The town of Middleburg is known for two things; horses and horse people. Middleburg is home to numerous eventers, including the O’Connors, Jan Byyny, Mara Dean, Nina Fout, Kelli Temple, and the Law family, and everyone has probably heard sightings of all the top east coast eventers at “The Pub.”
The idyllic town of Middleburg, nestled in Northern Virginia, provides the perfect setting for anything related to horses, whether it is eventing, show jumping, steeplechasing, or foxhunting. It seems as if everyone in Middleburg has some connection to horses; I think if they didn’t they would have moved away a long time ago! The town has a long, rich history dating all the way back to the founding years of the United States.
According to Middleburg Online, “Middleburg was established in 1787 by Revolutionary War Lieutenant Colonel and Virginia statesman Leven Powell. He purchased the land for Middleburg at $2.50 an acre from Joseph Chinn, first cousin to George Washington. Previously called “Chinn’s Crossroads,” Powell chose the name Middleburg because of the town’s location midway between Alexandria and Winchester on the Ashby Gap trading route (now Route 50)… After the turn of the century, Middleburg began welcoming a new wave of visitors that descended on the town for foxhunting and steeplechasing. The charming village soon earned a reputation as the “Nation’s Horse and Hunt Capital,” attracting prominent visitors from across the United States.”
For being such a small town, Middleburg still has a huge variety of great shops and restaurants, and almost all of them are equestrian themed. Here are some of my favorites:
Middleburg Tack Exchange: This is a consignment tack shop that sells every piece of tack you could possibly imagine. There are a lot of used items but everything is of really good quality and repair. The Tack Exchange is neat because a lot of times you can find odd or rare horse items that you can’t find in a regular tack shop.
The Tack Box: This is the tack shop I go to when I can’t find what I am looking for at the Tack Exchange (which rarely happens). They’ve got beautiful clothes and lovely tack for sale, but at not-so-beautiful prices.
Cuppa Giddy Up: The local coffee shop has both excellent lattes and some excellent people watching.
Red Horse Tavern: The pub is the favorite hangout in Middleburg. They have good food and really good service.
The Upper Crust: You haven’t lived until you have been to the Upper Crust Bakery. The cookies and pastries are definitely worth the extra hour you’ll have to spend in the gym burning off all the calories.
So there’s something for everyone to enjoy in Middleburg; Well, if you are into horses anyway.
