Middleburg Classic at Morven Park Through Sunday

The 18^th annual Middleburg Classic is taking place all this week at Morven Park. The hunter/jumping show will showcase the skills of each rider and their horse as they compete in jumps, walks, trots and canters.

According to Executive Director Nardeen Henderson, no qualifications were needed to enter into the world champion event. About 400 horses will compete, throughout the week, in two outdoor rings, which are located on the equestrian side of the property.

“This is our 3^rd year at Morven Park,” Henderson said. “It’s a beautiful outdoor facility with the rolling hills and the green grass. It has a nice Virginia feel to it.”

Virginia is known for its horse country where scenic horse trails, elite competitions, thrilling races and hunts have established Virginia as one of the best destinations for equine activities and events.

More than a half a million horse lovers and admirers travel to Virginia each year to participate in numerous horse related events. On Tuesday, Henderson said that some of this year’s competition comes as far away as California.

“They come from all over,” Henderson said.  “Anyone who is interested in horses will see some of the top riders and horses in America, right here at Morven Park.”

Among them is Richmond resident and rider Ashleigh Cochran who will compete with her horse, Anchorman, a six-year-old German Warmblood.

“I love this show.  It’s a beautiful show and they always do a great job,” Cochran said, during the event on Wednesday. Although she has competed in the past, this is the first year that she’ll be working with her new horse. “It’s really fun to see the horses all dressed up and everything because you spend so much time at home working. When you get here you only have two minutes to make it perfect. But it’s exciting and with the amount of money spent we better try and do a good job. Main goal, get your monies worth.”

Richmond resident Bob Crandall said he’ll be competing on and off throughout the week. Both he and his partner own a horse business just outside of Richmond, Va., and will be using several of them during the one week event.

“I think by the end of the week we’ll have about ten to twelve here,” Crandall said, who has been riding professionally for about 35 years. “We’ve been coming for years. It’s one of our nicer shows in Maryland and Virginia and it’s a charity horse show. I’ve been very involved in horse shows forever and I just really like everything about it quite frankly.”

The Middleburg Classic Hunter/Jumper show will continue to run through Sunday, Sept. 25. The event is scheduled to take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The cost of admission is $5 per vehicle. All money raised will be donated to Food and Friends, which provides meals, groceries and nutrition counseling to people living with life-challenging illnesses such as AIDS and cancer.