58 SIDELINESMAY 2014
FORHORSEPEOPLE • ABOUTHORSEPEOPLE
passionate about protecting open space.
Spectators are amajor selling point when it comes to hosting
upper level eventingatGreatMeadow. “Asamodel for business,
I compare the spectator-base model to the exhibitor-base
model, in terms of paying the bills,” Rob said. “I decided if we’re
bringingeventingback toGreatMeadow, thecompetitionswould
have to be spectator-based. If you have one bad day and have
250 horses or more galloping across the cross-country course,
that’s a lot of damage to the ground. We just can’t afford that.
But if you have 30 or so of the world’s best horses competing,
that’s not too much impact on the ground. It also provides a
level of entertainment that will catch the interest of many of our
spectators who have already experienced steeplechasing and
polo at Great Meadow.”
In addition to being near many of the nation’s best event
horses and riders, Great Meadow boasts a growing spectator
baseofmore than200,000peoplewhomake their way annually
to the venue fromWashington, D.C. and itsenvirons. ThePlains
has its own exit on Interstate 66, which connects Washington
and the I-495Capital Beltway to points west and the Interstate-
81N/S. Great Meadow is located between the towns of
Warrenton and Middleburg, which are 21 miles apart, and the
entire area is thriving.
“We’re talking about future plans that are going to be great
for eventing,” said David. “Over the years, Nick Arundel talked
to me often about bringing eventing to Great Meadow. We’re
all excited about it and I think it’ll be a big boon to the sport
because Middleburg and this whole area of Northern Virginia
needed a true destination event. I think that Great Meadow is
the place to have it. Hosting top-level international competitions
here will benefit Great Meadow Foundation as a whole and our
sport. It’s going to be really good.”
After Rob approached him, David contacted longtime friend
andeventingassociateMikeEtherington-Smith,ChiefExecutive
at British Eventing (since 2008), best known for cross-country
course design including Rolex Kentucky CCI**** and the 2010
Alltech World Equestrian Games, and two Olympics: 2000 in
Sydney and 2008 in Beijing. In mid-March Mike flew from the
UK to meet with Rob, David and various other people involved
withGreatMeadowFoundationand to see thenewacreageand
discuss its proposed use.
“Great Meadow is the most fantastic venue – this is the first
time I’ve been here and there’s a real feeling of quality,” said
Mike. “All of it has been done really well and to high standard.
When David first got hold of me, he said there’s a project
here we’d really like you to get involved in. He gave a bit of
explanation and background and I thought,
Yeah – it sounds
like fun!
”
When asked what were the most outstanding attributes at
Great Meadow as an eventing venue, David said, “The terrain
over in Fleming Farm is fantastic, not so severe for the horses
like property with steep hills. This land has so many features,
you can go in a number of different directions with it. The
way Mike will set it up, it’ll be a spectator-friendly course and
environment. We’ll arrange for spectators to get out to the far
parts of the course.”
Mike, fromhis coursedesigner’s perspective, said, “There’s a
lot to do, but the enthusiasm, commitment and knowledge here
at Great Meadow give us all huge confidence that it’s going to
turn out to be fantastic. The venue of the course is undulating;
it’s going to be really attractive. The area designated for the
main arenawill be re-shaped.We spent a lot of time discussing
it —what it could look like and its versatility for various shows.
The cross-country course will go through the main arena and,
if all goes well, we’ll have twowater fences, one in the arena.”
Spectator-friendly plans include strategically placed tailgate
parking spaces for watching the cross-country. The new cross-
countrywon’t be readyuntil springor summer 2015, butmanyof
the cross-country jumps, whichwill be constructed for this July’s
inaugural event, will be moved to the new course. The Gold
Cup course, which hasmany features that will lend themselves
well for the July competition, gets year-round maintenance for
superior footing, especially during dry spells.
“Another reason why David likes Great Meadow is that
we understand irrigation and the need for it,” said Rob. “For
the July event we’ll run the dressage in the existing arena,
starting Saturday morning. During the evening performance,
which begins with bareback puissance, followed by the show
View of theSpringHouse andMembers’ Hill
from the homestretchof theVirginiaGoldCup
racecourse: Great Meadowwas jumpingwith
about 45,000 spectators for the2013 races.
Photo by LaurenR. Giannini
