Upcoming Horsey Fun in Virginia Hunt Country

Photo by MCCAIG/iStockPhoto

For the next couple of weeks, there’ll be big doin’s in Virginia’s hunt country.

The  Hunt Country Stable Tour, a Memorial Day weekend staple between Middleburg and Upperville, is this weekend. This is the 50th year for the fundraiser.

And the Upperville Horse Show, the longest running horse show in the US, leaps into action on June 1 and runs through June 7.

So, if you live near the mid-Atlantic region of the US and love horses, you’ve got some goodies coming up.

The Hunt Country Stable Tour

The Saturday and Sunday of the US Memorial Day weekend is time for the annual Virginia Hunt Country Stable Tour.

The driving tour of farms and facilities off US 50 south and west of Washington’s Dulles Airport opens the doors to more than a dozen equine facilities between Middleburg and Upperville.

The tour is a fundraiser for the works of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville, VA,

Highlights include a couple of chances to watch polo, equine health care demos, hay rides, winery visits and a country fair.

Horse farms will be open for such diverse breeds as thoroughbreds, Arabians, Irish Draughts and Shires.

In years past, you could say “hello” to Kentucky Derby winner Genuine Risk. Her home farm was on the tour, too – and still is.

If you can drag yourself out of bed very early on Saturday morning, you can watch race horses train, too.

The choices are many for only two days.

At this point in the game, you might be better off buying tickets at the Trinity Episcopal Church. Supposedly, you can buy tickets at any stop along the route, too.

The farms in on the tour are linked in a sidebar. The farms and facilities normally are only open to visitors during the tour.

To read more about the tour, here’s an article by Darley from  Equitrekking about the Hunt Country Stable Tour.

And here’s another article about it from Horse Hints. Don’t forget to click on the link to the photos.

Upperville Horse Show

First held in 1853 – yes, the Upperville horse show is older than the Woodlawn Vase . The show originally only had two classes – one for fillies and the other for colts.

If you can’t make the stable tour, but live in the area and want to go join in the fun, the Upperville Horse Show is just around the corner.

The horse show starts on June 1 and runs through June 7. It’s primarily a hunter/jumper show. A festival with arts and crafts also runs during the same time on the grounds.

I don’t think there’s any place to keep up with the action online. But keep an eye on the site in case some opportunity comes up between now and then.

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Tags: Genuine Risk, Trinity Episcopal Church, Upperville Horse Show, Virginia Hunt Country, Virginia Hunt Country Stable Tour