A recent Middleburg project transformed the hilly terrain of a cow farm into a fully equipped equestrian facility. Housing three separate outbuildings, a covered round pen, ring, and single-horse pastures, this land now works well for the owner, groomers, and horses.

Working closely with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and owner, BOWA built an expansive facility that includes one eight-stall barn, one 12-stall barn and a separate structure housing the wash and grooming stalls, hayloft, tack room and attached grooms' quarters featuring a two-bedroom apartment. This project required extensive stall space, so the two flanking stable barns were designed to house a total of 20 horses, including specially designed stalls to house stallions on property.

Preparation for this complex required extensive site work to cut through the hill and fill the valleys to stabilize the area for construction. To create a layout with easy access to and from all structures, the barn was placed in the middle of the practice area and pastures. Each separate building has easy walkability for both horse and trainer, and wide paths accessing the pastures in front of the barn and training facilities behind. Opting for a three-building solution, instead of having one large u-shape structure, enables the trainers to guide the horses from a stall, to wash, to train and back without any obstructions. With the arena, round pen and ring at the top of the hill, the client required easy access for a trailer from the main driveway so wide pathways were created to allow for cars and horses to easily pass.

Ultimately, the barns and facilities were designed to ease day-to-day operations and always ensure the comfort of horse and rider. The specialty touches added to make operations run smoothly transformed this empty property from cow farm to a beautiful and practical equestrian facility.

Tim Burch is a Vice President and Owner of BOWA, an award-winning design and construction firm specializing in renovations ranging from master suites and kitchens to whole-house remodels and equestrian facilities. For more information, visit bowa.com or call 540-687-6771. Have topics you'd like covered, email me at AskBOWA@bowa.com.