Country Zest & Style Holiday 2021 Edition by Country Zest & Style

HOLIDAY 2021

CELEBRATING The National Sporting Library & Museum With Claudia Pfeiffer, Reid O'Connor and Elizabeth von Hassell

Personalities, Celebrations and Sporting Pursuits

110 E. Washington St. | P.O. Box 1380 | Middleburg, VA 20118 | 540.687.5588 | sheridanmacmahon.com

ALL’S WELL FARM MARSHALL, VIRGINIA

$7,500,000 Paul MacMahon 703.609.1905

DEERFIELD UPPERVILLE, VIRGINIA

Stately brick manor house c.1844 | 4 bedrooms, lovely kitchen, multiple porches, beautiful pine floors, 7 fireplaces, original mantels, large windows and detailed millwork throughout | Great natural light in every room | Additional outbuildings include the c. 1810 log cabin used as the pool house & a converted barn now serves as a guest house with movie theatre | 2 ponds, miles of trails, 178 acres | Separate workshop and 5 car garage

RUTLEDGE FARM MIDDLEBURG, VIRGINIA

$7,000,000

MIDDLEBURG, VIRGINIA

$1,750,000 helen MacMahon 540.454.1930

$3,975,000 helen MacMahon 540.454.1930

MASON FARM, LIGHTRIDGE FARM ROAD

FOX HOLLOW

ALDIE, VIRGINIA

$3,462,000 Paul MacMahon 703.609.1905

MIDDLEBURG, VIRGINIA

Stone and stucco home built in 2000 | 7 potential bedrooms, 7 full baths, 2 half baths, 3 fireplaces, gourmet kitchen, attached 3-car garage | High ceilings, detailed workmanship | Improvements include 6 stall barn with heated tack room | Board fence, sand riding ring, heated pool | 25.2 very private acres east of Middleburg with frontage on Little River | Private yet close to everything

$2,950,000 Paul MacMahon 703.609.1905

helen MacMahon 540.454.1930

c. 1890 charming stucco home in a private setting on 10 acres | 4/5 bedrooms, copper roof, beautiful original floors, 4 fireplaces, large swimming pool, spring house, two small ponds, large pastures, completely fenced | Multiple outbuildings for storage and a studio space for guest, office, pool house, etc. | Located at the end of a quiet gravel road surrounded by large farms

THE PLAINS, VIRGINIA

Privacy and 107 acres between Middleburg and The Plains | Residential enclave of great character within a rich array of natural resources | Classic Virginia stone and stucco c. 1820 | 4 bedrooms, antique floors and rich pine paneling | Two guest houses, stone cottage, farm manager’s house, 2 stables, machine shed and work shop | Extensive Little River frontage and 2 ponds | Tremendous views

Paul MacMahon 703.609.1905 Sandra Bravo GreenBerG 202.308.3813

$3,900,000

TWO SPRINGS

HALFWAY FARM

1 CHINN LANE MIDDLEBURG, VIRGINIA

Elegant and manageable home in the village of Middleburg | Custom finishes and hardwood floors throughout | Bright first floor bedroom has built-in book cases, a very large bathroom and substantial custom designed walk-in closet | Living room has a large fireplace and 2 sets of french doors opening to enclosed porch/sunroom | Second floor offers 2 charming guest bedrooms | Privacy wall encloses the garden area and provides an additional parking, detached heated garage with attached greenhouse

$975,000

helen MacMahon 540.454.1930

THE STABLE WARRENTON, VIRGINIA

Originally a stable built in 1940 was converted to a Hunt Box by the current family decades ago | Recent upgrades to exterior, plumbing, and electrical | Top Warrenton location on Springs Road, surrounded by large tracts | 7.4 acres, potential hill top building site, frontage on Great Run

$795,000 Paul MacMahon 703.609.1905

Photo by Benjamin West

Founded in 1954, the National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM) is nestled on an inviting, six-acre campus in the heart of Middleburg. The collections highlight the rich heritage and tradition of country pursuits, including angling, horsemanship, shooting, steeplechasing, foxhunting, flat racing, polo, coaching, and wildlife. The NSLM offers a wide variety of educational programs, exhibitions, and family activities throughout the year. Photo by Benjamin West.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS A Brief Guide to the History of Animal Sculpture, December 2 @ 6 p.m. Modeling Animal Gestures in Wax, December 11 @ 1 p.m. (Admission to these first two programs is free for members and $10 for nonmembers.) 50+ Years of Conservation with Goose Creek Association, March 24, 2022 @ 6 p.m. Speed Fascinator Workshop with Master Milliner Jenny Pfanenstiel, April 7, 2022 @ 10 a.m.—1 p.m. (Ages 15+, limited availability, tickets close March 7. Members $175, Nonmembers $250) Mad about Hats! A talk with Master Milliner Jenny Pfanenstiel, April 7, 2022 @ 6-7 p.m. (Members free, non-members $10) Save the date for Dr. Douglas Tallamy. The author of bestselling books including Nature’s Best Hope and The Nature of Oaks will be doing a talk on making your landscape more sustainable on May 25, 2022. Thank you to Country Zest for co-sponsoring this event. Email Info@nationalsporting.org for more information and to sign up to these programs.

EXHIBITIONS

2020 Hindsight: 40 Years of the American Academy of Equine Art, November 12, 2021–March 20, 2022, Museum In Focus: Eve Prime Fout, November 12, 2021–March 21, 2022, Library Museum 10th Anniversary Late Spring 2022-Fall 2022 Museum Identity & Restraint: The Art of the Dog Collar, October 7, 2022–March 26, 2023 Museum Her name is Ralla and our friends at the National Sporting Library & Museum arranged for her five-mile journey to the Middleburg Photo studio just up the road. The transport was done by Senior Collections Manager and Registrar Lauren Kraut and art handlers Alex Orfila and Gary Stout. The sculpture is the work of Herbert Haseltine (American, 1877-1962) and was Harry Payne Whitney’s Champion Polo Pony, No. 2, 1910; bronze on marble base, 21 1/2 x 32 x 9 5/8 inches and was purchased with funds donated by Jacqueline B. Mars in 2018. The Irish-bred chestnut mare Ralla was one of the top polo ponies of the day, despite being described as difficult to handle. With ears laid back and lip curled, Haseltine’s depiction of the horse reflects her reputation. Whitney (18721930), was captain of the Meadowbrook Polo Club team. Ralla was one of his favorites. He commissioned Haseltine to create the third-scale size sculpture of Ralla shortly after their victory in the 1909 Westchester Cup (now known as the International Polo Cup). More at: https://nslm.soutronglobal.net/Portal/Default/en-US/RecordView/ Index/20144

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

ZES ST T & Sty t lel

Country

of NOTE

ZEST & Style ZES ST TStytlel &

Country

Personalities, Celebrations and Sporting Pursuits

for the hummingbird.

Distributed and mailed throughout the Virginia countryside and in Washington and at key Sporting Pursuits and Celebrations

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 798 Middleburg, Virginia 20118 PHONE: 410-570-8447 Editor: Leonard Shapiro, badgerlen@aol.com Art Director Meredith Hancock Hancock Media Contributing Photographers: Doug Gehlsen, Crowell Hadden, Sarah Huntington, Missy Janes Douglas Lees, Karen Monroe and Tiffany Dillon Keen

Contributing Writers: Daniela Anderson, Emma Boyce, Sean Clancy, Philip Dudley, Mike du Pont, Carina Elgin, Valerie Archibald Embrey, Jimmy Hatcher, M.J. McAteer, Peter Leonard-Morgan, Joe Motheral, Jodi Nash, Tom Northrup, Melissa Phipps, Kevin Ramundo, Pat Reilly, Linda Roberts, Anita Sherman, John Sherman, John Toler, Leslie VanSant, Jimmy Wofford, Louisa Woodville

For advertising inquiries, contact: Leonard Shapiro at badgerlen@aol.com or 410-570-8447

ON THE COVER Every photoshoot has certain challenges and this issue was no exception. The addition of a heavy bronze statue and large wood pedestal was a first for the Middleburg Photo Studio as well as for me. The statue was easy enough but adding the wonderful women of the NSLM resulted in a complex composition. Zest covers are shot in portrait orientation and the subjects need to fill the entire frame. The statue was placed at a 45-degree angle to the camera and the women arranged around it. This arrangement narrowed the composition to fit the magazine’s layout. Photo by Doug Gehlsen and styled by Karen Monroe of Middleburg Photo. / Country Zest and Style

/ @countryzestandstyle

/ @countryzestand1

www.countryzestandstyle.com 4

BE ON THE LOOKOUT through this Country issue of

Country

He appears in two ads and the first two readers to find him (one each) will receive a gift from THE RED TRUCK Rural Bakery, with locations in Warrenton and Marshall. Send your reply to badgerlen@aol.com.

WOULDN’T IT BE NICE?

e’re into the holiday season, with a jam-packed issue of ZEST we’d like to think is also worth celebrating. And what better time to offer a personal wish list for the new year and beyond? Wouldn’t it be nice to thank Middleburg Chief of Police A.J. Panebianco and his staff for all their good work, with kindness and compassion, throughout the year? Wouldn’t it be nice if impatient drivers didn’t dangerously pass on two-lane country roads ignoring double yellow lines? Wouldn’t it be nice to acknowledge the dedicated volunteers who selflessly raise funds and spend countless hours helping the less fortunate—Seven Loaves, F.I.S.H., Tree of Life and more? Wouldn’t it be nice to pay tribute to all those local organizations diligently working to protect our magnificent countryside—the Land Trust of Virginia, PEC, Piedmont Heritage, Goose Creek Association and others? Wouldn’t it be nice if cyclists stayed in single file as they pedal through the countryside? Wouldn’t it be nice if The Coach Stop could magically re-appear? Wouldn’t it be nice if the Middleburg Safeway started putting mustard, ketchup and mayo out on the service desk counter? Wouldn’t it be nice to bring some brownies (recipe in this issue) to the Post office workers everywhere? Wouldn’t it be nice to thank all those involved in making sure dogs, cats, horses etc. are treated with great care and occasionally rescued, while also finding many new homes—particularly the Fauquier SPCA and Middleburg Humane. Wouldn’t it be nice to applaud Middleburg Mayor Bridge Littleton, all the town council members, town administrator Danny Davis and the entire truly professional staff in the town office? Wouldn’t it be nice to thank so many generous philanthropists for supporting local institutions like the National Sporting Library & Museum, Middleburg Community Center, Great Meadow, Glenwood Park and Buchanan Hall, among many others? Wouldn’t it be nice to applaud the tireless teachers and school administrators for being so dedicated to educating our children— Photo © by VIicky Moon virtually or in person? Sandy Lerner signed copies Wouldn’t it be nice to fondly remember and of her new book, Archie say a prayer for far too many of our friends Goodwin’s Office: Nero Wolfe and neighbors who passed away in 2021? Speaking, at a reception hosted Allow us to thank our countless loyal by Lisa Jawer and Shelby advertisers and say well done to our dedicated Bonnie at Hunter’s Head Tavern writers and photographers, participants and in Upperville. For devotees of Wolfe, the book offers more all who help make Country ZEST. On that from the famous fictional note, wouldn’t it be nice to add a healthy dose detective, who was an orchid of ZEST into your life? aficionado. Note the black And wouldn’t it be nice to wish one and all Orchidaceae. All proceeds to: a Merry Christmas and a prosperous, healthy SpayVA and Loudoun Abused and Happy New Year!!! Women’s Shelter. Leonard Shapiro Editor badgerlen@aol.com

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

RETREAT TO LUXURY

Chestnut Hill

37+ acres | $3,495,000

Ideally located just north of historic Middleburg, this stunning custom colonial presides over 37+ acres of brilliant gardens, lush pastures and majestic towering trees. This charming 12 room residence offers 6240 square feet of spectacular living space with 10 foot ceilings, four spacious bedrooms, four and ½ baths, wood burning fireplaces and gourmet country kitchen. A 6 stall stable and board fenced paddocks with Blue Ridge Mountain views complete this extraordinary country estate.

Bloomfield Estate Land

95+ acres | $2,100,000

This spectacular 95+ acre parcel is ideally located just north of Middleburg outside of the historic village of Unison. Private and secluded, it features magnificent views of both the Blue Ridge and Bull Run Mountains, and offers open fields, lush pastures and beautiful woodlands. The land is rolling with a gentle hillside that captures the panoramic landscape and the picturesque pond below. Protected in easement, it is the perfect site for a fabulous estate, ideal for nature lovers, equestrians or anyone seeking the serenity of an incredible country lifestyle.

Jim McGowan 703-927-0233

Mary Ann McGowan 540-270-1124

Brian McGowan 703-927-4070

Licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia

THOMAS & TALBOT ESTATE PROPERTIES Opening The Door To Horse Country For Generations 2 South Madison Street | PO Box 500 | Middleburg, VA 20118 | Office: 540-687-6500 | Fax: 540-687-8899 | thomasandtalbot.com Offers subject to errors, omissions, change of price or withdrawal without notice. Information contained herein is deemed reliable, but is not so warranted nor is it otherwise guaranteed.

Economic Development Is Ali MacIntyre’s Middleburg Mantra

By Emma Boyce

or Ali MacIntyre, all roads ended up leading to Middleburg. Long before the Hampton Roads native joined the town as its new Director of Business Development and Community Partnerships, MacIntyre found her life constantly edging toward hunt country. For five years, she managed the Briar Patch Bed & Breakfast Inn just outside town. Despite living in Leesburg, she was married at the Mt. Defiance cider barn, one of Middleburg’s many attractions. “Middleburg has been such an integral part of my life since I moved to Ali MacIntyre at the Northern Virginia eight years ago,” said Middleburg town office MacIntyre, a Virginia Tech graduate with a concentration in business management, hospitality and tourism management. “Being here with my family and having that peace of mind and feeling of safety during the pandemic should have been a cue that my heart has been here in Middleburg the whole time.” Prior to assuming her role for the town of Middleburg in September, MacIntyre worked as the Member Relations Manager at the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. With years of experience under her belt and an unmatched optimism, her first point of business in Middleburg was to simply get to know the town, its businesses, and its traditions. “I’m currently focused on building relationships and getting to know the Middleburg business community, so I can learn their existing needs and goals for success,” she said. “The people and the businesses that I’ve already met have shown that they’re fiercely passionate about protecting the history and the life of Middleburg. Preservation of tradition and history is part of the Middleburg charm. I’m looking to see what else can be a part of the town, what would fit in, and complement what’s already here.” In exploring the town and visiting local business owners, MacIntyre has gotten to know some of the pillars of the community. She’s walked the beat with Chief of Police AJ. Panebianco. Punkin Lee, the unofficial Middleburg historian, has shown her the ins and outs of town. She’s even spent a morning with the Piedmont hounds. “As a community, Middleburg is a really inclusive, welcoming place and we are trying to convey that message,” said MacIntyre. “One of our primary goals is to posit Middleburg as the place to visit in Northern Virginia, whether you’re a local that needs to get away from the busy city life to enjoy a day at one of our wineries, breweries or cideries, or just a traveler that has yet to the explore the luxury and authenticity that Middleburg has to offer. There’s something for everybody here.” As Covid wanes, events that had been downsized or even canceled during the pandemic will see a revival, including Oktoberfest, Art in the Burg, and the much anticipated Christmas parade on December 4. This year, not even Santa’s sleigh makes the cut without a parking pass. In 2022, MacIntyre also plans to partner with local and county-wide organizations to provide resources for businesses in town, including educational workshops and seminars. “Middleburg has fully taken me under its wing and embraced me,” she said. And when MacIntyre thinks about what she and the town will accomplish together, she knows it will be something special. Most of all, she’s grateful for the opportunity.

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

We are so blessed. Hold your loved ones close and choose the scenic route during this magical season.

From all of us at Puckett Marketing

Dahlias Galore at Walnut Springs Farm

Photos © Dillonkeenphotography.com

ridget Wilson unearthed a hidden passion for flowers at Walnut Springs Farm near Middleburg where she lives with her family. She began by reading everything available, then went to work digging and planting. She has learned to nurture the seeds as well as plant the tubers. Now she’s a member of the Middleburg Garden Club and has earned a number of blue ribbons. The American Dahlia Society recognizes 15 colors, 18 forms and nine sizes and it is the National Flower of Mexico. The bright red beauty is called ‘Audrey Grace’.

Audrey Wilson with her mother Bridget Wilson.

Bridget won the blue ribbon with Dahlia decorative ‘Labyrinth’.

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

The Dahlia is the latinized surname of Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl(1751-1789), also known as Anders Dahl

White makes a wonderful statement.

Pretty in purple.

Bunches of bees doing their thing.

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

Melvin Warner Has a Special Touch With Horses Story and photos by Tiffany Dillon Keen

elvin Warner, known as “Dude” to one and all, turned 101 years old on November 14. To say he’s seen it all around these pretty parts of the Virginia Piedmont would be the understatement of the century-plus one he’s been living in the Middleburg area. Born in Loudoun County at Newstead farm in Upperville in 1920, he was one of five children of Baron Warner and Elizabeth Page. He started riding horses sitting behind his father and holding on at age seven while his dad followed the hunt on horseback. During World War II, Mr. Warner served in the Army Quartermasters Corps, seeing action at various times in France, Germany, England and Switzerland from 1942-1945. He was cited for bravery and at one point, was listed as missing in action before eventually rejoining his unit. Not long after he returned from Europe, Mr. Warner began working as a groom in 1947 for the late Mrs. Theo Ayer Randolph and her late husband, Dr. A. C. Randolph. The Randolphs lived at Oakley, adjacent to the Upperville Horse Show grounds. An accomplished horsewoman, Mrs. Randolph was considered a grand sportswoman and served as president of the Upperville Colt & Horse Show, Master of the Piedmont Fox Hounds, and bred many

Jeff Warner with his father Dude Warner. award-winning show horses. Mr. Warner, who still works for the Randolphs grandson, Shelby Bonnie, began exercising horses in the hunter barn for Mrs. Randolph. They hunted

on Tuesday and Friday with Piedmont as well as Middleburg and Orange County, sometimes going out five to seven times a week. He often would hilltop green horses off the track

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“He could handle any horse on the farm and anywhere else,” Oakley farm manager Danny Klepper said. replaced by Hispanics who had immigrated to the U.S.

A mantle full of memories. to give them experience and teach them how to jump and stay quiet in the hunt field. He occasionally even whipped in. Whenever a new huntsman came along, Mrs. Randolph asked Mr. Warner to show him where the good draws were located and help him navigate new territory.

he said, adding that when he accompanied Mrs. Randolph to horse shows up north, Black grooms were able to ride and compete.

“I bet I covered more than 40,000 miles hunting around here,” he once said. Mr. Warner also worked with Mrs. Randolph’s show horses. He exercised them, kept them beautifully turned out, and led them up to the ring, where the rider would then take over.

The biggest change he’s seen in the area horse business came after desegregation in the 1960s, when African-Americans had the opportunity to attend high school locally. When young Blacks finished high school or college, they did not want to come back and work with horses.

In the 1950s, most of the local stables had Black grooms. “They did everything but ride in the ring,”

“There were better opportunities and better jobs for them in the world,” he said. Many moved way, often

However, Black grooms at Upperville would stay in stables with the horses during the event. White grooms from out of town were put up in nearby motels.

Mr. Warner and his late wife, Sarah, who died in 2001, had seven children—five sons and two daughters. In addition to his family and working with horses, he also had a great passion for his faith, and for baseball. He has served as a deacon at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church on Delaplane Grade Road in Upperville and in addition to “Dude,” is also known to many as “Deacon.” He retired from caring for horses in 1976, and became more involved with the church. These days, his home at Oakley remains packed with photographs and other mementoes from a life clearly well-lived. Said his son, Jeff Warner, “Dad and I give thanks to God and Jesus Christ for all He has done for us. Thank you for having a desire to put in writing a piece of his life. Many words are spoken every day and soon forgotten, or it may change from mouth to mouth. But the written word is history (or his story).”

Farm & home for the holidays

Everything you and your farm, home and pets need this holiday season.

CFC Farm & Home Center Marshall 540-364-1533 8222 E Main St, Marshall

@cfcfarmhome

Morrisville 540-439-3254 12375 Harpers Run Rd, Bealeton

cfcfarmhome.com Warrenton 540-347-7100 143 Washington St, Warrenton

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

Happy Holidays With Betty-Lynn Brownies Story and photos by Vicky Moon

hat better way to celebrate the holidays… Kahlúa Brownies, courtesy of Betty Ann Trible and Lynn Wiley.

Lynn Wiley and Betty Ann Trible For the Kuala brownies:

Use a boxed brownies mix (Ghirardelli preferred) Exchange the water for Kahlúa Exchange the oil for melted butter. For the vanilla brownies

Add 3 tbs of vanilla and a hand full of chopped pecans.

Brownie a la Betty-Lynn

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

BOXING DAY

Bubble and Squeak by Valerie Archibald Embrey

ubble and Squeak should be on everyone's radar come Christmas time as it is a great way of using up leftover mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts. It gets its name from the sound that it makes in the skillet as it cooks. My family always served Bubble and Squeak on Boxing Day*, the day after Christmas. It was usually served at a late leisurely breakfast with sausage links and eggs, or for dinner with sliced turkey, cranberry chutney and a nice side salad.

Prep: 15 minutes (plus another l/2 hour to let ingredients adhere) Cook: 15 minutes (Plus 10-15 minutes if reheating) Servings: 8 patties

INGREDIENTS: 2 1/4 pounds leftover mashed potatoes 1 pound Brussels Sprouts 3 spring onions 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon butter 1/4 cup plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper Olive oil, for frying (my late British mother Rusty Archibald used goose fat)

METHOD: 1. Take your leftover mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. 2. Slice the three spring onions. Melt the butter in a small pan. Saute the onions until translucent and add the minced garlic until fragrant. Set the onions and garlic aside to cool. 3. Shred the sprouts as finely as you can. 4. Mix the Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, cooled onions and garlic and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and let the mixture sit for about half an hour to allow the starch in the potatoes to adhere to the onions, garlic and sprouts. 5. Using a small ice cream scoop, shape the mix into eight round cakes. Tip the seasoned flour onto a plate and coat the cakes, tapping off the excess. 6. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and shallow-fry the cakes in two batches for 3 minutes on each side, turning carefully. Drain on a kitchen paper towel and transfer to your baking dish lined with parchment paper. Transfer to a ,vanning oven until ready to serve. *Boxing Day in the United Kingdom is the day after Christmas Day and falls on December 26. Traditionally, it was a day when employers distributed money, food, clothes or other valuable goods to their employees in a decorated gift box.

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

Gifts GALORE Personalized 11 X 17 bamboo cutting board with custom engraving by MIDDLEBURG PHOTO, more: details@ middleburgphoto.com.

UNISON HONEY for your honey (friends, family and co-workers) from the hives of artist Joan Gardiner: joanggardiner@gmail.com.

Be sure to stop to visit Dieter Rausch at THE CHRISTMAS SLEIGH on East Washington Street in Middleburg.

THE FOX AND PHEASANT at 114 East Main Street in Boyce is full of gifts and goodies (add “Toffee To Go” to your list). Consider this attractive Vagabond House Solid Pewter Handle Forged Carving Set. Details 540-837-5589. As the name Roots suggests, the SLATER RUN VINEYARDS family in Upperville has deep generational roots in the precise land where our vines’ roots are now growing. The photograph on the label features the grandfather of the owner, Thomas G. Slater, jumping his horse over a stacked stone wall characteristic of the area farms. The tradition of farming along with respect for the land is reflected both through the power of the label image and the lush taste of the wine. This Bordeaux blend made from 35% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot is aged 18 months in 100% French oak barrels with a combination of 60% new oak, 20% 1-year old barrels and 20% two-year old barrels. With tasting note of dark fruits, baking spice it is 13.5% alcohol.

Introducing a RED TRUCK BAKERY and CATOCTIN CREEK DISTILLERY collaboration: the new Applejack Butter Pecan Caramel Cake, made with Catoctin Creek’s apple brandy just up the road in Purcellville. This buttery cake was barely out of the oven before the New York Times ran the recipe and declared it one of their best Bundt cakes ever. Available for pickup at the Red Truck Bakery locations in Marshall and Warrenton, and shipped nationwide at redtruckbakery.com. Apple trees were a symbol of stability and peace for Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon, founder of the OAK SPRING GARDEN FOUNDATION. They have been dotting the landscape of Mellon’s estate, Oak Spring, for almost a hundred years. These trees are prized for their beauty; espaliered against white stone walls and pruned into perfect lollipop shapes. They are living works of art, still producing fruit to feast upon. This apple butter comes from these very trees, and includes the varieties Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, York, Winesap Stayman, Golden Russett, Arkansas Black, and Honeycrisp.Available at: The Market at Bluewater, The Fun Shop, The Red Truck Bakery, Southern States Co-op in Upperville. Or ap@osgf.org.

Buchanan Hall Farmers Market is hosting a Holiday Bazaar + pictures with Santa on Sunday Dec. 5 from 9 a.m. -3 p.m. It will be similar to the farmers market but with additional vendors. Contact buchananhall. org/holidaybazaar or buchananhall@gmail.

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

Persian and other Handmade Oriental Rugs at Wholesale Prices

Area Rugs • Room Size Rugs • Runners

Visit Our Virtual Showroom Today!

RugNet.com

Locally owned and operated business in Leesburg since 1979

Emmert Elsea | contact@rugnet.com | 703.777.1908 Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

Photo © by Vicky Moon

Neil Amatt with Loudoun Fairfax Hunt was an outrider at the International Gold Cup. His daughter, Zara Amatt is showing some love for his horse, which she declared is her favorite.

Photo by Karen Monroe of Middleburg Photo

Cheers!

Photo by Doug Gehlsen of Middleburg Photo. Photo by Doug Gehlsen of Middleburg Photo.

Tom Garner rode Leipers Fork Steeplechase’s Tomgarrow to win the $75,000 International Gold Cup timber race over three and one half miles. The Irish bred sevenyear-old gelding is trained by Leslie Young.

Shawn Woodson leans in and Julio Herrera shares some love with Gerard Galligan who rode Knockout to victory in the The Magalen Ohrstrom Bryant Memorial, a $25,000. Allowance Hurdle at two miles and one furlong over National Fences. Owned by Pathfinder Racing and trained by Neil Morris.

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

When Country ZEST received the results from the 35th edition of the West Virginia Breeders Cup Classic races in early October Carol Holden president of the group sent this news of the $1 million event: “Short version – jockey Arnaldo Bocachica won eight of nine races [all of them stakes races], trainer Jeff Runco won seven of nine and owner David M. Raim won five. In this photo by Coady, look closely at the jockey, he is holding up seven fingers after winning the $300,000 feature. For the record, Bocachica, 33, is from Puerto Rico and rides at Charles Town most of the time.

Photo by Karen Monroe of Middleburg Photo

Trainer Neil Morris won The Bon Nouvel $20,000 ratings Handicap Hurdle at two miles and one furlong over National Fences with Animal Kingston ridden by Richard Condon and owned by Will Russell at the Virginia Fall Races at Glenwood Park.

Above: Kudos to horseman George Kingsley… long-time Middleburg Hunt subscriber recently won the Virginia Field Hunter Championship held in Charlottesville hosted by the Farmington Hunt. He rode Anne McDowell’s Stalypso Dream, a bay, 14-year-old, Hanovarian gelding. The pair bested 23 entries representing 13 hunts across Virginia to win this coveted award. Photo © by dillonkeenphotography. |Below:Meanwhile, his brother trainer Arch Kingsley, Jr won (race two) The $25,000 Virginia Equine Alliance Maiden Hurdle race at two miles and one eighth. The Irish bred brown gelding is owned by Hurricana Farm and was ridden by Gerard Galligan at the International Gold Cup races in The Plains. Photo by Doug Gehlsen of Middleburg Photo.

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

Book Cellar Bargains Only a Few Steps Down

Photo by Anita L. Sherman

Located in the John Barton Payne Building in Warrenton, The Book Cellar is open Friday and Saturday.

By Anita L. Sherman

he Book Cellar is alive and well and ready for patrons to explore its thousands of used books in a myriad of genres.

Tucked away in Old Town Warrenton, this charming place is reached a few stairs down in the basement of the John Barton Payne Building on Courthouse Square. Closed for a while during the pandemic, it quietly reopened in July and patrons, as well as those discovering it for the first time, couldn’t be happier. Under the umbrella of the Friends of the Fauquier Library, the Book Cellar has a 22-year history of serving the community.

The Book Cellar is located at 2 Courthouse Square, John Barton Payne Building, Warrenton, Virginia 20186.

“We’re so glad to have it,” said Maria Del Rosso, library director.

Contact: 540-341-3447 or thebookcellar2010@gmail.com.

Del Rosso gives huge credit to the Friends of the Fauquier Library board who not only run The Book Cellar but contribute in many ways, including support of the Summer Reading Program, the library’s book clubs, community reads and other events and programs.

Hours: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

book for his toddler. “It’s only a dollar.”

The Book Cellar brings in about $30,000 a year from book sales. “[Those funds] have helped us purchase books, equipment, book carts, furniture, and continuing education for our staff,” said Del Rosso, noting that the ongoing support from The Friends expands and enriches the library’s regular budget. “They’ve recently applied for a grant,” said Del Rosso. “They’d like to put up a StoryWalk, similar to the one at Brumfield Elementary School, where you can walk, read and discuss a book as you go along…it’s for all ages to enjoy.” StoryWalks are an innovative and delightful way to explore a book. Pages are enlarged, laminated and posted for viewers to walk along and read. They’re currently in all 50 states and 13 countries.

Liza Larson If you haven’t visited The Book Cellar in a while you’ll be pleased at the expanded space. When they reopened in July, additional rooms were added. “It’s not so cluttered now…there’s plenty of room,” said Liza Larson, who sits on the Friends of the Fauquier Library Board, and is a frequent volunteer. She’s quick to welcome patrons and direct them to the various sections, from cookbooks to crafts to history and politics, fiction or art. There are plenty of books for children as well. “I think my daughter would enjoy this,” said David Hatch who found a wonderfully illustrated pop-up

Currently, there are 33 active volunteers. Eight are needed to run The Book Cellar the two days a week it’s open. “We’re very happy with the additional rooms,” said Larson. Just before you enter the store, there are large bins where book donations are accepted. When donated books arrive at The Book Cellar, volunteers make sure they’re clean and in good condition. “No books go on the shelves that are in disrepair,” said Del Rosso. In addition to sorting and mending donated books, the volunteers organize book sales, research rare books and help with mailings. They often hold special sales and fundraisers.

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

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The Future Is Now in the Metaverse

By Philip Dudley

he future of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) recently received a huge vote of confidence from Facebook (FB). Pardon me, that would be Meta Platforms (META).

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Let me explain. Facebook is rebranding and changing its corporate name to Meta, the better to align itself with the businesses the company has acquired since becoming a public company. Instagram and WhatsApp were meaningful acquisitions to name a few, but Oculus is where the company is betting the ranch.

Imagine taking the physical world, with all its intricacies, and shifting those experiences to a digital AR/VR world where you can work, play games, buy and sell things and socially interact. In the span of 24 hours, Meta Platforms changed the narrative about the Metaverse, an extensive online world where people interact via digital avatars. Imagine taking the physical world, with all its intricacies, and shifting those experiences to a digital AR/VR world where you can work, play games, buy and sell things and socially interact. I’ve been discussing for some time now the future of finance, especially all things about digital currencies. The Metaverse is the realm where all of these technology innovations will exist and thrive. Avatars are how one will express themselves in the Metaverse, but that’s just the beginning. One can create new experiences in gaming, work and learning. Additionally, you’ll be able to teleport yourself to any location—anywhere, any time. This is an important distinction because your avatar will freely experience different platforms seamlessly. One interesting facet is avatar “skins” or clothes/accessories in the physical world. One can purchase their skins in the Metaverse, which no doubt represents a huge new e-commerce opportunity for companies. Nike, for example, has just filed to trademark its brand for various virtual goods. These include the swoosh logo, “Just Do It” slogan, shoes, clothing and other varied accessories. Imagine a world where you can not only buy a physical pair of Nike shoes but purchase a Nike track suit skin for your avatar to go hang out with your friends at a party. Sounds crazy, but it’s happening right before our eyes. There are other first movers in the Metaverse that should be mentioned, such as Decentraland (a virtual destination for virtual assets) where a slice of virtual property recently sold for $900,000 and the storied auction house Sotheby’s has actually opened a gallery in a virtual art district to auction NFTs. Remember those? The bottom line: real companies are preparing for a virtual world and Meta Platforms is the blue chip that believes the Metaverse will be the successor to the mobile internet. Let’s see if they’re right. And the meantime click the link https:// about.facebook.com to learn more about it. Just Do It!

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

Time to Smell the Flowers at New Shop

By Leonard Shapiro

t was Valentine’s Day, 2012, and 20-year-old Susan Vicidomini fell in love. She was helping out in her father’s pizza emporium—the iconic Teddy’s Pizza in Middleburg—when Geraldine “Gerry” Chittick, the proprietor of the Middleburg Floral Gallery right across Federal Street, came over for a quick lunch on one of her busiest days of the year, made even more frenetic because she had no help. “Gerry said, ‘why don’t you just come over and learn how to do flowers,’” Susan recalled. “I went over that day and I just fell in love with it right away.” Now, a dozen years later, Vicidomini has that flower shop all to herself. Gerry retired in May after nearly four decades, and sold the business to her long ago Valentine’s Day helper. The shop is now called Petronella Flowers and Gifts. Petronella is Susan’s middle name, and the first name of her great grandmother on her mother’s side, as well. There was a soft store opening on June 15, with something a tad grander later on this month. Still, the orders via telefloral and bloomnet and over the counter have been coming in ever since. Susan worked with Gerry for three years. Then, striving to “expand my knowledge,” she moved on to a larger shop in Burke, Virginia that specialized in big events, including weddings. She spent much of her time there learning more about arranging flowers, which she still does with great skill. Then

Photo by Leonard Shapiro

Susan Vicidomini (right) owner of the new Petronella Flowers and Gifts on Federal Street (across the street from her father’s Teddy’s Pizza) made a special delivery to Amanda Shirlkey of the Upper Crust bakery from her husband Robert, on the occasion of their 16th anniversary. she left after two years to learn more about the business side of the flower industry. She was offered a job as floral manager for the HarrisTeeter store in Warrenton before being transferred to run the same department at its Chantilly location. All the while, she also was telling her entrepreneurial boyfriend and now fiancè, Nathan Wolff, about her

dream of someday opening up her own flower shop. “Last April, he heard me say that this (Middleburg) place was up for sale and Gerry was retiring,” Susan said. “Then he called me one morning and said we were going to meet the landlord about renting the building. We just rolled with it from there.” The biggest challenge, she said, “Is getting it set up perfectly the way I want it to look. Starting from scratch is a big project.” She’s also pregnant and due in November, definitely another big project. And Middleburg’s favorite flower? “I’d say lilies,” Susan answered quickly. “I think it was one of Gerry’s favorites, too. And you can’t go wrong with roses.” Getting the word out about her new business is easy as (pizza) pie. Her loquacious father Teddy, a Brooklyn native with the colorful accent to prove it, “has been my personal newspaper ad, at the moment,” Susan said. “He knows everybody, and he tells everybody.” Susan actually began her business career as a teenager helping out at Teddy’s, which remains a true family affair, with Teddy’s wife, brother and mother still working in the restaurant. She loved it there, and one thing hasn’t changed—her dad still provides a free lunch. Even better, especially now that she owns her own shop right across the street, “I love the smell of flowers.” And probably pepperoni, too.

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

For DeeAnn Jeremiah, Imagine the Possibilities

By Carina Elgin

eeAnn Jeremiah is an author, public speaker, and life coach who has found her passions: Middleburg, and helping her clients be the best versions of themselves.

she moved to Arlington at age three. She studied psychology and communications at James Madison University and is a member of the Capital Speakers Club of Washington, D.C., an organization started by Eleanor Roosevelt to help women gain public speaking skills. She first came to the area speaking at the Meadowkirk Conference Center near Middleburg, and fell in love. Having raised their two children in Fairfax, she and her husband decided to move here three years ago. “I have to pinch myself,” she said. “The beauty of the rolling hills, the small-town vibe, knowing people every time you go to the Safeway…I love it.” At first, she said wasn’t “into horses.” One day when she was riding her bike and trying to learn the roads, equestrian instructor Carol Rice invited her in, and soon taught her to ride. Rice attributes Jeremiah with “bringing God back into my life, and life back to my barn.” “I love being outside,” said Jeremiah, who enjoys all outdoor exercise, nature photography and gardening. Maybe her approach to life coaching is successful because it’s similar to gardening: helping make plants and people the best version of themselves they can be.

She tries to keep people from tripping over the same roadblocks in life, encourages them to move forward, and to have a better, more positive “next chapter.” She inspires them to strip away pretense and facade, and be their “authentic self.” And she emphasizes that, “We need real community, compassion, and authenticity now, more than ever.” Jeremiah is an entrepreneur and businesswoman, founder of the successful Washington, D.C.-based service business, Classic Concierge. When she started teaching bible study at a homeless day shelter, The Lamb Center, her interactions with the homeless helped her own quest for “being real.” Her experiences there motivated her to author “Imagine.” In the book, she wrote, “Imagine the possibilities when we strip the facade and participate with God to become our truest selves.” To help others find their “true selves,” Jeremiah started a business called “Imagine Life Coaching.” She became certified in the Enneagram System, which plots nine different personality types. In a “typing” session, Jeremiah uses the Enneagram to show people where their weaknesses are, and, in five subsequent sessions,

helps them move on to avoid running into the same pitfalls and to fulfill their dreams. She works with individuals, couples and groups, from non-profit management to high end sales teams. She offers a fun one-session experience for groups, but also offers longer intensive life coaching programs. Jeremiah considers herself a Virginia girl, because even though she was born in California,

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

DeeAnn Jeremiah and her pal, Bailey.

Jeremiah can be contacted through her website, www.DeeAnnPlusGod.com. Her book, Imagine, is available at Second Chapter Books in Middleburg, and through Amazon.

Oltman Brings Shenandoah Choir to Middleburg

“I

By James Ivancic

f my mother was here she’d tell you that I was singing before I was walking,” said Dr. Matthew Oltman, director of choral activities at the Shenandoah University Conservatory in Winchester. After a long career as a performer with the Grammy Award-winning male vocal ensemble Chanticleer, Oltman is now training the new generation of music performers. The 26-member Conservatory Choir will present a Christmas Spirit concert in Middleburg on Dec. 12 at 4 p.m. at the United Methodist Church, 15 W. Washington St. A reception follows and tickets can be purchased at the door or through Eventbrite. Matthew Oltman of The choir will perform arrangements of Shenandoah University Good Christian Men Rejoice, O Come, O Come Emmanuel and O Holy Night along with ancient and modern choral masterpieces. Three new arrangements for choir and brass players will be performed and brass, piano and organ musicians will provide accompaniment. Organist Dudley Oakes, a Middleburg Concert Series board member, also will perform. The student singers coming to Middleburg are mostly music majors with one acting major. Oltman teaches voice and conducting at Shenandoah Conservatory. He leads two ensembles, including a new tenor bass ensemble. Linda Taylor, chair of the Middleburg Concert Series, calls Oltman “a rock star.” The chorus performed in Middleburg in 2019 and participated in the town’s Christmas parade. Last year, it provided a “virtual Christmas card” in the form of a socially distant concert. Oltman grew up in Iowa, where he sang and played piano at an early age. His talent was evident even then. “I was lucky enough to be cast in a Des Moines Metropolitan Opera production of The Turn of the Screw,” he recalled. “I met professional singers and I grew up very fast. I sang at every opportunity I had.” He earned his undergraduate degree in music from Simpson College in Iowa, a master’s at the University of York in England and a doctorate from the University of Nebraska. His studies in England were made possible by a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship. “I developed more of a love of choral singing, especially early music, the music of the Renaissance.,” he said of his experience in England. “I was able to learn it at a high level.” In 1999, he joined Chanticleer. “I was made aware that it was holding auditions, I had a few CDs of theirs,” Oltman said, adding that being accepted wasn’t a certainty. “I never thought I would get it.” His voice can be heard on 12 recordings and he toured extensively with the group in the U.S. and abroad, eventually becoming Chanticleer’s music director. The group toured 25 weeks each year, performing between 100 to 120 concerts and recording at least one album yearly. “There was no time for anything else.” Oltman said. Chanticleer features a dozen singers, a size he likes. Some choruses can have well over 100 members. “I feel more comfortable leading or performing with smaller groups,” he said. “They are more democratic.” That is, the singers have input on the sound, breathing and interpretation of a work. The performers and the Shenandoah University community adapted to the pandemic and, Oltman said, “in my opinion, did everything right. It gave professors and students the resources to continue with a meaningful education and musical opportunities rather than create busy work.” Many concerts were held outdoors when possible. “We look back and we feel pleased with what we accomplished,” Oltman said. “We turned lemons into lemonade.”

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The beagles are off down Prince Road as they pass the main house at Orange Hill Farm.

PHOTOS © by Vicky Moon

ust as the sun slides up on the eastern horizon on a recent Sunday, eleven riders, a few parents and friends gather as the fog burns off at Daffodil Hill Farm near Rectortown. Horsewoman Haley Walsh is organizing ponies and riders for an historic 60th anniversary outing with the Middleburg Orange County Beagles. The ponies (and horses) need to be clean, the tack must be spick and span and all need to be ready to load up on the trailers by 8:30 for a 9 a.m. meet at nearby Orange Hill Farm. According to their website, The MOC Beagles is “the only beagle pack in the world that is followed on horseback and chases foxes! We are located near beautiful, historic Middleburg, Virginia--the heart of horse country –with terrain comprised of rolling meadows, woods and streams, and some stunning views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.” Better yet, the non-profit group is run by volunteers and caters to children. It was organized by the late horsewoman and conservationist, Eve Fout. Mrs. Fout’s daughter, Nina Fout, and daughter-in-law, Beth Fout, are the joint masters.

Nina Fout is following in the foot and hoof steps of her mother Eve Fout.

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

Tally Ho!

A slide show illustrated the history of the beagles during a special young riders hunt breakfast, catered by Amanda Seitz and hosted by Bryce Lingo and Snowden Clarke.

As the beagles take off from Orange Hill Farm, Haley Walsh checks on her riders. The “To Do” list at Daffodil Hill.

The stables are busy as riders prepare for a Sunday outing.

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

BETTY OARE:

Equestrian’s Grande Dame

Story and Photos By Anita L. Sherman

t’s early morning at EMO Stables in Warrenton. The horses are anxious to get out.

“I’m the exercise girl,” Betty Oare said with a laugh, taking a break after already riding three of them. One of the stable’s newest additions, Leo, was a bit skittish. “Oh, he saw a shadow or something,” she said, “but he’ll be fine.”

“You’d have to be against motherhood and safety on the highways if you don’t like Betty Oare,” said Don Stewart, a Hall of Fame trainer and nationally recognized judge from Ocala, Florida. “I’ve never known someone so enthusiastic and driven and I’ve known her for 58 years. She’s been a champion on all levels.” Oare likes to ride every day. “It’s great cardio,” she said. “Riding is the best exercise.” At 80, Betty Oare is an icon in the equestrian world. “I think I was about five,” recalling when she first mounted a horse. She grew up in Tryon, North Carolina riding and loving horses. She trained with her father, J. Arthur Reynolds. She’s been lauded in the horse world for decades competing and winning countless ribbons and trophies. Fauquier County has been home for more than 55 years, moving to Virginia in 1965 with her husband, Ernie, who shares her passion for horses. “We’re a couple,” she said. “We’re in this together. We wanted to be close to the horse community here.” Her prized horse these days is an Oldenburg officially named Sidenote, but goes by the name Ted. He’s a big horse, and Oare looks up to him. About five years ago, she was looking for a hunting horse. She called her friend, the late

Sally Lamb, also a beloved and respected leader in Virginia’s horse community.

“He was a great horseman,” she said. “We shared the same passion for horses and riding.”

“She had a keen eye for fitting a horse and rider together,” said Oare, recalling her mentor telling her “if we can catch him, you can ride him.”

Sue Bopp, a long-time friend and admirer, said, “Her whole family is iconic. I got my first horse from her father (and) her brother was my coach. She is simply amazing. She’s showing. She’s winning. She’s continuing her passion. She’s so full of energy and inspiring.”

Oare took Sidenote out hill-topping several times, then started jumping him. “He just kept jumping better and better,” she said. Then she started taking him to the show rings. They were developing a good rapport, and Lamb was right. They were a good match. Oare has had several horses during her decades of riding but some truly stand out. “I was 14 when I lost The Saint,” she said. “He was a Buckskin…I was devastated and very depressed. My mother said, ‘we can get another horse, but we can’t get another you.’ “So, I had The Saint and now Sidenote, who seems to be heaven sent. We do it together. He takes very good care of me.” Oare also was extremely close with her older brother, J. Arthur “Bucky” Reynolds II, who died in 2017.

Another fan is Don Stewart, a Hall of Fame trainer and nationally recognized judge from Ocala, Florida. “You’d have to be against motherhood and safety on the highways if you don’t like Betty Oare,” he said. “I’ve never known someone so enthusiastic and driven and I’ve known her for 58 years. She’s been a champion on all levels.” On Nov. 6, Oare and Sidenote took fourth place in the $10,000 Adult Amateur Hunter Classic at the National Horse Show held in Lexington, Kentucky. Amy Petty, a Warrenton friend and neighbor, perhaps best summed up Betty Oare. “She’s something else.”

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

Tacking in a Slightly Different Direction

“I have been hunting since I was little, it has always been my hobby, but horses and animal husbandry are my passion,” Peace said. “When it became evident in Canada that I could make a living by finding and training horses, especially hunters, and selling them down south in Virginia, my hobby and passion became my profession.”

By Leslie VanSant

o trip to Virginia Hunt Country would be right without a stop in The Middleburg Tack Exchange. The shop was opened by legendary horsewoman Jo Motion with a goal of “high quality consigned and new equestrian equipment and apparel.” A keeper of tradition, Mrs. Motion has outfitted generations for the hunt field, show ring and steeplechase track. Shoppers are greeted by long-time employees Georgie Summers or Norma Thompson. One wall is lined with show coats and hunting frocks, an entire row completely scarlet. Bridles, saddles, blankets and boots fill every corner of two floors. Win pictures from classic-winning trainer Graham Motion, Jo’s son, hang beside hunting whips on the wall behind a simple desk and a case full of flasks. For the most part, the shop is the same as it has been for 30 years. Except, in addition to the adding machine on the front desk, there’s a gorgeous orchid resplendent in blooms. And, instead of a petite English woman explaining how to properly outfit a fox chaser, the directions are coming from a very tall, very modern English woman. Earlier this year, 90-year-old Jo Motion announced her retirement and passed the whip, along with the keys to the shop, to local horsewoman Geraldine Peace. Born in Newmarket, England, where her father was a leading veterinary surgeon, Peace recalled a blissful

When she made her first trip to fox chase the Virginia Piedmont 25 years ago, her father made the connection with his good friends from Newmarket, Jo and her husband, Michael. Peace then moved to Middleburg permanently in 2001 when she took a job managing Bolinvar Farm for then-owners, the Straub Family. Photo by Leslie VanSant

Jenny Fuog, Georgie Summers, Geraldine Peace and Norma Thompson staff the Middleburg Tack Exchange with some adorable rescues available for adoption.

Now, Peace has a barn of her own, some fox hunting clients and a pack of rescue dogs she rehabilitates. She’s a member of the Orange County Hounds, and when she has a child to accompany, the MOC Beagles.

childhood. “As kids, we were raised riding our fat little ponies out on the famous Newmarket gallops, which our home literally backed onto. I was going to be a jockey! This dream was short-lived, I was 5-foot-6 by 11 and almost 6 feet by 13. But riding was in my blood.”

In the shop, fox chasing tradition and manners have been shared with equestrians of all ages and backgrounds. Peace has a few ideas to upgrade the technology systems that power the consignment shop, but will keep everything else pretty much the same.

The family immigrated to Canada where her love of horses continued to flourish. She worked with her father and attended thoroughbred sales at Keeneland and Saratoga. She hunted and rode modern pentathlon, and usually had a horse or two she was making up and selling on the side to “pay the bills.”

The Middleburg Tack Exchange, 103 West Federal Street, is open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. www.middleburgtack.com.

One small change, Peace will have available rescue dogs serve as “shop dogs” in search of their forever homes. Horses and hounds. Forever.

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Upperville Colt & Horse Show Grounds On the Cusp Of Making More History The sweeping, historic grounds of the Upperville Colt & Horse Show are expected to be officially considered and nominated for the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places on December 9, 2021 at a meeting of the State Review Board and the Historic Resources Board in Richmond. To nominate properties for this honorific designation and determine eligibility, consideration embraces that the land has been “associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.” This includes agriculture, entertainment, recreation and social history. The research and presentation for the nomination has been meticulously completed by Maral S. Kalbian, a historic preservation consultant in Clarke County who has worked in the Shenandoah Valley and Piedmont of Virginia for 34 years. With many thanks to Betsee Parker, who funded this project and supported many others for the Upperville Colt & Horse Show.

By Vicky Moon

he Upperville Colt & Horse Show, the oldest horse show in the country, was established as the Upperville Union Colt Club in 1853 to improve the care and breeding of work and sport horses. Richard Henry Dulany (1820-1906), an avid equestrian and fox hunter, was the founder. It’s been held on the very same grounds in Upperville, Virginia, except during the Civil War. Dulany served as a captain in the 6th Virginia Cavalry and a colonel in the 7th Virginia Cavalry. His left arm was disabled permanently in battle, and he suffered other wounds during the war. The show also was canceled in 1917 and 1918 during World War I, between 1942 and 1945 during World War II and in 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic. During its 168-year history, the show has expanded to meet current needs and is considered one of the most prestigious in America.

Photo © by Vicky Moon

According to the Upperville Colt & Horse Show Grounds minutes, the frame grandstand was originally located on the south side of the main show ring and was moved to its current location in 1895. The long, vernacular frame building, measures roughly 180 feet in length, and is twelve bays wide, with a gabled roof with a front overhang. The roof, originally covered in wood, was removed and replaced with asphalt shingles in the 1970s. In 2010, the interior was almost completely rebuilt. The last row in the grandstand is for general admission seating, while the other rows contain six boxes per bay, with a total of 66 boxes. During the show, these boxes are filled with chairs for the spectators. segregation into the club. Only a white person could become a member, and each member had to pay $5 annually. Non-members could enter a colt or colts in the show, but the person had to be white. Classes were added for Thoroughbreds and in 1872 for “the best pair of colts in harness under five years old” and for “the best pair of horses to harness.”

Dulany grew up on his father’s farm Welbourne near Upperville. Eight generations later, it remains in the family as a bed and breakfast and retired horse retreat and is a Virginia Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. Dulany’s interest in improving the care and breeding of horse stock started with an annual show in 1853. The first show offered prizes for two classes – one for colts and one for fillies. Three years later, Dulany purchased a four-year old Cleveland Bay stallion named Scrivington in England in 1856 and brought the horse to Welbourne. Scrivington had won the Royal Agricultural show in England the year before. Dulany placed a newspaper ad announcing his purchase of Scrivington and listed the horse’s stud fees. The horse show site, which remains in use today, was in an oak grove on one of his properties, known as Grafton Farm, or Number 6. A grandstand, concession stand, judges perch, two competition rings and two warm-up rings along with announcer and starter’s stands add architectural

Photo © by Tom Davenport.

Col. Harland David Sanders founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken sold bobble-head figures of himself at the horse show in 1969. history and interest. The Union Club reorganized after the Civil War in 1869 at a meeting hosted by Dulany. The name was changed to the Upperville Club for the Improvement of Horses, which met twice a year. A new rule codified

In 1891, new rules allowed for an annual sale of horses after the exhibition concluded. Two years later, a half- or three-quarter mile track was added. The grounds became transformed as a place for families to gather and that atmosphere remains to this day. The show also expanded to three days with classes and prizes for sidesaddle, hunter classes on the flat and over hunter courses, with horses jumping out of the ring and around natural fences on the show grounds. The 19.4698-acre horse show grounds are now owned by the Upperville Colt & Horse Show, Inc. It will come alive for seven days with Thoroughbreds, hunters, jumpers, young horses and young riders, side-saddle riders and much more for the 169th edition scheduled for June 6-12, 2022.

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

Carry Me BACK

No Credit Card? No Problem

By Jimmy Hatcher

t was getting close to Christmas back in the early 1970s and near closing time for Dominion Saddlery in Middleburg. No longer in existence, Dominion once was located across East Washington Street from the beloved and sadly now also long-gone Coach Stop restaurant. My dear friend, Peggy Latham, ran Dominion and several unattached people used to gather there around closing time and wait for her to get off work so we, as a group, could hit the town. There were many good bars and restaurants to attack; the Night Fox, the Cock and Bull and Le Rat Cafe, to name a few. In a typical week, we usually tried to hit them all. Peggy had decorated the front window of Dominion with a child’s basket saddle (that’s a saddle tiny little tykes are strapped into and led around the ring in horse show lead line classes). It also made for a very attractive centerpiece for a Christmas window. It was almost closing time at Dominion and some of us in the group in the back of the shop were starting to a get tad rowdy when, in the front door of the shop, stepped “The Beautiful Woman.” She was perfectly groomed, made up and attired in a stylish suit, gloves and full town outfit. She

asked to see the basket saddle in the window, so the clerk in front quickly fetched it from the holiday decorations and brought it out to the counter. That “Beautiful Woman” almost immediately said she’d like to purchase the basket saddle. She apologized for not having any credit cards but said she would send the money the following morning. The clerk up front relayed the message to Peggy, who told her to make sure to “get some identification.“ At that point, the “Beautiful Lady“ reached into her pocketbook, pulled out a printed invitation and handed it to the sales clerk, who then read it out loud. “It says Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon.” You never saw a group get itself together so quickly. Beer cans disappeared in an instant and a hush quickly came over the shop. The “Beautiful Lady,” with the help of her chauffeur, soon departed with the saddle and a promise that the money would soon follow. No one doubted it. At about 8:30 the next morning, I was having breakfast at the Coach Stop when that same chauffeur appeared on the steps in front of Dominion with his hand holding a fist full of money. I crossed the street to let him know that the shop wouldn’t open up for another 30 minutes. A half hour later, he was back, money in hand, of course, as promised.

An example of a basket saddle

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Peter Leonard-Morgan | Global Real Estate Advisor Hunt Country Sotheby’s International Realty 2 W. Washington St, Middleburg, Virginia Direct - 443.254.5530 | peterleonard-morgan@hcsir.com peterleonardmorgan.com © MMXXI Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated. Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC.

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MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

The Maiden and the Unicorn Times Two

At the Spa ce at Gra ce

6507 Main Street The Plains, VA 20198 www.gracetheplains.org

Sunday, November 21st, 5:00 pm

Paragon Philharmonia FALL FANFARE

Revel in the majesty of our Brass Quintet with a special appearance by Grace Church organist Jason Farris. https://www.paragonphilharmonia.org/

Sunday, December 12th, 5:00 pm

Paragon Philharmonia

A BAROQUE CHRISTMAS

Comfort and joy! Relish both the solemnity and exhuberance of Baroque orchestral music and be filled with holiday cheer. The Grace Church Choir will join us! https://www.paragonphilharmonia.org/

Thursday, December 16th, 6:00 pm

Piedmont Film Club

THE MAIDEN AND THE UNICORN: A PAIR OF BRONZES by Heinz Warneke

By Vicky Moon

n about 1964, Rachel “Bunny” Mellon commissioned German born sculptor Heinz Warneke to create what became known as THE MAIDEN AND THE UNICORN: A PAIR OF BRONZES. At 34 ½ inches, both were inscribed on the base H. Warneke / 1969 / ©.

Warneke (1895-1983) had served as head of the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s Department on Sculpture and also taught at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. His granite sculpture, Prodigal Son, is at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., along with the tympanum and clerestory decoration. In Upperville, he carved the pew ends at Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville which illustrate plants native to the countryside. He worked with Mrs. Mellon and her husband Paul Mellon, who donated funds to build a church that offered its first service on September 28, 1960. Following Mrs. Mellon’s death in March 17, 2014, an auction “PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF MRS. PAUL MELLON: INTERIORS” was held by Sotheby’s in November of 2014. As Lot # 936, this sculpture sold for $17,500. Meanwhile, in early October, members of the staff the Upperville-based Oak Spring Garden Foundation were looking through a storage attic in one of the barns on the property and came across a wooden crate with “Second copy H. Warneke Unicorn” written on the side. The Oak Spring Garden Foundation is dedicated to sharing the gifts and ideas of its founder, Mrs. Mellon. “Its mission is to support and inspire fresh thinking and bold action on the history and future of plants, including the art and culture of plants, gardens and landscapes.” As the crate opened, there was another copy of the same statue from the Sotheby’s catalog. It has been installed on the site where the original stood – a stone platform on a water feature that was clearly designed to fit the base of this specific sculpture.

Join us for ‘Rebel Hearts’, which shows the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of 1960s LA, as they fight for equality, their livelihoods, and their own freedom against an all-powerful cardinal who tries to keep them in their place. https://piedmontfilmclub.com/

Saturday, Dec. 18th, 4 pm and 7 pm

Shakespeare Opera Theater AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS

Composed for CBS television in 1951, this heartwarming tale became an instant Christmas classic. http://www.shakespeareoperatheatre.com/

Sunday, January 30th, 5:00 pm

Paragon Philharmonia

RINGING IN THE YEAR

Join us for an afternoon of sublime chamber music featuring Schubert’s monumental “Cello Quintet.” https://www.paragonphilharmonia.org/

Sunday, February 27th 5:00 PM

Grace Church Concert Series

The King’s Singers

The King’s Singers are the British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King’s College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. https://www.gracetheplains.org/

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OUT and ABOUT

Photo © by Vicky Moon

Skip Crawford, Don Yovanovich and Vicki Crawford caught up at the International Gold Cup. Photo © by Vicky Moon

Where else but Middleburg would one see such a sleek canine statue guarding such an equally sleek sapphire blue convertible in the grocery store parking lot?

McEnearney Real Estate recently had its official ribbon-cutting opening for its new Middleburg office on West Washington St. Doing the honors, left to right, were Middleburg Town Council member Kevin Daly, Mayor Bridge Littleton, principal agent Candice Bower, McEnearney Chief Operating Officer Dave Hawkins and Councilman Peter Leonard-Morgan.

Photo © by Vicky Moon

Rev. Weston Mathews of Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains gives a blessing at the opening meet of the Orange County Hounds.

Awardwinning sporting artist Booth Malone was out and about in Virginia recently and had a chat with Viviane Warren at a local equestrian gathering.

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

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Treasures Of The National Sporting Library & Museum

Campbell, Thomas. The Poetical Works of Thomas Campbell. London: Edward Moxon, 1840. The Collection of the National Sporting Library & Museum.

Matoba, Katsumi. Shokuba Ko. Edo, Sanshodo, 1856. The Collection of the National Sporting Library & Museum.

Leather bindings, compact size, and beautifully gilded edges are good indictors of a book with a foredge painting. A foredge painting is an illustration or design on the “fore-edge” of a book that only appears when the pages are fanned at an angle. The Library collection has over 20 foredge books all depicting various sporting scenes from hawking, foxhunting, racing, angling, coaching, and more.

Shokuba ko by Katsumi Matoba explores the ceremonial attire for horses on parade. Matoba compares saddles and bridles from Edo-period Japan with those of the T’ang Dynasty in China. The beautiful and hand-colored illustrations are indicative of the Edo period and ukiyo-e, a Japanese woodblock technique. These volumes are the oldest of only three rare editions in North American Libraries.

Peep Show of a Stag Hunt, c. 18th century. The Collection of the National Sporting Library & Museum. Peepshows, or tunnel books, were a form of popular entertainment from the 18th century to the late 19th century. The Library maintains a small collection of these optical illusions that depict foxhunting, racing, and famous architecture. These three-dimensional works are created with a series of cut paper panels that are placed behind one another and linked with bellows. They are viewed by pulling two boards apart and looking through the “peep-hole” to create the illusion of depth and perspective. In the one pictured here, circa the 18th century, the viewer is immersed in a forest scene at the height of a stag hunt.

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Frank Weston Benson (American, 1862–1951) Lower Camp Pool, 1928 oil on canvas 32 x 40 inches National Sporting Library & Museum, Gift from a Private Collection, 2020 The composition in this painting is unusual as the landscape seems, at once, both hidden and expansive. The river and shore occupy most of the canvas as it winds vertically towards the top of the work, as if to go on forever. Blocking its immediate progress, though, are the trees on three sides, creating a sense of isolation for the anglers. Cutting through the foreground’s verticals is a horizontal rowboat. Though it interrupts the arrangement, it proves to be only a minor disturbance. Benson’s Impressionist style is most noticeable in the shadow of the trees glimmering on the water. The soft color scheme of blue, green, and beige underline the calm and quiet sensation of the moment.

Alfred James Munnings (English, 1878–1959) A Winner at Epsom, c. 1948 oil on canvas, 39 x 47 ½ inches

Nic Fiddian-Green (British, b. 1963) Still Water, 2011 hammered lead with copper rivets on an oak base 122 x 60 x 59 ¼ inches

National Sporting Library & Museum, Gift of Jacqueline B. Mars, 2020, © the estate of Sir Alfred Munnings, Dedham, UK

National Sporting Library & Museum, Purchased with funds donated by: Mrs. Connie Massey Dulaney, Mrs. Jacqueline B. Mars, Mrs. George L. Ohrstrom, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Manuel H. Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Akre, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Ronald M. Bradley, Mr. and Mrs. Hector Alcalde, Ms. Cathy Brentzel, Mr. and Mrs. Guy O. Dove, Ms. Nina Fout, Ms. Adrienne and Mr. John Mars, Mr. and Mrs. Clarke Ohrstrom, Mrs. Robin Parsky, Mrs. Clarice Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Donald Brennan, Ms. Elizabeth Locke and Mr. John Staelin, 2013

Munnings painted numerous variations of the unsaddling paddock at Epsom. He exhibited his first version at the Royal Academy in 1931, and the present large canvas was completed in 1948. “In no other place in the world are horses unsaddled on the course by the stands at they are at Epsom – a classic pictures,” he wrote in his third book of memoirs, The Finish (1952): "For years and years my next hurried move has always been to the grass Ring with the white rail, where the winner is led in. The surrounding pebbled enclosure is quickly crowded – everyone waiting to see the Derby winner. For a few moments this one particular animal occupies the thoughts of all who are there." Clarice Smith (American, b. 1933) Gallop, 2009 oil on canvas with gold and copper leaf 50 x 77 ½ inches (flat) National Sporting Library & Museum, Gift of Clarice Smith, 2015 The NSLM held a solo exhibition, Clarice Smith: Power & Grace, in 2014, in which Gallop, 2009 was exhibited. “Screens are meant to be decorative,” the artist affirms. The objects have a long history in Asian art, but examples of screens with sporting subjects were also produced in Great Britain in the early nineteenth century. Gallop, 2009, with its low foreshortened perspective, vibrant burnt sienna, and gold and copper leaf application, successfully conveys the sense of the horses rushing towards the viewer, which is only heightened by the three-dimensional quality of the screen panels. Smith enjoys working with leaf, first applying Liquitex adhesive; breaking up the different kinds of leaf; and allowing it to float in the air to make contact with the prepared surface.

Fiddian-Green has been sculpting for over twentyfive years. Almost all of his works express idealized forms of the horse’s head, from the diminutive to the monumental. While his sculptures are unquestionably modern, he is influenced by classical ideals. In 1983, on a visit to the British Art Museum, he first viewed the Greek marble fragment of a head of a horse of Selene from the frieze that once adorned the Parthenon. This work led him to pursue archetypes rather than represent specific horses. “The thing is that for me it’s not about the horse, it’s about the shape, the form, the finish,” he said. Fiddian-Green has garnered international recognition for this recurring theme with his intimate models as small as six-inches to his largest public installations, including a 30-foot version of Still Water installed at London’s Marble Arch.

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Elizabeth von Hassell: Unbridled Enthusiasm "We have expanded our programs to include important scholarship, but also fun and engaging activities such as fly-tying, kid’s camps, hat-making, and the opportunity to work with renowned artists."

lizabeth von Hassell bubbles with joyful, unbridled enthusiasm for her work, her family and her friends. As executive director of the National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM) since December 2018, “I do indeed have the ultimate dream job,” she said. “To have the privilege to work with such a great team and board, who are as equally passionate about our mission, is an ideal opportunity for me.” Ms. von Hassell grew up in nearby West Virginia riding, fishing, shooting, and spending every waking minute outdoors. “This instilled in me at a very young age the love of our landscape and the importance of preservation and conservation,” she said. Field sports, along with a strong admiration for the art, literature, and culture surrounding those pursuits, have always been part of her being. Born in Winchester, she grew up nearby in Berkeley Springs and is a graduate of Southern Seminary and Hollins University. She raised her two now adult sons in Clarke County. Prior to joining the NSLM, Ms. von Hassell served as director of development at James Madison’s Montpelier near Orange. In that capacity, she worked with its leadership for five years raising over $55 million dollars. She also toiled ardently on conservation and preservation projects, including the $4 million, 1,000-acre conservation easement, held by the Piedmont Environmental Council. Ms. von Hassell is currently on the board of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground, and has served on the boards of the Preservation Alliance of Virginia, Millwood Country Club, Long Branch Historic Plantation, Old Chatham Hunt Club, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, and the Lost Brigade Wounded Warrior Foundation. Her future goals on behalf of the NSLM include “accessibility and sustainability,” she said. “As a relatively young institution, long-term financial sustainability is of critical importance. We take our role as stewards of sporting culture and history seriously, and we want to continue welcoming new audiences of all ages and backgrounds.” “The NSLM was looking for someone with a deep passion for the organization’s mission who could not only articulate our goals but who was also an avid sportsperson,” she said, “I had always admired the exhibitions and programs at the NSLM and it seemed like a perfect fit.” Yes, indeed, the perfect fit for her dream job. Ms. von Hassell and her co-workers coordinated their tasteful all black attire. Her velvet pants and many other outfits she wears, are frequently coordinated by Karen Jackson at the Tully Rector shop on East Washington Street. Photo © by Doug Gehlsen of Middleburg Photo

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Reid O’Connor Is Living the Sporting Dream

t’s not difficult to understand and appreciate the passion Reid O’Connor has for her work as director of development at the National Sporting Library & Museum. After all, when she’s not in her Middleburg office, she can often be found riding, playing polo, shooting, skiing or playing tennis, with several of those pursuits directly related to subjects that are the focus of NSLM collections. “Sporting culture doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” she said, “and the history of traditional field sports is fundamentally intertwined with the history of humanity and how we interact with the landscape and wildlife around us. We’re privileged to have a unique combination of works in our library and museum that reflect this and rival many prominent collections across the world. The caliber of our collections is truly outstanding.” Raised in western Loudoun County, Ms. O’Connor graduated from The Hill School in Middleburg and The Madeira School in McLean. She attended the University of St. Andrews in Scotland where she earned her undergraduate degree in art history and Italian. She played on the school’s polo team and helped run its annual charity polo tournament, also Scotland’s largest charity polo event. That experience has served her well directing the NSLM Polo Classic, the organization’s major annual fundraiser. Ms. O’Connor previously worked at Red Fox Fine Art in Middleburg as a gallery assistant, where her passion for sporting art grew exponentially while also becoming more familiar with the NSML’s collections. She joined the NSLM staff in 2017 as a membership and events assistant, and over the last four years has been promoted to her current position. She now oversees membership and giving programs as well as special events. In her role, she fosters board, donor, and community relationships. “The best part of working at the NSLM is absolutely the people, both our incredible team and wonderfully supportive members,” she said. “We’re really a family here, and I feel privileged to have found such a great group of friends and mentors. As director of development, it’s so rewarding to get to know our members and develop these relationships.” She also appreciates the Middleburg area’s embrace of the NSLM. “I’m always so touched and motivated by how enthusiastic our community is about our programs, events, and exhibitions,” she said.“Having the opportunity to work with people on a daily basis who share my love for these sports, traditions, and our history brings me great joy. I’m fortunate to work with such dedicated colleagues, board, and community, and I also get to do so in pursuit of a mission about which I’m personally passionate.” She has several other outside pursuits. Ms. O’Connor currently serves on the board of The Hill School Alumni Association and previously was secretary of the Loudoun County Equine Alliance. She’s also a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the American Alliance of Museums, and Virginia Association of Museums. Still, the NSLM remains her main focus, and she makes it abundantly clear it’s a joy to be so involved with its staff, its patrons and its mission. “I learn something every day,” she said. “Whether it’s the ongoing scholarship that comes from our fellows, curatorial team, and librarian, or the stories and knowledge shared with us by our members, there’s always something new and inspiring. There are no two days the same here and that’s what makes our work so engaging and fulfilling. We never stop learning.” Necklace by Susan Shaw from The Fun Shop and earrings by Julie Voss from Crème de la Crème Photo © by Doug Gehlsen of Middleburg Photo

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

Her Knowledge Goes a Long Way at NSLM

laudia Pfeiffer’s vast knowledge of sporting art has perfectly prepared her as deputy director and George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Curator at the National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM).

“The anticipation of getting to work with all the NSLM’s collections and loans is one of the reasons I get up in the morning,” she said recently. “Over a decade before I started working here, I came to works that depict sporting subjects in 1998 from a contemporary art background and not having personally participated in field sports. The books, the people who enthusiastically helped me navigate them (Turner Reuter, Joshua Mackay-Smith, Peter Winants, and Laura Rose) were an entry way into this world.” Ms. Pfeiffer moved to Virginia to work at Red Fox Fine Art in 1998, a gallery in Middleburg specializing in animal, sporting, and American paintings and sculpture. During her thirteen-year tenure, she was assistant director and then director beginning in 2005. Her association with the NSLM developed while working on two projects with Reuter, her mentor and owner of the art gallery. His 880-page reference work, Animal & Sporting Artists in America, was first published by the National Sporting Library in 2008. Afield in America: 400 Years of Animal & Sporting Art, was his work on the inaugural NSLM Museum exhibition and accompanying catalogue in 2011. Ms. Pfeiffer’s role at the NSLM now also includes the complicated logistics in organizing many of their programs, including the transport of the Ralla sculpture to the Middleburg Photo studio for this month’s cover. She is currently working on an exhibition for next year in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the NSLM’s museum. The exhibition will highlight the growth and diversification of the art collection and audience in the past decade. Consider what she may be working on any given day: pursuing loans of works from institutions and private lenders, researching and writing essays, exhibit text, object descriptions, brochures, articles, and blogs. She also designs and coordinates art and object installation, works with the board of directors, museum management and Executive Director Elizabeth von Hassell. “The most challenging part of my work is to serve, educate, inspire, and inform during a global pandemic in a way that is sustainable and nonpolarizing in a charged political environment,” she said. “It’s my work and life’s blood to bring everyone together—to learn from and listen to one another, uphold academic rigor, reinforce bonds, break down walls, and find truth in the past, present, and future.” Photo by Doug Gehlsen of Middleburg Photo

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Peter Miller, A Master of his Framing Craft

By 1983, he had his own studio, crafting handmade frames and gilding frames for artwork and mirrors. Miller also is a member of the Society of Gilders, a non-profit professional organization with the mission of preserving traditional gilding skills and techniques to keep this ancient art alive.

By Linda Roberts

assersby often stop and stare through the large windows of the building that anchors the southeast corner of Main Street in Berryville to watch Peter Miller, a gilder and frame-maker, at his meticulous craft. Even to the untrained eye, it doesn’t take long to realize this is the studio of a master craftsman. Miller not only makes intricately detailed frames for his clients, but also restores rare, unusual, and antique frames, some dating to the 17th and 18th centuries. His talents also include gilding, a tedious, layerupon-layer process using gold leaf that originated centuries ago and often seen on frames in museums and antique shops. “We’re steeped in the traditions of carving and gilding. Historic or modern in style, every frame is hand-crafted using time-honored techniques and materials,” said Miller. “We draw on our extensive historical knowledge to design an entirely unique frame to compliment each individual piece of artwork. No two frames are exactly alike.” Miller’s studio offers the rarity of custom framemaking and design inspired by history or replicated from images and existing frames. “We have built our reputation on designing period-appropriate and original art frames,” Miller said. Why did Miller, and his wife, Rochelle, a school nurse at Clarke County High, select Berryville when

“You really have to have a passion for this type of work,” Miller said, adding that those who stick with the profession come from a variety of backgrounds. There is no formal educational pathway to become a master of the craft.

Photo by Linda Roberts

Master craftsman Peter Miller in his Berryville studio. they decided to relocate from Connecticut seven years ago? “Why not?” he said. “It’s a great little town. And easy access to Washington, D.C. has opened up many opportunities.” At their daughter’s suggestion, after their search for property in Loudoun yielded nothing promising, the Millers looked west and not only found a new home, but also the ideal location for his studio. Miller learned woodworking basics at an early age in his father’s workshop. After college, where he majored in accounting and economics and later in industrial education, he worked in a custom framing shop and became intrigued by the gilding process.

Anyone interested in entering the business may want to speak with Miller’s assistant frame-maker, Christian Ferrante. He came to the studio over four years ago after a 14-month contract with the National Gallery in its frame department where he had exposure to gilding and restoration. His knowledge of woodworking and the passion to learn the craft from a recognized authority landed Ferrante the position as Miller’s assistant. The business of custom frame-making, restoration and gilding ofter requires long hours. It often takes months to finish a piece, and he’s been known to spend over a year on some projects. He starts his day at 7 a.m. and goes to 6 p.m., and sometimes works seven days a week. “People ask me when I plan to retire,” Miller said with a smile, noting that he just retired from motorcycle riding and he’s trying to stop working in his studio on Sundays.

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Area Artists Offer A Wide Variety of Styles moved to a farm in Delaplane in 1976. His creativity is enviable, his sense of humor obvious in his more whimsical works. “I often paint scenes that are like single frames taken from a film with no context.” Part of the Great Art Small Prices (at GASP everything is $500 or below) exhibit November 13-January 9, 2022 at Artists in Middleburg, 102 W. Washington St., www.theartistsinmiddleburg.org.

Alan Rubin grew up in Brooklyn and spent a career in Washington, D.C., eventually finding his forever home in Fauquier County. He recalls growing up an only child in an urban apartment house surrounded by similar buildings filled with young kids, many still friends today. “We played a lot of city street games together,” he said, “but I spent my alone time working with my hands -- painting, drawing and building things.” He worked at the U. S. Geological Survey at the Natural History Museum. His first apartment, now the Embassy of Morocco, was near The Phillips Collection where he absorbed the artwork of Goya, Renoir and Monet. In 1967, he started the Biograph movie theatre in Georgetown with five friends, mostly screening artsy films. The video craze led to a change and he and wife Susan

201030

Anne Reid was born in Burlington, Ontario Canada in 1963. After acquiring a degree in interior design, she worked for several design firms in Chester, England and St. Catharine’s, Ontario. “My favorite part about working as a designer,” she said, “was the drafting and rendering of perspective drawings. I could use my desire for artistic expression in the projects.” As a self-taught artist working in mixed media, pastel, acrylic, and oil paint, her subject

matter is based on past and present experiences in the UK, with a special love for North Wales and Scotland. Since moving from Canada about 20 years ago, she said, “I’ve lived in several states, including North Carolina and Texas. I’m now settled with my fiancé in nearby Marshall, where I teach dressage riding.” Part of the Great Art Small Prices (at GASP everything is $500 or below) exhibit November 13-January 9, 2022 at Artists in Middleburg, 102 W. Washington St., www.theartistsinmiddleburg.org.

Dana Lee Thompson lives and paints in the countryside near Casanova. Growing up in Northern Virginia, she developed a love for animals, especially dogs. As an adult, she started fox hunting and immediately fell in love with the hounds. She captures the essence and soul of each hound or animal she paints. She also has a great fondness for birds and African wildlife that are finding their way

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into her artwork. Dana is a signature member of the Society of Animal Artists. Her work has been included in five of their shows across the country, published in numerous magazines and on view in public exhibitions and private collections. Part of the Great Art Small Prices (at GASP everything is $500 or below) exhibit November 13-January 9, 2022 at Artists in Middleburg, 102 W. Washington St., www.theartistsinmiddleburg.org. Gomer Pyles, almost always in shorts with a bushy white beard and an array of colorful head scarves, has been doing it his own way for most of his life, including a walk across the country in 1980 pushing his then sixmonth old daughter every step of the way. A Los Angeles native, he’s lived in The Plains since 1982, changing professions from carpenter to computer expert and eventually returning to an old love—photography—after suffering a stroke in 2009. “It gave me a child’s set of eyes, one of awe and curiosity,” he said. “It rekindled my passion for photography, where I savor each moment while roaming the great Piedmont region with an ease of spirit while I observe the unique painting of our landscape with its everchanging colors.” Part of the Great Art Small Prices (at GASP everything is $500 or below) exhibit November 13-January 9, 2022 at Artists in Middleburg, 102 W. Washington St., www.theartistsinmiddleburg.org.

Margaret MacMahon Carroll recently exhibited at The Piedmont Regional Art show at Grace Church in The Plains. She works from a home studio near Rectortown and relishes the solitude and quiet of creating her artwork. She said she’s “not scared of portraiture, still lifes, landscapes, or much of anything else.” She turns to intimate everyday moments of which ZEST can attest since she has done a charming portrait of two little girls in their “Easter Sunday Best” standing on a fence watching the cows. She relentlessly pursues the juxtaposition of light and the closeness and strangeness of objects and people that inhabit the world. margaret@sheridanmacmahon.com.

Leslie Patterson’s first recollection of winning an art contest goes back to the first grade. “It was a crayon draw pine branch,” she said. “Mine looked the most realistic. It seems that I’ve always been detailed oriented.” She has studied art, horticulture, and interior design. In the fall of 2009, she and her husband moved to Casanova, where she now has a home art studio. See her work at Artists in Middleburg, 102 W. Washington Street in Middleburg. She loves realism and said, “It seems that details, design, and color are an integral part of my existence, and really mostly who I am. I find that I’m always looking at my surroundings no matter what I am involved in.” www.theartistsinmiddleburg.org.

Yuri Gorbachev paintings, celebrating the State Russian Museum and State Hermitage Museum collection of Czar Series Paintings in the permanent collection since 2011, will be on view at The Byrne Gallery 7 West Washington Street in Middleburg through January, 2022. byrnegallery@aol.com.

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Heaven Knows He’s Perfect at the Pulpit

By M.J. McAteer

inisters, like members of the military, tend to move a lot. In his 34 years as an Episcopal priest, The Rev. Rob Banse has been stationed in Hawaii, Boise, Idaho, Wilmington, North Carolina and Pittsburgh before landing at Upperville’s Trinity Episcopal in 2007. In 2019, he retired from that Rev. Rob Banse last posting, only to be called back to active duty as the interim minister of Christ Church Episcopal in Millwood. “Old clergy, we don’t die, we just fade away,” he quipped, paraphrasing General Douglas MacArthur’s oft-quoted line about old soldiers. “Even if we retire, we don’t leave.” Banse will serve a two-year tour at the Millwood church, keeping things going while the congregation figures out exactly where it wants to go next and who should lead the way. At Trinity, Banse led the way for almost a dozen years in a high-profile posting. Trinity is “a unique congregation,” he said. Not only is the church building itself a thing of beauty, but it’s well attended, with some parishioners traveling from as far away as Alexandria for Sunday services. Trinity’s pews are populated by intelligent, well-educated and well-known people, Banse said. Heading the list would be the late philanthropists, Paul and Bunny Mellon, who gifted the church in 1960. For more than 50 years after that, Bunny Mellon stayed very much involved. Until her death in 2014, Banse had a weekly sit-down with her to talk about parish affairs. She was a hands-on benefactor, involved in everything from choosing the stained-glass windows and carvings on the church’s pillars to providing the yearly Advent wreath. “Mrs. Mellon was unquestionably an artist of incredible ability,” Banse said. “She understood beauty in the purest sense. It was her way of experiencing the divine.” She wanted Trinity “to be a gathering spot for the community,” and to that end, it still regularly opens its doors to a wide variety of events, from breast cancer screening to movie nights. And in an era when possible nuclear annihilation was on everyone’s mind, the basement was designed to double as a bomb shelter large enough to house the entire population of Upperville. During his years at Trinity, Banse found that diplomacy was a critical asset. “I don’t preach politics from the pulpit, but the congregation was wrestling with a lot of things,” he said, including trying to find a common ground on human sexuality. “There was a lot of tension between moving in a more progressive or more conservative direction. By nature, I was more on the progressive side,” he said, and that side prevailed. Although “we don’t use the term ‘marriage,’” he explained, in 2014, he conducted his first blessing of a same-sex relationship. “We came together even as we wrestled with the challenges before us. As a community, we grew in faith.” Banse, who lives in Delaplane, said he doesn’t know “what God has in mind” for him next. If asked to serve again after Millwood, he will. If not, he’ll expand his involvement with the Windy Hill Foundation, where he’s on the board and serves on subcommittees devoted to strategic planning and education. He also would spend more time on a panel seeking to implement a state law known as the Marcus Alert, named for Marcus David-Peters, a teacher killed by a Richmond police officer when he was having a mental health crisis. The law seeks to shift the response to such behavioral crises from law enforcement officers to health care professionals. Whatever lies ahead, Banse said, “I feel very blessed. Being a priest now has a lot more challenges, but it is pure joy, and I would do it all over again.”

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

Life Comes Full Circle at Austin Grove Church

By Linda Roberts

itting in the last pew of the Austin Grove United Methodist Church at 33999 Austin Grove Road near Bluemont, Ron Lincoln recalls in detail where his mother, his uncle and other family members sat for services when he was a child growing up in Loudoun County. Life sometimes does come full circle. Lincoln, supported by Kim Hart and Kevin Grigsby, formed the Austin Grove Preservation Foundation three years ago and established a sevenmember board of directors to reopen the church. Even though Lincoln said the foundation is “taking baby steps” toward returning Austin Grove to its former role as a vital part of the community, passersby are seeing signs of life taking place at the small building in western Loudoun. On the second and fourth Sundays at 9:30 a.m. the doors are open to anyone who wishes to join in the services and sing the familiar hymns that take many back to their own childhoods. With a rich history that laces through rural Loudoun County, the present church was crafted in 1911 by the stonemason and carpenter sons and grandsons of freed slaves. It was pre-dated by an 1872 church that is no longer standing on the grounds. Named for the surrounding freedmen community of Rock Hill, this church was attended by many of the African American families who lived and worked on neighboring farms.

Rock Hill, one of the oldest organized African American churches in Loudoun, also functioned as a school for Black children from the surrounding area from the 1870s to the 1940s. Named for T. N. Austin, a former pastor, Austin Grove eventually grew out of the Rock Hill Church. The early church building and school were torn down in the 1980s to provide additional parking for Austin Grove. Although it was decommissioned from the Methodist church in 2017 and is no longer served by

a minister, many descendants of the original church congregation continue to call Austin Grove their family church, as they have for many years. If Lincoln and the board of directors of the Austin Grove Preservation Foundation continue their mission, there will be a re-birth of the little church that has seen so much history. The foundation’s goal is to purchase the property from the current owner, the Agape United Methodist Church in Purcellville, and ultimately return the church to its intended function. Agape Methodist has agreed to rent the building and grounds to the foundation for five years. Planned are fundraising events, creation of a website, application to the National Register of Historic Places, and to keep the church building in good order and functioning as a viable location for various community activities. Lincoln, whose family has been involved with Rock Hill and Austin Grove since their inception, believes it can be done. As president of the foundation he’s ready to lead the way toward a new beginning for the church. “There are so many memories here,” he said. “We have to save this church.” For more information on the Austin Grove Preservation Foundation email Kim Hart at kim@goodworksva.com or Ron Lincoln at ronlincoln@mac.com. Donations may be sent to the Foundation at P.O. Box 1258 Middleburg, VA 20118. Austin Grove Church is located at 33999 Austin Grove Road, Bluemont, VA 20135.

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Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

HERE and THERE

Photo © Doug Gehlsen Middleburg Photo

Academy Award-winning actor Robert Duvall was on hand at the International Gold Cup. Congrats to Gordie Keys and family for the big victory at Laurel Park on the Maryland Million Day. His homebred, the aptly named Grateful Bred, went gate to wire to win the $76,500 Turf Sprint, ridden by Jevian Toledo and trained by Madison Meyers. All were on hand for a group photo: Front row: India Keys, Theo Keys, Gordon Keys IV, Elizabeth Biebel… Second row: Chelsia Keys, Chandler Keys, Keith Heard, Chrissie Heard, Susan Romans, Eddie Ridgeway, Robin Keys, Gordie Keys and Anne Biebel. Mrs. Keys then packed her bags and headed west with her son, David, to see The Grateful Dead perform, not just in Phoenix but also San Diego. And ,she added: “You can bet I am going to make sure Bob Weir knows who Grateful Bred is!!”

Middleburg entrepreneur and philanthropist Sheila Johnson recently donated a generous check to the Middleburg Community Center, which Executive Director Olivia Rogers accepted prior to a recent board meeting. “The Middleburg Community Center is the beneficiary of the funds raised from the American Ballet Theater performance that was held at the Salamander Resort over the summer,” Rogers told Country ZEST. “The funds will be designated to MCC programing for our local community.”

Reverend Eugene LeCouteur of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, which coordinated an interfaith Blessing of the Animals at the National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg. Rabbi Rose Lyn Jacob of Madison County, the Rev. Tracey Lyons of Mt. Zion-Willisville Chapel Cooperative Parish (UMC), and Pastor Herman Nelson of Shiloh Baptist Church were also in attendance. “Particularly after this difficult year when we relied so much on our animal companions for comfort, we should take the opportunity to come together and thank God for this gift,” Reverend LeCouteur noted.

Photo by Leland Schwartz

Friends and film followers gathered in mid-October for an al fresco premiere of Sir David Attenborough‘s documentary “A Life on Our Planet” for the Piedmont Film Club at Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains.

Photo © Doug Gehlsen Middleburg Photo

Crystal Hamby won Best Racing Theme in the hat contest at the International Gold Cup.

Photo by Tiffany Dillon Keen, Dillon Keen Photography LLC

Reverend Jonathan V. Adams performed The Blessing of the Animals in honor of St. Francis of Assisi at Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville. Shown here with Johnny Dean and the Piedmont Fox Hounds.

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

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t’s the creative part of it that brings me joy,” said Micki Smith, one of four partners operating the Brazen Sheep fiber arts shop in Berryville. Creativity is what this welcoming place is all about. Rich colors, intricate textures, beautiful skeins of yarn, delicate fused glass pieces and unique fashions abound thanks to Smith, Sharon Edmonds, Pam Hummel and longtime local resident Norma Johnson. The four businesswomen recently related how they formed their partnership at 10 W. Main Street. During a group interview, they laughed over how the business began in January, 2019. As they related, it was by happenstance that they came together to form Brazen Sheep, each bringing their own unique skills to the table. Smith forms attractive clothing from patterns she designs as well as repurposing items for new life perhaps as a hat or scarf. Edmonds designs delicate fused glass jewelry. Hummel does crocheting and uses felt to create any number of intricate pieces as well as serving as the shop’s decorator and graphic arts designer. And Johnson, known as the Needle Lady, has done sewing for years as well as crocheting, embroidery, and she also fashions attractive fabric handbags. “This is a safe place to come and share and be a part of the community,” said Smith. And, indeed, the long table at the back of the shop provides a place for the women to work on their individual projects as well as a useful location to hold classes for clients interested in learning new skills or completing a project with some skilled guidance. And, they all agreed, “We laugh a lot.” “We’re providing a gathering place for all things fiber,” said Johnson. And as the partners and community members sit and work, talk is exchanged and friendships develop in the comfortable and welcoming environment. Fridays are “Fiber Fridays” and community members are welcome to bring whatever project they may be working on and join the group from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reservations are not necessary. Smith said Brazen Sheep welcomes men who may want to take a class or wait for their wife while she works on a project. “We have comfortable chairs here and we don’t leave them out if they want to learn,” she added. Some of the beautiful yarn sold in the shop comes from local farms such as BB Knits, Checkmate Farms and Moon on the Mountain. They also sell a variety of yarns and needlework supplies. “The community expands and it goes beyond the fibers,” said Hummel. “We are so appreciative of each other’s talents.” Brazen Sheep is a place for fiber lovers, the partners agreed. “It’s not your grandmother’s art but it’s 21st century adaptations with bold colors and unique designs,” said Smith. The four women have no employees but have found a way to manage the shop’s hours by each taking a day to work at Brazen Sheep, although its possible you might catch them all enjoying “the gathering place” at the work table. The shop is open Wednesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Coffee and tea are always available. For more information on Brazen Sheep visit their website at www.brazensheep.com.

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MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

The Focus is On Soil, Water Conservation

By Leonard Shapiro

he John Marshall Soil & Water Conservation District (JMSWCD) was formed in 1966 and has been a valuable asset for Fauquier County farmers and land owners ever since. One of its most valuable assets has been Gray Coyner of Upperville, a retired farmer who has been an active volunteer as a board member and past chair over most of the last three decades. Coyner and his late father, Norman Coyner, managed over 3,000 acres in Delaplane for a Washington landowner, raising beef and field cattle and a variety of crops until a decision was made to lease the property, now occupied by the Virginia Beef Corporation. A 1970 graduate of Virginia Tech, Gray Coyner was involved with the Virginia Farm Bureau for many years and it was a no-brainer for him to get involved in the John Marshall organization based in Warrenton, with a full-time staff of six. “If you don’t participate in how things are developed,” Coyner said, “then you’re probably not going to like what other people come up with. Most of us on the board have already implemented these things on places we owned or managed. It’s a great program, and really makes a difference.” Since its founding, the JMSWCD, one of 47

such districts in the Commonwealth, has been a reliable partner and used two main vehicles to deliver conservation options to its community partners. That would be the Virginia Agricultural Cost Share Program (VACS) and the Virginia Agricultural Tax Credit Program. They both provide financial incentives for the implementation of more Photo by Leonard Shapiro than 60 different best Gray Coyner management practices that improve water quality and conserve valuable soil resources. Among some those best practices are ways to fence livestock from streams and provide alternative water sources and crossings; planting perennial grass on cropland to reduce soil erosion; offering rotational grazing plans and extensions of watering systems and incentives for the efficient use of nutrients. “As an example, in the summer, cattle naturally want to go into a stream and stand in it to keep cool,”

Coyner said. “We work with the landowner to fence it out and leave a buffer zone between the cattle and the water. That captures anything (as in manure) that might run off and keep it from going into the stream. We give cattle access to water in a narrow space to they can’t muck up the stream.” In Virginia, improving the condition of the Chesapeake Bay is an obvious focus of many of the Commonwealth’s soil and water conservation districts, including John Marshall in Fauquier. “All signs point to it having a tremendous impact on the bay,” Coyner said. “It’s definitely making a difference.” And so, too, is the JMSWCD education component. It works with county elementary, middle and high school students to provide information on a variety of conservation topics—water quality, stream monitoring, soils and other best management practices. Coyner, his fellow board members and the staff of the JMSWCD are all making a difference, the better to adhere to the mission of the state’s umbrella group—the Virginia Association of Soil & Water Districts overseeing the 47 districts. That mission is simple, but oh so critical now and for future generations. “To provide and promote leadership in the conservation of natural resources through stewardship and education programs.”

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Historic Willisville Telling Its Important Story

By M.J. McAteer

illisville is a humble place, but proud, too. And the Willisville Preservation Foundation is all about honoring that yin and yang of its personality. “You can have your history told, or you can tell your own history,” said Dwight Grant, who owns a hair styling salon in Middleburg and is a member of the foundation named for the 19th-century black enclave between Upperville and Middleburg. Founded in 2019, the foundation is telling its own story, he said, about making sure the people who trace their roots to Willisville not only keep custody of its history but take steps to ensure its survival. The origins of Willisville date back to the 1860s, when, for $100, freed slave Heuson Willis bought a cabin on three acres near the crossroads of Willisville, Millville and Welbourne roads. It was not particularly good land, with poor drainage and lots of clay, but African-Americans didn’t have many options then. Other former slaves from the big plantations in the area such as Welbourne and Catesby soon followed, eventually forming a 24-acre hamlet of about a dozen homes, a church and a schoolhouse. Willisville residents never had much in the way of material wealth, said Carol Lee, Grant’s mother, who still lives in Willisville and is a driving force behind the foundation. They were mostly farmers, horse handlers and domestic servants, often working for the same people who once enslaved them. Lee’s grandfather, Ernest Brooks, worked at Catesby, then a dairy farm. By necessity, the people of Willisville were selfsufficient, Carol explained, building their own schoolhouse in 1868 with $150 from the Freedmen’s

Photo by M.J. McAteer

Dwight Grant and his mother, Carol Lee Bureau and paying a teacher largely from their own pockets so their children could be educated. Loudoun County wouldn’t provide a one-room public school until the 1920s. When Carol was growing up, she said Willisville was a world unto itself, with its children sheltered from the indignities of segregation by the village’s sheer isolation. Three generations of families often lived there at the same time, and they took pride in their properties. The village seemed like an afterthought for Loudoun County As recently as 2006, Willisville still had no running water or sewer system, with some residents having to rely on outhouses and drinking water brought in from elsewhere. Dwight Grant and Carol Lee said redevelopment and neglect are now the biggest threats. Several houses have already been torn down, and the Willisville cemetery, now in private hands, has toppled headstones and is littered with dead trees. The foundation is allowed to mow there, but, one

day, Carol hopes her organization can buy the cemetery property. In the interim, righting headstones, clearing debris and building steps are the foundation’s priority. It also would like to buy a steeple for Willisville Chapel United Methodist Church, unable to afford a new one when it replaced its roof. Dwight envisions the foundation, begun in 2019, one day also might be able to offer scholarships to Willisville descendants. A Willisville Day picnic next year is planned as a fundraiser. Carol already has experience as an organizer. In 2018, she put together Willisville Day, featuring a picnic, singing at the church, a band and “Straight Out of Willisville” T-shirts. That year, she helped organize a gospel concert at Buchanan Hall in Upperville. The event was to raise money to hire a historian, Jane Covington Motion, to file an application for Willisville’s inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. The Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Aasociation provided another $10,000 to facilitate the application. And now, Willisville is Loudoun County’s only African-American settlement to be named to both historic registers. This year, the foundation unveiled a marker commemorating the village’s history. It’s located just off Route 50 on Willisville Road, but unfortunately is 1 1/2 miles from Willisville itself and in a spot that makes stopping to read it dangerous. Carol intends to have the marker relocated closer to the village. With her track record, no doubt it will be done. Annual membership in the Willisville Preservation Foundation is $25. Willisville Preservation Foundation, P.O. Box. 659, Middleburg, VA 20118.

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MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

Sustainability Committee:

It’s All About the Environment

f you’re wondering about the logo and “Middleburg Sustainability Committee” at the bottom of many pages in this holiday issue of Country ZEST, a brief explanation is in order. In October, the Town Council adopted a name change for a committee previously called Go Green. The name change came about because committee members thought it was a better fit for its work on various environmental challenges the town and its residents face.

Charles Carroll IV, MD

Geraldine Carroll

Charles Carroll IV, MD

According to the town’s website, MSC’s goal is to increase community awareness about environmental issues—the value of recycling, the importance of preserving water quality and methods for conserving energy. MSC also develops recommendations for environmental and sustainable action plans.

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Several previous initiatives will continue, including recycling efforts for cigarette butts, disposal razors and batteries. Town clean-up days also will be ongoing, and there will be an effort to expand into composting. Ric Woodie is chair of the committee and Lynn Kaye vice chair.

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For more information, go to MTC’s page on the town’s website at https://www. middleburgva.gov/207/Middleburg-Sustainability-Committee. Elsewhere around The Burg, election results are in to select two new members of the Middleburg Business and Professional Association’s board of directors. The winners are Dwight Grant and Mabel Walsh, with two-year terms beginning on Jan. 1, 2022. Grant owns Salon Aubrey, a full-service salon that provides haircuts for men, women and children, as well as a barbershop and a variety of other salon services. Walsh works at Zest (no, not this publication!), a locally-owned women’s clothing boutique. In other community news, a nonprofit organization has been formed to work toward the preservation of Asbury Church on North Jay Street. Built in 1829, it’s one of the oldest churches in Loudoun County and had previously been used as a Methodist Episcopal church and a hospital during the Civil War. Middleburg also is also rallying behind two Middleburg police officers, Lieutenant Shaun Jones and Officer Tim Tharpe. Lieutenant Jones is currently battling lymphoma, and a GoFundMe page has been set up that already has raised more than $6,000 toward its $10,000 goal. Officer Tharpe has been diagnosed with liver cancer and is seeking a living donor. Potential donors must be age 18-55 and blood type O. They can submit an application through the MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute. Middleburg also has some major events in the coming weeks, including Small Business Saturday on Nov. 27 and the traditional Christmas in Middleburg celebrations. The town tree lighting ceremony will be on Dec. 3 and the Christmas parade on Dec. 4. The town also is starting a new “Dickens of a Christmas” holiday celebration featuring events throughout the holiday season. They include a theatrical performance, music, food, libations, live Christmas trees presented by Nature Composed at select locations in town, a Run Like the Dickens 5K, carriage rides, hot cocoa, and more.

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

New Shop Offers History And So Much More By Leonard Shapiro

lfred Pollard has an undergraduate and a law degree from the University of North Carolina and a doctorate in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. Over the last five decades, he’s held high-level positions in government and the private sector, worked for two U.S. senators, been the lead author on a two-volume text on banking law, and taught courses at Georgetown and UVA Law. These days, he’s one of Middleburg’s newest shop owners, opening a unique business on South Madison St. he likes to say, “Offers a very eclectic collection of documents, prints and what I call select antiques.” There’s plenty of Photos by Leonard Shapiro stock, lovingly displayed on two Alfred Pollard at his new Middleburg shop. levels. How about a collection of original sheet music from the 1920s and ‘30s with titles that include “The Naughty Waltz” or “You’re Always in My Heart But Never By My Side,” or “For Every Smile You Give Me, You Caused A Thousand Tears,” or “Someone Else Will Be There When I’m Gone.” There’s a wonderful selection of framed original advertisements in prominent publications of the late 19th and 20th centuries. One, from Country Gentleman magazine, has a headline that reads “I Painted My Whole Farm with Pure White Lead Paint.” Another ad from the same magazine has a photo of a man rubbing

his wet hair with a product that, “Invigorates Scalp…Checks Dandruff.” The product? “Listerine….Kills 200,000,000 million germs in 15 seconds.” The antiques range from “over the top” fancy French pieces to what he described as “American Rustic,” some inherited from his mother, Miriam, and her mother, Rose, who started an antique shop in their native Savannah and eventually moved it to Charlotte. The Middleburg shop is called Rosemary, the same as his mother and grandmother’s antique business. It closed in 1970 two years after his mother died and, in addition to getting some of their inventory, Pollard clearly was the recipient of their collector genes. He’s always loved history and has meticulously curated virtually every item in his shop, providing clients a detailed description of the piece they’re about to purchase. “If the print is from 1799,” he said, “on the back is the name of the artist or illustrator and the history of it. Everything is already framed, ready to be displayed.” Some items are whimsical, others deadly serious, a few rather risqué. He has original copies of fascinating lawsuits, a series of famous cartoonish horse prints, antique powder horns that actually were used to store tobacco or liquor. And there’s the bizarre, as well—a framed copy of the $4 a month rental receipt for a patient at the Connecticut Retreat for the Insane. Pollard collected many items for himself and displayed them at home, but now has decided to downsize a bit since he moved to the Middleburg area two years ago. Prices range from $40 into the thousands. “Over the last twenty years I’ve thought about doing this,” Pollard said of his new venture. “My mother’s approach to her shop was always ‘if you like it, buy it. Somehow it will work….Put things you like together and you’ll like what it looks like.’ “This is an avocation for me. When you see some of these things, it tells you that people really were people in the 1800s. They had problems. They had issues. There is so much richness in their culture you can see in the documents and prints. It shows their humor, their diversity, the curiosity of human beings.”

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MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

Perspectives on Childhood, Education, and Parenting

For Educators, It’s the Collegial Way

“The nature of relationships among the adults within a school… has a greater influence upon the character and the quality of school and on the accomplishment of students than everything else.“ - Roland Barth, Educator (1937-2021)

By Tom Northrup

everal years ago in a memorable conference, a mother of a prospective student asked me if I believed in the “trickle down” theory. Seeking clarification, I asked her if she was referring to Arthur Laffer’s ideas on economics.

“No, no,” she replied. “I’m asking you what your school does to support its teachers. I believe that if you take good care of them, they will take good care of my daughter.” A few years before that meeting, I had heard a talk by Roland Barth called “Adult Relationships within the Schoolhouse.” Barth, who died this past September, was a school principal in New England for fifteen years and later taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In his talk, Barth described four faculty cultures: —Parallel play: “We’re all in this—alone.” ~-Adversarial: “Educators become adversaries…the better you look, the worse I look.” ~-Congenial: “Civilized and friendly interpersonal relationships which represent a pre-condition for the most highly-prized culture—collegial.” -~Collegial: “Where educators share their craft knowledge, observe one another in practice, and root for the successes of one another.” Over the past two years throughout our country, the pandemic has significantly expanded and intensified the range of adults—beyond school leaders and teachers—who are invested in understanding and designing curriculum and sometimes cultures of schools. The nature of adult relationships in all schools varies significantly—some operating collegially, some adversarially. Unfortunately we are increasingly aware of the latter. Every community will need to evaluate itself, or be guided by local authorities. But, all have an historic opportunity for civic and educational leaders, along with parents and teachers, to step back and come together in partnership to serve the best long-term interest for children. In fact, the very method and tone the groups use to deal with conflict sets a compelling example for all of these children, who of course have their eyes and ears focused on this issue. If we think of all of the adult interest groups working together as a team, Patrick Lencioni”s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Daniel Coyle’s The Culture Code provide excellent frameworks to understand the principles which are required for productive adult interaction. The foundation for all healthy teams is trust and safety. To engender these qualities of a collegial culture demands a great deal of time, commitment, and good will. No quick fixes. But doable, and worth it. Tom Northrup is a long-time, nationally acclaimed educator and Head of School Emeritus at The Hill School in Middleburg.

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

Painting a Portrait of the Real Fauquier M

By John T. Toler

ost Fauquier County residents are comfortable, if not proud, of the unique name of their province, and know where it came from.

Francis Fauquier (1703-1768) was the son of Dr. John Francis Fauquier, a French Huguenot immigrant, and Elizabeth Chamberlaine, a British noblewoman. A financier, John Fauquier was a director of the Bank of England and involved with the South Sea Company. Francis followed in his footsteps, and was married to Catherine Dalston. They had two sons, Francis and William. Known for his ability to raise money and his philanthropy, Francis was elected a governor of the London Foundling Hospital, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. These and other accomplishments caught the attention of Britain’s top leadership, resulting in his appointment to the role of Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. Arriving in Williamsburg in 1758, Francis Fauquier served until his death ten years later. He basically ran the colony while the governors, John Campbell (1756-63) and Jeffrey Amherst (1763-68), were off fighting in the French and Indian War and handling other affairs outside of the colony. Fauquier’s diplomatic handling of the Stamp Act and shielding Virginians from other royal efforts to raise their taxes earned him their respect and won him a following among colony leaders. Thomas Jefferson, then a student at the College of William and Mary, often dined with Fauquier, and called him “the ablest man who ever filled the chair of government here.” During Fauquier’s time in office, larger counties in Virginia were divided in order to provide more adequate representation in the House of Burgesses. This included Prince William, from which a county to the west was carved-out in 1759 – and named in honor of Francis Fauquier. Lt. Gov. Fauquier died March 3, 1768, and was buried in the north aisle of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg. While much was known about his time as Lt. Governor, no image of Francis Fauquier was known to exist. It would be years after his death before it was revealed what he looked like. In 1924, the Fauquier Historical Society sought to fill this void by searching for images of Francis Fauquier. Members of the Fauquier family had migrated to Canada during and after the Revolutionary War, and Gilbert E. Fauquier of Ottawa, a descendant of Francis’s brother William, owned a miniature portrait believed to be Francis painted by John Smart. Society president H. C. Groome contacted Gilbert Fauquier, who agreed to loan the miniature to the Society so that a larger portrait could be painted.

Francis Fauquier, the true image is found. Washington, D.C. artist Mrs. Bush Brown was commissioned to paint the portrait. It was presented to Fauquier County Judge G. L. Fletcher at an unveiling in the County courthouse on Main Street. For more than 40 years, it was seen there by citizens and visitors, including descendants of the Fauquier family. For the county’s Bicentennial in 1959, the portrait was part of the celebration, and prominently featured at the event and in Bicentennial publications. That changed in early 1968, when Dr. George H. Reese, assistant director of research at Colonial Williamsburg, published an article in The Virginia Magazine proving conclusively that the man in the miniature was likely Francis Fauquier’s son William (1733-1805). Reese also claimed the miniature could not have been painted by Smart, since he would have been only 17 when Lt. Gov. Fauquier sailed for Virginia. He also noted the clothing depicted in the miniature was actually military dress. Francis never was in the military, but his son served in the Royal Regiments of Infantry. Reese also pointed out the “neckwear and his neat and severe coiffure all suggest a date in the third quarter of the 18th century,” and that he would have appeared “…at least a dozen years older than the man in the miniature” at mid-century. Extending his investigation to London, Reese found a 1730 painting of the Wollaston family by William Hogarth. Two of Francis’s sisters had married into the Wollastons, and Francis was

William Fauquier, the son and soldier. conclusively identified as the man on the far left. Continuing his research, Reese found an actual portrait of Francis painted in 1737 by Richard Wilson during the time Francis was one of the governors of the London Foundling Hospital. The late Hubert B. Phipps, then publisher of The Fauquier Democrat, quickly moved to act on Dr. Reese’s findings. With Reese’s assistance, Phipps and Democrat Business Manager Gertrude Trumbo began corresponding with Frederick Brown, secretary of the Thomas Coram Foundation, the successor charity of the London Foundling Home. Brown had the portrait of Lt. Gov. Fauquier cleaned and restored, and commissioned Robert J. Swan, a respected London artist, to produce an exact oil copy. It was then placed in a secure case and put on board the S. S. Rubens for shipment to the U.S. It arrived in Norfolk in December 1968, but delivery was held up by a longshoreman’s strike. And then, the case and portrait were lost. Eventually recovered, the “proper Francis” portrait was delivered by truck to Warrenton, and in June, 1969 presented to the county by The Fauquier Democrat. Both Francis and William were displayed in the County courthouse on Main Street until the new Circuit courthouse between Culpeper and Ashby streets was completed in the 1970s. At that point, Francis was moved to the lobby of the new building. William remained behind in what became the General District courthouse.

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

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The Planets Were Perfectly Aligned for Ellen Stofan S By Pat Reilly

ome wonder why public money is spent to explore space while here on Earth, it’s a constant battle against catastrophic fires, devastating floods and record-breaking droughts. Ellen Stofan, undersecretary for science and research at the Smithsonian Institution, has a simple answer: because other planets tell us a lot about our own. She’s seen space missions yield critical clues that help solve earthly dilemmas.

“Through comparative planetology, which is what I do, you really start to understand what makes a planet work and that helps us right here on Earth,” said Stofan who has lived in The Plains for 20 years. She gives the example of volcanoes, which she studies around the solar system. “To only have them on Earth, it’s like a doctor having only one patient… At some point you just have theories. On Mars or Saturn’s moon Titan, you have volcanoes and a lot of the same geologic processes, but the gravity is different, the atmospheric composition is different. “Frankly that’s one of the reasons we actually know so much about climate change. We can look at the climates of Venus or Mars or Saturn’s moon Titan and we can do comparisons that strengthen our models.” Space data is part of why we know that climate change is happening. The same science will help us become more resilient in the face of it, she believes. This mission has been a major part of the space program all along, Stofan pointed out. The initial Earth observation satellites launched

Photo Courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

in the 1960s were studying the effects of the sun on Earth’s magnetic field. Stofan had the pedigree to be a planetary scientist, even when few women were involved in that field. Her father was a NASA engineer and her mother taught science in elementary school. She was brought to her first rocket launch at Cape Canaveral at age of four. When the unmanned rocket blew up on the launch pad, she likes to say, it guaranteed she’d do her space exploration from Earth. It hasn’t stopped her from reaching some of the highest milestones in the space program during her career. Stofan, 60, married and the mother of three, was the first woman to lead the National Air and Space Museum, a chief scientist for NASA and a former co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Future of Space Technologies Council, where she still contributes. She said the work of the Economic Forum is critical as space becomes cluttered with various private and government technologies—communication companies launching 60 satellites at a time. “Who’s in charge?” she asked. Her current role has many earthly impacts. As undersecretary for science and research, Stofan oversees the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, headquartered in Front Royal, which plays a leading role in global efforts to save wildlife species from extinction and train future generations of conservationists. In Front Royal, scientists are looking at ways to introduce species that human activities have driven to extinction. “It’s a good example of using science to help this planet,” Stofan said.

Ellen Stofan She also oversees the National Museum of Natural History, the National Zoo, the Museum Conservation Institute, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. She did her undergraduate work at the College of William and Mary in geology, which became the foundation for her graduate and doctoral work at Brown University, where she specialized in planetary geology. She started out focusing on Mars, but by chance became involved with Venus in the era of the “space race,” when she witnessed U.S. and Soviet scientists working together to solve space challenges. For all the practical outcomes space exploration has yielded, what may have had the most far-reaching impact is inspiration, she said. “If you look across the tech sectors today—at Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk—what inspired them to create companies that changed economies? It was the Apollo program—space exploration inspires people to go on and become builders and creators.” Her sights still on Mars, she imagines a point maybe 20 years from now when, “If you think of that first human cracking open a rock on Mars and finding evidence of past life, how fundamental that’s going to be for really understanding the nature of life itself. What we’ll find is answers we didn’t have questions for.” The World Economic Forum’s Report Space for Net Zero can be found at https://www.weforum.org/ whitepapers/space-for-net-zero.

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

Vineyard VINE

Christmas Time is Glühwein Time SWING BACK INTO THE HOLIDAYS! SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2021 - 3:00 PM Join the PSO in collaboration with Warrenton’s own Silver Tones Swing Band in a reboot of our popular Swing Holiday concert from 2012! Hear your favorite holiday tunes set to the driving sounds of a Big Band…relive classic Swing hits from the era in this high octane holiday musical celebration…complete with dancers!

Photo by Peter Leonard-Morgan

Mulled wine spices up the Christmas season.

By Peter Leonard-Morgan

n this age of the internet and social media, trends and fashions traverse the globe in mere minutes. Not even a quarter of a century ago, when the “world-wide web” was a phenomenon known only to a select few, ideas and concepts travelled at a far slower pace—physically, by phone or by fax (and what’s a fax, younger readers have been known to ask.) So how is it that a centuries-old tradition like spicing up wine during the Christmas season managed to circumvent the earth, achieving slight variations wherever it went? The love of wine and its beginnings have been previously discussed in this space, and so it seems that spicing and heating up wine during the winter and around the holidays may have been a foregone conclusion, passed on from traveller to traveller, reaching the four corners of the earth. The mulling of wine appears to have become a winter tradition in places such as Britain, mainland Europe/the Nordic countries and then on continents and in countries where the descendants of these Europeans had relocated over the centuries. In short, everywhere. Glüwein is the German variant of mulled wine, a process whereby red (usually) wine is warmed and infused with a cocktail of spices including whole cloves (it’s important to use whole spices rather than ground), cinnamon and star anise. Adding a small amount of honey or maple syrup helps to ensure that the warmed wine doesn’t turn bitter, and relatively inexpensive reds such as Merlot and Zinfandel are ideal. The heating process is best performed in either a crock pot, on low heat and then left on warm, or a Dutch Oven, also on low so that it doesn’t boil, but rather steams gently, giving off an intoxicating aroma around the kitchen. Once this delightful concoction has gently warmed, with an emphasis on gently, for anything from 30 minutes to an hour, it’s ready to be served. That is best achieved by ladling servings into mugs, then garnishing the mugs, or glasses with handles capable of handling hot liquid, with a slice of orange. Glass mugs are ideal, in order to enjoy the visual as well as aromatic sensation in a seasonal wintery social atmosphere. Adding a cinnamon stick to the orange slice really perfects the scene. In a pinch, prepared sachets of mulling spices can be found at places like Williams-Sonoma and Etsy. Simply add them to the pot of warming wine, resulting in an aromatic mulled wine for all to enjoy. Happy Holidays!

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Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

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Native Plants Help Provide Wildlife Diversity By Marcia Woolman and Rae Stone

he Orange County Hounds Conservation Foundation’s recent “Wildlife Stewardship Walk” led by Fritz Reuter, a sustainable landscape designer and founder of Virginica, LLC, offered an illuminating close-up view of the local countryside. Reuter led participants through the breathtaking Bull Run Mountains between Bull Run Farm and neighboring Glenstone Farm. There were panoramas of native grass fields near the base of those mountains on the Reuter Farm, with an added bonus of finding, hidden in the diverse riparian buffers, glimpses of the Bull Run Creek that starts its journey from the headwaters on their land. Local streams are perfect wildlife corridors. When native plants are allowed to become re-established along their banks, the ensuing habitat supports a diversity of native wildlife species. Glenstone and Bull Run farms, just southeast of Aldie, illustrate a perfect balance of practical lawn around the house and well-maintained hay fields laced with neighboring fields of native grasses with seed heads waving in the afternoon breeze. These complementary areas increase agricultural productivity and livestock grazing and provide strategic areas of wildlife preservation. Reuter explained how, over the past 10 years, he’s converted his family’s mindset from traditional farming practices to this new inclusive approach, including

or restoration plan of important sites, including whether to consider chemical control, involve outside professionals, or tackle the work personally. Knowledge is power in these instances, and knowledge starts with knowing your plants. With certain apps that help in this regard (iNaturalist, PictureThis), and information vaults always at our fingertips (Google, Missouri Botanic Garden website), this research has never been easier. There are two priorities to consider moving Photo by Fritz Reuter forward with a plan to protect the countryside and Native plants bordering a manicured lawn. sustain native wildlife. —The best way to enhance diversity of wildlife is areas set aside for native grasses and enhanced to promote native plants and natural systems, and to remove non-native, invasive species. Building habitats for wildlife to thrive. They’ve removed many invasive plants and resiliency through communities of native plants encouraged more native species where possible, a creates functioning ecosystems wildlife depend simple baseline rule when practicing stewardship on on for food and shelter, and through which their any level or size of land. The native grasses support population densities will be directly correlated. —Reduce lawn wherever possible, replacing it with threatened grassland bird species, including quail, native grassland, meadow, shrub-land or forest. Lawns with two new coveys established in the past year. With increased shade on the creek provided by should be used only in specifically defined areas and the canopy of native shrubs and trees, there’s hope of never be the default landscape decision, especially providing a future spawning area for native brook trout. within the context of larger properties. They require A central component to being a great steward constant upkeep and produce a sterile habitat that does of the land is knowing the plants, both native and not provide food or shelter for wildlife. Many organizations with trained staff can help invasive, and personally observing the landscape property owners make informed landscaping evolve through each season. In addition to identifying beneficial flora, being decisions. Virginia Working Landscapes and able to identify and quantify the presence of invasive The Clifton Institute are two of the best local species will help determine the course of action organizations to provide information and resources.

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MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

MFHA Feels Right at Home in Middleburg The stud books go way, way back.

Photos by Louisa Woodville

The Masters of Foxhounds Middleburg headquarters.

By Louisa Woodville

n E. Washington Street in Middleburg, there’s an eye-catching three-story stone building with black shutters. A circular shingle identifies it as the home of the Master of Foxhounds Association. So exactly what does this organization do? The MFHA governs 144 registered fox-hunting clubs that hunt with hounds in the U.S. and Canada. They span across 35 states and three Canadian provinces, responsible for people and hounds on the look-out for red and gray fox, coyote, bobcat, or boar. Billie-Jo Pearl is the organization’s indispensable director of operations, and Andrew Barclay, the director of hunting. “Billie-Jo is amazing at what she does,” said Barclay, explaining that he and Pearl split duties that retired executive director Dennis Foster once handled. He now consults for the MFHA. “Billie-Jo keeps the place together,” said Barclay. “She’s with finances, and my job is anything with hounds and hunting.” In 2019 the MFHA moved from Millwood to its new Middleburg headquarters. While the location has changed, the organization’s mission has not. “Our first priority is as the governing body of foxhunting for the U.S. s and Canada,” said Barclay. “My job is to deal with hunts and make sure they’re following our code of hunting and guidelines and best practices.” That information is readily available on the MFHA web site. It also provides a brief history of the MFHA, the all-important hound stud book, hunt maps, conservation efforts, and other information. The organization’s Covertside magazine covers all aspects of the sport. A recent issue covered the joys of watching young hounds learn the ropes of hunting as well as exploring North America’s oldest operating fox hunt in Montreal, Canada. Another important function is keeping track of hounds’ bloodlines. “We keep a stud book for all recognized packs of

Billie-Jo Pearl, director of operation foxhounds, so we will add 800 to 900 hounds each year,” said Barclay, referring to the Foxhound Stud Book published annually since 1973. Accuracy as to pedigree is key, as knowing hounds’ lineage is allimportant. In North America there are four categories of hounds: English, American, cross-bred, and Penn-Meridel. “Hounds are bred to fit territory and particular huntsmen,” said Foster. The annual hound shows at Live Oaks in Georgia, Weatherford Texas, Southern Pines, North Carolina, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and Morven Park in Leesburg showcase the best of these hounds. Though the MFHA documents the bloodlines and breeding program, it’s up to the hunts to determine a breeding progam. “We don’t say you should breed to this hound or that hound —that’s up to the individual huntsmen,” Barclay said. Huntsmen also are responsible for the hounds’ training, essential to any successful pack. “If the huntsmen and whips can’t control the hounds, then that could cause community problems,” said Foster, adding that it’s also up to the huntsman to make sure each hound is accounted for at day’s end. GPS collars help and, Foster said, “You do everything you can to keep the hounds together. A hound will get into mischief if he doesn’t know where to go.” The MFHA also sponsors a retired racehorse program, giving Thoroughbreds a new lease on life when they take on a new discipline such as eventing, foxhunting, cutting cattle, dressage, or show jumping. These days, land issues also are of paramount importance. “Foxhunting is a sport that has to go wherever the

live quarry go,” Foster said. “We’ve done a lot of work to make sure the territory is open to them.” Keeping land maintained for hunting, securing landowners’ permission to ride over it, and thwarting ever-threatening development requires vigilance. “Virginia alone has 25 hunts, and each hunt has to have its landowners’ permission,” said Foster, emphasizing how developing and retaining good relationships with land owners is essential. As land becomes more expensive and building houses more lucrative, the fight becomes tougher. “The MFHA is strong on conservation and conservation easement,” said Foster, adding that it efforts have opened more than a million acres of land. With an eye toward the future, the MFHA started a hunt staff benefit foundation in 2006. Barclay explained that it takes care of hunt staff when they might need help. “It’s an emergency fund so if someone finds themselves in dire straights, we have the ability to help them out.” The foundation also enables members of a hunt staff to hone their skills. “It finances a lot of educational endeavor and professional development,” said Barclay of the yearlong program. The assigned readings are complemented by travel to hunts different from their own. If their club’s hounds hunt coyote, they might travel to a club where the prey is red fox. The circular sign that identifies the MFHA also displays the word “museum”—but that’s not to be confused with the Museum of Hounds and Hunting at Morven Park, which showcases art and artifacts related to the hunting world. The MFHA museum refers to its many portraits of past presidents now on display, “memorials to the enormous contributions of these men and women to the sport of North American foxhunting,” in the words of Norman Fine, Covertside’s former editor. The MFHA’s Middleburg move bodes well for the future as the organization grows hand-in-hand with foxhunting, land preservation, and art celebrating the exhilaration of riding to hounds.

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

New Memorial Site Honors Black Union Soldiers

Ebenezer Baptist Church in Culpeper County

he Freedom Foundation of Virginia has installed a new Civil War memorial in Culpeper County that honors and memorializes the ultimate sacrifice of three “United States Colored Troops” (USCT) who were captured and executed near the historic Madden’s Tavern in 1864. This “Maddensville Historic Site,” dedicated in a moving ceremony on Nov. 6, includes a granite obelisk dedicated to these troops, as well as three Civil War Trail markers, honoring the historic Madden’s Tavern and the Ebenezer Baptist Church, both established by the Madden family, before and after the Civil War, and the USCTs who called Culpeper home. Along Madden’s Tavern Road near the oncebooming crossroads of Routes 610 and 724, the memorial commemorates the ultimate sacrifice of the three Union soldiers who were killed by 9th Virginia Cavalry troops just 300 yards away on May 8, 1864. “We don’t know their identities, nor do we know precisely where they’re buried, but we know what happened and that they lay nearby,” said Howard Lambert, founder and president of The Freedom Foundation of Virginia, and for whom this memorial is a years-long labor of love. “This is dedicated to those men who made the ultimate sacrifice. This will be the first site dedicated to United States Colored Troops (USCT) in Culpeper County, arguably the most fought-over county during the entire Civil War.”

Lambert described Culpeper County essentially as ground zero in the story of the USCT. Many who were formerly enslaved there went north and returned to the place of their enslavement to fight for the Union cause. “They could have stayed free and enjoyed all the privileges, but these men decided to join the Union army and come back as proud soldiers in blue to fight to free people who were still in bondage. They knew if they were captured, they would be given no quarter, but would be lined up and shot, which is obviously what happened near Madden’s Tavern.” Named the “Maddensville Historic Site,” the monument is the culmination of a years-long effort by the Freedom Foundation of Virginia in partnership with Civil War Trails and the Piedmont Environmental Council. The Maddensville Historic Site will include three Civil War Trail markers: one honoring the service and sacrifice of USCTs and the other two honoring the historic Madden’s Tavern and Ebenezer Baptist Church, both established by a free Black man, Willis Madden. Madden’s Tavern, with its associated general store, blacksmith, and wheelwright shop, served as a popular business and rest stop frequented by travelers, teamsters, and both Union and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. Constructed in 1840, the 1 1/2-story log structure was designed, built and operated by Willis Madden, whose mother, Sarah, had been indentured for 30 years in the household of future president James Madison, before using her

skills as a seamstress and laundress to help Willis purchase their first 87 acres of land. Willis Madden rose from poverty to become the respected proprietor of what is the only known Black-owned and operated tavern in the Virginia Piedmont prior to the Civil War. The tavern’s success allowed the Maddens to eventually acquire hundreds of acres, which they farmed extensively. It led to giving the area the historic moniker of Maddensville, and to donate the land and building materials to help establish Ebenezer Baptist Church and an extensive African American cemetery across the road. Willis Madden’s great-great-granddaughter, Thomasene Madden Tarasuk, grew up in the Madden’s Tavern homestead. Though she now lives in Toronto and hasn’t been able to return to Culpeper since the Covid pandemic, she likened the strength of Sarah Madden to that of the troops who fought here. “I have great admiration for a woman of limited resources, but obviously not limited in fortitude and stamina, that she was able to plan for the future of her children and provide for the community of Maddensville, the church, and the community that evolved from that,” she said. “Like her, the martyrs who sacrificed their lives there at Maddensville perhaps couldn’t phrase their motives as eloquently as Lincoln did, but they knew that they were fighting for a greater good—a better existence—for themselves and the Negroes who would come in future generations.”

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

COUNTRY MATTERS

A Special Farm Gives “Curated” New Meaning

Get the primary care experience you deserve Same-day or next-day appointments Reach your doctor after hours Unhurried visits that start on time

Left: Andrea and Dendy Young. Right: At Hidden Creek Farm near Delaplane, they raise grass-fed Red Poll cattle, a heritage breed known for rich milk and nutrient-dense meat.

Call 540.724.2054 or visit mdvip.com to schedule a complimentary getacquainted meeting with Dr. Royston.

By Kevin Ramundo

ften the word “curated” describes how art exhibits are designed, weddings are planned and music playlists are created. However, after a visit to Hidden Creek Farm in Delaplane, the word has taken on a whole new meaning. This 550-acre farm (406-acres of which is in conservation easement), was purchased by Andrea and Dendy Young in 2015. Organic and humane-certified, it’s home to animals that have been sensibly selected as part of a “regenerative” operation that retains nutrients and protects watersheds and natural spaces. Their philosophy is based upon responsible stewardship of the land and the concept that good food and a clean environment will keep animals and people healthy with less reliance on chemicals. As Andrea points out, “It’s all about what the soil will support, and working with nature, not against her.” The farm’s herd of 90 grass-fed Red Poll cattle -- a heritage breed known for rich milk and nutrient-dense meat -- was chosen for specific qualities consistent with the terrain, climate and even a kinder, gentle approach to birthing calves. The pigs are a proprietary Tamaitsa™ breed developed for the quality of the meat and characteristics like floppy ears that protect the animal’s eyes when foraging in thick undergrowth and shorter snouts that are less disruptive to the soils and plant life. The American bred Katahdin hair sheep were also chosen for their medium size and flavorful meat. All these species offer natural resistance to disease and parasites, reducing the need for antibiotics and medication, and are in high demand as breeding stock. The produce and eggs at Hidden Creek are equally special. Vegetables and herbs are grown year-round in gardens and greenhouses utilizing specially formulated soils and techniques. A soil and nutrient expert relies on a test garden to determine which soils and approaches best to assure peak flavor and freshness. Even the use of worms to enrich the soil is explored. With less cholesterol and saturated fat, the farm’s delicious eggs come from free-range chickens and provide significantly more vitamins and healthy supplements than commercially available ones. Andrea has quickly learned about sustainable and regenerative agriculture. Hidden Creek Farm, her first foray into agriculture, was nothing more than a dream six years ago. Long days, trial and error, science-based self-study, and partnerships with other farming organizations are now paying off in this unique and valuable addition to the agricultural scene. The pleasing fruits of Andrea’s efforts, and those of her carefully selected team of seven employees, can be found at such notable places as Field and Main, The Whole Ox, Locke Store, Market at Bluewater Kitchen and the Upperville Farm and Feed Store. Hidden Creek also has a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) program where folks can sign up for regular deliveries of farm products. “The idea is to work with nature,” Andrea said, “and how to farm with a conscience.” Hidden Creek Farm is carefully curated to create a special place which produces healthy food in harmony with nature. To learn more, including how you can stay in a cabin, take a tour or attend a workshop, visit: hiddencreekfarmllc.com.

Norris Royston Jr., MD Family Medicine 8255 East Main Street Marshall, VA 20115 mdvip.com/NorrisRoystonMD

DEL WILSON, P.T., O.C.S.* MARY WILSON, P.T., O.C.S.* * Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist

DEL WILSON, P.T., O.C.S.* American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties DEL WILSON, P.T., O.C.S.* MARY WILSON, P.T., O.C.S.* * Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist

DEL WILSON, P.T., O.C.S.* American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties MARY WILSON, P.T., O.C.S.*

MARY P.T., O.C.S.* 204 WILSON, E. FEDERAL ST.

* Board Certified Orthopedic ClinicalST. Specialist 204 E. FEDERAL American BoardP.O. of Physical Therapy BOX 893 Specialties

MIDDLEBURG, VA 20118

204 E. FEDERAL ST. P.O. BOX 893 WILSON, DEL MIDDLEBURG, VA 20118 www.middleburg-pt.com

540-687-6565

P.O. BOX 893 MIDDLEBURG, VA 20118

* Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties

204 E. FEDERAL ST. 540-687-6565 P.O. BOX 893

MIDDLEBURG, VA 20118 www.middleburg-pt.com P.T.,540-687-6565 O.C.S.*

www.middleburg-pt.com

MARY 2021 WILSON, P.T., O.C.S.* Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 540-687-6565

* Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist www.middleburg-pt.com American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties

Nearly 90, It’s Up, Up and Zipping Away

By Leonard Shapiro

ois Tuohy has been looking forward to her 90th birthday in June for quite some time, while also contemplating a unique way to celebrate. She truly wanted to parachute out of an airplane, but decided that wouldn’t fly because she had both hips replaced 25 years ago and they might not take a jarring jolt hitting the ground. The long-time Middleburg resident had been talking about something a tad less daring when some younger friends suggested another challenging alternative. How about a zip line ride high above the tall trees behind the Salamander Resort? Lois immediately declared she was all in. On a gorgeous recent September afternoon, she arrived at Salamander to cash in an early birthday present—a zippity-do-da gift certificate. Accompanied by family and friends to cheer her on, one son and a grand daughter also suited up to ride the zip line. Several hours and countless thrills later, Lois was back on terra firma, safe and hip-sound after an exhilarating experience. “It was so much fun,” she said. “I was up there yelling the whole time. My son said it sounded like I was scared. I wasn’t. I loved it.” Pamela Rimes, one of her best friends, was in her cheering section and confirmed that Lois “had a great time with all of it. She was a little nervous walking across a suspension bridge between the

towers. But she did it. Afterwards, we went into Salamander and Lois bought a round of drinks. It was a wonderful day.” Lois also clearly has enjoyed a wonderful life. Growing up on Long Island, she and her two best friends started riding at age 12, with $2 an hour lessons. Lois Tuohy getting all Early on she displayed geared up for her traces of the thrill big ride. gene as a roller coaster enthusiast, particularly the stomach-flipping Cyclone at Coney Island in Brooklyn. She and her late husband, Liam, eventually moved to 87-acre Fair Fox Farm in Blairstown New Jersey, where she became an enthusiastic fox hunter. “We only had two hunts in New Jersey,” she said. “One weekend we came down to Middleburg to hunt, and I fell in love with it. I was asking myself ‘why are we living up there?’ I told my husband ‘I’m moving, you want to come, too?’” They sold the farm and moved to Virginia in 1993, and she’s lived here ever since. She rode with the Middleburg Hunt until age 65, but after those hips were replaced, it was time to admire horses, not ride

them. She still goes out to watch the hunt and hardly ever misses the spring or fall point-to-points at Glenwood Park. A long-time animal lover, Lois recently wrote a touching children’s book, “Deer Heart,” about an orphaned baby fawn found on their New Jersey farm 40 years ago. They named him Spanky, and cared for him until he Photos by Leonard Shapiro returned to the wild as a Lois Tuohy just zipping healthy young buck. along in a practice run. As for the zip line, Lois didn’t tell her own kids, 16 grandchildren and 32 great grandchildren ahead of time “until it was all planned out.” One son, Brian Lynch, now retired and also living in Middleburg, said there was no way he could have talked her out of it anyway. “I know my mother,” he said. “Waste of time.” So what’s the next adventure? “I don’t know,” she said. “But I’m definitely thinking about it.” Even pushing 90, the thrill is never gone for Lois Tuohy.

THE HILL SCHOOL VOTED #1 PRIVATE SCHOOL IN LOUDOUN COUNTY 2019, 2020, & 2021! Total education: academics, art, music, drama, and athletics for every student

Individualized, caring attention with a 6:1 studentteacher ratio

Outdoor science center, ponds and wetlands on our 140-acre campus

Bus service and before-and-after school care

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

Junior Kindergarten through 8th Grade Middleburg, VA Since 1926

Something For Everyone at Middleburg Library

By Leslie VanSant

veryone knows about borrowing books at the library. But Lillian Newton, the new branch manager at the Middleburg Library, will tell you that’s just the beginning of what you can do. For free. With your library card. —Planning a trip? In addition to travel guides and books about every corner of the globe, you can also learn a language at the library. Mango Languages is a learning app with over 60 languages.

Photo by Leslie VanSant

Lillian Newton, the new branch manager at the Middleburg Library.

—Is your long commute a drag? Listening to an audio or e-book can de-stress your drive time. They’re available at the library.

—Need a new show to binge? You can access and stream tens of thousands of TV and movie titles in addition to DVDs of classic movies and shows. —Trying to get a promotion at work? The library provides access to LinkedIN Learning, a network of 16,000 professional courses on video from learning how to use Excel to being more organized. —Need a new sound track for your workout? You can find your ‘old-school’ music here, or a catalogue of 15 million songs available through Freegal. —Is peace of mind your thing? Join the yoga class on Mondays, or get cozy in the comfortable chairs by the windows and read. —Your club needs a place to meet? There’s a meeting room available, with wifi. — Have a document that needs notarization? Just make an appointment at the library. “The library is for everybody and has something for everyone,” said Newton, who explained how easy it is to get a library card. All you need is a photo ID and something that proves you live or work in Loudoun County or one of its reciprocal counties. There’s no age limit and children can get their own library cards with a parent or care-giver’s permission. Knowing how to read is not a requirement for a library card. But you can learn to read at the library. “There’s a famous quote, well, famous among librarians,” Newton said. “The award-winning author Neil Gaiman once said, ‘Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.’ Librarians are trained to help people find answers.” The talented and so affable Middleburg Library staff can do just that. While libraries have evolved with the invention of the internet, they hold the line on privacy. Librarians protect your privacy so you can research and make informed decisions in a judgement-free zone. It’s free and easy. Newton started at the Middleburg Library on September 1 following the retirement of long-time branch manager Sheila Whetzel. While new to Middleburg, she’s not new to the Loudoun County library system. She previously had been the children’s librarian at the Rust Library in Leesburg. Like everyone, the innovative Middleburg Library has adjusted to the challenges of Covid. But they’ve taken the opportunity to create hybrid programs and partner with other businesses in the community to continue to offer programs that inspire learning and bring people together. One such program is the “Armchair Travels” offered in conjunction with Old Ox Brewery and Hill School teacher John Daum. This jewel of a library can’t get you there, but Dulles Airport is only 25 minutes away. The Middleburg Library, located at 101 Reed Street, is open Monday to Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

He’s a “Real Estate Nerd”

By Paul Clausen

o there I was in Central America working with the local military in an old, coastal town off the Caribbean Sea. And during my free time, I was out studying the country’s real estate market. This happened throughout all my domestic and foreign destinations over my 19 years with the Navy Seal Teams. Becoming an aficionado of real properties eventually steered me to become a real estate agent. I just didn’t know Paul Clausen when or where I’d have the time or the means to do it. After retiring from the military and while working as a federal employee, my future wife, Boyden, herself a Naval Academy graduate, introduced me to Middleburg, and we soon fell in love with each other, not to mention the tranquility of the nation’s horse and hunt capital. For years we commuted from Washington to Middleburg and spent many weekends in the area’s finest bed and breakfast retreats. After getting married in Middleburg, we became fulltime renters on Heronwood Farm in Upperville, then turned into reverse commuters, going to work in D.C. While preparing to retire from my second career, Boyden suggested I pursue something I’d always wanted to do. For the previous decade, I had studied the real estate market in the Middleburg area as well as in Washington. I soon became a real estate professional licensed in D.C. and Virginia. After 35-plus years serving in the military and government, I’m now pursuing my life-long passion. I represent PenFed Realty, a division of Berkshire Hathaway, with an office in Hamilton. I didn’t become a realtor to make money. I’m striving to help my clients—buyers and sellers—make informed decisions, the better to help them save money. My business model focuses on serving clients transitioning to and from Middleburg and/or the D.C. areas. I pride myself on being completely transparent and operating with integrity and honor. It’s all about representing your client’s interests, and not just profit. The best part about this business is helping them obtain their real estate objectives. The most difficult part is managing their expectations. On a personal note, I’m a native of Richfield, Minnesota and even thought about real estate growing up. I guess you could call me a “real estate nerd.” These days, I spend my time revitalizing our newly acquired 40-acre farm near Unison. I totally enjoy rolling up my sleeves and making our property more functional. I also raise funds as president of Hope for Children in Vietnam (a 501c-3 nonprofit charity). I enjoy working with the Vietnamese volunteers and supporting HCV’s mission to help impoverished, street children in Vietnam.

A view from the back side of the building.

PROPERTY Writes

An Elegant D.C. Condo With Hunt Country Amenities

oxhall East Condominium is a full-service, pet-friendly building of elegant apartment homes nestled within seven acres of lushly landscaped grounds in the Wesley Heights neighborhood near the intersection of Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues in northwest Washington, D.C.

Expansive balconies wrap around the building with breathtaking views. The fabulous exterior is a picturesque park-like setting with multi-level cascading waterfalls that meander down several leisure areas to a large reflecting pool and entertaining patio. The acreage will remind you of a lush courtyard or a page out of a Hunt Country Estate magazine. The Foxhall Condominium also has a year-round indoor heated swimming pool, tennis court, saunas, and newly renovated fitness/yoga rooms.

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

The balcony looks out over lots of green and beyond.

The expansive living room and a very big screen.

Waterfalls run through the landscape. The kitchen has thoroughly modern everything.

The comfortable bedroom opens up to the balcony as well.

There’s a pool and a gorgeous patio. The Foxhall was completely renovated in 2017 to embrace modern elegance while still retaining its original charm. The Foxhall Condominium offers all the amenities of a luxury property; A concierge desk, a doorman, and 24/7 security. The sub-terrain levels contain ample private indoor garage parking for residents and exterior on-site parking for guests. Unit #708 is a modern, stylish one-bedroom completely remodeled in 2020 with a unique floor plan, high end appliances, and modern conveniences so

desired in todays’ world. This unit has floor-to-ceiling exterior glass walls with wide balconies and rem ote-control blinds for privacy. The kitchen has the most exclusive, sophisticated layout with unparalleled views of the skyline of Northern Virginia and Washington D.C. The appliances include induction stove, Bosch washer, dryer, and refrigerator, and a slide out drawer microwave. Enjoy modern, elegant living with a history of sophisticated elegance. Make 708 your home while in D.C.

Country ZEST & Style | Holiday 2021

FOXHALL EAST CONDOMINIUM PenFed Realty

Property: Foxhall East 4200 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, D.C. Price: $640,000 Listing Agent: Paul Clausen PaulClausen@PENFEDREALTY.com 202-579-8318

Roma and John Sherman at the Ashby Inn.

Two For Lunch, and Definitely By Invitation Only “And her friend?” “She likes a hamburger.” bout four months after Roma and I We did not serve lunch, but the message from our opened the Ashby Inn, we got a call from housekeeper couldn’t be clearer. So we faked one. Mrs. Paul Mellon’s secretary, requesting We invited a couple of inn guests and a dozen a lunch reservation. We explained that friends for lunch on the reservation day. On us. No we didn’t serve lunch. one declined. She called twice more and got the same response. Those who remember Robert Redford and Paul The next time we were relieved to report that we Newman in “The Sting,” will appreciate the staging now served brunch. “Mrs. Mellon doesn’t do of the Mellon lunch. brunch,” she replied. We briefed the chef and asked whether he could Some months passed and one morning our make a hamburger and a grilled cheese. housekeeper and breakfast cook approached me and, “I’ve got kids,” he replied, rolling his eyes. shyly, asked whether Mrs. Mellon could come for We shed our dinner menu of the most expensive lunch. Her husband was Paul Mellon’s farmer. selections (we were generous to our friends with “You bet.” the invitation, but not that generous). Then we slid I called her secretary and said, biting my lip, that in a local Angus hamburger on a kaiser bun with we would be delighted to have Mrs. Mellon for lunch. hand cut fries and a “Paris croque monsieur” with a Once we settled on a week date we progressed into “petite salade,” otherwise known as a grilled cheese the following dialogue (as I recall it): sandwich in lesser circles. “How many people in her party?” It was a raw November day when Mrs. Mellon “Just two.” pulled up in a nondescript car. Jacqueline Onassis “And what does Mrs. Mellon normally order emerged from the passenger side. for lunch?” Our lunch guests—-a jolly lot—-were already on “A grilled cheese sandwich.” stage in the inn’s taproom, happy to hit the bar as (I jotted down that Mrs. Mellon preferred white they waited for the curtain to rise. The chef was in bread and cheddar cheese.) his cleanest whites. Sliced cheddar was tucked next

By John Sherman

to the Pepperidge Farm. His battery concentrated on the dinner menu offerings. Roma, the afternoon’s waitress (server), showed the arrivals to the library where a fire had been started with care. As I recall, Mrs. Mellon had a bloody Mary and Mrs. Onassis ordered a sherry. The kitchen was alerted. I played my normal role as “host,” faking bon ami toward my freeloader friends, and holding them to the very bottom of the wine list. Apèritifs over, they were shown to a table next to a fire, smiling at the other diners as they sat down. The other guests were at various stages of their meals (playing their parts with gusto) as Roma took their order. Pushing through the kitchen door, she announced to the chef, who had snapped to attention: “Two grilled cheese.” (Back then, we spiked our orders on a nail). The rest of the charade flowed normally. Our actors quietly left in twos and threes. The two in the corner didn’t seem to notice that no one went for their wallet. They chatted quietly, almost somberly, left a good tip, thanked us for the lunch and went out into the nasty weather. It wasn’t until that evening when I realized it was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the assassination.

MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2021

ATOKA

MIDDLEBURG REAL ESTATE

PROPERTIES

S I M P LY B E T T E R .

33846 FOXLEASE LN | UPPERVILLE

16802 CHESTNUT OVERLOOK DR | PURCELLVILLE

$9,500,000 | Magniﬁcent Foxlease Farm on 160+/- acres in Hunt Country is a one-of-a-kind equestrian facility: 2 horse barns (12 stalls / 17 stalls), 3 run-in sheds, machine shed, hay barn, riding ring, multiple fenced paddocks, 2 silos, rolling hills and trails to ride out. Beautiful stone center building added to the 19th-century home.

$1,358,200 | FIOS! 3.24 private acres w/ views of the Short Hills! Convenient to Woodgrove, yet not visible from home. Former model for Chestnut Hills w/ several upgrades & a new addition. Features 6,772 sqft of ﬁnished living space, 2 staircases, gourmet kitchen, 2nd kitchen on lower level, owner suite w/ 225 sqft veranda & movie theater. 3-car & separate detached 1&1/2-car garage. Large back yard! Horses allowed.

Peter Pejacsevich 540.270.3835

Scott Buzzelli 540.454.1399

Kristin Dillon-Johnson 703.673.6920

18279 FOUNDRY RD | PURCELLVILLE

LEE HWY | WASHINGTON

$1,249,000 | Two parcels being sold together with two homes on a total of 6.11 acres. Windy Hollow is a timeless, private, and beautiful property in the village of Lincoln. This lovely home was meticulously restored and expanded and oﬀers elegant living inside and out. Loved by the same owner for 40+ years. The detail, quality, and charm is truly apparent and the setting is incredibly tranquil too. NO HOA!

$399,900 | This spectacular property w/ road frontage on Rt211 is close to commuting routes yet quiet and secluded with lush, gently rolling ﬁelds with stunning views. New 24'x36" pole barn with a lean-to. The barn has a concrete ﬂoor, rough-in plumbing, 3-garage bay doors, a metal roof, & 200 amp electric service almost complete. Currently in land use for making hay. Approved 4-bedroom septic & a well permit.

Kristin Dillon-Johnson 703.673.6920

SOLD

Peter Pejacsevich PRINCIPAL BROKER + MANAGING PARTNER 540.270.3835

Fleetwood Farm - East

Fleetwood Farm - West

1669 WINCHESTER RD | DELAPLANE

1702 WINCHESTER RD | DELAPLANE

1,150 ACRES | $9,202,708

1,326.92 ACRES | $9,000,000

It takes more than just listing a property to get it sold. That is why it is important to hire the right people who know how to effectively market your property and not only make connections, but diligently follow through to deliver results. The recent sale of Fleetwood Farm - West, which joins the successful sale of Fleetwood Farm - East, is a perfect example of this.

Peter Pejacsevich - one of the many incredible agents at Middleburg Real Estate | Atoka Properties - was the mastermind behind the sale of these two very unique and special properties. Working in concert with Peter’s networking efforts, the Marketing Team at MRE | AP created a multi-pronged plan utilizing a array of media to promote the property to a targeted audience.

Scott Buzzelli ASSOCIATE BROKER + PARTNER

How did we get it done? See the Features section of our blog at atokaproperties.com/featured

S I M P LY B E T T E R . | M I D D L E B U R G R E A L E S TAT E . C O M OFFICE LOCATIONS IN MIDDLEBURG, MARSHALL, PURCELLVILLE, LEESBURG, ASHBURN, WINCHESTER AND CHARLES TOWN CORPORATE: 10 E WASHINGTON ST, MIDDELBURG, VA 20117 | 540.687.6321 | LICENSED IN VA, WV & MD (WV BROKER JOSH BEALL)

540.454.1399

Our International Connections Translate To Sales Prioritizing relationships across the globe has given us incomparable reach when it comes to sharing the horse country lifestyle we cherish and know so well. With our ability to open doors around the world, we can always make the right connections. LD

Heronwood

Ardarra

501 acres $19,500,000 Upperville – Private 18 hole golf course built to USGA standards. 2 world class stables, 45 stalls, arena, 28 fenced paddocks. 500+ spectacular acres with Blue Ridge Mountain views. Convenient to Dulles, Reagan National and Washington, D.C.

236 acres $12,000,000 Middleburg – ca. 1931, is the epitome of an exquisite Hunt Country Estate, minutes from the historic village of Middleburg. The 236 Acre estate is in prime Orange County Hunt territory, with tremendous ride out potential, stables and riding arena.

John Coles | 540-270-0094

Middleburg Country Estate

Muster Lane

Glen – Ora

108 acres $6,650,000 Stately and historic estate in prime OCH territory. Features a pool and pool house, 5 bay garage w/office, 2 tenant houses, newly remodeled 11 stall stable with apt. & office, riding arena, exceptional ride-out to wooded trails and open pastures.

130 acres $6,150,000 Rich in history, Glen Ora, ca. 1815 is the epitome of a very private and charming Hunt Country Estate, restored and renovated for today’s lifestyle. In the Orange County Hunt Territory, the estate features courtyard stables and gorgeous views.

30 acres $5,900,000 Spectacular Country Estate with manicured lawns, lush woodlands and towering trees. Superbly built in a classic Tuscan style architecture, it includes 5 bedrooms 8 1/2 baths, 8 fireplaces and wood, stone and marble floors.

260 acres $5,500,000 Steeped in history and features a stunning first floor primary suite, grand rooms, chef’s kitchen & wonderful porches. Also: guest cottage, 2 tenant houses, machine shop with 2 BR apartment, barns and fenced fields. Easement potential.

John Coles | 540-270-0094

Mary Ann McGowan | 540-270-1124

John Coles | 540-270-0094

Claytonville

Llewellyn

Legacy Farm

Glenbrook

George Miller House

102+ acres $4,600,000 Boyce – This exquisite Country Estate is surrounded by some of the finest estates in Clarke Co. and enjoys stunning Blue Ridge Mountain views. Designed for elegant living and grand entertaining. Protected by a VOF Easement.

450 acres $4,500,000 Stretching from 5 Points Rd in the Plains, to Rectortown and Frogtown Roads in Marshall. Protected by an Easement with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. Located in Prime Orange County Hunt Territory, a most prestigious location.

22 acres $4,425,000 Glenbrook combines country ambience in a traditional stone manor house, with all the luxuries of modern living. Set on 22 acres just a mile from Middleburg, Glenbrook offers convenience and privacy with lovely vistas.

100 acres $3,000,000 This estate is waiting for someone with the eye for interior finishes to bring it to life. Minutes from the charming village of Sperryville and enjoys convenient proximity to Culpeper Regional Airport and Warrenton-Fauquier Airport.

John Coles | 540-270-0094

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

THOMAS & TALBOT ESTATE PROPERTIES

Opening The Door To Horse Country For Generations 2 South Madison Street | PO Box 500 | Middleburg, VA 20118 | Office: 540-687-6500 | thomasandtalbot.com CountryZest-TTEP-BC.indd 1

11/8/21 2:38 PM

Country Zest & Style Holiday 2021 Edition

Articles inside

A Special Farm Gives “Curated” New Meaning

Upperville Colt & Horse Show Grounds On the Cusp Of Making More History

Tacking in a Slightly Different Direction

BETTY OARE: Equestrian’s Grande Dame

MOC Beagles

Oltman Brings Shenandoah Choir to Middleburg

For DeeAnn Jeremiah, Imagine the Possibilities

Time to Smell the Flowers at New Shop

Modern FINANCE: The Future Is Now in the Metaverse

Book Cellar Bargains Only a Few Steps Down

Sporting Pursuits

Gifts GALORE

BOXING DAY Bubble and Squeak

Happy Holidays With Betty-Lynn Brownies

Melvin Warner Has a Special Touch With Horses

Dahlias Galore at Walnut Springs Farm

Economic Development Is Ali MacIntyre’s Middleburg Mantra

UPCOMING PROGRAMS