by Leonard Shapiro
Middleburg’s Richard “Dick” Riemenschneider and Andi Gilman entertained friends, family and guests at the Wanderer’s Club in Wellington, Florida in mid-February, and polo dominated the cocktail party conversation.
The occasion: Riemenschneider was presented with the 2016 Philip Iglehart Awardby the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame. He and fellow polo aficionado, the late Russell A. Sheldon, Jr., were honored with that award the following evening at the 27th annual Polo Hall of Fame induction ceremony and gala.
by Richard Hooper
The Belvidere Hounds were first seen going to covert in the magazine “The Sportsman” in 1927, in a cartoon drawing by D. T. Carlisle that was captioned, “The Belvidere Hounds hunt only silver fox.” It depicts a red fox on top of a stone wall as it mocks and taunts the hounds, thehuntsman and his horse as they pass by, all with their noses elevated in disdain as they seek a more worthy prey.
by Leonard Shapiro
Short track speedskating is among the more thrilling competitions at the Winter Olympics. A gaggle of competitors crouches at the starting line, followed by fierce jockeying for position as they fly around a treacherously curved 111-meter track, with bodies more than occasionally careening off the course and out of contention.
by Leonard Shapiro
In a digital age of short-burst writing by tweet and text, Anne Burridge, chair of the English department at Foxcroft School, knows full well the challenges of trying to teach her students to understand and appreciate the far more complicated works of Shakespeare.
The National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM) is partnering with the Land Trust of Virginia to hold an exclusive outdoor painting workshop with renowned artist C.D. Clarke.
Up to 14 participants will paint alongside Clarke, an international sportsman and artist, at Forest Mills Farm near Leesburg on April 16.
Nestled against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains just west of Middleburg, this year’s Historic Garden Week is scheduled for Sunday, April 24 and Monday, April 25.
The tour, under the auspices of the Garden Club of Virginia and organized in this area by the Fauquier and Loudoun Garden Club, features four spectacular houses and gardens. They’re all located within the 18,000-acre Crooked Run Rural Historic District and the Mosby Heritage Area along the scenic roads among the villages of Middleburg, Upperville, and Paris.
by Megan Catherwood
When 2014 National Poetry Slam champion Clint Smith came to Highland School last month, his greatest connection with students may well have been on the subject of silence. The spoken word poet and activist probed the dangers of “things that are left unsaid” and in doing so, encouraged his young listeners to develop their own courageous voices.
by Missy Janes
As property owners in the northern Virginia Piedmont, our responsibilities are great. The Piedmont’s rural landscape—its rolling green hills, pristine waters, and scenic roadways, farms, and towns—has an allure that has drawn us to a life in the country. Our collective challenge is to sustain this magic for future generations.
by Marcia Woolman
Spending winter days in the surrounding woodlands, or even observing trees in villages and on old estates, brings an awareness of vines growing on far to many trees.
Always looking for an important conservation issue, I was prepared to warn readers of the danger of vines killing your trees. But, I wasn’t sure to what degree this was true, so I set out to read and learn whether vines really do kill trees.
by Sophie Schepps
Dustin Aliff finds himself completely consumed with creativity on a daily basis. After spending his working daytime hours repairing antique oriental rugs with his father David at David’s Oriental Rugs in Marshall, he shifts to music, poetry, and painting in the evenings.
As a high school student at Liberty High School in the mid-1990s, Aliff suffered from seizures, fainting spells and terrible migraines. After several hospital visits, he found relief from the same doctor who performed surgery on the late Christopher Reeve.
