Before we talk about your dream horse farm, I want to give you a bit of insight into my own personal journey and experiences with horses and horse farms.
In my younger days I managed horse farms in Northern California, Southern California and deep east Texas. My vagabond days ended when I took a job as trainer for a superb Egyptian Arabian breeding farm in Afton, Virginia about 25 minutes west of Charlottesville, Virginia. I remember arriving for my first day in 1982. It was my birthday, May 21 and the soft green fields smelled earthy and rich. There were dogwood trees blooming at the edge of the woods. The morning air was cool and moist. The horses in their pastures all had their heads down grazing on the new grass. What a contrast from the dry, pipe fenced paddocks of Santa Barbara and the shallow, rocky soils of the Texas piney woods. Here was country made for horses with deep rich soils, ideal forage and a history and culture where fine horses have always played a central role.
It wasn’t long before I knew I had found my home. I opened my own training stable at Waverley Farm in Orange County and got my real estate license in 1983. In 1985 I decided to dedicate all of my energies toward real estate and my horses happily moved to hobby status where they remain even today. I have specialized in all types of country property for nearly forty years but particularly enjoy working with horse owners helping them find that ideal horse property in the seven county area surrounding Charlottesville, Virginia.
Charlottesville Real Estate
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Curb appeal
The first carriage to pull into the circle drive in front of Frascati in 1823 was very likely bringing James Barbour and his wife, Lucy, to the just completed home of his brother, Phillip Barbour. Certainly the carriage would have slowed, the lathered horses catching...
Is Charlottesville, Virginia a good place to retire?
I wrote this article about my parents in 2014. They are both gone now but I find myself in those same happy shoes these days, enjoying the fruits of our labor and feeling blessed to have wound up in such an extraordinary place. I would love to help you find your last,...
Is land expensive in Charlottesville, Virginia?
Land close in to Charlottesville can be quite expensive with demand for nice building sites being in very high demand. A good building lot up to five acres for a single family home with can be anywhere from $65,000 to $500,000 depending on location, amenities and the...
Is it expensive to keep a horse in Virginia?
Few places in America are as naturally suited for horses as Virginia’s Piedmont. Rich, well drained pasture, four distinct seasons and a thriving equestrian culture and history make the Charlottesville area ideal for the equine enthusiast. People often ask, is it...
Frascati and Orange County, Virginia
Orange County was established in 1734 and was the largest county that has ever existed in America, "The states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia were once part of Orange County. Over time, its boundaries have contracted to an elongated county of...
Farms for sale near Charlottesville
If you are considering purchasing a farm near Charlottesville or any of the surrounding counties you may be contemplating having a horse or two, maybe some chickens perhaps planting a vineyard. Ten acres would probably be plenty of land for that but you’ve just fallen...
