MARYLOU AND MARLOUThe Middleburg/Saratoga ConnectionBY VICKY MOON
It was another successful racing season in Saratoga for the folks from Middleburg. Carol Holden, who owns Sporting Life Stables with Sam Huff, our town's most famous Pro Football Hall of Famer, had reason to celebrate: Her homebred chestnut filly won a maiden race with a purse of $25,100. It was an especially sweet moment, since the filly's dam came from the California Equine Retirement Foundation. "Her owner didn't want to pay any more bills and sent her off to be someone else's problem," says Carol, who hosts a thoroughbred racing radio program called "Trackside" with Huff, the long time analyst on Redskins Radio broadcasts. Together they're also a major force in the West Virginia Breeders Classics, Ltd. program. Carol named the filly Burletta, which translates to a light or comic opera. "I thought [it was] appropriate for horse racing," she notes. The Fout Family: trainer and father Doug, wife Beth and twins Dunn and Caroline were spotted on "jump" day, when the National Steeplechase and Hunt races take place each Thursday. Doug, who has fifty horses in training on the flat and over jumps, was in the winner's circle with Eldon Farm's Hirapour in the $75,000 A.P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase. The big brown gelding was bred in Ireland by His Highness the Aga Khan's studs and was the 2004 steeplechase champion. He's also one of the early favorites for this year's Eclipse award. Jackie Ohrstrom was also in the Spa watching some of her jumpers compete as well as making the rounds to parties, art galleries and the yearling sales with Marlou Gregory. Ann MacLeod has been making the trek to upstate New York for more than fifty years - greeting friends from her box - including Louisa and John Barker and retired Washington attorney Henry "Duffy" Rathbun. The sweetest time at the track is the crack of dawn on the backside. Retired advertising guru Bill Backer (credited with the jingle, "I'd Like To Buy the World A Coke") and his wife Anne religiously watch their horses exercise. And John Coles, who is a joint-master of Orange County Hunt when not selling real estate, was up for the yearling auction. Of course, the highlight each season has been to watch Marylou Whitney playing hostess at her legendary gala at Canfield Casino. Marylou was the fourth wife of the late Cornelius Vanderbilt "Sonny" Whitney. All eyes were on the winner's circle for the Whitney Stakes when, just nine weeks after a mild stroke, the elegant Marylou made a grand entrance. Her current husband, John Hendrickson, previously an aide to former Alaska Governor Walter Hickel, accompanied her for the trophy presentation. Racing enthusiasts in the imposing old white and red wooden stands cheered.
LIZ AND LILA Back in Middleburg there's a Whitney connection: the legendary Llangollen estate in Upperville. In 1930, sportsman and philanthropist John Hay Whitney purchased Llangollen for his wife, Philadelphia debutante and horsewoman Liz Altemus. John Hay Whitney, known as "Jock," was "Sonny" Whitney's first cousin. Jock Whitney also presented his bride with a wedding check for $1 million and his mother gave her a $225,000 diamond necklace. Adele Astaire and her brother Fred were in the wedding party as well as Sen. Stuart Symington and humorist Robert Benchley. However... Liz and Jock didn't last long. When they divorced, she received $3 million in cash and the deed to Llangollen. He later became ambassador to Great Britain while Eisenhower was in office. She later married Col. Cloyce Tippett. If the walls of this magnificent 1830's Georgian-inspired mansion could talk... they'd tell of the wild weekend parties that went on for days. And of the time the "Lady of Llangollen" brought her favorite horse into the great room or the dozens of dogs that lived here full time. (The most beloved ones were kept in her deep freezer when they departed.) Revelers included Doris Duke, Elsa Maxwell, Eddie Arcaro, Prince Aly Khan, Bing Crosby and a revolving list of diplomats and politicians.
Roy and Lila Ash, who are very familiar with life in Washington, purchased the 1,100-acre estate following Liz Tippett's death. He served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Richard Nixon. He also started Litton Industries, was the CEO of Sara Lee and served as treasurer of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The Ashes - who also have a home in California - have meticulously renovated and expanded the manor house to 13,000 square feet. All the walnut wood used for the new floors and the free-floating staircase in the main foyer is from trees on the property. There's a horseshoe stable (where Liz kept a black bear in one stall when he wasn't chained to a tree - no confirmation if it was a walnut tree), training track, cattle barns, cemetery and more. During the remodeling, decorator Phyllis Nee made discoveries all along the way: snake skins in the basement and a walk-in safe for silver and jewelry now used as a wine cellar. The Ashes purchased Llangollen in 1989 for $6.9 million and it's now for sale for $22 million. The Ashes own another estate in Middleburg called Huntland that's on the market for $17.8 million. But that's a story for another time.
HUNT COUNTRY DATES OCTOBER 1 The Trouvails Vintage Collection show at Jeanne Blackwell's Madcap Farm from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. (It is a close up show and sale before taking the collection to New York for the Manhatan Vintage Show on October 13th and 14th.) 7306 John Marshall Hwy, The Plains, Va. (540) 253-5606. OCTOBER 1-22 Contemporary quilts by Mary Turner Buchanan and fiber arts by Diana Vicenti; Zigzag Gallery, 6477 Main St., The Plains, Va. (540) 253-5364 or (540) 253-7772. OCTOBER 7 "A Day in The Plains" at Main St., The Plains, Va. Meet the artists, children's fair with petting zoo and local musicians including the Gary Smallwood Trio; www.townofheplains.com. (540) 253-5364. OCTOBER 21 International Gold Cup Steeplechase; seven races with $150,000 in prize money at Great Meadow, The Plains, Va. Also featuring Jack Russell Terrier Races and the Navy Parachute Team; www.vagoldcup.com. (800) 69-RACES, (540) 347-1215. OCTOBER 29 The American Boychoir; 5 p.m., Grace Episcopal Church, The Plains, Va. Tickets required; www.gracechurch.net. (540) 253-5177. |
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