Save Woodlawn Stables: A barn in northern Virginia needs your help
Reader Lindsey Hellmuth wrote to Horse Nation with a plea: Could we help gather petitions to help save a historic farm?
From Lindsey:
Woodlawn Stables has been a staple in our community for decades, and now it is facing being paved over to make room for a bypass. The goal of this project would be to alleviate some traffic in the area–but at the expense of the barn, its horses, and all of the riders who take lessons there! This isn’t at all a case of a barn closing due to financial problems; Woodlawn does a thriving business and provides much to the local community, but this “traffic calming proposal” would end all of that.
Woodlawn is a wonderful lesson and boarding barn; nearly every young rider in the area gets their start at this barn. With a focus on horsemanship and safely mastering the basics, they give all riders who come through their barn a solid horse and riding education. This is one of the last places to ride in our area of the world, and one of the only lesson barns. This little oasis of fields and ponies sits at a very busy intersection, and I know even those who don’t ride here enjoy the peaceful view it affords them as they pass by.
Not to mention–this barn sits on historical property! One of the barns was the original carriage house for Woodlawn Plantation, which was owned by George Washington’s nephew. Paving over this gem of a stable and historical site would truly be a tragedy, we’re doing everything we can to stop it.
They have started a petition on Change.org to hopefully change the mind of those in charge of this project. They need at least 2,000 signatures to petition congress to achieve this.
http://www.change.org/
https://www.facebook.com/
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