullough (7.5) and Pearson (10.8) were honorable mention selections. Cassell and Wine also were first team selections by the Washington Evening Star newspaper. Glascock retired from teaching in 1991 and still attends basketball and softball games. He lives in town.
dream teams A season of firsts
1986 Fauquier softball roster
• First-ever district softball title • First Group AAA Northwest Region title for Fauquier in any sport since joining that classification in the 1972-73 school year • First Fauquier girls team ever to advance to a state tournament • New school record with 11 straight victories • New school record with 16 wins in a season
PAM GRIFFITH SUSAN MOORE DAWN FAY ROBIN LOWE CAROLE PERKINS TRACIE HOLMES JACKIE HANBACK SARAH FRAZIER LISA BURKE KATHY WILSON DALE JENKINS DIANA STORY DANA MARLOWE BRENDA BORLAND SANDY DUNCAN LAURA GRAHAM
What a year! Falcons’ 1986 softball team hosted a state semifinal
The Fauquier boys basketball team had advanced to the state semifinals in the school’s first year. The girls athletic program took 22 years to match that feat, but it was worth the wait. Fauquier’s softball squad produced a wondrous 1986 spring that captivated local attention. Fauquier won its first-ever district softball trophy as the Commonwealth District winner, adding the Northwest Region crown a week later. The wins set up a state semifinal versus Robinson, the Northern Region winner. At that time, only the region champion advanced to the state tournament, so both teams had berths in the Final Four. The game was epic, requiring 12 innings before Robinson pulled out a 3-2 win on two Falcon errors to end the Falcon season at 16-6. Terri Williams, now Terri McGuinn, played multiple sports at Fauquier before heading to Appalachian State University. She coached the Falcon softball squad for 11 years and is believed to be the only woman coach ever to lead two different Fauquier programs to district titles. She also was the coach of the 1987 volleyball team that won the Commonwealth crown, advancing to the region’s playoffs. She was the first volleyball coach in school history, starting the program in the fall of 1980 and coaching for ten seasons. The groundwork for the district and regional softball title runs began
two years earlier with a sophomoreladen unit. After finishing fourth in the Commonwealth District standings in 1984, the Falcons were the league runner-up in 1985, at 14-2, to eventual Group AAA champion Potomac, which had the top pitcher and catcher in the state. ”The kids did well, and we’ve got most of them back next season,” McGuinn said at the time. “We’ve proven we can make it to the tournament, and we’ve proven we can make it to the championship. Next year, we’ll get to prove we can make it to the top of the heap.” Five senior starters returned in 1986, led by center fielder Pam Griffith. Griffith had hit .487 as a junior to earn first-team all-Commonwealth District. Also back were pitcher Susan Moore and Dawn Fay. Carole Perkins would move to shortstop after a year at second base. First baseman Robin Lowe was the fifth returnee. A non-district doubleheader with Warren County opened the season. It stunned many when Fauquier dropped both – 7-2 and 19-18. After a 2-3 start, Fauquier went on a school-record 11-game winning streak. Included in the surge was a 3-2 revenge victory over Gar-field Fauquier was the No. 1 seed at 13-3 for the district tournament. James Wood and Gar-Field were tied at 12-4. At that time, only the top four finishers qualified for post-season action. Stonewall Jackson (9-7) became the No. 4 seed, falling to Fauquier, 5-2, while James Wood clubbed Gar-Field, 6-2. In the finals, the locals convincingly controlled Wood in a 6-2 home
SIDE BY SIDE
PHOTO BY RANDY LITZINGER
Terri McGuinn is a historic figure in Fauquier coaching, guiding the softball team’s 1986 run into the Class AAA semifinals in a famous game played at Fauquier. She was also Fauquier’s first volleyball coach in 1980. win. Fauquier never trailed in the district finals, scoring four times in the bottom of the first inning despite having one hit. Astute base running was the key, as the Falcons took advantage of five wild pitches. The win propelled Fauquier into a home Northwest Region tournament final against the Albemarle Patriots, the Valley District victor. Only a district’s tournament champion advanced to the regional level in 1986. Albemarle appeared ready to end Fauquier’s season when the Patriots’ six-run fifth inning led to a 7-2 Falcon deficit. The Falcons trailed, 7-3, entering the bottom of the sixth with only a fourth-inning Sarah Frazier infield hit to its credit. However, the silent bats erupted with Fauquier sending 12 hitters to the plate to score runs and take the lead for good. “That team was savvy,” McGuinn recalls, so the large deficit was not fatal. “They always were pretty chilled, rarely got down on themselves.” The regional title was the first for any Falcon team at the Group AAA level, which Fauquier had joined in the fall of 1972. Next up was Robinson, the Northern Region champ, for the state semifinals. The game was played on the small field next to Fauquier’s auto body shop with crowds swelling to five or six people deep behind the home bench. Fauquier scored first in the bottom of the fourth on three Robinson errors and an infield single to lead 1-0, but Robinson took a 2-1 lead on a
two-run single in the top of the fifth. Fauquier made it 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth. Griffith and Perkins were safe via errors and Fay’s infield single loaded the bases. Griffith was out at home on Moore’s fielder’s choice, but Perkins scored the tying run on a third Ram error. Robinson won in the 12th inning, 3-2. Fauquier almost won it in the bottom of the 10th. Griffith singled to center with two outs and a two-base error pushed her to third. Perkins was then out on a sharp ground ball into the hole at shortstop after a strong throw nipped her. McGuinn remembers the narrow defeat 23 years later, but it is the first inning that haunts her. Griffith led off with a single and advanced to third with one out to bring Fay up. “I’ve often thought of Pam’s wheels,” she said of the speed merchant, who stole 32 bases that season. “I should have had Dawn bunt. “Instead of making that choice, I let her hit. I thought ‘Dawn’s one of my best hitters.’ She makes solid contact.” The senior popped up to the infield as did the next batter to end the threat. “I could have smacked myself. We could’ve been up 1-0 right there,” the former coach lamented, still unsure of the effect on the game’s flow. “But that has always bothered me.” McGuinn recently retired after teaching physical education, health and driver’s education for past 40 years at FHS. SUMMER 2019
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Life & Style THE WAY WE LIVE IN FAUQUIER
Sports super fans
Meet the Fauquier sub-culture that’s totally on their game Photo courtesy of Jeremy Smith Story by Betsy Burke Parker
Inside this section
• Afoot with hunting hounds • Hit the links right here (you can!) • Hockey in Fauquier? Really. SUMMER 2019
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SUPER FANS
For team spirit, these super-fans can’t be beat They're obsessed but not stressed: Hear what the area sports super-fans say about supporting area teams
Sometimes, being a devoted sports fan requires a kind of unrealistic, masochistic optimism. We all think our sport is the best, that our team is the greatest, often to the point of argument. In the world of fandom, being a sports super-fan is no passing fancy or a seasonal attention-getter. For the super-fan, sports are life. In season, they breathe it in. Out of season, they barely know how to fill the void. To be sure, there are ways to kill the time: draft talk, pre-season prognostications, team activities, minicamps, early season play. But these serve only to give a settling dose. Nothing satisfies, say super-fans, like the actual season. We wanted to know, what’s it like to be a sports super-fan in way out here in a state without a single major league team. We captured some of the county’s biggest fans for a round-table discussion and tossed out a provocative conversation starter – People watch Washington sports like they watch “Real Housewives,” eagerly awaiting the next dysfunctional drama. Let the games begin.
Nancy Browning Premen:
The Redskins were terrible this year, especially after losing our quarterback, Alex Smith. In my opinion, we made a huge mistake letting Kirk Cousins leave.
PHOTO BY JENNIFER PHILLIPPE
Jennifer Phillippe, friends and family enjoy a game at Nationals Park along the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard neighborhood. We finally had a dependable quarterback – he never missed a game as a starter due to injury. (Owner Dan) Snyder and (manager Bruce) Allen have ruined my team. We’ve had no decent GM since Bobby Beathard and Charlie Casserly. We may have had a chance with Scott McCloughan, but they ruined him too. I’m very frustrated with my Redskins, as Snyder and Allen are driving fans away. I’m embarrassed that we are starting to have more opponent fans at our games, who are cheering against my team in our stadium. But, I’m still a Redskin.
Terrance Fields:
I agree. Dan Snyder is not a footballminded owner: he is a businessman. He cares more about ticket sales then winning. The Kraft family that own the New England Patriots, they like to win. They understand the game and that if you’re winning, tickets will sell. Snyder, on the other hand, wastes money on big-name players who are at the end of their (careers), hoping that those players will get fans to come to games.
Richard Phalen: TERRANCE FIELDS 20
SUMMER 2019
I used to be a Redskins fan, but it’s exactly because of that “Desperate Housewives” look that I no longer sup-
port them. Snyder took a good team and ruined it He’s done crappy stuff to the fans, like suing the old lady when she couldn’t keep up with (payments on her) season ticket contract. Bad stuff. I’m (a fan of the) Capitals because Ted Leonsis cares about his fans. You can email him and he’ll email you back. He walks the concourse between periods. It makes a huge difference.
Jeremy Smith:
I’m a lifelong Fauquier resident – Midland – and an all-Washington sports fan. I’ve followed the ‘Skins, Wizards (Bullets), Caps, even the Baltimore Orioles until the Nats came along. In 1996, Major League Soccer was born. I honestly had not watched a game that first year until late summer. I was working for a mortgage company in Fairfax, and I handled the loan for a D.C. United player who was buying a new townhome. He gave me complimentary tickets to the last home game of the season at RFK and to a playoff game a couple of weeks later. D.C. United went on to win the first MLS Cup that year in Foxboro, the first of three championships in the first four years of the league’s existence. I was hooked!
Jennifer Phillippe:
Yes, I’m the woman that drives
around town with the obnoxious NYG GAL license plate. I’ve been a huge fan since I was very young. Growing up in New Jersey, I was able to attend many Giants home games. Before my dad passed away, every Monday he would call me and we’d discuss the game and stats. Since moving to Virginia, I try to attend games in D.C. or Baltimore if I’m not able to make it up to Giants Stadium. I’m very superstitious whenever the Giants are playing – I’ll wear my lucky Giants jersey, every time. Most of the time, (other) members of the household will be wearing game-day attire as well. If the Giants game is being televised in the area, I will be sure to make time during the day to be home to watch it.
Terrance Fields:
I’ve been a Philadelphia Eagles fan since Randall Wade Cunningham (16year NFL veteran who played for the Eagles and Minnesota Vikings). I’m also a University of Miami football fan since about age 10. Playing high school and semi-pro football gave me a taste for the game. Before all the media outlets and apps, it was hard to follow my teams, but (these days) it’s easy.
Nancy:
I’ve been a Redskins fan since
SUPER FANS games – bus trips to New York, plane trip’s to Atlanta and Montreal, and I rarely miss home games. How hard is it to follow from out here in Fauquier? Well, as a season ticketholder for Redskins, getting to the games can be a nightmare. The location in Landover is a disaster. Monday night and Thursday night games are almost impossible, because rush hour traffic is rolled into the game traffic. I hate it. We go anyway, but it takes hours.
hours before game-time and tailgate with other fans down by the Anacostia in Lot 8 at RFK. Now we typically stop by a pub in the Nats stadium area before games. D.C. United picked up arguably one of the best English players ever. Wayne Rooney was transferred from Everton – his boyhood team in Liverpool, to D.C. Rooney left England as the highestscoring player ever for Manchester United in the English Premier League, as well as for the England National Team.
Richard:
Terrance:
FedEx Field is about the worst experiences in the NFL, hard to get to, and a lot of (adult beverages) make it a different kind of experience. On the other hand, Nationals games are very family-friendly. Completely different atmosphere. When the Capitals play downtown, they end late, but I can be home (Warrenton) for the 11 p.m. news. It’s not that bad driving out of D.C. late.
I go watch Philly play when they come to D.C. or Baltimore, but other than that, I only get to see them on TV. And it’s not as fun watching on TV, of course. City traffic on a Sunday is crazy. To make a 1:30 p.m. game at FedEx Field, you have to leave home at 9 a.m. It’s crazy. If we had a Virginia team it would be easier.
Jeremy:
Nancy:
Nancy:
NANCY BROWN PREMEN 1970, with the “Over the Hill Gang.” Debating the value of Billy Kilmer (longtime Redskins quarterback; he also played at San Francisco and New Orleans) was my catalyst.
Richard:
Oh boy, oh yes. In those days, all the teams had characters, and they all had character. It was a different time.
Jennifer:
I feel like attending sporting events is a great family activity, a bonding experience which can also be competitive when you have favorite teams playing against one another. I’ve always taken my children to sporting events. We’ve been to Nats, Orioles, Giants, Redskins, Ravens and Caps games. I also enjoy taking them to UVA lacrosse games in Charlottesville.
I’ve … made over 250 trips to RFK – now Audi Field – downtown. (Heading in or out of D.C.,) weekday daytime games are the worst. A 50-mile, oneway trip can take two hours or more. Weekends are not usually as bad. Up until moving to Audi Field – a more urban setting with spread-out parking, we would arrive a couple of
For UVA, we go early to football games, because we go to the band pre-game practice. Because of our personal schedule, traffic to Charlottesville is not usually an issue. For basketball, we try to get down there (a couple) hours early. Basically, going to games are entire-day affairs. My main challenge
is making sure someone can feed the pets and let my dog out. As to sports rivalries in my house, there are no arguments here: I’ve converted everyone to be Redskin and UVA fans! Everyone knows they’re “my teams,” and my dedication and love for them has seeped into my relatives. My husband is from Cleveland, so he’s had his own team issues, but unless they’re playing each other, he supports my ‘Skins and his Browns equally. We do occasionally have disagreements over whose team flag goes on top of the 35-foot flagpole in our yard on game days. Honestly, Redskins versus Browns, or UVA versus Ohio – I usually win. I (once) spoke with the sports director at channel 9 and told him we should rename Charlottesville “Tonytown” after Tony Bennett. He reported that on the news that night! I have tons of Redskin and UVA paraphernalia – jewelry, jerseys, tshirts, etc. My license tag is “Hoo4EVR.” Think I qualify as a superfan?
Nancy:
My son plays in the (UVA) pep band. The energy at (the stadium) will knock your socks off. He’s starting his fourth year. I attended Virginia 1975. My “craziness” probably began when my ‘Hoos won their first ACC Championship in basketball in 1976 on my birthday, March 6. I was hooked. And this year, we won our first-ever NCAA title – need I say more?
Jeremy:
Besides playing some recreational soccer in Warrenton as a kid, I wasn’t really into soccer. Because soccer isn’t considered one of the “top four” sports in the U.S., it is often harder to follow MLS teams than other teams in the majors (because) there’s not nearly as much coverage in mainstream news outlets. There’s much more available online now than even five years ago. I have been to a number of away
PHOTO COURTESY JEREMY SMITH
SUMMER 2019
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Amazing Summer Camps
Stokes has what you need for all those types of Dads!!!
FRESTA VALLEY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL SUMMER CAMPS
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We offer 8 weeks of terrific summer camps with an exciting new theme each week for campers ages 4 – 11. Lego Robotics Camp and Master Chef Camp are open to campers up to age 12. Campers may attend every week or may register for the weeks they wish to attend. Campers who register for 6 weeks or more by June 17, 2019, will receive a 10% discount on the basic camp fee. Campers do not have to attend Fresta Valley Christian School in order to attend camp.
July 8 - 12 Wild West Camp, ages 4 - 11 Each day consists of a morning devotion and many varied activities which will include the July 15 -19 opportunity to learn something new, exercise the Brick Building 101 ages camper’s creativity, invent, make new friends, 4-5* and have tons of fun! Each week includes Bible stories, field trips, and all kinds of projects and Milo in Lego ® Land Jr. Lego activities. Robotics For an extra fee, campers can opt for before and/ ages 6 - 7* or after care or bus transpiration. Before and after care is by the hour between 7:00 am and A Hawaiian Treasure Hunt Lego ® Robotics, ages 8 -12* 9:00 am and in the afternoon between 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Bus transportation is from Warrenton. Pick up is at 8:30 am and drop off time is 3:30. July 22 - 26 Fun and Games Sports Camp, * The basic camp fee is $200 per week. The ages 4 - 11 Lego® Camps and Chef Camps have an additional $25 supply fee. Before and After Care are $5 per July 29 - August 2 hour. Bus transportation from Warrenton is $45 Sizzling Chef, ages 4 - 7 * per week. Master Chef, ages 8 - 12 * August 5-9 Beyond Camp ages 4-11
CAMPERS WHO REGISTER FOR 6 WEEKS OR MORE BY JUNE 17, 2019, WILL RECEIVE A 10% DISCOUNT ON THE BASIC CAMP FEE.
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Beagles or bassets, following on foot is a great way to go Put the ‘hunt’ in your Hunt Country lifestyle without the expense of horseassociated foxhunting By Pat Reilly Following hounds on foot is a highly-accessible way of hunting that does not involve any special equipment – other than good hiking boots, and no special skills – other than walking. As in mounted hunting, the group of people following a pack of hounds is called “the field.” In Virginia’s piedmont, there are mounted packs of foxhounds, a mounted beagle pack and a number of foot packs – both beagles and bassets. Students of the game call foothunting a great way to get involved in the sport, a way to watch houndwork and a way to enjoy the countryside without the expense and relative danger of mounted hunting. Mounted packs hunt the larger, faster foxes, while foot packs hunt native Eastern cottontail rabbits. For the hounds, hunting is not a simple pursuit. Rabbits like to circle around and disguise their scent, and hounds often follow the trail the wrong way or lose it altogether. Rabbits can also dive into holes and hiding places, known as covert, making for a merry chase and, if you like hounds, the wonder is watching them signal each other and eventually give up to sniff for another scent. For the huntsman, field masters and whippers-in, or whips, hunting is not a simple pursuit, either. The huntsman – or huntswoman, but still traditionally called huntsman – controls the hounds with voice and brass hunting horn. The huntsman directs the hounds into which covert (pronounced “cover”) they should seek the scent of game, and helps them with directional signals if the game breaks covert and darts to a different location. Since scent hounds hunt strictly by smell, not by sight, hounds have trouble following an invisible scent trail across open land, and help from the huntsman keeps the sport going. The field masters have their own organizational duties keeping the field members in line. Foot followers are to stay “behind” the field master, who, in turn, keeps the group quiet when hounds are working and keeps them back from the line so hounds can re-
PHOTO BY BETSY BURKE PARKER
Foot hunting, whether with beagles or bassets -- Fauquier County has both -- is a great way to enjoy the countryside, say enthusiasts, and to re-awaken the deeply ingrained human-canine partnership that’s existed for millennia. main on task. Too, field members could Iselin married a Virginian, moveasily startle and “turn” the game, so ing his kennel to a Middleburg esstaying orderly and in place ensures the tate. He served as beagle club presisport isn’t disrupted. dent 1942-1971. For the field, hunting is rather The NBC today recognizes 48 a simple pursuit: staying back and beagle and basset packs in the U.S. staying – mostly – quiet are the only Current Wolver master is Susan requirements. Field members are en- Mills Stone, who married the second couraged to learn the names of par- Wolver huntsman, the late Fred Stone, ticular hounds, and are directed to and succeeded him in 2000. She shares quietly alert a staff member with the the mastership with Iselin’s grandtraditional cry of “tally ho” if a rabbit daughter, Julie Iselin Deal and has the is viewed. In this way, the huntsman is help of two other masters in the signifisignaled to help reorient the pack. cant work of maintaining the pack. Hunt season for all hound packs The size of Wolver’s pack – like all runs September through March, start- hound packs – varies, as new pups are ing at the close of the growing season, born and older hounds retire. Wolver and ending before the birthing season currently has 26 beagles, all females. for foxes and rabbits begins. Keeping Stone, who lives by the kennel, a pack of hounds, howevnow west of Middleburg, “[She] would explains the all-female er, is of course a full-time, year-round task. invite people pack. “That’s what CapThe Wolver Beagles of Iselin wanted to deal for tea and then tain Middleburg celebrated with,” Stone explains. it’s 100th anniversary as say ‘Let’s take “They aren’t neutered, a pack in 2013. Founder and you’d have to be carethe hounds Oliver Iselin started beaful, otherwise, unless you out.’” gling in the early 1900s want a lot of puppies.” at his estate in Brookville, She keeps the pack Mary Reed New York. When he private, and there is no went to Harvard in 1910, fee to join. They hunt he took the pack with him and hired a within the boundary lines of the professional British huntsman. Middleburg and Piedmont fox hunts. National Field Trials held at the The Ashland Bassets, based near Institute Farm in Aldie in 1915 lured Warrenton, hunt an area within WarrenIselin and his pack to Virginia. A ton, Casanova and Old Dominion hunt year later, he would help finance the territory. Bassets hounds were first bred 508-acre farm’s purchase as the home in France, and the name comes from the of the National Beagle Club. French word bas, meaning low. They
have long ears and short legs, which bring them low to the ground, which is good since that’s where the game’s scent trail naturally settles. Bassets are, at most, 15 inches at the shoulder. Their ability to follow a scent is reputed to be only second to the bloodhound. Ashland joint-master and former huntsman Mary Reed says the pack of 24 including puppies is mixed gender. Reed says Ashland got its start as a small pack owned by a local woman “who would invite people for tea and then say ‘Let’s take the hounds out.’” Ashland became a more-open, subscription pack in 1960. Subscription fees range from $200 to $400. Like other packs, mounted and foot, a one-time follower can take part for a small “capping fee.” Named for the old-time tradition of placing payment in an upturned cap or hat, capping fees are used for kennel expenses and hound care. As Reed points out, having members requires the pack masters to be more formal in their hunting routine than a purely private pack, after all – they’re providing a show. Though field members have no attire requirements, hunt staff wear green jackets, yellow vests, white shirt and pants. They use stock ties just as mounted foxhunter, a white fabric looped around the neck and secured with a plain pin that can double as a tourniquet, bandage, rope or tie if needed. More info: mfha.org SUMMER 2019
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‘A GOOD WALK SPOILED’? NOT TO THIS ARDENT GOLFER.
You don’t have to hit like Tiger to enjoy golf By Chris Six
I’m an avid golfer. And I can’t tell you why. It is intensely frustrating, and I am not particularly good at it. Some call golf “a good walk spoiled,” but there are few places I’d rather be than on a course. My first memories of golf involve my grandfather. He had stopped playing before I could see him out on the course, but his clubs in the basement of my grandparents’ Philadelphia townhouse, the 1960s-era novelty golf figurines his friends had given him as gifts, and weekends spent together watching Arnie, Jack, Lee Trevino and Chi-Chi remind me of him. All that led me to ask for the birthday gift in my teens that changed my life — golf clubs and lessons. I made the caveat that my parents had to join me. My dad plays to this day and we try to get out together a few times a year. My mom was a little different. She did it because her only son asked, and to share something my dad enjoyed. That
PHOTO COURTESY CHRIS SIX
was the type of person she was, and why we were both pretty lucky guys. As the years rolled by, some of my best friends picked up the game as well, and though we live in different states, we manage to get together for a few reunions a year to chase the white ball, catch up and swap stories. One buddy has played St. Andrews and Pebble Beach and so, vicariously, so have I. Once I was able to watch a friend drop a hole-in-one and write
about it, even if it was just for a column. As a journalist, I was never part of the country club crowd, but I have been able to play some beautiful private clubs. I’ve gotten to report on the Senior PGA, LPGA and Mike Schmidt’s celebrity golf tournament. I’ve seen the U.S. Open at Merion and Oakmont and a PGA event at Congressional. And one thing journalists do get, rather than country club-level pay, is the benefit of favorable hours —
at least so far as golf is concerned. Working evenings and into the wee hours of the morning have freed up a lot of daytime hours, ideal for taking the sticks out before heading to the office. And these days, working in journalism as a contractor, I try to play nine holes every single week. I’ve long been an advocate for playing nine, rather than a full 18. Playing in the early morning hours, I often have the course to myself, and can play nine in just over an hour and be back at my home office with plenty of time for work. In today’s world, where so much of our work is done tied to a desk, bathed in the false light of a computer screen, an hour on the golf course is therapeutic. Like most sports, the world surrounding golf can seem intimidating, but you don’t have to be rich to play, and you don’t have to hit like Tiger Woods to enjoy the game. The United States Golf Association’s PLAY9 program, established in 2014, introduces players to the game in an affordable way.
Yes, Arnold Palmer played at South Wales By Peter Brewington There’s myth and then there’s the truth about Arnold Palmer’s famous appearance at South Wales Golf Course in 1963. Local golfing folklore has it that Palmer reached the green in two on the par five 18th hole, which then played at 609 yards from the black tees. He cleared the creek, but did not make the green, said Warrenton’s Buddy Glascock, 91, who was there that day. Some 56 years ago, the seven-time major champion visited South Wales as dozens of local residents who got wind of Palmer’s appearance and came out to watch. Palmer held a demonstration, then played in a foursome with Air Force officers, with fans following them in a miniature version of “Arnie’s Army.” “They were having a good time, he played to the crowd too,” said Glascock, an 11-time club champion at Fauquier Springs Country Club and one of the county’s top golfers at the time. Glascock said Palmer hit a great drive on 18, as the bystanders urged him to try to reach the green with another long shot. “People said, ‘Go for it, Arnie.’ He said, ‘I can’t make it.’’ And that’s exactly what happened. He hit it on the bank and it rolled into the creek,” Glascock said. Glascock said Palmer shot 71. “That was a very tough course; they were having a good time playing,” Glascock said. PHOTO BY ROBERT MCCLANAHAN The original caption of this photograph identified the above golfer as Arnold Palmer. It is actually Chi Chi Rodriguez. Palmer died at age 87 in 2016. 24
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Playing hockey in Fauquier? Yes you can. The traditionally northern sport migrates south
Peter Robinson, director of community relations for the Washington Capitals, credits the “Ovie effect” with driving up local interest in hockey. USA Hockey statistics show a steady increase in registered players in the region since 2005. Alexander Ovechkin was drafted by the Capitals in 2004, and since has been a force both on the ice and off. His popularity, Robinson maintains, has helped grow the sport and turn a niche hobby into mainstream entertainment.
By Sawyer Guinn
The Washington Capitals earned their first franchise championship last summer, the first for a Washington, D.C.-based team in more than a decade. And this year they looked like they might repeat this historic run before being eliminated in doubleovertime in game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes. Recent success of the local professional ice hockey team has steadily increased the base interest level of casual hockey and sports fans in this rapidly expanding sport. Locally, the Fauquier County Roller Hockey League, based at the Warrenton Aquatic Recreation Facility, is helping nurture grassroots interest from active participation. Adult and school leagues have developed around the growing group, and an unaffiliated synthetic ice rink was opened at the Northern Fauquier Park creating a space for youth to learn to skate, further increasing access to this unique and growing sport. Unlike ice hockey, which, naturally, requires an expansive ice rink, inline hockey is played on roller blades. The puck is similar to an ice hockey puck, with runners specially designed for the floor to help it slide rather than roll. The rink surface is made of a special type of plastic that is designed with small holes to help the uncovered rink drain rainwater and dry quickly. To help grow the sport, in 2013 the Washington Capitals along with the rest of the National Hockey League
PHOTO BY RANDY LITZINGER
brokered a collective bargaining agreement that created an industry growth fund. The fund allows any team in the NHL to apply for grants to increase access to hockey within their respective markets. Peter Robinson, Caps’ director of community relations, has overseen the team’s involvement with the program for several years. He’s seen a great deal of successes – three rinks have been refurbished in Loudoun County alone over the past few years, with other being built from scratch in winchester and Fredricksburg, he says. More interest, he notes, means more fans and more potential players, a win-win situation. The idea, Robinson explains, is to “provide access beyond the ice, make it
Local Team Sorrenti won the 2019 FCRHL adult season after a grueling double overtime victory in near 90 degree temperatures during the championship game. 26
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Talking hockey with Fauquier County Roller Hockey League commissioner Ian Anderson
truly accessible … year around, and remove the cost barrier” to the sport, both on the ice and on the synthetic rinks. Unlike football, basketball, soccer and baseball, which incorporate some form of running and jumping, hockey inherently relies on the athlete’s ability to skate, Robinson notes. Kids and adults who are interested in playing first must master the art of ice skating. In most of the U.S., rollerblading is far more attainable, and the accessibility of inline leagues, Robinson says, is focusing the team’s efforts to building and refurbishing inline rinks, instead of the far more expensive ice rinks. The roller hockey pace is a little slower than that of the game on ice, and the gear considerably more affordable. Checking and fighting are also explicitly forbidden due to the differences in requisite protective padding. This often exclusive sport has become more accessible than ever in the past decades and seems to be on a strong trajectory upwards, thanks to the efforts of the NHL and their growth fund programs. However strong communities that find a way to support their facilities are also due their credit in the increased accessibility of this great sport. Fauquier is unique, not only as a rule, but too in the ability to foster a successful hockey league despite the logistical and financial challenges. The FCRHL may be small by comparison to northern neighbors standards, but it is here to stay, say local participants.
inFauquier: Why do you play? Ian Anderson: Because I am a masochist (laughs). I grew up playing deck hockey and then inline but then drifted away because of life stuff. Once I moved down here, my son got into playing. Watching him play made me realize how much I missed it and one of the other dads mentioned the adult league. I signed up the next season. I have continued playing because it is great exercise, tremendous fun and an excellent way to meet terrific people. inF: What would you like to see happen with the league? IA: I would love to see the adult league expand--more teams, more games, longer seasons … but the greatest challenge lies in the limitations of our facility. Our rink is outdoors so we are often limited by weather conditions. Getting a roof over the rink would allow for far more flexibility in scheduling games. Hopefully that is something that we can eventually accomplish as it would be a huge boon for FCRHL at all levels and let us not only play more games within our house leagues, but would make us a more viable host for regional tournaments. inF: Any thoughts on how hockey brings family and friends together, even here in the South? IA: In addition to being the commissioner of the adult league, I also coach my son’s team in the youth league. As a result, I get to see interactions between people across the spectrum of our hockey community. And I can honestly say that the hockey community is closer than in any other sport I have been involved with over the years. Hockey mixes many different skills and that can make it more difficult to learn and master. But the dedication of the players, parents and coaches shows in the end product on the rink. FCRHL has been extremely successful in developing high level players, as evidenced by the numerous awards won over the years at regional and national competitions. I think that having so many people working toward a common goal draws everyone much closer together as families spend a lot of time together at our rink or in other cities. With more help from the community, we would be able to accomplish much more and further grow the league.
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PICKLEBALL: LIKE TENNIS, LITE
The game is competitive, say players, and lots of fun By James Ivancic
It’s got a funny name but is fun to play. And it’s caught on in Fauquier County. Pickleball is a bit like tennis, badminton and table tennis. Players string a net down the middle of a court and opponents square off, either one on one or two against two. It can be played indoors or outside. Players use a ball with holes that resembles a baseball whiffle ball. A paddle that’s smaller than a tennis racket but larger than a table tennis paddle is used to strike the ball back and forth over the net. The ball is served diagonally across the court to put it in play. Points can only be scored by the side that serves. Players on each side must let the ball bounce once before volleys are allowed. There’s a seven-foot no-volley zone on each side of the net, to prevent “spiking.” There’s a Fauquier County Pickleball Association, and Bob Najjar runs it. Najjar says 14 to 20 people show up to play at the Vint Hill Village Green Community Center every week. Usually there are three courts in play. Play-
ers bring nets and set up them up on the gym floor, then take them down after their reserved time is over so that other sports can be played on it. The local pickleballers have reserved space on the gym floor from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Wednesday and on Friday. Najjar says pickleball appeals to older players, especially those who spent years playing more physically taxing sports like tennis.The local pickleballers play to win but “we keep it at a social level so that when we go home, we’re still talking to each other.” Local players will soon have another place to play. The town of Warrenton is having a contractor build a pickleball court at Academy Hill Park. It should be open by the end of June, according to Margaret Rice, director of the town’s parks and recreation department. The Warrenton court will join the more than 15,000 pickleball courts that the U.S. Pickleball Association says exist in the country. So, where’d the name “pickleball” come from? According to one story, “Pickles” was the name of one of the game’s originators in the mid-1960s.
PHOTO BY JAMES IVANCIC Pickleball is a popular sport similar to tennis and badminton. Pickleball players complain of dead spots in the plastic tile floor of the Vint Hill gymnasium, while unicyclists, basketball players and volleyball players say the floor is fine and see no reason to change it. Caught in the middle is the Fauquier County Parks and Recreation Department, which operates the Vint Hill Village Green Community Center where the gym is located. The department recently delayed a plan to pull up the tiles and are now conducting a study to help them decide what to do next. Larry Miller, director of the parks and recreation department, says “numerous communications of concern” were expressed about the planned temporary removal of the floor, a snap-together material that Miller says is easy to remove and re-install.
While the floor’s removal has been put on hold for now, it will be necessary to pull up the floor for up to a week, at least twice during the next six to nine months. “The study is intended to investigate options that will hopefully address the needs of all users of the center and will include efforts to make the tile floor function better; research new flooring options as funding allows; investigate hybrid solutions and consider operational initiatives,” Miller says. In an effort to keep all parties informed, more information about the study and its progress will be posted on the department’s website starting in this month, Miller said. The results of the study will be released this fall.
Tennis tactics serve to pick up pickleballers perfectly
Reaction time improves with practice, just remember to come to the net
I love pickleball. Since writing a story on the bizarre-sounding racquet sport for the Fauquier Times-Democrat a few years ago, I’ve joined the local pickleball club. My wife Lisa and I play once or twice a week at Vint Hill and again when we visit Lisa’s parents in Tampa. It’s super easy to succeed at if you’ve played tennis, with the same tactics serving you well. You need to have good groundstrokes and want to come to the net. There’s an incredible amount of action in a small space, which is one reason for its national explosion in popularity. The games are short, so you can play a lot of them, and it doesn’t take long to become competent. The plastic ball doesn’t go that fast, so you have time to make reactions at the net as the ball goes back and forth with a distinctive popping sound. You play with a different partner each time, so it’s very social. I’ve got my brother, nephew and friends playing. For a fun, active workout that combines a lot of friendly interaction, you can’t beat it. - By Peter Brewington
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Faces & Places WHO WE ARE AND WHERE WE GO
16 years through the lens
Take a trip down memory lane to capture the county’s sporting trajectory Photos and story by Randy Litzinger
Inside this section
• From Liberty to NFL: Wyatt Teller tells all • Fauquier’s pro athletes
• The incredible tale of jockey Peter Walsh • Lees’ 53-year shooting spree SUMMER 2019
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Kettle Run won the 2015 boys soccer state title. On the previous page, Fauquier senior Matt Orner slumps against the dugout after his last high school game.
Catch – and freeze – the action with award-winning local sports photographer Randy Litzinger First as staff photographer, then chief photographer, then photo editor, now freelancer for the Fauquier Times, I’ve photographed Fauquier County sports for the last 16 years. My first year – of nearly 14 – on staff for the Times, I covered the Fauquier High squad winning its first-ever boys track team state title at JMU in Harrisonburg. The talented team was coached by Quentin Jones and led by Luke Renick, Dwayne Foddrell and Brandon Edwards. Just a year later on the same JMU track, I covered Fauquier’s girls’ track team led by legends Sara Bowman and Renee Lott win their first state title in school history. Another highlight of 2004 was Fauquier’s baseball team coached by Paul Koch. Matt Steele, Andrew Johnson, Matt Orner, Zac Caito and Mike Manfro rallied against powerhouse Stone Bridge in the region semis to win in 11 innings, then beat Sherando in the region title game. Fauquier faced Nottoway in the state quarterfinals at home, losing a close game in extra innings. As I snapped photos of the local players, I saw senior Matt Orner slump against the dugout. Having played several sports in high school myself, I could empathize with exactly what he was feeling. He was disappointed their state title quest 32
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ended in a close game, but the loss packed more punch given that his high school career had just ended. He just stayed there, shocked, sad and taking it all in, not wanting to take off his FHS jersey and leave Athey Field for the last time. The powerful scene reminded me that while some great sports photos are amazing action or winning celebration, sometimes photos speak on a deeper level. To me, the resulting image was “universal,” something that anyone who played sports in high school or college can associate with. Another memorable photo moment came that winter, during a first-round playoff game between Harrisonburg and Liberty High at Eagle Stadium. Coach Tommy Buzzo had Nick Monaco at quarterback, along with Justin Carrington and “Ernie” Hull. From hundreds of football games I’ve shot, this remains as the foggiest, ever. You couldn’t see halfway across the field, and the fans in the stands probably couldn’t see anything at all. High school golf doesn’t always produce emotional moments, but in 2005, Fauquier’s Dan Sailor sunk a 50-foot birdie putt on a playoff hole to and send the team to regionals. One memorable day shooting a Highland double-header in Richmond, writer Chris Burke (who
went on to write for Sports Illustrated and is now at The Athletic) and I were covering the state championship softball and girls soccer games that were happening simultaneously at different locations. We kept driving back and forth between the two sites and managed to pull off covering both state title wins. Highland’s Sallie Griffin had the only goals that day against Wakefield in the soccer title game. It wasn’t all games: To cap off the day, Chris Burke and I got lost and kept driving around Richmond. During my years at the Times, Fauquier’s wrestling team has become one of the best in the state, and I’ve gotten to photograph state champions Kevin Chapman, Pinky McGillivray, Ryan Hunsberger, Connor Miller, Daniel Ariola, Matt Raines, Garrett Tingen, Kyle Budd, Franco Camarca and Sam Fisher. I was there when Kettle Run’s boys soccer team won their first state title in school history, 2015. Playing at Liberty University, there was a fourhour game delay due to lighting. They won 2-1 on a memorable late game goal by Reece Cooke scored while laying on the ground with 53 seconds left. Future pro Kevin Coleman led the team of Jed Dalton, Derek Schauss and Bhayle Kerns. On the basketball court, I remember a triple overtime, Fauquier vs. Liberty, boys hoops in ‘08 where
Jerrelle Benimon fouled out before the game ended. Last year, Highland’s Caite Leake hit a 3-pointer to win the conference championship game and erupt the gym at the Warrenton home game. Softball coach Matt Ott has brought Fauquier to the state semifinals twice in the past five years – 2014 and 2016. The first, in 2014, the Falcons exploded offensively to defeat Nansemond River 12-3 in the state semifinals with a team that included Ashtyn Foddrell, Leann Brown and Jessica Goodwin. Two years later in 2016, FHS pulled off five one-run wins in the postseason, culminating with beating Powhatan 7-6 in the state semifinal at Liberty University. A 2012 Kettle Run football team had a win pretty much locked up when the Sean Finnerty-coached Liberty team drove down the field and scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Longerbeam to Garrett Utterback with no time remaining in the fourth quarter. They scored two points to win on a trick play, flipping the ball to inFauquier cover model Wyatt Teller, now an offensive lineman with the Buffalo Bills. The 2010 Bird Bowl was won by Liberty over Fauquier, at Liberty. Liberty’s Corey Warren had the game-winning interception in the end zone in triple overtime. Unbelievably, the 2016 game was even more exciting, with 56 seconds left on the clock, it looked like Fauquier would
win its first Bird Bowl in many years. But, then it happened. Starting 86 yards away from the end zone, LHS, coached by Finnerty and quarterbacked by Joe Glass, started to move the ball down the field, play by play, chunk by chunk. With two seconds left in the game – and everyone in the stadium expecting a throw to their 6-foot-5 star wide receiver Kris Leech, LHS quarterback Joe Glass dropped back to pass and threw to receiver Michael Tapscott. Tapscott had to catch the ball between two Fauquier defenders, and he reached out, literally horizontal to the ground stretching for the winning catch. The best part about covering a county continuously is you get to watch young athletes develop. Last year, I was photographing a Fauquier baseball game when Cole Western stepped up to homeplate. Western was by this time a senior, but my mind wheeled back nine years earlier when he was 8 and in the Cal Ripkin League and his team was in the district playoff. It was bottom of the ninth. Western got the game-winning hit, and his teammates and coaches cleared the dugout to greet him as he rounded the bases. His dad got to him first before the rest of the team, and Western jumped into his dad’s arms. In real-time, it all happened really fast, but I’m glad I captured the moment in a photo, yet another expression of the raw emotion of sports.
Renee Lott, left, Sarah Bowman and the entire Fauquier girls’ track team celebrate their 2005 state title.
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Douglas Lees: On a 53-year shooting spree Local photographer has claimed two Eclipse Awards By Randy Litzinger
Warrenton native Douglas Lees has captured Fauquier’s horse country through the lens since 1967. Lees says his most memorable sports moment was in 1972, when he took his first-ever remote photo at the 1972 Virginia Gold Cup races. Back then, this was cutting edge and a little crazy – Lees wasn’t even sure it would work. Placing a camera underneath one of the jumps at the Broadview racecourse, he triggered the shutter with a clumsy, first-gen remote from the outside rail. Later that night, when he developed the black and white film in his basement darkroom on Springs Road, he realized not only had it worked, it had worked well. He spent years perfecting the “under-shot,” and captured an image good enough to win honorable mention in the 1980 Eclipse Awards for racing photography. A 1978 photo from the Foxfield Races, and a 2007 shot from the International Gold Cup – both published in the Fauquier Times-Democrat – won him the prestigious Eclipse prize, horse racing’s top honor. “I love getting published. It’s sort of like a drug for me, a real rush,” Lees told the Chronicle of the Horse magazine. “But winning an Eclipse … just blows me away.” Lees first became interested in photography at age 16. He got a photo published on the front page of the Fauquier Times-Democrat when he was 17.
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He was hooked.
Lees first learned from his parents, the late Harcourt and the late Scottie Lees, later emulating well-regarded local professional photographer, the late Marshall Hawkins. “I spent a lot of time with him, just watching what he did and how he did it,” Lees told the Chronicle. He later worked with the late Peter Winants, long-time Chronicle editor and publisher. “I will never forget that day that I stopped into Peter’s shop. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Lees recalls. “At that time he was using a 35 mm camera, and he lent me a big lens to try at Delaware Park. He didn’t even know me, but he (was) that kind of person. He showed me how to use it, and I decided right then that this was where I wanted to go. “You want a big impact. That means a big lens.” Lees’ photo of Redmond Stewart’s Maryland Hunt Cup winner Haffaday falling at the 1970 Virginia Gold Cup was picked up by the Associated Press and appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The week before he also made his first cover for the Maryland Horse magazine with a photo of Nancy Hannum’s Morning Mac. But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Lees. He recalls the 1968 Virginia Gold Cup, when he hurriedly reloaded a roll of Tri-X pan black and white film out on the racecourse. It was a rainy day, and he was rushing to get ready for the next race. Lees says he accidentally left an exposed roll of film in its little canister near the first jump. “I went back the next day, found the film and developed it,” Lees says, remembering his relief from that May Sunday some 51 years ago. Since 2006, Lees hasn’t had to worry about fumbling his film – he still shoots Nikon but he’s gone digital. He likes the ability to resharpen and enhance color on his Mac. The digital filing system and backup are superior, he adds. Lees specializes in horse photography – mostly steeplechasing and foxhunting, with some polo. He also photographs scenes, and close-ups, of fly-fishing, his other great passion.
Warrenton photographer Douglas Lees shoots racing spring and fall, foxhunting in winter and fly fishing in summertime, and year-round. He has won two prestigious Eclipse awards for his steeplechase photography. ALL PHOTOS BY DOUGLAS LEES
A BIG MAN BLOCKING BIG MEN Former Eagle Wyatt Teller is making history as Fauquier County’s first NFL player By Josh Dorsey Wyatt Teller was booed before he ever played an National Football League game. Luckily for Teller, • Age: 24 it wasn’t for his game, • Schools: Liberty High School class and it wasn’t by the of 2013, famously passionate – Virginia Tech class and tough – Buffalo of 2017, Major – Bills fans. Property management The 2013 Liberty • Siblings: Rhett, High Graduate was Hope, Faith, Grace. gleefully booed by his Wyatt is youngest new teammates dur of five ing the Bills rookie • Parents: Richard talent show at the Teller (former U.S. 2018 training camp Marine, gas station when he stayed true to manager, retired) and his small-town form Cheryl (retired school and performed the teacher) song “Country Boy” by Aaron Lewis. “I’m not much of a singer. I’m pretty sure they started booing before I even said a word. But it was all in good fun,” Teller says, laughing at the memory. Teller carries the torch as the only Fauquier County player in the NFL, and after being drafted in the fifth round (No. 166 overall) by the Bills, he is making Fauquier proud as a gritty offensive lineman. “That is mind boggling,” Teller says. “I’d consider the football tradition to be pretty strong [in Fauquier], so to be the first one is pretty crazy. I (view it) just the first step on a long path. You can’t ever think you’ve ‘made it,’ or think that you ‘are there.’ It can be taken away from you in a minute.” After a stellar career as defensive end at Virginia Tech, Teller went into the 2018 NFL draft expecting to get selected sometime on the third day. “I remember the first two hours of (day three) the draft, time was going by kind of slow. Then as soon as you get drafted the rest of it goes by in a snap.” Teller was in the middle of a text to congratulate Tech teammate, Prince William native and Stonewall Jackson High grad Tim Settle for being drafted by the Washington Redskins at pick No. 163 when he received the call from Buffalo. “I didn’t even get to press send and he [Settle] actually ended up texting me first so I was like ‘Dangit I was supposed to get you first,’” Teller says. “You gain a lot of friendships and relationships with a bunch of the guys you are coming into the NFL with. It was a weight lifted off my shoulder when I got that call from Mr. Beane (Brandon Beane, Buffalo Bills general manager) and coach McDermott (Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills head coach). It was pretty crazy.”
Quick take: Wyatt Teller
COURTESY PHOTO
After starting seven NFL games at left guard in 2018, former Liberty High grad Wyatt Teller, 24, is back to battle for his position on the Buffalo Bills this summer. He’s been moved to right guard.
High school powerhouse
Life in Buffalo
Teller was so dominant at Liberty High that his Buffalo is known for cold and snow, but Wyatt Tellmere presence on defense limited opposing offenses to er says he was prepared from crossing the Virginia less than half of the field. While playing defensive end Tech drill field for morning classes in December. for the Liberty Eagles, Teller’s coaches quickly realized that rotating him to the strong side of the field, rather “One thing you find our real quick is that Buffalo is than staying on the right or left, would dictate which an absolutely gorgeous place,” he says. “It has the stigma of the cold but it is definitely a beautiful side the opponents would run the ball. After all, it was easier for them to run to the side closest to the bound- area. Everyone thinks it snows about 10 months out of the year, but it’s not that bad.” ary than to try and go around Teller. Team fans – known as the Bills Mafia – are known By that logic, opponents conceded that Tell- for wild pregame tailgating rituals, passion for grit er was as unmovable as the sideline. At least if and unwavering loyalty to their hometown team. their ball carrier was able to run out of bounds, “The fan base is amazing. They love their team.” he wouldn’t face a crushing blow from the now 6-foot-4, 314-pound Teller. Teller applied his power on the offensive team, When you’re fifth-round, you have to work harder than everyone else around you,” Teller says. “When too. “Wyatt is just a different type of athlete,” main- you’re in high school, you realize only a few players tains former Eagles coach Sean Finnerty. “He’s can really change the outcome of the game. “In the NFL everybody is that way, so you realize one of those freak athletes you just don’t see very often. He looked a way that other kids didn’t look that a 6-inch step this way or that way can really at his age. He was stronger than kids his age and make the difference. The margin of error is so small he could do things that other kids couldn’t do. He it’s crazy, and the attention to detail is amplified because you are going against the best of the best.” really jumps off the page at you. “We used him all over the place. There were a Fast start few times we put him at linebacker so he could Teller arrived in Buffalo with something more go from side to side. Offensively he played tack- important than draft status or the 2008 F-350 he le, tight end, fullback and we even had a package bought off his uncle after being drafted. He came where he was the quarterback. At 250 pounds his in with big game experience. junior year he could chase down running backs.” As a freshman, Teller volunteered to move from the It’s been a while since Teller enjoyed that kind defensive line to the offensive line when the Hokies of dominance. With every career step, the margin suffered a plethora of early-season injuries. He faced for error has gotten smaller. some of the best competition in the country while “I don’t get really into my own head or anything earning first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference like that. I take it step-by-step. Being a fifth-round honors as a 13-game starter at left guard in 2017, aldraft pick they want you there, that’s why they lowing just five quarterback pressures all season. drafted you, but it’s not a lock. I think our sixth or seventh round pick didn’t make it through camp. See TELLER, page 36 SUMMER 2019
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Making the pros out of Fauquier County? It can happen. By Peter Brewington
Gernika Bizkaia. Of Puerto Rican descent on her mother’s side, Gwathmey, 26, plays for the Puerto Rican national team in international competition.
With the ascension of Liberty High graduate Wyatt Teller to the NFL in 2018, Fauquier County has produced pro athletes in most major sports except ice hockey and tennis.
NBA - Jerrelle Benimon: Born and raised in Warrenton, Benimon is Fauquier County’s only player to make the NBA. The 2009 Fauquier High graduate played two games in the NBA in 2015. The 6-foot-8 power forward was on the roster of the Utah Jazz for five games in 2015, and appeared in two. He made his NBA debut on March 10, 2015, playing two minutes in an 87-81 win over the New York Knicks. Benimon got three rebounds and did not attempt a shot. He played again on March 12 in a 109-91 win over the Houston Rockets, earning just 23 seconds of time and not producing any stats. Benimon, 27, was a superstar at FHS, flashing scoring, rebounding, passing and ball handling skills that brought late interest from numerous colleges. Benimon attended Georgetown University for two years before transferring to Towson, where he blossomed into one of the greatest players in school history. He’s had a well-traveled pro career, playing for the Idaho Stampede (NBA D-League), Utah Jazz (NBA), Foshan Dragons (China), Qingdao DoubleStar (China), Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany). He currently plays in Israel for Bnei Hrzliya. MLB - Bud Matheny: Matheny of Calverton became the county’s first Major League Baseball player in 1943 and played four years for the New York Yankees, including the 1943 World Series. Metheny played four years for the Yankees from 1943-1946, and was a full-time player in 1944 and 1945. He played in two World Series games in 1943, going 1-for-8. A William & Mary graduate, he joined the Old Dominion athletic staff in 1948 as head baseball coach, compiling a 423–363–6 record before retiring in 1980. He was enshrined in College Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1983 and the ODU baseball stadium is named in his honor. He died in 2003. Jud “Boojum” Wilson: Born in Remington, Wilson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame From TELLER page 35 “My first Virginia Tech game was probably more nerve-wracking than my first game with Buffalo,” he says. “When you’re younger, you don’t fully understand how to practice the right way. When it came to the NFL I had already taken those reps 100 times. “Tech versus Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway was … literally the biggest game ever (attendance 156,990). You have a better understanding of how to play your game.” For the first eight games of his NFL career, Teller was merely a spectator as the Bills tried to find their way through a tough schedule. 36
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LPGA - Kris Tschetter: Although she’s a South Dakota native, Tschetter has lived in Warrenton since 2008. She earned $3 million on the LPGA Tour, including two runner-up finishes in major championships Pro cycling - Joe Dombrowski: Born in Marshall, Dombrowski began cycling competitively as a Fauquier High freshman in 2006, but concentrated mainly on mountain biking and cyclocross. The 2009 FHS grad began road racing in 2009 as a member of the Haymarket Bicycles team. His career took off and he left George Mason University to pursue cycling prospects. Mostly living and training in Europe, the 27-year-old has raced for a series of pro teams including Trek-Livestrong, Team Sky, Cannondale-Garmin, Team EF Education First– Drapac and EF-Cannondale. JOE DOMBROWSKI
in 2006. Wilson, who died at age 69 in 1963, was a legendary player from the Negro Leagues, playing from 1922 to 1945. Wilson, who played up to age 49, played for the Baltimore Black Sox, the Homestead Grays, and the Philadelphia Stars. Standing just 5-foot-8 and weighing 195, the powerful Wilson was referred to as “Babe Ruth Wilson” by media. His teammates nicknamed him “Boojum” after the noise his line drives made after striking the outfield fences.
MLB - Mike Duvall: See story on page 39. WNBA - Jazmon Gwathmey: Born and raised in Bealeton, the 2011 Liberty grad played in the WNBA in 2016, 2017 and 2018. One of the greatest players in James Madison University history, she averaged 20.7 points her senior year and was Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year. She is currently playing in Spain for Lointek
He played for the first time in week nine, splitting time at left guard last November in the lopsided – 41-9 – rout by the visiting Chicago Bears. Still, Teller was thrilled: His career was off and running. “The first time I really got to dress up was the Bears game,” Teller says. He started in their next game – a win against the Jets, and started the next seven games to help the Bills to a 4-3 record down the stretch. “It’s crazy when your whole dream your entire life is to play in the NFL and then you get your chance and you see the team doing better because of it,” he says. Regardless of his success, Teller is
Pro track - Sarah Bowman Brown: Regarded as the most successful track performer ever produced by Fauquier County, the 2005 Fauquier High graduate ran the fastest only high school mile at the 2005 Nike Outdoor High School Nationals in Greensboro, N.C., clocking a time of 4:36.95. During her legendary Falcon career, she won 13 state titles and, and set state records in the 800 (2:09.32), 1,600 (4:41.81) and 3,200 (10:21.15). She was the 2005 Fauquier Times-Democrat Girls Athlete of the Year. She was a nine-time NCAA All-American for the University of Tennessee and won four NCAA titles, including the 2009 indoor mile in a meet record 4:29.72. In 2008 she was named NCAA Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Brown, 32, made headlines in 2016 when she gave birth to her first child, Abigail, in March, 2016, then competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in July. She was eliminated in the preliminary round in the 1,500 meters, then talked about how happy she was to compete and see her daughter and husband in the crowd at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. She had a second daughter Isabelle on April 21, 2019.
well aware of the ups and downs in the NFL and how quickly it can be taken away. The Bills have introduced six new players into the offensive line group during the off-season, bringing in Bobby Johnson as offensive line coach. “I definitely had the dream when I (started playing) at age 4. When you get your shot, you have to take it.” “I am not surprised by his success,” says former coach Finnerty. “He always had such a high ceiling because of the things that he could do. He’s so explosive at his size it makes him different. Going from defensive line to offensive line in college put him in a position to be more athletic than other people.”
Hall of Famer Sam Huff Though Liberty High grad Wyatt Teller is Fauquier’s only homegrown National Football League player, Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Huff lives on the Fauquier-Loudoun line at Atoka. Huff was born in Edna, West Virginia and played high school ball in Farmington before going on to play for West Virginia University. He played for the New York Giants and Washington Redskins, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982. Huff was a commentator for the Giants and Redskins until his retirement in 2012.
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Meet Kettle Run’s soccer globetrotter, Kevin Coleman
Go around the world with this headliner pro athlete By Josh Dorsey
Kevin Coleman’s speed on the soccer pitch has translated to a lot of dashing around the world. The Fauquier County native and Kettle Run High standout, now 21, says he inherited his speed from his father, Alfred Coleman, who was born in Ghana along with his mother Savina. “I was like Kevin with my speed,” says Alfred Coleman, a former sprinter who left Ghana for the U.S. in 1989. “Once I passed you there is no way you can catch me.” Coleman started playing in second grade, then joined Virginia Soccer Club Association when he moved to Warrenton. That’s the first move in a soccer migration of sorts that’s sent the 5-foot9 wing midfielder around the world trying to create goals and make a living in the world’s most popular game. Florida: It didn’t take long for VSCA coaches to notice Coleman’s talents. He played in a teen league in Richmond before heading to Bradenton, Florida for a U.S. U-17 residency program. In Florida, Coleman played with, among others, international phenom Christian Pulisic. “It was a great experience to live, train and go to school with the best players in the country,” Coleman recalls. “The soccer part was the most fun, but it was an unforgettable experience to get to compete against other countries like Brazil and Portugal. It was my first experience against international talent.” Coleman was cut from the squad after a semester, which sent him back to … Kettle Run: Coleman returned to Virginia and joined the Kettle Run High team with head coach Philip Roper, who was thrilled with the new player. “The first thing I noticed about his game was how quick his feet were,” says Roper. “He did things with the ball quicker than any other player I’d been around. He could get by you in the blink of an eye. Teams would always have to shade towards him, which left opportunities for his teammates.” “I remember in our regional final game against Lafayette, the score was tied with about a minute left in the game. We’d worked the ball from one side of the field through our defense. Our outside defender, Derek Schauss, made a long pass upfield to Kevin. Kev38
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COURTESY PHOTO
Kevin Coleman, in yellow, fields a loose ball driving to the goal for his current team in the United Soccer League. in got it, turned, took a quick touch to his left and ripped a shot near post past the goalkeeper. Very few players could have done it as quickly as he did and beat the goalkeeper to the near post.” Coleman quickly became part of Kettle Run history. With the 2015 state championship knotted 1-1 in the final minute against Blacksburg, Coleman once again created the magic to lift the Cougars to their first-ever title. “We were tied with just two minutes to go,” Coleman recalls. “I remember the last play – I beat two guys down the line [to earn the corner kick] and whipped it across. Reece Cookl just tapped it in. “To win the state championship for the first time for your high school is special, it will always stick with me. “Fauquier was not a big soccer town but to be able to get us a state championship was great.” Coleman scored 12 goals and had 17 assists and was named Class 3A Player of the Year, creating momentum that got him noticed by European leagues, setting up his first chance to play internationally in …. Germany: Coleman received an offer to play for Kaiserslautern’s U-19 team in central Germany after his sophomore year. “I was always hoping to go overseas. That was my goal,” he says of the abrupt move. “A lot of (colleges) were looking to get me coming off the state championship, but going overseas was always my dream. I didn’t hesitate.” Coleman, only 17, wanted the ad-
venture of leaving, but his family was ambivalent, so they did it the oldfashioned way and voted. His father and brothers voted “yes,” while his understandably skeptical mother Savina initially voted “no.” She eventually gave her blessing, Coleman says, once the rest of the family reached a consensus. “As a father, and since I was a sports man, I knew that opportunities just come once,” Alfred Coleman said. “He had already been out of the country, and traveling alone for soccer since he was 10. He assured me he was going to combine his school with his talent, so I didn’t want him to have regrets.” “I went over by myself,” Coleman says. “It is probably the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. There was the language barrier, it was a new country, with no family. It was a hard transition. “I found teammates that I grew close with early on, and they would teach me the basics of German. That helped me settle in. I never took any lessons so I would just learn (German) on my own by interacting with people. I’m not completely fluent but I am pretty decent. “It was a small town, bigger than Fauquier and (totally) different,” Coleman recalls. “It probably took me six months to get through the shock.” The German soccer culture – football to Europeans, of course – was totally different than Virginia. “The people knew the club,” he says. “They’d see me in public and stop to talk about the team and how the season is going.”
Coleman played for Kaiserslautern in 2017 and 2018 while finishing his education online, and he considered taking an offer for a college scholarship, which brought him back to … Fauquier County: Coleman was home for a few months in 2018. He thought over college offers, then took an offer from another German club, which wheeled him back to … Germany: He accepted an offer to play for a fourth division club, SpVgg Bayreuth. Coleman started his first 11 games with the German squad before accepting a position with an American club that sent him west to …. California: Coleman joined the United Soccer League’s Orange County Soccer Club in Irvine, California for this season. It’s a Division II team, one step down from MLS (Major League Soccer). “I’m happy that we were able to sign Kevin,” says OCSC coach Braeden Cloutier. “He came to us in preseason and made an immediate impact with his pace and ability to score goals.” As a wing player, Coleman hopes to use his speed to make an impact and improve his career prospects. His goals remain lofty. “In the future I may move on back to Europe. That is my goal. Those are the best leagues. If I get the chance to play for my parent’s country, Ghana, I would consider it. But I would love to play for the U.S.,” he says.
Duvall had his moment at Yankee Stadium
Former Falcon played 4 years in majors, now lives in Florida By Jeff Malmgren
Of all the places for Mike Duvall to earn his first Major League Baseball win, fate chose the hallowed ground of Yankee Stadium. On Sept. 27, 1999, the 1993 Fauquier High graduate struck out two batters while allowing one earned run over 2 2/3 innings to help the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Yankees, 10-6. “It was definitely pretty sweet,” recalls Duvall, who now lives in Fort Myers, Florida. As a middle reliever, Duvall, 44, rarely had opportunities to win games. That win came in his 41st appearance. In that same game, Tampa Bay’s Jeff Sparks earned the first save of his career, so Duvall let him keep the game ball. Duvall took home a different ball from the game. “It had blue laces since it was Joe DiMaggio Day,” he says. “It was pretty cool.” Duvall also made his Major League debut in a cherished ballpark, pitching 2 2/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park.
He allowed three earned runs on two hits and two walks during Tampa Bay’s 11-2 loss Sept. 22, 1998. Duvall, his three children and his wife, Cammy, have lived in Fort Myers since shortly after they met there. He attended spring training in that city with the Minnesota Twins from 2001-03. He left the game in 2003 due to a reoccurring arm injury. “I still think it’s a pretty neat thing,” Duvall says of his MLB career. “There’s a very small percentage of people that get to do it. I definitely feel like I was one of the lucky ones. It was a dream of mine my whole life.” Duvall laughs about his career low-light, giving up a monstrous home run to Darryl Strawberry in 1999 at Tropicana Field. “It was three-fourths the way up the catwalk. It was so bad it was laughable.” Duvall is an area manager with Performance Foodservice after spending 13 years as a specialty brands manager with J.J. Taylor Distributing. Duvall doesn’t often share his MLB experience without prompting.
“Unless they start talking about baseball and question how I know so much about it,” Duvall says with a laugh. “I don’t usually tell people … I don’t like living in the past.”
Fauquier High’s Major League Baseball draft picks Mike Duvall: Taken in 19th round by Florida Marlins in 1995. Steve Godin: Selected in 17th round in 1990 and 472nd overall by the Baltimore Orioles. Appeared in the minor leagues only. Hugh Waln: Selected in 25th round in 1969 and 599th overall by the Kansas City Royals. Appeared in the minor leagues only.
Kettle Run’s Doyle begins major league climb
Former FHS star Mike Duvall saw baseball cards made of him, the ultimate tribute for a major league player.
Former Kettle Run High baseball star Brenton Doyle is currently playing for the Colorado Rockies organization. The 2016 KRHS graduate was taken in the fourth round of Major League Baseball’s draft in May. He signed for approximately $500,000 and has been assigned to the Grand Junction Rockies in the Pioneer League. “I’m going to keep working hard and work my way up the minor league system and eventually the major league system,” says Doyle, who left after a stellar junior season at Shepherd University (West Virginia.) He made his pro debut on June 17, going 2-for-3 with two singles and a stolen base.
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After two decades of talk and delays, work on Central Sports Complex well underway $13 million being spent on new Old Auburn Road playing fields
The beginning of site work for the Central Sports Complex – a long-envisioned project to bring playing fields to the midsection of Fauquier County – is underway. Steve Rodgers sold land adjacent to the county fairgrounds to the county two decades ago for the facility. “The real celebration will be 18 months from now,” when the project is finished, said Parks and Rec board member Donald Johnson. With a project budget more than $13 million, the complex will include six rectangular multi-use fields for soccer and lacrosse, a large diamond field and four small diamond fields, an umpire field house, a main building, a riding trail, skating rink and parking. The fields will serve a variety of youth and adult field sports teams, including baseball, football, lacrosse and soccer. “I expect any sports organization will utilize the fields,” said Parks and Rec’s Clayton Lescalleet. “We even have rugby being played at Northern Fauquier [Community Park].” S.W. Rodgers of Gainesville is the general contractor. Timmons
Group of Richmond designed the project. The park’s main entrance is off Meetze Road southeast of Warrenton, with a turn lane being added. Another entrance is off Old Auburn Road at the fairground entrance. Parks and Rec’s Chris Granger, who represents the Center District, said he was motivated to run for office eight years ago to help develop a sports facility in the central area of the county. His daughter, Madelyn, was a child athlete at the time. “She may not get to play here,” but now “the middle part of the county has fields that will be easy to get to for soccer, lacrosse, softball and baseball.” Supervisor Rick Gerhardt noted that financial benefits will be realized once the site is fully operational, with people spending money at local stores, restaurants and motels when they come for games and tournaments. “Having a central facility is huge,” said Bill Barkovic of the Warrenton Youth Sports Club. “In the past, kids were spread out all over the county, different age groups. Now we can pull them in at the central facility.
PHOTO BY DOUGLAS LEES
Former steeplechase jockey Peter Walsh had to relearn his balance in the saddle after he lost his right arm in a foxhunting fall five years ago.
Walsh’s incredible tale of fortitude Rider has learned to love the left By Norman Fine
In 2014, Peter Walsh, former Virginia champion steeplechase jockey, was serving as field master and hunting five days a week with the local Piedmont Foxhounds and Orange County Hounds. Riding and working for Milton Sender, in the off-season the Irish ex-pat was a passionate golfer. Fast forward to 2019. Walsh is still hunting with both packs, still managing the farm, and still playing golf. It seems like nothing has changed. Except that it has. Between then and now, Walsh lost his right arm, nearly lost his life and has had to relearn life skills – including his golf swing – as a one-handed southpaw. Fortunately, Walsh says, he remembers little of that horrific day in February, 2014. He was hunting at the Deep Run Hunt near Richmond. Apropos of nothing, he says, the bit broke in the horse’s mouth, leaving him powerless over an increasingly panicked mount. The horse galloped blindly into a stand of trees, Walsh unable to check or
control the runaway. Riders that followed to help discovered him lying unconscious and bleeding near a broken tree. He was air-lifted to the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond where his injuries were tallied: a broken neck, broken jaw, 30 broken or fractured bones (including 14 ribs), nerves mashed. He was in surgery for hours, in the hospital for weeks and inpatient and outpatient at MedStar Washington Hospital Center for months. Half a year later, he still walked in a body brace, neck brace and sling for his right arm, and he reports he was pretty depressed. The broken neck didn’t result in paralysis, but the nerves of his right arm were damaged so severely that, as the months passed and the healing process continued, he never recovered use of it. Walsh, always tough as nails, disregarded the useless appendage and returned not only to work at Sender’s farm near Middleburg, but also returned to the saddle. He figured out how to ride one-handed, his right
arm strapped tightly to his body because it wasn’t serving him. It worked, he says, but it wasn’t right. The following year, he decided to have the arm removed. After surgery to remove the bottom two-thirds of his right arm, his hand, forearm and part of his upper arm, Walsh resumed most of his activities. Riding was easy for this pro who was practically born in the saddle. He had to learn to live left-handed after a lifetime of being right-handed, but that, too, came pretty easy. He could drive, do farm work, even write left-handed, and he learned to balance by compensation. But something still worried Walsh – he kept wondering how he could play golf again. In an early rehab session back in 2014, physical therapist Del Wilson, also an enthusiastic golfer, put a putter in Walsh’s left hand. He placed something on the floor representing the cup. To Wilson’s amazement, Walsh kept putting it in the cup, one-handed, with his nondominant hand. Wilson connected Walsh with Mark Guttenberg, a PGA pro at Bull Run Golf Club in Haymarket. Guttenburg had experience working with disabled golfers, especially mili-
tary veteran amputees. Guttenburg changed Walsh’s equipment, changed his swing and gave him lessons based on his new balance point. Before the accident, Walsh’s golf handicap was 8. He shaved it to 20 after the final surgery, and hopes to go lower. He can drive the ball 150 yards, and he has moved back to the senior tees. Friends still tee off behind him, and they tease him some, but that’s okay with him. He’s playing, he’s improving, and he’s loving it. “He’s an Irish steeplechase jockey,” wife Haley told Golf Digest. “He’s not afraid of anything.” Born in Dublin, Walsh followed his professional steeplechase career from Ireland and England to the U.S. in the mid-’80s. He met future wife Haley in Pennsylvania, and the couple relocated to Virginia’s horse country in 1985. They have three college-age kids, Hayden, the oldest, and twins Emma and Liam. They live near Middleburg. Walsh retired from racing in 1999 and took over the management of Sender’s farm and along with it the responsibility of procuring and training hunters to hunt up to six days a week in season. SUMMER 2019
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the
No stress, no pressure, just magnificent wines.
Magnolia Vineyards & Winery is located in Amissville, just off scenic Route 211 in Rappahannock County, approximately 10 miles west of Warrenton. Owned by Glenn and Tina Marchione, we are a family-run boutique winery and vineyard, making small lots of mostly Bordeaux varietals. Quiet country peace, tranquility and great mountain views. Our regular tasting is paired with cheeses and chocolate. The Tasting Room is open year-round and we offer events on select weekends such as Paint & Sips, local artisan exhibits, as well as live acoustic music with great local musicians. Check our website (www.magnoliavineyards.com) or Facebook page for current hours and events. Now open Thursday through Monday. Make an afternoon of it and visit Magnolia plus Gray Ghost or Narmada wineries, or Hinson Ford Cider & Mead, all within a few miles of each other on the eastern end of the scenic Route 211 wine trail. For more information on all venues on the Route 211 trail visit www.skylinewinetrail.com. The prettiest tasting trail in Virginia!
200 Viewtown Rd., Amissville, VA • 703.785.8190 • magnoliavineyards.com 42
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Fare & Flair
LIVING WELL INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
Tastes of summer
Your guide to the season’s flavors Photos by Randy Litzinger Story by Mara Seaforest
Inside this section
• Brr: brain freeze • Stop worrying • Stadium beers about poison ivy: • Fruity wines Read our guide SUMMER 2019
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FOOD & WINE
There’s no competition! In a match between soft-serve and hard scoop, everybody wins
PHOTOS BY RANDY LITZINGER
Team Soft-serve and Team Scoop may argue about the best delivery of frozen confections to beat the summertime heat. But they agree on one thing: The best ice creams to be found anywhere are right here. Fauquier County is clotted with a dozen places sure to soothe the most intense summer cravings. Soft-serve suits some: Many say that the swirled treat in a cup or in a soft cone is easiest to eat, and tends to cause less of the annoying “brain freeze” that sometimes accompanies an ice cream dessert. Hand-dipped hard ice cream suits others: There’s an ongoing, subset debate about licking versus biting, but many agree that a rounded scoop of
ice cream is the most classic form of the confection. Moo-Thru owner Ken Smith says that “old-school players around here tend to stick with the basics. They want the ice cream to speak for itself.” Judging by the lines wrapping around the Remington original that features hand-made ice cream crafted from milk from local dairy farms, Fauquier has gotten the memo. Over at SweetFrog in Warrenton, owner Steve Walters offers a different twist on the chain’s soft-serve specialties. “Sweet Frog is famous for its toppings – we have 80 choices. Sometimes people can’t make up their minds, so we get some wild combinations!”
Love shouldn’t hurt: What is brain freeze, after all? Brain freeze is practically a rite of summer. We love ice cream, but its cold goodness sometimes packs a punch. Brain freeze – sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, scientifically speaking, happens when you eat something cold or gulp something icy too quickly. It happens when you eat ice cream or gulp something ice cold too quickly. Brain freeze is the body’s way of putting on the brakes, says medical research. Don’t worry, the sudden-onset headache goes away as quickly as it arrives. When you slurp a really cold drink or eat ice cream too fast, you rapidly change the temperature in the back of the throat at the juncture of the internal carotid artery, which feeds blood to the brain, and the anterior cerebral artery, which is where brain tissue starts. Despite billions of neurons, the brain itself cannot feel pain, but the odd sensation associated with brain
The thrill of the choice The Food and Drug Administration requires any food being sold as ice cream to possess no less than 10 percent milk fat. Some ice creams also contain eggs, making them more rich and more flavorful. Gelato is an Italian version of ice cream, using milk, not cream, as its base ingredient. Gelato is also churned more slowly, making it very smooth and very elastic. Soft-serve was “invented” when a Carvel ice cream truck broke down in 1934, and the enterprising delivery
Effee’s Frozen Favorites
Marshall
New Baltimore
Bruster’s Real Ice Cream
Messick’s Farm Market
Carousel Frozen Treats Warrenton
Cold Stone Creamery Warrenton
Cookies and Cream Haymarket
Dairy Queen Bealeton SUMMER 2019
drivers quickly sold off the melting ice cream as “soft serve.” Dairy Queen followed with a similar product in 1938. Soft serve is lower in milk fat than hard ice cream – 3 to 6 percent, and up to 60 percent of the frozen product is air. Along with sugar and cream, the addition of double-boiler-cooked eggs creates what many believe is the richest of all: frozen custard. Another frozen confection is sherbet. By law sherbet can only contain up to 2 percent milk fat, and some contain none at all. Most sherbets incorporate fruit or fruit flavors.
Bears Soft Serve
Culpeper
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freeze is caused by receptors in the outer covering of the brain responding to dilation and contraction of arteries that bisect there. The weird feeling is the brain interpreting the change in temperature as pain. The cure for brain freeze is easy – stop with the ice-cold beverage or frozen dessert. You can also jam your tongue up to the roof of your mouth because it’s warm or drink something tepid to normalize the temperature in your mouth.
Bealeton
Moo Thru Remington
Remington Drug Store Remington
Sweet Frog Warrenton
Baskin-Robbins Gainesville
Scruffy’s
Middleburg
Chefs’ salads light for summer fare Meet new Ayrshire executive chef By Sandy Greeley
Popular year-round, salad is a pretty much the perfect summer food. Fresh, vine-ripe local vegetables and fruits overflow market bins and garden plots, and, to the seasonal aspect, salads help people chill out when temperatures and humidity sear both day and night. Lawrence Kocurek, executive chef of Ayrshire Farm and its affiliates, fell passionately in love with cooking when he was about 10. “My sister and I had to have dinner ready for our parents,” he recalls. “They got home late, so when we got home from school, we started cooking.” Added to that, he says, was a strong family cooking heritage: “We are Czechoslovakian and the kitchen is always the heart of the home.” Becoming a chef for this Austin, Texas native was a natural progression, from working in a deli to working as a prep cook to moving to New York where he attended the then French Culinary Institute (now International Culinary Center). “It was very intense,” he remembers. “It was all cooking, all hands-on, and I staged at a number of places.” He eventually moved to Florida, where he worked with star chef Roy Yamaguchi for several years. Then he and his wife moved back to Austin and started a charcuterie business. “We had some fun for about
FOOD & WINE
three years,” he says, but admits they struggled to earn enough to keep the business flourishing. Kocurek then worked at several local hotels, and later moved to Kentucky to become a goose and duck farmer. And as often happens in life, fate intervened. “We had contacts in Front Royal, Virginia,” he explains his eventual move to the Piedmont. “I started looking for jobs in that area. I was contacted for a position at Ayrshire Farm. What a great fit.” In summer, he loves to mastermind the salads. “Our salads change every month,” he says. “It is a seasonal-based menu. This summer, I foresee lighter salads with thinly sliced heirloom tomatoes.” ayrshirefarm.com
everything on her menu. “Some sandwiches are exotic but many are also traditional,” she says, citing one of the most popular dishes is the chicken curry-mango salad. “It is colorful, with citrus fruit on bed of lettuce with cucumbers, cranberries, and walnuts. It catches people’s attention.” reneestogo.com
Girasole
As a young man, Lou Patierno moved to Ferrara, Italy to live with his aunt. While there he spent time in nearby Ravena and enjoyed the food of the EmiliaRomagna area of Italy where both cities are located. “That is a very culinary region,” he says. “So without realizing it, I was absorbing a lot of food knowledge…. Renee’s Gourmet Also living in Italy was a total awakening about food, About 15 years ago, Renee Yount opened a and cooking was an inspiring and the great way to go.” small cafe in downtown Warrenton. The store, ReTo hone his culinary skills, Chef Patierno renee’s Gourmet, is a casual, drop-in and take-out turned to the U.S. and attended the Culinary Inplace with outdoor patio seating. stitute of America in Hyde Park, New York. “The feel of the place is like the restaurant in He moved to Washington, D.C., then Vichy, Cheers, and a little like Grand Central Station,” France, then to Washington’s Tiberio, Le Pavillon, she says. “We all know each other’s names and pa- and the Bagatelle. “I cooked all European food for trons’ likes and dislikes.” the first 20 years of my career,” he says. “Back in the The store is noted for its soups, salads, sand- 1970s and the 1980s, not that many American chefs wiches, and sweets, she said, adding that she put had that much depth and experience as European her own twist on the patio, giving it a European chefs. You had to work your way up and earned the feel with French music. right to work in a kitchen, a totally different attitude.” “I come from a family of nine kids,” she says, “so my After opening Panino in Manassas, the couple mother was always cooking in quantities and we all bought a restaurant in The Plains, naming the railhelped in the kitchen. I did not go to culinary school, road-side restaurant Girasole, sunflower in Italian. but I cooked all my life… My greatest pleasure is food.” “We have been here 15 or 16 years,” he says, “and Chef Yount says she’s not afraid to experiment basically, our menu is regional Italian cuisine. You nevwith tastes and textures. She praises her hard- er stop learning about cuisine, and that is the fun part working staff, whom she teaches how to make of it. There is always something new.” girasoleva.com
Don’t miss your chance to advertise in the Conservation Conversation issue of Contact your sales consultant by September 4th to place your ad in the Fall 2019 issue, out September 25th. 540-347-4222 SUMMER 2019
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SAME GREAT FOOD WITH A NEW LOOK.
www.FostersGrille.com | (540) 349-5776 Order online | 20 Broadview Ave, Warrenton, VA 20186
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SUMMER 2019
Cheers!
When it comes to summer beers, we’ve got your bases covered By John Daum
Summer’s here, and it’s time to hit the ballpark for nine glorious innings watching superstar athletes battle it out on the baseball diamond. Traditionally, “America’s Pastime” had very little competition from other professional sports, and in the old days of sport, baseball stadiums were the envy of all other sporting leagues. Baseball owners lavished large amounts of capital to build shrines to themselves and the sport, as witnessed by places like Wrigley Field and Busch Stadium which still bear the names of their original owners. Busch Stadium is one of the highlights of any trip to St. Louis, and still packs in crowds both for games and for touring out of season. The owner might be forgotten, but most people still know the stadium’s namesake beer of which the nicest thing you can say is that on a very hot summer day, after hours of yard work, is a perfect starter beer when served ice cold. The same backhanded compliment is true, too, about the beer names memorialized on the marquees of two other stadiums: Miller Field in Milwaukee and Coors Park in Denver.
FOOD & WINE In the current glory days of the craft beer movement these older, low-level, commercial beers just cannot compete, though I argue that they have their place, especially on a lazy Sunday at the ballpark as long as you don’t mind paying $15 a cup. Today, though, sports fans can take heart, because even the named stadiums are moving into the 21st century with upscale and craft offerings. Miller Park serves beer from New Glarus Brewing, a craft brand impossible to get outside of Minnesota. Coors Field peddles brews from Odell and Oskar Blues brewing companies, among many others. At the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, you can enjoy over 60 taps at an 85-foot beer bar right in the stadium. And at Citi Field in Brooklyn, Mets fans can enjoy 50 taps from the ultra exclusive Mikkeller Brewing Company. So what do baseball fans have waiting for them when taking a trip to see our own beloved Orioles or Nationals play? A lot, it turns out. Both stadiums sell a great mix of traditional commercial brand beers like Budweiser, Miller and Coors, along with some pseudo-craft beers like Schock Top and Blue Moon. They also throw in some regional beers that started out as craft breweries and were eventually swallowed up by beer conglomerates such as Devil’s Backbone or Goose Island from Chicago. Beyond those more pedestrian offerings, things get interesting for the craft beer lover who would like something tasty – but also local and rare – to wash down a bag of peanuts, a hot dog or crab cake sandwich. At Camden Yards in Baltimore, find nice offerings from Heavy Seas, Evolution and
Flying Dog from Maryland as well as selections from Fordham and Dogfish Head in Delaware. The freshest beer at Camden Yards is from Dempsey’s House Brews, which has an onsite brewpub. At Nationals Park, you could attend every hometown game all season and probably never try the same beer twice. They do a great job featuring beers from D.C., including 3 Star, Atlas and Denizens (just over the District line in Silver Spring). Some beers to seek out are Citra Lemon Saison by Mad Fox, Ignite IPA by Hellbender, Caught Looking Kolsch by Old Ox and Freedom Isn’t Free from Heritage. The nicest thing about loving beer these days is that taps rotate constantly, even at a ballpark. So do your research before the game, and come prepared to enjoy the game and indulge suds that are local and truly unique.
Breezy, light rosé pairs perfectly with seasonal fare By Mary Ann Dancisin
To say it’s a “summer wine,” a vintage should be juicy, refreshing and quenching. This often means rosé. Your summer sipper should be able to withstand being set in the ice trough on the deck and stay chilled all afternoon into the evening. Virginia’s godfather of wine, Jim Law, owner and winemaker at
Linden Vineyards, generally is not thought of as a rosé guy. The relentless rain of 2018 may change that. Law made his change of mind apparent. “Grapes that would have made a thin, bitter red wine have potential to make a fresh, lively rosé,” he wrote in his vineyard newsletter. “That change in attitude gave us great optimism and renewed energy. The prospect of making a mediocre
red wine shifted (our thinking to, instead) making a great rosé.” Thus was born Linden 2018 Rosé. Law describes it as harmonius. In layman’s terms, think subtle red fruit, but not fruity; herbal, but not vegetal; stony, but not hard; light, but not skinny; bright, but not tart; and firm, but not astringent. “This wine also makes me crave food, which is perhaps the greatest of all compliments,” Law says. For the uninitiated, a visit to Linden proves a world apart from most wineries. You’ll find no buses, no frisbees, no bachlorette parties. Nothing, insiders say, but an outstanding array of wines.
Drink Naked
At Naked Mountain Winery and Vineyards in Markham, the winemaker has long encouraged patrons to drink Naked. Owners Randy and Meagan Morton have presided over the 41-acre property for almost a decade, building on the foundation vineyards planted by Bob and Pheobe Harper in 1976. A favorite summer treat is their Very Berry Rosé Sangria sold by the
pitcher. It is a perfect pairing on a warm summer afternoon – weekend or weekday. Naked Mountain 2017 Chardonnay Riesling pairs with a variety of summer dinner dishes, light and bright tones in the predominantly chardonnay blend take a tiny kick of sweetness from the riesling that makes food shine.
Spicy shrimp tacos
1 lb shrimp deveined and cleaned 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp salt ¼ tsp pepper ½ tsp cayenne pepper ½ tsp chili powder 1 tsp garlic powder 6-8 corn tortillas Heat oil in a pan over mediumhigh heat. Add the shrimp once the oil is hot. Add all the seasonings to the pan. Stir the shrimp and cook until they are no longer transparent. Heat corn tortilla for serving.
Top with:
Avocado mash Pico de Gallo tomato relish SUMMER 2019
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HOME & GARDEN
Life along the bluebird trail is active these days A huge comeback for these summer beauties Somewhere over the rainbow Bluebirds fly. Birds fly over the rainbow. Why then, oh why can’t I?
—Harold Arlen, “Somewhere over the Rainbow” By Pam Owen The eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis), once teetering on the edge of extinction, has made a remarkable comeback since the 1970s, thanks in part to bluebird trails, nestboxes designed specifically for this species while discouraging predators. A secondary cavity-nester, the eastern bluebird takes over the holes excavated by woodpeckers. The cavities were disappearing at the same time other threats to bluebirds appeared in the last century. Bluebird expert Lawrence Zeleny rang the alarm bell, writing in National Geographic that “the population of the eastern bluebird may have plummeted by as much as 90 percent.” The next year Zeleny founded the North American Bluebird Society. Affiliated organizations started to form across the country, including the Virginia Bluebird Society. Eastern bluebirds are now considered common, a species of “least concern,” according to the Endangered Species Act, and their populations are increasing in eastern North America, partly due to the popularity of putting up bluebird trails. In areas where nestboxes have been put up in suitable habitat, bluebird populations are increasing. Bluebird trails started in Texas in the 1930s. In Virginia, the total number of nestboxes along bluebird trails increased from 32 in 1996 to an as-
tounding 4,766 by 2017, with a corresponding rise in the number of fledged birds: from 83 to 14,423. Out of an average of four bluebird eggs laid in each box, three resulted in successfully fledged young. The design of the boxes and location of the trails are critical to their success. For the best chance to succeed, a trail should be in open, rural land with scattered trees and low or sparse ground cover and a fenceline, clothesline, tree branches or other places where bluebirds can perch and search for food. The nestboxes must be maintained and monitored, which takes dedication, care and some basic knowledge about bluebird nesting behavior, which is easy to learn. The main maintenance chore is removing previously used nests of bluebirds and other native cavity nesters that also use the boxes, mainly chickadees, tree swallows, tufted titmouses and wrens; all, as songbirds, are protected by law. If nests are left in boxes, they may spread parasites to a new brood. And bluebirds will sometimes avoid building a box that has an old nest. Or they may build a new nest on top an old one, raising the level of the new nest to within reach of predators, such as the grasping paw of a raccoon. Nests of invasive, introduced songbird species, mainly house sparrows and starlings, which are more aggressive than bluebirds and are not protected by law, are removed, as are nests of wasps, which often try to share the boxes. The biggest threats to bluebirds are predators, particularly snakes, bears, raccoons, predatory birds, cats and mice. The design of bluebird nestboxes has evolved to prevent predators from accessing them while attracting bluebirds and providing easy access for people monitoring them. Each nestbox should be mounted about 5 feet off the ground on a metal
How eastern bluebirds became endangered
Eastern bluebirds originally nested in cavities of trees, preferring open spaces. When Europeans first arrived in in eastern North America, they provided the perfect sites: dead trees that were sometimes left after logging, dead limbs in orchards and posts of wooden fences. European settlers had also brought with them what has become one of the leading threats to the survival of all songbirds: the domestic cat. Early in the 19th century, starlings and house sparrows were introduced into the country. By the early 20th century, modernization of farming led to metal fencing replacing wood and orchardists’ becoming more ruthless about pruning trees of dead limbs. With the shift to industrialization and growth in the human population, more farmland was converted to residential and industrial development, leading to more habitat loss for bluebirds. The advent of chemical pesticides in the middle of the 20th century was the proverbial straw that almost broke this species’ back before efforts to conserve them started in the 1970s. 48
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EASTERN BLUEBIRD (SIALIA SIALIS) pole. A baffle beneath the box helps prevent access from small terrestrial predators. A wire cage, known as a Noel guard, also surrounds the entrance hole, mainly to keep the paws of cats and raccoons out. These precautions don’t help with one predator — bears, which just smash the box to get eggs or chicks inside, sometimes bending the pole its on in the process. A few years ago, bears smashed 25 boxes along a trail in Rappahannock County. Raising the pole height has proved to help with this problem, but a ladder is then needed to access those boxes. Barbara Dennee, the VBS monitoring coordinator for the Fauquier County, says trails come and go, the latter mostly because of the work involved to maintain them. Since 2012, the county has had an average of four trails, down to three this year, at Clifton Institute there are 36 nestboxes, at P.B. Smith Elementary, where Dennee teaches, there are 20 nestboxes and at Sky Meadows State Park there are 88 nestboxes. At her school, Dennee adds, fifthgrade “Bluebirders” of the Ecology Club help monitor the school’s trail, learning firsthand about invasive species and how to identify the nests of the different species that build in the boxes. Jane Smith, a Virginia Master Naturalist with the Old Rag chapter, has been monitoring the trail at Clif-
What you can do for bluebirds • Start a bluebird trail on your property, volunteer to monitor one, or initiate and support trails at schools and parks. For information, contact Dennee at hummingbird749@hotmail.com or 540-829-6759, or go to virginiabluebirds.org. • Dead trees offer the best options for bluebird nesting cavities, so don’t cut them down if they don’t pose a danger. • Put out mealworms for bluebirds year-round, when food is scarce in the winter and during the breeding season for females who are incubating eggs and can only leave the nest briefly. These larvae of the darkling beetle (Tenebrio molitor) are harmless, clean and easy to keep. ton Institute north of Warrenton for four years. Volunteers check nestboxes once a week. As they make their rounds, they collect data for VBS on bluebirds and other species. The habitat on Clifton Institute’s property suits bluebirds, Smith points out. She says all the eggs the bluebirds laid this year along the trail have hatched out. A bluebird pair can have up to three broods every year.
HOME & GARDEN
The good, the bad and the itchy Ode to poison ivy
radicans is thriving on the increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the rise in heat it causes. Duke University scientists who dispersed carbon dioxide into the air at levels similar to those predicted to occur on earth in 2050 found that poison ivy grew 149 percent faster and produced a concentration of urushiol that was 153 percent higher than vines grown in control plots. This means those of us with the allergy to urushiol have long, hot, itchy summers to look forward to, so cover up, and stock up on urushiol strippers.
Measles make you bumpy And mumps’ll make you lumpy And chicken pox’ll make you jump and twitch A common cold’ll fool ya And whooping cough can cool ya But poison ivy, Lord’ll make you itch!! — JERRY LEIBER AND MIKE STOLLER, “POISON IVY”
By Pam Owen Most kids growing up in Virginia learn early the rhyme “leaves of three, let it be” to identify a plant that is loathed despite its attractive appearance and the important role it plays in our ecosystems — poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). According to the Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac Information Center, the plant’s common name was coined by Captain John Smith in 1609. The earliest public records of the plant date back to that era. The plant itself is quite attractive, but it exudes an oily substance, urushiol, that triggers a war between skin cells and the immune system, causing an itchy rash for the estimated 8090 percent of people are allergic to it. Only 1 nanogram – a billionth of a gram – of it is needed to accomplish this in most people, according to PIOSIC. And urushiol can remain on the surface of most items that come in contact with it, sometimes for years, unless they are stripped of the oil, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Repeated contact to urushiol, unlike some allergens, only escalates the immune-system war, which can have serious results. Only humans and perhaps a few other primates are allergic to
Rhymes to help with poison ivy identification
• “Leaves of three, let it be” * “Leaves of three, fear me.” • “One, two, three? Don’t touch me” • “Longer middle stem, stay away from them” • “Hairy vine, no friend of mine” • “Raggy rope, don’t be a dope!” • “If it’s got hair, it won’t be fair” • “Berries white, run in fright” • “Berries white, danger in sight.”
PHOTO BY PAM OWEN
urushiol, which evolve in the plant family before we were on the earth, likely as a defense against bugs and diseases. T. radicans is not actually an ivy but a member of the pecan family (Anacardiaceae), which includes mango, cashew and pistachio plants, which all have varying degrees of urushiol in them. In the same genus, Toxicodendron, are poison oak and poison sumac, which pack enough urushiol to be a problem for people allergic to it. Although poison ivy doesn’t produce tasty nuts, it is important to many native wildlife species that feed on its leaves, flowers and, fall through the winter, on its berries. Anyone with pets who lives in poison ivy country may find that, no matter how careful they are about touching poison ivy, their pets aren’t, and petting and hugging dogs and cats become a risky proposition. Burning poison ivy can be even more dangerous, since the smoke can carry urushiol into the lungs, potentially causing a more-serious, even lethal, reaction. Once the urushiol is washed off, any rash it may have produced is not transferable to other people. Urushiol affects the skin cells on the surface, and the fluid in the rash blisters does not contain it. However, scratching the rash can prolong it and possibly lead to infection. Treatments are available to help with the itch, as are products for stripping off the oil before the rash occurs, but their effects vary, depending on the person. Even with catchy rhymes we learn, poison ivy can be tricky to identify among the many plants have “leaves of three.” One thing to keep in mind is that poison ivy has only three leaves per branch, with one leaf at the tip on a longer stem than the two other leaves, which are paired below it.
Going by the color and shininess of the leaf is not a sure bet. When leaves first emerge, in early spring, they are shiny and bronze colored. As spring progresses, the leaves turn a rich green and are harder to distinguish from the mass of foliage around them. By midspring, poison ivy produces clusters of delicate, greenish-white flowers. By fall, the leaves are at their showiest, in various shades of red and bronze, and pollinated flowers turn into white berries. Poison ivy is also a shape shifter. When new plants emerge from the ground in the spring, they start as one stem. If no upright support is handy, they take the form of a shrub, growing up to 4 feet tall. When a tree is available for support, T. radicans takes the form of a vine, crawling up the tree. As the vine matures, it becomes thicker, up to several inches wide, and “hairy.” The “hairs” are actually rootlets, which grow out from the vine and dig into the bark of the tree, but not far enough to interfere with the tree’s critical functions. The vine also shoots out leafy stems as it climbs, eventually turning what was once a black locust tree, for example, into what appears to be a poison ivy tree when viewed from the base. Younger vines are thinner and aren’t as hairy, and hug trees closely, so it’s always good to check carefully before leaning against or grabbing onto a tree in Virginia, as many a hiker has learned. The good thing about the vine’s “hairy” appearance is that no native vine, such as those of wild grapes, resembles it, nor do the two most ubiquitous introduced vines, Japanese honeysuckle and oriental bittersweet. Unlike some other plants and animals that are becoming extinct as temperatures change globally, T.
Poison ivy remedies
Methods for removing or ameliorating the effects of urushiol have become less draconian than the days in when lye soap or bleach were often used, which can destroy skin cells. If no remedies are at hand, the Food and Drug Administration suggests washing with soap as soon as possible in cool water, and washing garden tools, pets or anything else that may have come in contact with the plant. Urushiol strippers, which should be used as soon as possible to keep a rash from forming. Manufactured pharmaceuticals include Tecnu and Zanfel, sold in most pharmacies, grocery stores, farmers’ co-ops, gardening centers and online. Jewelweed, a common native plant in our area (especially around water), can be rubbed onto the skin and also comes in soaps and lotions sold at many co-ops, garden centers and in health-food stores. A host of manufactured treatments are also available, including oral and topical antihistamines, available in drug and grocery stores. Many home remedies have evolved over the years, including warm baths with oatmeal and Epsom salts, and cold compresses and other skin applications, including tea bags soaked in cold water and cold coffee and baking soda mixed into a paste, banana peel or watermelon rind.
For more information
• poisonivy.us • poison-ivy.org • “Outsmarting Poison Ivy and Other Poisonous Plants,” fda.gov • “Protecting Yourself from Poisonous Plants,” cdc.gov/niosh • “Ten best home remedies for poison ivy,” medicalnewstoday.com SUMMER 2019
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Summer reminds me of being hot to trot (and not in a good way) By Steve Price
Like so many things in life, it all began in summer camp. Riding horses has been a large part of my life, sporting and otherwise. After that fateful summer, my ardor for horses and riding carried on through school: my high school had a riding club where in an era of baggy blue jeans, my adolescent fancies focused on girls in tight jodhpurs. Six decades later, not only do I still ride, but I can look back on a career built on it from equestrian journalism. It all started at Camp Taconic in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. I was 11. One of the camp’s attractions, and to me its strongest selling point, was the opportunity to ride. In those days every boy I knew wanted to be like Roy Rogers or the Lone Ranger. My initial lesson took place two days after we arrived in early July. That’s when I met the instructor, Maurice “Moe” O’Connell, a round- and floridfaced 40-year-old with a halo of already-thinning blond hair and a noticeable paunch. Moe’s farm in a nearby town included horses that he supplied to our Camp Taconic and a half-dozen others. He also supplied riding instructors when necessary, often his own children. Moe was suitably attired in a collared shirt, jodhpurs and paddock boots. We campers were less fashionably dressed in t-shirts, dungarees and “shoes with heels,” which in my case meant a pair of laced brown oxfords. As this was before the hardhats-for-all era, no one wore anything on his head. That first day, Moe picked up four of my bunkmates and me in a sedan of some vintage in which he drove us to the riding ring just inside the camp gate. The arenas I had seen during family outings to the wealthy suburbs were manicured expanses bounded by white railing. Not so Taconic. A large mostly-round slope was enclosed by snow fencing of varying verticality, a portion of which sagged opened to serve as the gate. The footing was grass with a soil path that became increasingly rutted as the summer progressed. The six horses that Moe brought that summer were tacked and halter-tied to a plank nailed between two trees. Moe handed out assignments. “You take Blue Jay,” he told me. I approached a blue roan with a roached mane. He looked as big as any horse I’d ever seen, though possibly it was just that all horses look big to an 11-year-old). Fumbling with the tied leadrope, I waited until Moe pulled free the quick-release knot. He boosted me onto the Western saddle, checked the girth and stirrup length and handed me the reins. Now, all I knew about the practical side of horsemanship came from a pony ride as an even younger kid: you hold a rein in each hand and go wherever the concession guy leads the pony. Riding at Taconic would be a little more complicated, but I looked forward to applying my equestrian education – I’d borrowed library books on the subject, and my uncle gave me a riding magazine. Moe swung up on Colonel, his chestnut fivegaited Saddlebred gelding, and announced that we were going down to the lake to water the horses and then for a ride up a hill and beyond. What about the snow-fenced ring? I won50
SUMMER 2019
The Last Word BY STEVE PRICE
dered – isn’t that where people learned to ride? With Colonel at the lead and Blue Jay bringing up the rear, the horses placidly walked single-file through a gap in a stone wall and down a hill toward Lake Ashmere. Colonel preceded the other horses until all were knee-deep into the water. Bunkmates on either side let slip the reins so their horses could lower their heads to drink. Somehow I managed to follow suit without letting Blue Jay’s reins (undoubtedly followed by me) fall into the lake. Thanks to the saddle horn, I braced myself as we splashed out into deeper water. So this is horseback riding, I mused. Moe yanked up Colonel’s head, and we all splashed back to shore. “Okay, eyes up, heels down and trot,” Moe told us once we were back in a row. Like ducklings behind Mama Duck, we campers set out at a trot, Blue Jay increasing his speed with no urging from me. Like any clueless novice, I bounced all over the saddle, death grip on the reins and saddle horn. Then I remembered something I’d read in one of the library riding manuals: when you go fast, you stand up and down in the stirrups. That’s what the guys in front of me were doing And so I pulled myself up, then relaxed and bounced for a few steps before re-boosting myself. After what seemed to be forever (in reality no more than four minutes), Moe halted. The wellprogrammed horses stopped too. In front of another stone wall was the gravel county road that ran outside the camp gate. We had covered two legs of a triangle with the road ahead its hypotenuse. However, unlike the paths to and from the lake, the road wasn’t level. It was a long steep hill. “Agony Hill!” explained a camper in front of me. “Now we’re gonna do a dead run!” And indeed we did. “Catch me if you can!” shouted Moe once we were all on the road. Colonel racked away at a lightning pace. The other horses broke into a canter that soon became a gallop, gravel and larger rocks spewing out behind them. With the reins and saddle horn firmly in grasp, I tried to stand up and down. In retrospect, I didn’t so much “post” as I did perch, because the faster we went, the smoother the gallop. And so I conquered Agony Hill thanks to the saintly Blue Jay and my youthful ignorance-isbliss invulnerability. Galloping (cantering, in reality) to the top of the hill took at most two minutes, if that. At the crest, Moe raised a hand, and my bunkmates slowed their horses to a trot and then a walk. But not me. Although I had read that pulling on both reins was the signal to stop, I didn’t need a book to know that loosening my two-handed grasp on the pommel was the next step to suicide. And so Blue Jay, who knew he was only a short distance from
the riding ring‘s hitching posts and his feed bucket, blithely and speedily cantered past my bunkmates, and an astonished Moe, and headed home. There’s a line from Auntie Mame when Mame is run away during a foxhunt: “She’s passing the Master -- mighty bad form to pass the Master…” Well, passing Moe O’Connell was both a blessing and a curse. The blessing was that he spurred Colonel into action, they cantered alongside, Moe grabbed Blue Jay’s left rein, and we all slowed down to a walk. The curse was incurring Moe’s wrath. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He growled as he glowered. “Why didn’t you stop… er, what’s your name?” “Steve. Steve Price.” “Damn it, Steven. You know how to ride. You’ve been at camp before.” Um. “No,” I stammered. “This is my first summer here.” “You mean you don’t know how to ride?” “Not yet.” I smiled brightly. “Oh Jaysus.” Moe’s florid complexion paled. Visions of being dismissed and lawsuits danced in his eyes. “Er, Steven,” he said in a conspiratorial whisper. “Let’s keep this our little secret.” As we walked back to the ring side by side, Moe lectured me on basic riding form and function, and we never, ever mentioned the runaway. I’ve often thought about that initial charge up Agony Hill, especially during a gallop out foxhunting while visiting friends in Virginia, or while riding with real cowboys out west – yes, old fantasies still drive my saddle-time. I never forgot the very basic lesson I learned that long-ago day. As one of my riding instructors pithily put it – “Your horse will show you where the gas is, but it’s up to you to find the brake.”
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