I can’t believe it’s already July. We’ve been super busy here at Clairvaux, with staff working on fixing, neatening, and improving our farm. Last month, we moved a fence line in one of our fields to enlarge it and now the fencing has been repainted and looks awesome! We also laid down compost and reseeded a portion of it. Elsewhere, we have been mowing, weed-eating and scrubbing everything to a shine.
At the end of May, we moved half of our jumps to our field on the top of the hill. We have one of the best views in Loudoun County, overlooking Leesburg, into Maryland, as well as Ashburn and areas to the east. There’s always a breeze on the hill and it’s so great to be able to practice on grass over varied terrain. The horses really like to be able to “open up” and gallop to the jumps on a true hunter pace and everyone likes the chance to get out of the ring and practice something new.
We are getting ready to head to Culpeper this Thursday. Seven Clairvaux horse and rider combinations will be tackling various classes. Some have been showing with us for years, and some will be attending their first overnight show. I’m excited to help our riders reach their goals. Good luck to everyone attending!
Last month, we had a fabulous time at the Loudoun Benefit Horse Show. Kate Murphy was Champion in the Children’s Jumpers with Sun, with a second place finish in the Classic and a win in one of their other classes. It was a great week for them! I rode Jennifer Smith’s Luck of the Draw (Lucky) in the Young Hunters and he was so great; he won the model and was second in the hack and sixth in one of the over fences. Later in the week, Jenn rode Lucky in the Low Adult Hunters where he placed fifth over fences (and put in some really good rounds in some very tough company). I also rode KD Klepper’s Hobie to some ribbons in the 3′ Pre-Green Hunters. KD herself rode as well and put in some nice rounds. Glendon Mohan rode her Ayrton in the Younger Adult Hunters with Artie and earned some nice ribbons. Meagan Snyder, Julia Rhinehart and Anna Kunz all rode well (and placed well) in the Low Adult and Low Children’s Hunters. Congratulations to all!
We are looking forward to the Loudoun County Fair at the end of the month. Our kids love visiting with the chickens and rabbits, as well as riding the kiddie rides and eating funnel cake. Well, it’s not just our kids… There’s a rodeo and a demolition derby, a mechanical bull and even bacon-wrapped hot dogs! If you’ve never been, it’s a fun time and a nice slice of Americana. It runs from July 29th to August 3rd at the Loudoun County Fairgrounds on Dry Mill Road.
We hope everyone had a nice Independence Day celebration. Stay cool and stay dry!
