The History of Upperville Colt and Horse Show

The tiny town of Upperville is about to be flooded with the annual yearly June migration. 2,000+ riders will emerge, seemingly from thin air, much like the cicadas that are infesting other parts of the country. Luckily these riders aren’t clinging to your clothing, but they are waiting impatiently to pounce on you to announce their plans to show at Upperville. Thousands of others will attend sans horse, pleased for the opportunity to use their own personal superpower of judging the competitors with their minds.

The Earliest Land Records

The land has mostly always been there, since the earth was created and the overlord Cthulhu came from the ocean and slapped the soil around a bunch, or however that story goes (this isn’t my area of expertise).

This article would be way too long if I started back then, so I’m going to fast forward a bit. The land has never been searched archaeologically for clues, and I can only use written records, so that is where we are starting. 

The land was originally given to Lord Fairfax of England, who was given literally all of northern Virginia and parts of adjacent West Virginia. He decided that 5 million acres of land was slightly too much land for him, so he granted this area to Landon Carter in 1731. It was around this time (plus or minus 50 years) that the historic oak trees of the show ground took root, although back then they were just called oak trees. 

Hot Tip: Plant your own historic trees by planting some right now. You’ll just have to wait 200-300 years for them to become historic. 

The land stayed in the Carter family until the 1840, when they also realized that this big plot of land was just one of the many big plots of land they had, maybe they can share it with the rest of the class, so they begin subdividing it. 

Richard Henry Dulany, the main man of our story, purchased the property in 1846. He purchased a large plot, called Grafton Farm and it included the section that would later host the show. That area was was made up of several lots that ran along the road originally called Ashby’s Gap Turnpike, and now called Rt 50, or as the locals call it, the road of aggressive driving and Facebook arguments. Many years later, the horse show grounds would expand to include the property on the other side of the road, much to the dismay of the police that have to constantly control the traffic through there during horse shows.

Dulany lived on a nearby property called Welbourne, and as a young man spent time traveling in the northern United States and Europe. Since Instagram wouldn’t be invented for another 250+ years, he didn’t spend it traveling like todays young adults (backpacking, seeking the latest photo op, or eating people’s leftovers when they left the restaurant, etc.). Instead, he participated in equine-tourism, which should be a thing. He loved horses, and had an interest in horse breeding so he used this time to learn as much as he could from horse masters, taking in lectures and seminars. He would find exceptional horses, purchase them, and send them to the US. 

He also founded the Piedmont Hounds Foxhunt in 1840, which has nothing to do with this story, but is still horse related. Dulany was really good at starting groups that later had “the oldest” labels, so this foxhunt is also the oldest in the US. The group is still thriving today. 

The Inspiration

There’s two stories floating around regarding Dulany’s motivation to start the show. 

In one version, Saint Dulany finds a young colt, with his hoof stuck in the fence. Dulany is appalled to find the poor horse in such a state, and frees him, a beam of light shining down upon him from the skies by our lord Cthulhu. He is resolved to educate the local population on how to take care of their horses better. He decides to put on a show, where men’s competitive nature would drive them to take better care of their horses. Nothing like peer pressure to convince someone to do the right thing!

Or…

Dulany, clad in a monocle and a top hat, is moderating an argument between two men about who has the better colt. He notices the crowd form around them, and thinks, twirling his thin mustache around a finger, until a lightbulb turns on above his head. People love to watch other people fight about who has the better horse. People will pay to watch other people fight over who has a better horse. 

Thus the Horse Fight Club took form. He later decided against the actual fighting part, but it still seemed like people still wanted to compare horses without violence.

Regardless of how the idea formed (but it was probably closer to the first story) it actually was a pretty good one. Dulany was serious about improving horses in the US. He was inspired by the horses and shows he had seen on his travels and wanted to bring that to his home country.

He hosted the first show in 1853. It was simple and straight to the point, with just two classes, one for colts and one for fillies. He held it on his Grafton Farm property, in the place with the big footing, a grove of eventually historic oak trees.  

Dulany had wanted this show to be prestigious from the start, so visited his rich person friend Louis Tiffany, the creator of Tiffany and Co. He told Tiffany about his prestigious horse show idea, and Tiffany liked it so much, he donated his craftmanship to help bring his vision to life. Dulany still had to pay for the silver though, they weren’t that good of friends. 

The Show Expansion Part I

The show continued on yearly, but he still had to find things to do the rest of the year, so Dulany also continued his European trips. Nothing would divert him from his epic quest to be the greatest horseman of the land, or maybe find all the horse-horcruxes. In 1856, Dulany purchased a four year old Cleveland Bay stallion named Scrivington, a name that was both upper class and appropriate for his Lord of the Rings style horse quest. Dulany had an affinity for Cleveland Bays (note there are still Cleveland Bay classes at the show), and this stallion had won the Royal Agricultural show in England the previous year. This stallion was the epic prize of his epic quest. Dulany brought him home to Welbourne and he was offered as a stud, generously free of charge, to local horse breeders. 

Naturally, Dulany begin offering awards for the best offspring of Scrivington. Although this encouraged further breeding of a great horse, it didn’t help the Cleveland Bay numbers. That is a whole different story, but the breed is currently endangered, with only an estimated 200 horses left in America.

The show continued to expand, even for horses not related to Scrivington. It begin offering divisions for quick draft (driving horses), heavy draft (farm work horses), and saddle horses. Within the divisions were classes for yearlings, two years olds and three year olds. 

Families who would usually be foxhunting during the winter were now using the summer shows to gather and socialize. Classes were created to cater to them, offering ways to show their fox hunting skills in a competitive way. Thus, the hunter discipline was created in America, just as Cthulhu had divined. 

The Civil War

The show was halted in 1961, during the civil war. The bullets whizzing by and canons going off made it too difficult to show without distractions. Plus the founder, Dulany, or rather, Colonel Richard Henry Dulany, of the Confederate Army, left to fight in the war.

While he was away, he was concerned that his prized stallion, Scrivington, would be stolen. It was a valid concern, horses and livestock were being stolen. As Dulany couldn’t protect his stallion in person, he had his slave/horse groom, Garner Peters, smuggle him to Pennsylvania. Peters took care of the horse and made a living by breeding the stallion to Pennsylvania mares until the end of the war. Either out of loyalty or honor, he then brought the horse back to Dulany at Welbourne. 

Even though the war was over, and he was free to leave, Peters continued to work as a “hostler,” or, “one who takes care of horses,” for Dulany at least 15 more years. He liked Dulany well enough to continue to be his employee, so I really hope that his life after enslavement was as good as it could possibly be. Peters reportedly was an educated man for the time, able to read and write, and had a little family consisting of his wife and two children. 

The Dark Aftermath

Despite Peters, and other former slaves, being held in high regard for their equestrian skills, they were not allowed to actually show at Upperville for a long time. 

When the show reorganized after the war, some new rules were put into place. One was that only a white person could become a member, and any non-members that entered the show must also be white. 

A rule in 1895 declared, “While a colored groom may lead a horse to be examined by the judges, no negro shall ride or driving in competition with a white man or boy.” They were allowed to handle a horse on the ground for in-hand classes, likely because they had more experience than the owner, but were not actually allowed to ride at the show. 

According to first hand accounts, they did more than just handle the horses on the ground. Many of them did all the riding, training, and care of the horses. Rules like this may have contributed to the creation of an entirely different show just a few miles away in the town of St. Louis called the St. Louis Colored Colt Show.

At some point these racist rules were abolished, but it’s a shame that many talented equestrians have vanished from history and were never able to get their deserved turn in the ring.  

The Show Expansion Part II

The show continued to get bigger. Classes for thoroughbreds were added in 1870, but that wasn’t the only change over the years. Classes continued to be added, including: trotting horses, heavy draft, Cleveland Bays, hunters, matched horses, best pony pairs, and best pony. In 1891, an annual sale of horses was allowed. 

In 1893, two big changes were made. In place of the grass, an official track was made for the horses to better show off their gaits, and the first woman was allowed to become a member. 

The following year, likely because just like today, everyone was sick of showing up in the morning and waiting all day for their class, the show finally moved from a single day to two days. Not only did this give everyone ample horse showing time, but it also maximized the fun. Families were encouraged to gather and have parties. Attendees could enjoy musical performances and purchase food at the vendors. It was more than a horse show, it was a social event.

They kept the momentum going and made it 3 days long in 1897. One of the classes added was a steeplechase. Evidently the steeplechase was a disaster, because it was swiftly voted down the following year. Unfortunately the event seems to have disappeared from everyone’s collective memory so we are unable to relish in whatever drama occurred. Note for all: Please remember to record your drama, the future will want to hear about it. 

Dulany died in 1909. He had served as the President of Upperville for over 50 years so it was a hard blow to lose the leader. Grafton Farm stayed in Dulany’s family, but the show continued to be hosted on the property. This tradition would continue even after it was sold out of Dulany’s family and through the next owners. The show went on, with a short break during the next disasters, WWI and WWII. 

Introducing the Jumpers

In the 1960’s, the jumpers invaded. Oh sure, there had been a few “high jump” classes in the past, but those were mere scouting missions for the jumper’s ultimate goal. Classes were added to pacify them, and they smugly competed under the oaks, next to the hunters. But soon that wasn’t enough, they hungered for more. 

The quality of American show jumpers on the international ring had increased since WWII, when it had previously been dominated by European riders. There was a desire to push American horses and riders, and that required access to Olympic style show jumping. The American Grand Prix Association was formed, with Upperville as one of its founding members. Now just came the question of where to set up the desired Olympic style course?

Salem Farm

When Upperville was considering solutions to where to put the jumpers, the Randolph family generously donated part of their Salem Farm. This property had vast, open fields, and was located directly across the street. The jumpers invaded. The hunters, taking advantage of the vacuum of power that was created, reclaimed Grafton Farm as their own.

In 1974, the first Upperville Grand Prix was held at Salem Farm. The jumpers continued to gather there each year, and gradually improvements were made. 

Originally, the rings were grass only. It was determined that footing was needed after an incident in 2003 when the rings were so wet a helicopter was hired to act as a giant fan. A second ring was added in 2010. Then warmup rings appeared. The rings continued to grow uncontrollably until they took over most of the area. 

Luckily some decorative stone walls and fences were also added to keep the rings from spreading too far. 

Heronwood Farm

In the 1963, the Dulany family sold Grafton Farm. The new owners continued with the tradition of hosting Upperville, until it was sold again in 1983. 

The new owners were Robert Smith and his wife Clarice. Smith was a developer who had created Crystal City in Arlington, the mini city located right next to the Pentagon. It’s a pretty big deal. Clarice was an artist, with exhibits all across the world, including London, Paris, Zurich, Jerusalem, and Maastricht. Together they were the perfect set up for the rich, eccentric couple starring in a zany romantic comedy. 

Robert Smith was a great supporter of the show. His memorial on the show grounds reads, “He loved the history, He loved the Horse Show, but most of all, He Loved the Trees.”

They show continued to run, while just minutes away, the Smiths were busy creating a Richie Rich type set up on their renamed property of Heronwood Farm.

They weren’t into horse shows, but they were into horse racing. They hired the best architects and had an entire high-end, dream equestrian complex created. There was a broodmare barn, a yearling barn, three isolation buildings, run-in sheds, a hot walker, a covered lunging ring, a riding arena, and just for good measure, a polo field, too, cause you never know, thoroughbreds are good for that, too. 28 paddocks were put in on the extensive grounds.  

Photos of the property can be seen here, or published in the book, Ultimate Horse Barns, by Randy Leffingwell. 

The Smith’s bred racehorses for 17 years, using studs such as Storm Cat, Seattle Slew, and Mr. Prospector. The most successful horse went on to win $1.2 million for their new owner. 

In 1999, the Smiths were done with racing. They sold off all the thoroughbreds, with Smith telling The Washington Post, “[…] I found it became too time-consuming […]”

Truer words have never been spoken. Horses aren’t a light hobby, they consume your entire life. 

The Smiths went to alpacas next, likely as an adorable palette cleanser after the stress of the horses. 

Next, was golf, inspired by trips to Scotland. Naturally, they went all in and built an 18 hole, par 71 golf course designed by a professional golf architect, complete with ponds, fountains, sand traps, golf shop, and equipment sheds. 

The Smiths would have been able to watch the 6 figure horses in their rings at Upperville, and then drive their golf cart over to their private course and play some holes. They achieved one of the highest levels in the “Rich People” rankings. Their alpacas probably had trust funds, too.   

The Gifting of the Show Grounds

In 2009, Robert Smith passed, and a few years later Clarice donated the 19 acre plot of land containing the show rings to the Upperville Colt and Horse Show. She would later sell the remaining property of Heronwood Estate in 2022. 

This generous gift meant that the Upperville Horse Show had a guaranteed home. The show would no longer have any risk of losing access to the show grounds, and would be able to keep the show in its unique and beautiful setting under the oaks. 

Addition to the National Historic Register

In 2022, Grafton Farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is extremely important because now the show grounds has a fancy plaque on a rock to silently and continually announce how fancy they are, just in case anyone forgot they are one of the most prestigious horse shows in the country. But more seriously, this shows the grounds as worthy of preservation.   

Additionally, the property about Upperville isn’t likely to change either. The land has been put into conservation easements, so there’s no risk currently of development. Other historic shows across the country have development butting directly against them. It’s a tough time to live the horse lifestyle, as this is a niche hobby, and most people would rather see houses shops, or even parking lots. 

The lengthy history and cultural significance of Upperville will keep it safe for a while. But that doesn’t mean it will always be safe. There may come a time in the future when the voices of those who want new neighborhoods or resorts or shopping centers, are louder than those who want to ride their horses around in a circle. 

Upperville’s history is lengthy, too full to include everything in one article. It’s been a place of epic wins, drama and darkness. World champions have ridden here, as well as toddlers on their first ponies. 

This has only been an overview. There’s much more to explore, if you are so inclined, by checking out Upperville’s website or the Chronicle of the Horse, which has been reporting on Upperville since the 1940’s. 

It’s starting up this week, so if you want to see it yourself, check out their schedule to see what’s going on. Saturday mornings are the busiest, with the extremely popular leadline class. 

Bring a chair, grab a lemonade, and settle in for some of the most beautiful horse and rider pairs in the country.