Our home and farm in Leesburg, VA is on approximately 11 1/2 acres, on a secluded private road with only 11 homes on it.  Each house has from 10-15 acres so we have privacy, but we are only about 2 1/2 miles from downtown Leesburg - the best of both worlds.  We live about midway between the Blue Ridge Mountains and downtown D.C. with all its history, culture, sports and sightseeing.  Washington/Dulles airport is only 20 minutes away.  Our location is perfect for weather, entertainment and also for marketing the horses and Shelties. When we moved to Virginia, we fell in love with this property but the house, a 1960's rancher with a full basement, was badly in need of remodeling and renovation.  We've been here for almost 10 years and have basically changed the entire house.  Once the main floor was completed, we remodeled the entire basement into a huge party area with wet bar, large-screen TV area, a room with tables for eating, a Penn State room with ping-pong table and workout machines, and a bunk room for our grandchildren.  The back of our house already had a large deck but the pool needed repair and we then built a stone patio with seating walls and landscaping.  It is a wonderful home for our family to gather for holidays, family reunions and parties for neighbors, dog and horse friends. 

There was a bank barn on the property which had a top floor for tractors, equipment and workshop.  The bottom floor, mostly underground, was turned into a kennel for our Shelties.  There are indoor and outdoor runs, a large room for crates where the dogs sleep, and a grooming room with a raised tub. 

When we added the horses, we needed to build a second barn and put up fencing.  We have six large stalls which can be used for foaling, and four smaller stalls, a tack room and a wash area.  Winters are usually fairly mild in northern Virginia, so the horses can spend a lot of time outdoors, either in dry lots or out in the pastures. 

 Northern Virginia is "horse country" with Middleburg and Upperville the center of the Hunt Country.  We are fortunate to have Morven Park here in Leesburg, home of many horse shows.  There is also a state-of-the-art equine hospital in Leesburg, which is associated with the Virginia Tech veterinary school.  Such wonderful equine facilities are a real advantage to those of us who love horses.