The Tack Exchange is an equestrian’s delight filled to the brim with anything your (or your horse’s) heart desires.  There are rows upon rows of anything you might dream of including belts,

an entire room of saddles,

a tidy selection of pinks,

show shirts by the dozen and in every hue (Simon rather liked the pink and I quite agreed),

as well as jackets, britches, and hats (look up top!) as far as the eye can see.

But let me be the first to assure you that it doesn’t end there.  Treats await around every corner:

including this brand-new Barbour satchel.

I rather fancied this little friend and nearly bought him on the spot.  I tried to reason with myself that, really, it wasn’t a necessity.  The two Thellwell mugs I bought, however, were.

I’m a needlepointer so my eye caught this right away.  I love the wide variety of equestrian items at The Tack Exchange.

This young fellow wasn’t for sale but the proprieter, Jo, was so proud of him she told me his story as I took aim with my camera.  Turns out he was a suburban lad and ended his days on an overpass on the Dulles Toll Road.  That’s not as romantic as biting the dust at the hands (or paws) of a fox hunt but it did mean, as Jo pointed out, that he didn’t have a mark on him. Making him the fine specimen he is today.

The shelves nearly breathed horses and, as a book lover, I spent some quality browsing them.  Plus, I’ve always loved Breyer horses and while I never had a lot of them I wish i had.  I didn’t buy any but secretly wanted to.

This little tyke couldn’t get enough of Simon.  She and her sister were trying on some stylin’ rubber boots (evocative of our rainy Rolex days).  Her mom apologized for her messy appearnece but I thought she was cute as pie.  Somehow children just seem happier with messy hair and sticky (hopefully from ice cream) cheeks.

Those stylin’ boots came from the section The Tack Exchange has just for kiddos.  Score one for moms and dads everywhere!

Simon bids us adieu next to the foxhunting accoutrements.  I think he looks dapper.  He thinks he’s exhausted.

I can’t say enough good things about the Middleburg Tack Exchange. It’s everything you could need for your horse with a dash of classic vintage finds all at a wildly reasonable price.  I’ll be back as soon as I can.  Maybe I’ll see you there!

I’ve been thinking  a lot about riding side saddle recently.  Maybe it was the infusion of Middleburg or maybe it was the recent Upperville Colt and Horse Show.  Either way, this image caught my eye. I love the tidy suit and top hat.  I also can’t help but wonder what that horse was like.  What was his name?  What was he like? Where were they going?  Ah, the lure of history. I hope you have a wonderful summer weekend full of memories being made.

Looking for summer reading? Dappled Grey has just the thing, including these equestrian classics.

Time to make those plans for the World Equestrian Games!  Regarding Horses gives you the run down of tickets, disciplines, and a special video tour.

The Germans are heading to the World Equestrian Games.  Here’s who you’ll be seeing.

No need to hitch hike to the American Eventing Championships.  Share a ride!

Three Days Three Ways joins the Smart Pak family!

In between riding, bathing after riding, and riding some more you may want to pop over to these Three Days Three Ways posts.

Horse Husband.  Huh?

Road Trip to Middleburg: There’s No Place Like Home

Eat, Shop, Jump at Sure Fire Farm.

(image via Vintage Fashion Guild)

The photo assignment for ‘Happiness is Horses’ brought in some of the, well, the happiest images of horses and their loving people.  Opening up each entry filled me with that special kind of happiness that only horses can create.  I hope they did for you too!

I had to pick one winner.  But how could I stop there?  I’ve chosen three runner-ups as well since, truly, every photo was worthy of the grand prize.  These runner-ups will receive generous Smart Pak 15% off coupon.  Here they are!

Grand Prize Winner of the Devoucoux Happiness is Horses Contest:

Laurel tells us, “My horse and I have an interesting bond, whenever I lean forward as if to kiss him, he meets me halfway. Here we are at our first event together.”

The photo spoke to me because I related to it (spending time with my horse at a competition) but also because of what Laurel said.  That’s the thing with horses, they always meet us halfway.  Be it a good day or a bad day, they’re there for us.  They’re happiness.  I think Libby and her sweet horse really captured it all.  Congratulations to you, Laurel, for winning the Devoucoux prize!

But, since it’s impossible for me to pick just one winner from all the deserving winners, here are our three Smart Pak runner-ups:

First Runner-Up Kimberly and Siggy

Siggy, without a doubt, has an army of Three Days Three Ways supporters.  And how could he not?!  Kimberly D. tells us all about her special boy:  ”Love this assignment!  This is Pleasant Signal, aka Siggy.  He’s an 11 year old Thoroughbred just beginning his career in eventing and dressage.  He was rescued from the kill pen at an auction with horrible hooves and he was grossly underweight.  Now he’s sound, well fed, happy and loving life with his pasturemates at our farm!  He is the safest horse on trail, and carries riders of all ages and experience levels safely.  It’s as if he knows he almost met a horrible fate, and because he was rescued, he is grateful for every step he takes.  Seeing him grazing, cantering around his field and making funny faces (like the one pictured) really encompasses my Happiness with Horses.  Seeing Siggy healthy and happy brings me joy every day.  Thanks Courtney!”  Congratulations to Kimberly and Siggy on their happy story as well as their Smart Pak coupon!

Our second runner up is K. Collins:

This quiet moment captured my imagination and my memories.  How many moments have you shared like this with your horse?  Sometimes it’s these quiet moments that matter the most.  K. says: “The attached photo is from last thanksgiving day, an unusually warm and sunny day here in east tennessee.  i was out in the pasture with my horses who were all sun-drenched and sleepy, as if they too had just had a big dose of tryptophan.  anyway, in the photo my big old TB “mo” is nuzzling my arm as i thoroughly enjoy his presence, as i always do.  as much as i would like to say that this was a tender moment, i think he was just checking me for treats because he left a huge brown goober on my arm.  tender moment for me + treat check for mo = happiness to the nth degree.”  She’s right about that!  Congratulations, K. on winning the Smart Pak coupon!

Our final runner-up is Abby W.

Abby was the very first entry into the contest and I couldn’t have been happier.  I loved all the moments she captured into her photo collage-as well as the effort she put into it.  There’s no doubt that, truly, “Happiness is Horses” for her!  Congratulations to Abby W. on winning the Smart Pak coupon.

Congratulations to all the Three Days Three Ways winners.  Please email me at threedaysthreewaysblog@gmail.com with your name (first and last) and email address in order to collect your Smart Pak prize.  A hearty thanks to Devoucoux and Smart Pak for making this photo assignment even more exciting and for helping us take the best care of our horses that we possibly can.  And congratulations to all the entrants who are worthy of the top prize for the happiness they share with their horses.  That was really fun!

Oh, and what’s the Devoucoux grand prize?  The loveliest leather care with a sheepskin mitt.  Now that’s cleaning tack in style!

I have been to lots of horsey towns, especially with all our road trips.  Ocala and Aiken are big ones.  But none can hold a candle to Middleburg.  One of the captivating parts of Middleburg, VA is that it seems like down every garden path or through any iron gate is a magical adventure just waiting for you.  The sweet gate to the Emmanuel Episcopal church was no different.

And you’re just as likely to stumble upon a bake sale with lemonade and cupcakes right in the heat of the day when it’s most needed.  Lily and Robin volunteer at Golden Dreams Therapeutic Riding and braved the sun to sell delicious lemonade and cupcakes (a stellar combination) that saved my day.

Another iconic part of Middleburg is The Chronicle of the Horse. Their office is as beautiful and as graceful as you would hope.  They’re next door to the National Sporting Library which, I must regretfully tell you, I have never had the opportunity to visit.  But don’t worry.  I’m already working on the “To Be Continued” version of the Middleburg road trip and the Sporting Library is on the list.

This statue stands between the two buildings and it moves me every time I see it.  Even a photo, which doesn’t always capture the emotion of a moment (okay, I mean my photos), still conveys the aching beauty.  It commemorates the one and a half million horses and mules that lost their lives in the Civil War as well as the fighting that took place near that spot at the Battle of Middleburg on June 19th, 1863.

Another Middleburg favorite is the darling shop signs straight out of a story book.  If you’re in town for a night or more you might want to think about staying at The Red Fox Inn.

No trip is complete without a stop at Scruffy’s Ice Cream Parlor.  While you choose which kind of ice cream you want you can browse the photos and listings of dogs and cats (and often horses, goats, and more) who need a home. Be careful, you may leave with a mint-chocolate-chip cone and a buoyant beagle.

I love the name of this book store.   “Books & Crannies”.  How sweet and clever.  I can spend hours in a book store, especially one as charming as this one.

They say the Hidden Horse Tavern hid horses during the Civil War.  I believe it.  When you turn down this narrow street you might feel like you’re off on another magical adventure.

Yes, if I put on Dorothy’s ruby slipper’s and clicked my heels together and whispered “There’s no place like home” I’d end up in Middleburg, Virginia.  It will always be home in my heart.

I grew up with Middleburg, VA almost in my backyard.  Lucky me!  So I’ve been there quite a lot but I never, ever grow tired of it.  In fact, quite the opposite.  It seems the more I go the more I’m drawn back.

That’s in no small part thanks to places like The Upper Crust.  Almost everyone standing in line on the seemingly ancient wooden floors is in riding boots and spurs.  And what with it smelling like freshly baked bread and homemade cake, you’re basically in heaven.  Or, at least, I know I am.

Middleburg is quaint and charming much like an old English Village.  Around every corner is a scene like this one.  I felt like I was peering in someone’s back garden.

Though it turned out to belong to The Corner Garden.

With such a long legacy of horses and fox hunting everything in Middleburg is, well, related to horses and foxhunting.  Including cute signs like this one.

Middleburg doesn’t just have pockets of quaint.  Everywhere you look the streets, sidewalks, and vistas look like this.  Can you blame me for loving it?

And, as I’ve already hinted, when you wear boots and britches not only do you blend in, but your coolness factor goes up exponentially.  These riders are waiting to cross the street just outside the Safeway.

Which is also quaint.

And you know as well as I do that with horse people comes dogs.  I love seeing signs like this one.

I said earlier that I’m more and more drawn to Middleburg.  Well, apparently Simon felt drawn down this shadowy staircase.  I’m telling you, it’s just in the air.  Note the fox hunting-themed goods in the window above.

And I am perpetually drawn down the streets that are tree-lined and the sidewalks paved in old bricks.  Can you really blame me?

There’s so much to see and do in Middleburg all I can say is check back for much more to come including a series on the lovely shop signs, some business spotlights, and, yes, even a fashion show thanks to some friends at Tully Rector.

I sure do love to eat.  One might say I structure my days around what I’m eating and when. Hey, I have priorities.  So when I stumbled upon Hog Wild BBQ and Joey’s Place I thought Sure Fire might, jut might, have another point in its favor.  Turns out I was right.

I sidled up to the table and started chatting (shocking, I know) and things just kept getting better.  I started talking with a young man named Damien who promptly told me that his grandfather owned the two BBQ joints.  Classic! So his grandfather comes over and introduces himself.  His name is Winnie (Short for Winston. I know, it just keeps getting better) and I begin hounding him with questions.  How long have you been making BBQ?  What recipe do you use?  Where did you get it?  And darn it if a dream didn’t just unwind.

Winnie is in his 29th year with Hog Wild BBQ and Joey’s Place and the recipe comes from his great-great grandfather John Wesley Stevens (isn’t that an iconic name?) who had 19 children.  They raise and slaughter their own hogs (graphic, I know, but that’s how you want it for optimal flavor as well as sustainable living) and make their own sauce (thanks great-great-granddad).  And what kind of BBQ sauce is it?  Why, Virginia BBQ, of course (sweet and spicy).  No wonder I liked it so much. I guess I’m just a Virginia girl!  Oh, and why “Joey’s Place”?  Named after Winnie’s young son, Joey, an adorable (and camera shy) little boy.

If you want to get some of this incredible BBQ there’s good news: you’ve got options.  Winnie’s daughter, Christina, also travels with Hog Wild BBQ to pony shows and to Frying Pan Park.  Or you can go straight to the source to Pop Pop’s Deli in Warrenton, VA.  Get some lemonade and baked beans while you’re at it and toast Sure Fire for bringing this place into our lives!

You know I love to eat, and you also know I love to shop.  I always cruise the tack stores at competitions and Sure Fire Farm was no different.  I stopped by Somerset Saddlery to see what they had hanging around.  I liked all these figure-eight nosebands hanging up with a field as their backdrop.  Almost like an art installation.

I’ve been thinking a lot about cross-country boots recently.  Which are best? Should they have metal plates?  Be really soft?  ”Breathable”?  It’s seems that the options are endless and Somerset Saddlery certainly had several available.  What boots do your prefer?  I could use your advice.

I have to say, though, that this rack of books was my favorite part. Okay, so your horse can’t wear it and it won’t improve your dressage score, but I thought it was a brilliant and homey idea.  We’re often hanging out between rides and a good book would be just the thing.  I thought it added a personal touch.

Finally, I hadn’t yet found the chance to share with you all the beautiful show jumps at Sure Fire.  I thought they were really in a league of their own not just because they were pretty but also because they were bright, cheery, and unique.  I loved the Monarch butterfly standards.

And especially these peppy neons and pastels.

And there’s just something so classic about a stone wall.  The Candy stripe polls add a little extra punch.  Simon wasn’t so sure about the design but he liked the shade.

That’s it for this edition of Eat, Shop, Jump at Sure Fire Farm.  I’m glad we could do that together!

Happy Weekend eventers!  I took this photo on my trip to Middleburg and all I can think about when I look at it is hacking along the fence line in the shade with my sweet Ellie.  Okay, or galloping straight across the middle of it with the wind whistling in my ears!  Maybe both.  I hope your July 4th weekends are swell and full of sparklers, blue ribbons, satisfied pats on your horse’s neck, and long summer evenings.

JUMP! Into the Journey to Blenheim with Sharon White

Misty of Chincoteague: Our collective first pony

Who’s coming to the World Equestrian Games from France?

I love Connemaras!

The American Eventing Championships wrapped up into one cool video

Buy a helmet on National Helmet Awareness Day-for less!

And some Three Days Three Ways posts you might have missed what with all your summer fun

PRO’s Pro/Am Team Competition Series Kicks off at Sure Fire

Simon Hobknobs with Eventing’s top Dogs

Jim Wofford Part III: Black Labs, Fly Fishing, and The Civil Way

We have a bumper line-up for you as Jan Byyny, Ashley Adams and Jennie Brannigan join Chris to discuss Surefire Farm Horse Trials and other topical subjects on this week’s show. Listen in.

Eventing Radio Episode 86 – Jan Byyny, Ashley Adams and Jennie Brannigan:

• Show Hosts: Chris Stafford
• Guest: Jan Byyny of Surefire Farms
• Guest: Ashley Adams
• Guest: Jennie Brannigan – Jennie’s Chronicle of the Horse Blog
• News: Surefire Farm Horse Trials Results
• Link: The Kentucky Horse Park’s Gift of the Desert

Please visit our sponsors as they make this show possible:

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Listen Now, Download or Subscribe:

Pro/ Am Teammates Krisie and Erin with Pro Skyler Icke (center).  Sorry to Connor who was warming up!

Sure Fire Farm Horse Trials was special because it was well-run, beautiful, and great fun.  But it was also special because it was the kick off for the PRO Pro/Am Team Competition Series.  The What?  You know, the new Pro/Am Series where you get to ride on a team (of your choice or picked for you) with riders of different levels as well as a really rad eventing pro.  You get free stuff, a prize when you win (or place second or third) and gets inside tips and course walks from your pro.  I know, it’s amazing!  So it kicked off this past weekend at Sure Fire and I caught up with one of the teams to hear about the how’s and why’s.

The team I spoke with included Pro rider Skyler Icke of Angelica Run Farm in Virginia and teammates Krisie S. (riding Matus), Erin M. (riding Say What), and Connor H. (riding Folklore).  They made up one of the teams in the “already knew each other” group which was cool in its own right.  I talked with Krisie and Erin about why they decided to make a Pro/ Am team since, after all, they were already traveling to competitions together and generally running around as a team.  And I liked what they had to say.

As they brushed tails, tightened girths, and secured boots (in matching PRO hats-your free prize just for entering!) in preparation for their first prelim start, they explained that, although they were already traveling together and riding with Skyler, making a PRO team gave them the opportunity to be competitive in an additional way (Note: If anyone ever says that eventers are not competitive should reference this point as one of many that argue otherwise!).  As they pointed out, they’d never actually been a team before, and the Pro/ Am Team Competition Series gave them that opportunity.

Skyler added on to that, saying that the Team Competition series does a lot of things. It offers things like course walks which might be especially valuable to those of us who don’t regularly ride with a Pro rider, and it also offers an additional motivation since you’re not just riding for yourself anymore-you’re riding for your team.  And that’s a big deal for a number of reasons.  One, if you’re a Young Rider with NAYRC aspirations it gives you experience riding on a team.  Alternatively, if you’re an adult rider it gives you a chance to ride with a team since the NAYRC aren’t a possibility and, perhaps, neither is riding for our American Team at, say, The World Equestrian Games.  Finally, she added, that with Sure Fire being the first preliminary run for all her riders, being on a team together added a special element.  They were in it together.

And, you know, she was right.  And, somehow, that’s what eventing is all about.

If you want to join a Pro/ Am Team, (or create your own) the series will be held at Stuart Horse Trials July 15-18th, Woodside Horse Trials August 13-15th, Richland Horse Trials August 26-29th, and Twin Rivers Horse Trials in September.  If you want to hear more about it check out PRO director Samantha Lendl’s Three Days Three Ways interview for the details.