This summer, Great Meadow will reintroduce eventing to their calendar of events and it's guaranteed to be world class. On July 26-27 the country's best event riders and horses will compete in this special "equestrian triathlon" of dressage, cross-country and show jumping to get ready for the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, August 24 to September 7.

Although the WEG-prep event will take place on the Gold Cup course and in the existing arena surrounded by the berm, exciting and ambitious plans are in the works to turn the adjacent 147 acres of Fleming Farm, acquired recently by Great Meadow Foundation, into a world class eventing facility with spectator-friendly arena and cross-country course. Involved in this project are two key people in international eventing: David O'Connor, US eventing chef d'equipe and Olympic gold medalist, and Michael Etherington-Smith, chief executive of British Eventing and cross-country course designer for two Olympics, 2010 WEG, and many years of the Rolex four-star in Kentucky.

"Arthur (Nick) Arundel, the founder of Great Meadow, always said that Great Meadow and Fleming Farm belonged together, but he passed away in 2011 and recently his heirs decided to sell," said Robert Banner, President of Great Meadow Foundation. "It was scary to think that the land could be sold and houses would get built. If we let that happen, we wouldn't be doing our job. Our mission here at Great Meadow is to preserve open space for equestrian and community service. By buying Fleming Farm we could preserve more open space, but at the time Great Meadow didn't have the money for the purchase. Then we started thinking about three-day eventing, that we could host international level competition. That's when I contacted David. I didn't know it at the time, but he had been looking for a site to host that level."

The project has received great support from people connected with Great Meadow who contributed to the purchase of Fleming Farm. The major donors include: Magalen O. Bryant, Jacqueline B. Mars, Bill Ballhaus and Darrin Mollett and their Beverly Equestrian Center, Mr. and Mrs. Naj Husain and their Morningside Training Center, Sheila Johnson and her Salamander Resort, Mr. and Mrs. Irv Naylor, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Akre, Mrs. George L. Ohrstrom, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Michael T. Hall, and Mr. and Mrs. Michael Crane.

Great Meadow is ideally situated with major highways connecting it to points west and east to Washington D.C. and its environs, within easy driving proximity to thriving local towns. Well-established as a spectator-destination, Great Meadow entertains more than 200,000 visitors annually at its various equestrian and outdoor events, such as two annual Gold Cup races, polo, show jumping, wine festivals, and their popular July 4th celebration.

"For about six years Robbie Banner and I have been working off the vision that Nick Arundel had to make Great Meadow the Mecca for horse sport, equestrian and community activities," said Major General (ret) Henry "Buzz" Kievanaar, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Great Meadow Foundation. "We tried three day eventing before but had to run it on the racecourse – we didn't have enough land. Robbie talked to me and we knew we really had to do this, find a way to buy Fleming Farm to make this happen. We were excluding a whole segment of horse activity and this is an area where you see major international three-day eventers training and living. It has been a labor of love."

Gen. Kievanaar also pointed out that the heart of the Piedmont has put more three-day riders in the Olympics than anywhere else and yet this equestrian-rich enclave wasn't represented by an international competition or training facility.

"We are talking about future plans which 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 will be a big boon to the sport because Middleburg and this whole area of Northern Virginia needed a true destination event and 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 Banner approached O'Connor, the chef d'equipe called in a course designer of world renown. "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 Etherington-Smith. "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."

The mid-March planning sessions at Great Meadow brought together Banner, Kievanaar, O'Connor, Etherington-Smith, and Bobby Hilton, Great Meadow's grounds manager for 30 years. Hilton prepares the facility for every event and then toils to restore the footing to tip-top shape, whatever the weather and the wear on the land.

"Another reason why David likes Great Meadow is that we understand irrigation and the need for it," said Banner. "We have great terrain at Fleming Farm and we will guarantee great footing for the events. When we decided to bring eventing back to Great Meadow, I decided that the competitions would 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."

The new eventing facility will be ready by summer 2015. Cross-country jumps, which are being constructed for the July event, will be moved to the new cross-country. The WEG-prep event will be designed for competitors and still accommodate spectators. It features dressage on July 26, Saturday morning, in Great Meadow's existing arena; the evening performance will begin with bareback Puissance (high-jump), followed by the show jumping phase. A VIP reception will honor the donors to Fleming Farm and the team going to France. Boxes and tailgate spaces will be available for dressage and show jumping. Cross-country runs Sunday morning, followed by the awards ceremony.

"Everyone has been extremely generous and we are grateful to our major donors," said Banner. "Now the fundraising begins to finance the construction of this world-class eventing facility. When the work is complete, we will put all the land into a conservation easement, protecting and perpetuating the property for equestrian and sporting purposes for future generations."

For more information: GreatMeadow.org