The tree canopy adds a majestic touch
Photo by dillonkeenphotography.com
Upperville’s Glorious Trees T By Vicky Moon
he annual June competition of the oldest horse show in the United States, the Upperville Colt & Horse Show dates to 1853, when it was founded by Col. Richard Henry Dulany. He was a devoted horse lover, equestrian and founder of the oldest foxhunting club, The Piedmont Fox Hounds in 1840. He lived near the Grafton Farm show grounds at the still thriving Welbourne Inn. The show is a prestigious stop on the horse show circuit, and recognized as a United States Equestrian Heritage Competition. The gorgeous grounds have always been revered for the setting of stately trees in the main hunter ring. Often referred to as oak trees, in reality they are not just oaks, but also black gum. Through the years, some trees have been lost to storms and age. Current show president Joe Fargis has ridden at Upperville in all levels of competition during the past six decades, and is leading a campaign to renovate the trees. “The most unselfish thing one can do is to plant a tree,” Faris said recently. “The shade will be enjoyed by future generations.” “I think this project is a terrific move in the right direction,” explained landscape consultant, Michael Gaige. “Landscapes aren’t static, for 150 years there
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has been a slow and steady attrition of trees as the original pre-settlement era trees have aged out. The black gums hang on because that’s their nature, they live up to 700 years. There was a mass planting in the 1990s, and now we’re due to do that again, but perhaps with more insight as to what’s appropriate for the site.” With the nearby Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Gaige is working with a horse show “tree team” to understand what this area looked like 200 years ago. “We can’t go back 200 years in terms of the landscape—the world is different now,” he said. “Oak is the iconic tree of the piedmont and if there are to be any nice ones growing in 100 years, people ought to get planting them. “For the show grounds in particular this is probably a good time to reimagine the site more broadly. When I was there this summer during the show, I felt like I was in a huge parking lot with a few jumping rings. The cars and trucks are parking on the roots of the trees, which is a problem, but visually it strongly distracts from the experience. To me, when the place is empty, its picturesque, the classic park-like setting of the old days with a high canopy of large trees. But here, the trees continue into the rings. Imagine if the show was like this and without all the cars.”
Go Green Middleburg | Fall 2021
“My landscape lens sees three interwoven landscape layers: physical (geology, water, climate); biological (plants, animals); and cultural (the ways humans have shaped the former). These layers build a story of landscape evolution that is, on account of ecology and history, unique to every site.” See also Michael Gaige’s website: https://www.knowyourland.com/about
