by Leonard Shapiro If you happen to run into Joan Symansky on a back street…
The second annual Side Saddle Chase will take place April 17 at the Loudoun Point-to-Point races at Oatlands Plantation. The brainchild of local sidesaddle rider Maggie Johnston, this year’s race is part of a three-race triple crown that is attracting international attention.
Grandale Vintner’s Table marks something of an evolution in the fine dining experience. Known as the Grandale Restaurant for the past ten years, a shift from the formal to the more casual atmosphere has left new and old patrons thrilled.
“It is very labor intensive around here in the morning,” said Blair Lear, postmaster in Marshall. Lear’s day had begun, as it often does, at 5 a.m. with a huge shipment of parcels arriving from Amazon. “And wehaven’t even received the UPS shipment yet.”
Lear has served as Marshall’s postmaster since 2005.
“I had been in Amissville,” he said. “And in 2004, my boss asked if I would help out briefly in Marshall as officer in charge.”
Middleburg’s Jim Wofford won a team silver medal at the Mexico City Olympics aboard Kilkenny in 1968. Over his illustrious career, Jim won team silver at the 1972 Munich Olympics, individual silver at the 1980 Fontainebleau Alternate Olympics, individual bronze at the 1970 World Championships and team bronze at the 1978 World Championships. He’s also served as president of the American Horse Shows Association and vice president of the USET and been inducted into the U.S. Eventing Hall of Fame. Today, he travels the country as a highly sought after clinician and coach. This article first appeared in The Practical Horseman.
Both British and Americans divide breeds of dogs into seven groups. For the Brits, their terminology of gun dogs, pastoral and utility dogs correspond to the American sporting, herding and non-sporting groups.
Both countries use hounds, terriers, toys and working dogs for the other four groups. It’s simple enough until one discovers, for instance, that a Boston terrier is not a terrier, but a toy.
Three years ago, our beloved pups, Sophie and Isabel, made the transition from city to country life with nary a woof of dismay.
They were seven years old and accustomed to a predictable regimen of leashed walks on urban sidewalks and occasional visits to the local dog park. Those visits were more for our benefit than theirs, as they clearly had an unabashed disdain for such contrivances.
The 91st running of the Virginia Gold Cup, one of the premier steeplechase events in the country, is scheduled Saturday, May 7 at Great Meadow in The Plains.
After great success with pari-mutuel betting, the perk continues on site. The Virginia Gold Cup, and October’s International Gold Cup, are the only Northern Virginia venues to offer sanctioned betting. The widely-acclaimed West Point Alumni Glee Club will sing the National Anthem at the event, performing at noon.
Maggie Johnston’s passion for horses and tradition are perfectly encompassed in her love for riding sidesaddle. For the past decade, Johnston has been fox hunting, showing and most recently racing while riding with both legs on one side.
