The Army Closes The Deal on Middleburg Training Center

By Leonard Shapiro

Country ZEST

It’s official.

The iconic Middleburg Training Center (MTC), built by Upperville philanthropist and Thoroughbred breeder Paul Mellon in 1956, has been sold to the U.S. Army’s Caisson Detachment, best known as “The Old Guard,”  that will re-purpose the 149-acre facility to train horses used in military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery.

The sale closed on Thursday, August 6, the same day the Army had already scheduled an evening town hall meeting at the Middleburg Community Center. A standing room crowd of about 200, including U.S. Representative Suhas Subramanyam, who represents Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, that includes the training center,  attended the precisely choreographed two-hour session to hear what both the Army and local residents had to say about the purchase.

Terms of the sale by MTC’s current owner Chuck Kuhn, the Purcellville-based founder of JK Movers who also has a number of large properties in Northern Virginia, were not disclosed. In negotiations for a possible sale to the Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA) earlier this year, Kuhn was asking $9.5 million. The Army said it began looking for a  new facility two years ago, started with 100 possibilities, cut it to 24 and then down to two before the MTC became its first choice.

Jeb Hannum, executive director of the VEA, was not scheduled to speak at the town hall, but was among a dozen audience members who individually directed questions to four uniformed Army representatives who had spoken earlier in the program. Hannum said the VEA would still be interested in possibly leasing the 7/8 mile training track, which will  not be used by the caisson horses, as well several barns that might also be available.

“You have a demand in the community to use that training track,” he told them. “If you're only having 80 horses there, it would seem that you would have capacity for others to lease the barns, and certainly there is an interest to use the training track. I want you to be aware that there is a desire for horse people to be there to lease it, and we understand what the priority is—it's for the caisson—but there is an opportunity where there is an interest for horsemen to lease the facility in a way that works for you and for them as well.”

Congressman Subramanyam also took to the public microphone to urge the Army’s representatives to consider possible joint use. In response to submitted questions and those from the audience, Major General Antoinette Grant, Commander of the Join Task Force National Capital Region/U.S. Army Military District of Washington, said that further analysis will be necessary to determine if that might be possible and that the Army was amenable to exploring that option.

“It's a pleasure to be able to be out here in Middleburg, which is such a beautiful site,” she said. “We're here basically to make sure that you have an understanding of what is actually happening as we transition to utilizing the Middleburg training facility….I recognize that there is a deep equestrian heritage here in Middleburg. Our intent is not to take away from any of that. The  property that we are talking about today, I know it holds a special place in the hearts of those of you who have lived here for a long time.”

The MTC currently includes 11 barns and 220 stalls used in recents years by a number of local horsemen to train racehorses for local, national and occasionally international clients. Most of those horsemen have already vacated the premises and moved to new locations in the Middleburg area and elsewhere, and the remaining tenants have until Oct. 24 to move out of the facility. The Army is also planning to begin renovations on many barns to accommodate its far larger caisson horses.

In its glory years, MTC alumni who had once used the training center included Hoist The Flag, the champion 2-year-old colt in 1970, and Spectacular Bid, who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes (Maryland) in 1979.

On the morning following the Thursday evening town hall, two of the MTC’s current tenants were up very early and working at their respective barns as usual, but also making plans to pack up and take their horses and their employees elsewhere.

Chris Kolb, a long-time local trainer, said he’s been working at the MTC since 1990 but will now move his operation to Gordonsdale Farm in The Plains.

“It hasn’t really hit us yet and you feel like you’d like to blame somebody,” he said. “But I don’t blame the Army; they’re trying to do the right thing for their animals, and you can’t really say anything about Chuck Kuhn. He did what he felt like he had to do. Basically, you have to say, ‘the store is closed and now we’re going to open another one.’”

Middleburg trainer Neil Morris, who keeps 20 race horses at what’s known as MTC’s Mellon Barn and has eight employees, has been at the center for eight years. Once he learned of the Army’s interest in the property, he said he was virtually certain a deal would be made, and prepared accordingly. He recently purchased a 220-acre farm in Delaplane and has already moved another 20 of his horses to that location.

“I was sad originally,” he said. ”But things change, and you have to move forward.”