If you’ve never been to Great Meadow in the heart of horse country, Virginia, schedule your trip now. I’m lucky enough to call this area home and have attended many wonderful events at Great Meadow, including Twilight Polo, the Virginia Gold Cup and, most recently, the Land Rover Great Meadow International CIC3*. Top event riders including Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin, Buck Davidson and Marilyn Little competed last weekend in this prep event for the Pan American Games.

Not into horses? No problem! This area is also becoming known for its wine. Virginia boasts over 250 wineries. Some of my favorites are Greenhill, Chrysalis, Cana, Quattro Goomba’s and Stone Tower. Virginia is great for outdoorsy adventurers, too, with lots of hiking and biking trails all around the state. Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway and hike in Shenandoah National Park in autumn to be awed by some of the most beautiful fall foliage you’ll ever see.

Great Meadow put on a top-notch event and I look forward to attending more in the future. Below you’ll find a recap and photos from the event.

Day 1: Dressage

Phillip Dutton totally rocked BOTH his tests (he may or may not have been spotted at the bar between tests). The Mexican team looked uber snazzy in their military uniforms. And Jennie Brannigan reminded us that riding “like a girl” means #winning.

This is not Jennie Brannigan. This is yet another female Dressage rider showing us how much riding “like a girl” kicks ass.

Day 2: Stadium

Phillip Dutton reminded us that even the best riders bite the dust sometimes (so glad you and Fernhill Cubalawn are okay, Phillip!). Lauren Kieffer showed us, once again, that riding “like a girl” means #winning. And everyone and their mother came together to keep humans and horses safe amid an epic storm.

These jumps were nearly as tall as me. Red Bull doesn’t really give you wings, but horses do.

Day 3: Cross-Country

I wasn’t able to make it out to Great Meadow for Day 3, as I was teaching a yoga class that morning and all the excitement at Great Meadow was over by the time I finished teaching. While I’m disappointed I didn’t get to watch any of the cross-country, I’m glad I taught my yoga class. One of the students in my class leads meditation workshops, so we discussed collaborating on a meditation/asana workshop–exciting stuff!

Jennie Brannigan and Tim and Nina Gardner’s Cambalda were on point in their cross-country round and won it all. So next time anyone makes fun of you for doing something “like a girl,” tell them that doing something like a girl=winning.

Trailers for days

You can watch a video of Days 1 and 2 that I put together for Salamander Resort here.