Landowner: Sarah Jo and Kyle Luby Location: Halfway, VA Protected Land: 31.09 acres
In her words
For the past 3 ½ years, we have been smitten with our little refuge in The Plains. When we first moved to Gently Now, Kyle and I rode often and dabbled in the world of foxhunting. The ride out in Halfway, VA is second to none, and we are so thankful for the generosity of surrounding landowners who allow riding through their properties. However, with the arrival of our daughter Mary Owen last year, how we spend our personal time has changed a lot! Riding has taken a back seat for now, except for pony rides on our retirees, of course. As a local equine veterinarian, preserving farmland for equestrian activities is particularly important to me. I travel to many farms farther east that are slowly being gobbled up by development. It is comforting to know that our land is forever protected!
We are a family who loves the outdoors. We have a small horse boarding operation which keeps us busy with morning and evening chores. One of Mary Owen’s favorite activities is feeding the horses in the mornings, filling water troughs, and putting out fresh hay. This season, the pear trees have an overabundance of fruit, and while we wait for the horses to finish breakfast, we pick a couple of pears—one for ourselves and one for the dog! You will also see us running on the surrounding gravel roads. We are incredibly grateful for our all-terrain baby stroller, even though it spooks the occasional horse (sorry riders!). Kyle also enjoys scouting wildlife with his game camera. In addition to the usual suspects, we’ve viewed bears, turkeys, foxes, and a bobcat. We often see the Orange County Hunt come through as well.
In the future, we hope to spend more time in the wooded areas of our property doing some hunting and camping. There are two small ponds between the pasture and the back woods, and we’d like to make those more accessible and kid friendly. Beekeeping is also on the bucket list!