Equestrians Look To Unite Around Common Goals

This is the fourth and final artilce in a multi-part series from Patch about the economic and other impacts of the declining equestrian industry in Fairfax County. 

was published Tuesday, Feb. 21.

was published Wednesday, Feb. 22.

was published Thursday, Feb. 23.

______

A market for equestrian activities still exists in Fairfax County, despite challenges to local horse-related infrastructure from housing, business and transportation development.

Though a relatively small portion of the population, equestrians in the county drive a significant amount of business, as owning, riding and caring for horses in Northern Virginia is quite expensive.

More than 23,000 Fairfax County residents participate in horseback-riding activities, participating in equestrian activities at a rate 5 percent higher than the national average. In 2010, sales in Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church related to the horse industry totaled more than $26.3 million.

That financial activity could shift to other areas in Virginia and Maryland, as several equestrian facilities wait for local governmental and private organizations to settle on make-or-break decisions:

• . 
• The Bureau of Land Management might allow one concessionaire to continue her and another to operate Simple Changes Therapeutic Riding Center from there. 
• Public-private partnerships might .

Fractured Groups, Common Goals

While individuals continue to try to protect existing stables, farms and trails and advocate for new facilities, the groups they lead or represent in some cases are divided or working on different pages. In many cases, it appears that one group doesn’t know what another is doing.

Georgine 'Gegi' Winslett, owner of the Winslett Advantage and TWA Horse Shows and a local trainer, said this is not advantageous.

"We need not lose sight of our own interests and goals, but we also need to be aware of other groups, individuals and associations around us that are part of the same, bigger industry, because horses do not have as universal an appeal and common knowledge across the population as they once did," Winslett told In Stride, the magazine of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association.

For now, at least, these opportunites remain in or very near to Fairfax County. (If you know of any we've missed, please let us know in the comments section following this article.)

Boarding and Lesson Stables

Angelica Run Farm
Boarding and Lessons
1927 Hunter Mill Road, Vienna
703-938-8969

The Sanders Ranch - Battlefield Equestrian Center, Inc.
Boarding and Lessons
16009 Lee Highway Centreville
703-266-4884

Bull Run Stables
Boarding and Lessons
6001 Bull Run Post Office Road Centreville
703-266-6342

Jarvis Stables
Boarding
10808 Harley Road, Lorton
703-339-9682

Little Burgundy Farm, LLC
Lessons
5715 Sable Drive, Alexandria

Mulford Riding School
Boarding, Lessons, Trail Riding
Centreville
703-946-7595

Boarding
10810 Henderson Road, Fairfax Station
703-978-4341 or 703-216-9584

Rokeby Farm Stables
Boarding and Lessons
830 Dolley Madison Boulevard, McLean
703-528-8761


Boarding and Lessons
10406 Gunston Road, Lorton
571-642-2800

Tamarack Stables
Lessons
9905 Old Colchester Road, Lorton
703-339-5160

Boarding and Lessons
8907 Richmond Highway, Alexandria
703-780-4344

Equestrian Groups

• Battlefield Equestrian Society
• Commonwealth Dressage and Combined Training Association (CDCTA)
• Clifton Horse Society
• Fairfax4Horses
• Friends of Frying Pan Farm Park
• Friends of Turner Farm
• Great Falls Horse Network
• Hunters Valley Association and Hunters Valley Riding Club
• Mason Neck Horse Coalition (MNHC)
• Northern Virginia Coalition of Equestrian Organizations, Inc. (NVCEO)
• Virginia Dressage Association – Northern Virginia Chapter (VADA/Nova)
• Virginia Region Pony Clubs

Tack Shops

The Clifton Saddlery - Feed & Pet
6319 Multiplex Drive, Centreville
703-830-7200

Dover Saddlery
43717 John Mosby Hwy, Chantilly
703-327-4423

The Saddlery, Inc
731 Walker Road, Great Falls
703-759-3500

Therapeutic Riding Programs

Lift Me Up!
9700 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls
703-759-6221

Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program, Inc.
P.O. Box 184, Clifton
703-764-0269

Simple Changes Therapeutic Riding Center
10406 Gunston Road, Lorton
703-402-3613

Full Disclosure: Burke Patch Editor Susan Larson is a past member of Clifton Horse Society, former volunteer with Simple Changes Therapeutic Riding Center, and current member of the Mason Neck Horse Coalition. She boards her horse at The Stables at Meadowood.