Spring has been crazybusy, but here are a few happenings.

The Virginia Foxhound Show at Morven Park is the enthusiast's traditional way to enjoy Memorial Day Weekend. On Saturday – in Middleburg: MFHA's newly restored Headquarters & Museum welcomes subscribing members. Still on Saturday – In Leesburg: Museum of Hounds and Hunting, North America, Inc., features the opening of Meg Gardner's Rescued Rocking Horses and Spring Art Show & Sale at Morven Park, at 4 p.m. That evening: Virginia Foxhound Club dinner and horn blowing competition in front of the mansion. On Sunday, Virginia Hound Show gets underway at 9 a.m. with classes and championships for four breeds in five rings. The end of the day features pack classes, Performance Hound finals, and the Grand Championship.

Upperville Horse Show is a marvelous multi-ring extravaganza with hunters on one side, jumpers on the other, June 3 – 9. Its great fun for horse-crazy kids of all ages and shopaholics will enjoy the vendors, plus Upperville does the best hospitality. You can visit both sides of Rt. 50 or choose "Upperville" which now refers to the hunter side with the ancient oaks or opt to hang out in "Europe," the jumper side and a different world with its own show lingo.

Both sides feature great horses and action, scenics and vistas so cool you'll want to show off your photos of old-fashioned, modern, traditional, historic, exciting Upperville. General Admission: $45 per carload, good through the weekend including Sunday's Grand Prix.

For more information, visit Upperville.com

The Virginia Gold Cup races took place on May 4, and Great Meadow set the usual brilliant stage for a day of steeplechase racing. One favorite race is the Steeplethon, a special mix of hurdles and timber jumps, run under NSA rules. Most Thoroughbreds specialize in either hurdle or timber, and timber horses that do well over hurdles often end up tackling a Steeplethon, about 3 miles over mixed hurdles and timber.

The winner of this year's Virginia Gold Cup, worth $100,000 in purse money, was Andi'amo (Fr) whose trainer Leslie Young prepped "Andy" (as he's known in the barn) and stablemate, Mercoeur (Fr), over timber and Steeplethons. Both horses have been a source of bragging rights for their owner, Ballybristol Farm LLC (IL)...

Andy is enjoying a winning streak. The bay gelding (2010) by Walk In The Park (Ire) out of Sainte Parfaite (Fr), by Septieme Ciel came to Young Racing in 2015 after he was acquired in England. In 25 career starts to date, Andy recorded 9 firsts, 7 seconds, 2 thirds for earnings of $280,000.

"Last year I switched Andi'amo to the Steeplethons and he loved them," Leslie said. "He won both Spring Steeplethons (Middleburg and Gold Cup) in 2018, but he came out with a hock injury and needed surgery in June at New Bolton. We gave him plenty of time, and after several months of stall rest, he started jogging."

For his 2019 season, Leslie entered Andy in an amateur flat race at Green Spring Valley that he won by 8 lengths over a field of 12. Jack Doyle, assistant trainer and stable jockey at Young Racing, piloted Andy to decisive wins in the Middleburg Hunt Cup $30,000 Timber Stake at Middleburg Spring and the Gold Cup, both times beating Le Chevalier with exciting stretch runs.

"The one thing you don't want to do is with Andy is overwork him," Leslie said. "We put a good bottom on our horses with old-fashioned jogging the roads for 6 to 8 weeks. It stinks for the riders, but it's great for the horses. We gallop them and they work, but we don't overwork them. Paddy always said the secret to Andi'amo was once he was fit, just keep him fresh and happy."

It's been a challenging few years for Leslie, her husband Paddy, and their children. In 2017, Paddy suffered career-ending head injuries at Radnor. It wasn't the way he wanted to retire: the five-time champion jockey was only two races away from joining the elite group of jockeys with 200-lifetime steeplechase wins.

"Paddy used to say before he got hurt that Andy and Mercoeur, who had both been good hurdle horses, would both make good timber horses," recalled Leslie. "He always said that! He still adores the horses, and Andy has always been a favorite of his. Andy is a class act."

So is Young Racing.

For more information: www.nationalsteeplechase.com