Pictured above: Juliet Taylor and Allie By Julie Reardon Though it was cowboy songwriter Tom T. Hall that first sang about older whiskey, younger women and faster horses, Kentucky and Virginia surely hold the monopolies on the first Saturday in May. Kentucky’s famous horse race was first run in 1875, and is probably the nation’s best-known equestrian event. Here in suburban Northern Virginia however, the Kentucky Derby is held on Gold Cup day, where it shares top billing with the Virginia Gold Cup steeplechase race meet, held at Great Meadow in The Plains, Va. Faster Horses With crowds of up to 60,000 in attendance, the Gold Cup is to Washington D.C. what the Derby is to Kentucky: a premiere social and sporting events. Arrangements and tailgating parties are planned months, even years, in advance; with prime tailgating and parking spaces usually sold out long before race day. You can, however, still get general admission tickets starting at $65 up until race day by contacting www.VAGOLDCUP.com or calling 540-347-2612. The Virginia Gold Cup is where steeplechasing in Virginia reaches its zenith. Unlike the dirt oval track at Churchill Downs, the Virginia Gold Cup racetrack places unique demands on its horses and riders, given that it spans a long and varied terrain with a range of fences. Even though this issue will have only been on the streets for a couple of days, Gold Cup 2026 takes place on the 2nd, you may just get in under the wire for the 101st year the race has been held. Otherwise, you have a whole year to make a plan. Here’s your guide to all things “Virginia Gold Cup”, including its history, what to expect, how to purchase tickets, the iconic hat contest, and a how-to guide for placing a wager. History Despite drawing annual crowds of more than 60,000 today,…
Publishers Note: This month’s column is brought to you courtesy of AI. Our contributing writer was unable to submit a column but we were unaware of that right up until deadline day and there wasn’t time to go to a Plan B. While our opinion of the merits of AI are on the fence, I did find enough information to give you all an idea of what there is to do in this pretty part of the Commonwealth this month. I have no idea how to give credit to the AI Gurus sources but I am guessing it consists of a major google search of sorts. For what it’s worth: Hunt County is the region surrounding Middleburg, Upperville, and Delaplane. This area awakens with its most iconic equestrian traditions and garden tours. The month is headlined by world-class steeplechase racing and the bloom of spring gardens. Signature Equestrian Events These events are the heartbeat of Hunt Country in April, featuring high-speed racing, elaborate tailgates, and traditional spring attire. Middleburg Spring Races: Saturday, April 18, 2026. This is Virginia’s oldest steeplechase tradition, held at Glenwood Park. It features world-class thoroughbreds competing over hedges and timber, drawing thousands for its competitive racing and festive tailgating scene. Middleburg Hunt Point-to-Point: Sunday, April 26, 2026. Also held at Glenwood Park, this event offers a more community-focused atmosphere with heart-pounding races and lively social circles. Gates typically open at 10:00 AM, with the first race at 1:00 PM. Garden & Estate Tours April marks the peak of spring blooms, celebrated through exclusive access to private historic estates. Historic Garden Week takes place throughout the Commonwealth April 18–25th. This statewide event includes specific tours in the Middleburg, Upperville, and Fauquier/Loudoun areas. The Hunt Country Tour is scheduled for April 26th, featuring historic properties near Middleburg. Oak Spring Garden Foundation offers…
By Julie Reardon It surely didn’t feel like spring was ever coming in February, with no signs other than a lonely crocus or two straggling up through the snow. But there are signs it is on the way. The sun rising earlier and setting later as daylight gradually increases. The occasional taste of warmth on a bright sunny day. We know it’s coming – the hunt country’s harbinger of spring, opening of the point-to-point season. For true horse lovers, those suffering from cabin fever, and those looking for a social distancing-friendly country outing, there’s nothing like the early race meets in March. These races tend to be smaller, more informal affairs but there’s no shortage of equine talent as the country’s top steeplechasers as well as hot young prospects make their debut racing over fences after a winter layoff. With over $4 million in total purses, meets in 12 states, and millions of spectators, steeplechasing is big business. Some of the best horses and horsemen thoroughbred racing has to offer race over fences, and it all starts right here in Virginia next month. The governing body, the National Steeplechase Association, sanctions the big meets later in the spring, including the best-known Virginia Gold Cup races in May. But point-to-points, run under rules similar to the NSA, are where it all starts for both horses and riders and offer a wonderful social outing for fans as well. Virginia holds more meets than any other state during the season and most are about a scenic, hour-long drive from the DC area. Both serious fans and casual spectators are able to get closer to the action and rub elbows with owners, trainers and riders as well as the local landed gentry. Snow and cold weather are par for the course at the early…
By Julie Reardon Remote lessons/learning weren’t a thing for many of us growing up, and snow days were keenly appreciated. They still are, and fortunately most don’t include any remote studying. Cancellation of classes for snow is cause for play, whether you live in town or in a rural area. In fact, we laughed at a recent TV poll that was over 80 percent against remote lessons on snow days. I suppose those in support of remote lessons on snow days were childless churls. We rarely get stuck here since Doug has a big 4-wheel drive tractor with a bucket and grader and makes a little money digging people out of their longish farm driveways. Livestock needs to be checked, plenty of hay provided and stock tanks inspected to make sure the floating de-icer is functioning. Fencing needs to be checked so that any fallen trees creating escape routes can be fixed or rigged up to stay put until better weather. The only good thing about those escape routes is that the escapees can be tracked by their hoof prints. Now AI can come to the rescue estimating the probability of snow days. You can visit websites or even buy apps for snow day predictions from artificial intelligence. Next, we ‘ll be getting robo-calls to buy them. Luckily you can ignore some or all of the predictions and wait for the news to call it. Unless you’re somewhere where the only white on the ground is sugar white sand with turquoise waves lapping at it. If that’s the case, do your friends a favor and don’t brag. We know February is the month of love, but weather wise, it’s a bust more often than something to love. We can’t wait to get out of the house as it draws to…
By Julie Reardon Things are really quiet here in Hunt Country during the month of January so I thought maybe some of this useless information might be entertaining for you to ponder during the upcoming winter days. Unless you’re younger, an influencer and on social media a lot, you might not know what are considered the current cool new words and phrases and the ones that are so yesterday. The beginning of a brand new year is a good time to learn what words and phrases someone cooler than you decided were winners and losers. Many of us find it entertaining to learn new words or enjoy the picks and if you find any you like, incorporate them into your vocabulary and writing. Some years the picks—usually done by dictionary staff—are better than others and sometimes they almost seem deja vu. Slop is the word of the year for 2025 by Merriam-Webster’s human editors. They define slop as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” All that stuff dumped on our screens, captured in just four letters: the English language came through again. The flood of slop in 2025 included absurd videos, off-kilter advertising images, cheesy propaganda, fake news that looks pretty real, junky AI-written books, “workslop” reports that waste coworkers’ time… and lots of talking cats. People found it annoying, and people ate it up. “AI Slop is Everywhere,” warned The Wall Street Journal, while admitting to enjoying some of those cats. “AI Slop Has Turned Social Media into an Antisocial Wasteland,” reported CNET. Like slime, sludge, and muck, slop has the wet sound of something you don’t want to touch. Slop oozes into everything. The original sense of the word, in the 1700s, was “soft mud.” In the 1800s it came to mean “food waste” (as in “pig slop”),…
By Julie Reardon A friend who lives in the mountains shares this story every holiday season and it’s one of my favorites. I only recently found out the author’s name since various versions have been around for many years, variously titled A Christmas Prayer and The Rifle, and that it’s not actually a true story. The author was a sheep herder and wrote it one freezing night while pondering how to explain the true meaning of Christmas to his children. I think you will enjoy it as much as I do. A Christmas Story By Rian Anderson Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their means and then never had enough for the necessities. But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors. It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving. It was Christmas Eve 1881. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn’t been enough money to buy me the rifle that I’d wanted so bad that year for Christmas. We did the chores early that night for some reason. I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible. So, after supper was over, I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible. I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn’t in much of a mood to read scriptures. But Pa didn’t get the Bible, instead he bundled up and went outside. I couldn’t figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn’t worry about it…
By Julie Reardon They’re the new craze—growing corn with paths throughout so kids (and adults) can wander through. Some are even shaped with messages, most of which aren’t evident from the ground. By fall, the corn is high enough that it’s over a man’s head. Admission is nominal—and this year, more than ever, farmers who’ve had crops devastated by the drought need the extra income they provide. There are plenty to choose from in the area, including the farmers’ market just south of Leesburg on Rt. 15, Archwood Greens Farmers’ Market, and a good starter maze at Maple Tree Farm near Warrenton. But how are these mazes designed and made? These days they can be designed and planted via computer software on farm tractors. But the mazes existed before the computer technology and some are still designed and planted the old-fashioned way. Whichever method is chosen, the maze owners all agree that maintaining the neatly-mowed paths throughout the mazes is the most labor-intensive part of maintaining them. Last month, we suggested some farm stands in the Blue Ridge bursting with fresh fruit and vegetables. This month, grab the kids or grandkids and go try your navigational skills at a corn maze. The area’s best delight of children and adults; the mazes range from simple to complex and offer a good afternoon of fun and even a little competition. Fall’s goodies include the plethora of ripe fresh fruits and vegetables available at fruit stands and farmers markets throughout the hunt country. Get the last of the summer peaches, or choose ripe tomatoes, corn, apples and more. Farm stands abound, and many of them have corn mazes. You might even have seen them on TV. A farm in Maryland has a maze with a picture of local favorite and ice hockey champion…
By Julie Reardon When you’re a young child, 25 years ago is not much different than 75 or 100 years ago, it’s all the olden times and stories of what life was like back in the day fascinate them. Plus, the telling of those tales gives the old folks a chance to remind the young whippersnappers how good they have it. If the stories contain some embellishments, so much the better. We’ve all heard about walking uphill to and from school in blizzards instead of getting a text in early evening that classes have been canceled for predicted and not actual snow, never mind blizzard. As this year is the 25th anniversary of when we bought this farm in Fauquier County, I am reminded of how fast our world is changing and how many things are different than just 25 years ago. Since I don’t have children or grandchildren as a captive audience to describe and embellish the olden days when we first moved here, I’ll describe some changes here for you. We signed the contract for the farm we still live on late in 1999 and moved here in early 2000. Back then, the big worry was Y2K. No one was sure but there was plenty of uneasiness of what devices or systems were going to crash. It turned out to be a lot of hand wringing over a non-event. And there were some great fireworks shows on that last day of 1999, certainly more memorable than any inconvenience from the year change. Settling into our new location was easy; we’d only moved 15 miles south of Middleburg in rural Western Loudoun to the boondocks of northwestern Fauquier County. We had dial up for internet, cumbersome and slow, but so did everyone else so we didn’t feel we were…
By Julie Reardon As the saying goes, only mad dogs and Englishmen venture out in the hot midday sun of the dog days. This tale from a few years ago should more properly titled rabid wildlife, crazy dogs and Virginia girls. One sunny summer morning during the dog days, my three resident Chesapeake Bay retrievers chased and killed a rabid fox. The drama unfolded behind my back as I was outside finishing some gardening chores before it got too hot and oblivious to the drama unfolding. However, from the upstairs bathroom window my husband Doug saw it unfold in the big pasture. He noticed what he thought was a small dog chasing our youngest retriever Der, then about 18 months. He thought that was strange as we almost never have strange dogs venture on our farm. As he watched, he could almost imagine Der thinking, “What’s wrong with this picture?” as she turned on the afterburners, circled around and began chasing the smaller animal. They ran toward the house with Der in hot pursuit, passing barely 20 feet behind me, but silently. Shortly after, Der came over to where I was gardening and flopped down by the older two retrievers, older females aged 8 and 9, and Doug came outside to ask me if I’d seen it. “Seen what?” I asked. He relayed that he’d watched Der chase a small animal under the little deck, and that they’d passed right behind me. Two humans and the three dogs walked over to the little back deck, only about 2 feet off the ground. “Sic-sic-sic, git ‘em girls!” we egged the dogs on when they showed no interest and they looked at us like we were crazy. Their actions told us plainly they thought it was too hot for such madness. Doug…
By Julie Reardon There’s nothing quite like the July 4th fireworks on the Mall in Washington D.C., but braving the crowds once every few years (or every few decades) is plenty for some, especially those who might wish for smaller crowds and a more small-town atmosphere. And, if the weather is predicted to be beastly hot and humid, being in the country is a better option. But you don’t have to go far; it’s typically a few degrees cooler west of the city in the Blue Ridge and most of these activities are within an hour’s drive of the Beltway. You can enjoy an event as simple as some fireworks at dusk, or a full day celebration with parades, picnics, and more. As the actual July 4th date is on a Friday this year, you could even turn your adventure into a long weekend. Outside of Washington DC, the fireworks at Great Meadow in The Plains, 45 minutes southwest in Virginia’s Blue Ridge foothills, is probably the biggest display in the area, and the festivities include a full evening of family fun. This year is the event venues, Great Meadow, 40th anniversary, so an extra special show of pyrotechnics is planned, billed as the Big Boom. Gates open at 5 p.m., afternoon activities include family games—corn hole toss, sack races, face painting, tug-of war, a petting zoo, and an air show by the Flying Circus at 6:30 pm. You can bring a picnic or visit the food truck section or vendor row for a meal or snacks and additional games and entertainment. The extraordinary fireworks display gets underway at dusk; please note there will be no admission after 8:30 pm, all entrances will be exit only at that time. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs (no umbrellas or tents, unless in reserved…
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