Hunters Chasers LLC

25/06/2024

I wanted to let everyone know about a neat opportunity this fall. Many of you might be already be familiar with the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, which was set up and endowed by Bunny Mellon and is located on Rokeby Road outside of Upperville? (and if you haven’t heard about this group, look them up- it’s a regional treasure) They were originally given 90 acres and a complex that included the Mellon’s personal residence, several lovely old barns from the thoroughbred operation as well as Bunny Mellons library of rare horticultural books and her gardens… you gotta see it. (they ended up purchasing another 700+ adjoining acres from the Mellon estate)��

The OSGF has many irons in the fire. They converted all the outbuildings for guests and sponsor residencies for artists and scholars. They’ve just started offering sabbaticals, and they host lectures and participate in conservation outreach to the community on topics like fostering native plant communities. Bunny Mellon’s gardens are open to public twice a year.��

One of the neatest offerings from the foundation are their short courses. These courses usually are between 3-5 days long. Enrollee’s stay on site in 4* accommodations next to the formal garden and participate in lectures and field studies on their respective topics. You’ll probably have a formal dinner in “the big house” (Little Oak Spring- the Mellon’s personal residence) and most likely you’ll be given a tour of Mrs. Mellon’s library.

��Karen and I both have taken OSGF short courses. I took a short course called New Directions in American Landscapes taught by the well known author and native meadow specialist Larry Weaner as well as a course called Reading the Landscape taught by a fellow named Michael Gaige.

You can read up on Michael here-https://www.knowyourland.com

��Karen also took two courses at OSGF- Reading the Landscape and Ancient, Venerable, And Large Old Trees: Ecology And Conservation, both taught by Michael- she loved them both.

I just found out there are a few spots available for the October Ancient, Venerable, And Large Old Trees: Ecology And Conservation course- if you’d like to see some of the oldest known trees in Virginia, learn about the oversized role they play in the ecosystem while running around an estate built by the then richest man in the world now tastefully converted into an educational complex ….

Give a look- ��https://www.osgf.org/programs-and-events-calendar/2024/10/21/ancient-venerable-and-large-old-trees-ecology-and-conservation

��I believe they dedicate a few slots each course for scholarships.

14/09/2023

1-2-3

HOLY SMOKES!
Trainer, Arch Kingsley just hit the board 1-2 AND 3!!

1. Merry Maker
Hurricana Farm
Parker Hendriks

2. L'Imperator
Hudson River Farms
Stephen Mulqueen

3. Barbados
R. Colton Jr.
Gerard Galligan

And CONGRATULATIONS Parker Hendriks - First Grade 1 win!!

02/06/2023

Winner winner chicken dinner.

First ride across the pond .... wins by a nose on a 33-1 shot.

Jockey Taylor Kingsley, who participated in the 2022 TGSF Developing Rider trip to Ireland, rode her first race in Ireland today and she WON!!

Taylor rode at Tramore Racecourse in the Kilbarry (Ladies Pro/Am) I.N.H. Flat (Turf). She rode Chef D'etat for owner Pierre Manigault and trainer John Hanlon Racing

You can watch the replay here: https://www.racingtv.com/racecards/tramore/446727-kilbarry-ladies-pro-am-i-n-h-flat?date=2023-06-02&sort=price

Racing TV

18/04/2023

Gone away.

View Paul Neil Wilson's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

05/04/2023

A great course and reasonable entry fees make for a lovely day in the country with friends and family.

A parade of the Middleburg hounds, best hat, best tie, and tailgate contests round out the day.

Middleburg Hunt Point to Point new Poster for 2023

01/04/2023

The Kingsley Family getting some love.

They’re hoping for a home-field advantage at Saturday’s Carolina Cup Trouble seeing this email? View as Webpage     The black type pedigree page of the Kingsley clan They’re hoping for a home-field ad

14/09/2022

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dining-in-the-dark-tickets-355125488897?discount=FOXY

We realize you haven't heard from us in a bit ... we have a lot to fill you in on.

Meanwhile, we hope you'll consider joining our friends at Loudoun Therapeutic Riding for what sounds like (bad pun intended) a fun evening.

Enjoy an evening of fine food and drink in a unique environment, while raising funds and awareness for people with disabilities.

18/02/2022

Hello neighbor!

Josh Rector of our Biodiversity Management team snapped this incredible photo of a local fox with a mouthful of voles the other day! We believe this is a male fox bringing his catch back to a pregnant female in a den (who will probably give birth in mid-late March).

Meadow voles are extremely prolific, and can produce up to 10 litters a year. While the plant-munching pests are not especially welcome in our garden or at the Biocultural Conservation Farm, they are an important food source for our favorite resident raptors and other predators, who help keep the population in check 🦊.

30/07/2021

A worthy local organization is looking for used tack and equipment. Please consider.

We love our horse program and so do many of our visitors! But dirt and time has started to take it's toll on our well used equipment.

Have some unused tack laying around or know of someone looking to pass on equipment they no longer need? Or curious what we're in need of the most? Reach out to us here on Facebook or to our bookings manager Hannah who heads up the care of our herd to learn more!

29/05/2021

A story that needs to be told-

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/28/sports/horse-racing/black-woman-jockey-horse-racing.html?action=click&module=Editors%20Picks&pgtype=Homepage

Fifty years ago, Cheryl White became America’s first licensed Black female jockey when she was just 17 years old. So why doesn’t the world know her name?

07/04/2021

Support your local landowner- eat local beef.

10/03/2021

Our friend, lifelong neighbor and land owner, looking lovely as she tends to her cattle.

I’m Sara Brown, 9th generation farmer at Oakland Green Farm near Lincoln VA. We raise and sell beef cattle. I got my first steer when I was 11 (12?) in 4H. A couple years later I got a heifer and kept her and as happens, I got a calf, and so on and so forth. Currently I host a herd of 23 breeding cows all of whom have been born and raised here.

We’ve implemented several conservation measures on the farm in terms of water protection and we’re planning to install additional forage options for them as well so as to lengthen the grazing season.

08/03/2021

Good times were had- well done PFH!

Thank you to all who supported the 180th anniversary meet. Photo by Douglas Lees, leaving from Brick House.

03/03/2021

It’s ON!

18/12/2020

Who’s coming for a ride today?

17/12/2020

Who hasn’t done mouth to mouth rescue breathing on a snap?

15/11/2020

Wear and tear then, as now.

Close examination of horse remains has clarified the timeline of when equestrianism helped transform ancient Chinese civilization.

18/10/2020

Over the moon proud of George and Sam today. Reserve Champions!

Photo credit Beverly Alcock

29/08/2020

Some days we ride horses too.

16/08/2020

....... play with the new kitty

11/07/2020

Back door

21/05/2020

...it looks just like him!

18/05/2020

We have rules.

07/05/2020

We love it when our ponies bring us carrot cake. Happy birthday to Zane!

26/04/2020

Piedmont Equine has been our go-to clinic for longer than we can remember and Dr. Bowman is one of the founding partners.

George K especially enjoying watching his fellow Loudoun County native reminisce about Dr. Washington and the ‘old days’.

25/04/2020

In our nation’s history more women have died during childbirth than men during war. During the Great Depression a brigade of nurses on horseback rode the hollers and mountains of Eastern Kentucky delivering babies and providing basic health care. These nurses were successful in lowering the maternal death rate of the region by two-thirds.

Their contributions were so impactful that local children were told babies came from saddlebags, not storks. The silent film, The Forgotten Frontier documenting these nurses can be viewed on Youtube- a link is provided in this article.

“The Forgotten Frontier” details how these Depression-era medics brought critical and modern care to some of the nation’s poorest people.

20/04/2020

If you have a chance read the obit of James R. Wyatt Jr. He's the kind of horsemen who laid the foundations we're enjoying today, and per usual Sean Clancy gets it down in black and white.

I can hear the pages turning, can see them in my friend’s trembling hands. One by one, six pages, front and back, printed pages, from a typewriter back when letters punched the paper, words laid out like bricks in a wall, offering permanency and finality.

22/03/2020

14/03/2020

The martins are back!!


!

13/03/2020

It's Friday the 13th, 2020. The grocery stores are barren and admittedly there's a whiff of uncertainty in the air.

We'd like to take this moment to thank Oak Spring Farm Manager Dustyn Dunivan for our new water gate.