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Tyler James Ross

Gold Cup: History and Community


1984 was the last Virginia Gold Cup held at Broadview in Warrenton before the event was moved to Great Meadows. The location in Warrenton became unsustainable as development potential became inevitable and the venue became increasingly crowded. At the time, Fauquier County’s population was just under 39,000 residents (there were more cows in the county). This final event at Broadview, was my very first Gold Cup race. I was not yet 12 months old.

While I’ll miss Spring Gold Cup this year as I have a professional event that takes precedence, the event holds a special place in my heart. I’ve attended the race throughout all evolutions of my life, from infancy to adulthood, spectating from the North and South Rails as well as Member’s Hill. I met my wife, Sarah, at Gold Cup and a few years later it’s where we became engaged, just north of the Tower along the rail where news of our engagement reached the loudspeaker for all to hear. It tears me apart to miss it this year.

While I wasn’t old enough to remember, the stories I’m told of Gold Cup at Broadview and the early years at Great Meadows paint the picture of an event hardly recognizable compared to today’s race. Broadview was a short course, the venue was otherwise used year-round as a cow pasture. Hardly a fancy car was in sight during the early years as the course was generally viewed from the back of pick up trucks with viewers seated atop beer coolers. Not a large hat or pastel color to be seen, just muck boots and often sloppy, but always happy, county residents.

By 1990, Fauquier County was beginning to see what many traditionally rural and agricultural communities were seeing: a future of growth and change. Our county’s proximity to Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia made this inflection point inevitable. In that year, per VAGoldcup.com, Patrick Worrall, at 18 years old, won the Virginia Gold Cup race for a second time on his speedy steed Von Csadek. Mortgage interest rates hovered around 10%.

In the early 1990s, the Gold Cup became internationally recognized among equestrian races and continued to grow. I was 10 years old at the time, now running around Great Meadows with my school mates, chasing footballs and frisbees, yet to acknowledge there were horses about. Meanwhile, Fauquier County and the surrounding areas were torn as Disney was looking to establish a foothold in Haymarket with “Disney’s America”. Disney abandoned it’s plans in 1994 under pressure at both the corporate level and from local preservationists. Hugo’s Skating Rink in Bealeton was THE spot.

Walmart opened in Warrenton at this time, right on the heels of Kmart’s opening in 1992.  changing the retail landscape of Fauquier County and it’s seat. Walmart replaced an ailing Jamesway which closed in 1995. Leaving Ames, Walmart and Kmart vying for Warrenton’s favorite discount store. It was in this era Warrenton Movies 5 opened, offering local residents a movie theater experience. Liberty High School opened it’s doors.

In 2000, The Washington post published an article describing the Gold Cup as a place where “Washington’s monied attend to see and be seen”. The tech boom brought a new element to the race: “New Money”. AOL’s Steve Case had recently purchased a property in Fauquier County. Everyone wanted a piece of “hunt country”. It was an estimated attendance of 50,000 spectators. Personally, I had just turned 16 and with the help of a 1985 Volvo, had reoriented my interest from footballs and frisbees to the pretty horse girls. Fauquier’s population at the time, 55,000, exceeding the county’s population of cows. Maipo was the winner of the Virginia Gold Cup. Mortgage rates hovered around 8%.

By the 2010s, the county had grown to over 65,000 residents, a steep boom in population. Along the way, Hugo’s was no more (though the big skate survives!)  Ames folded. Kmart shut it’s doors in 2016. Warrenton Movies 5 closed in 2015. Dominion Valley in Haymarket, among other developments, took the place of Disney’s America. Fauquier was becoming well known for it’s wineries and breweries. Safeway moved from where Staples is today to it’s current location. Having returned home from college, I was back to my regular attendance at Gold Cup, still oblivious to the fact there were horses until during the final race the thunderous roar of the final stretch put an exclamation point on my proposing to Sarah. Mortgage interest rates hovered around 4%.

Today’s Gold Cup draws over 60,000 spectators. The explosion of the event has tracked similarly to the explosion of Fauquier’s growth, which now stands at over 75,000 residents, some of us “been heres”, others “come heres”. One thing is for sure, even among the masses, for us “been heres” it can still feel like a small town.

For those joining Gold Cup for the first time, like our fine county, it has a storied history. Find yourself a “been here”, have a mint julip, tighten your bow tie and tease from the lips of a long time local some stories not fit for print.

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