Upperville Colt & Horse Show Presented by MARS Equestrian™ to Host Free Arbor Day Celebration Under the Oaks
Historic Grafton Farm showgrounds will open to the public on Sunday, April 27.
UPPERVILLE, VA — The 2025 Upperville Colt & Horse Show, presented by MARS Equestrian™, will once again host a free Arbor Day celebration on the historic Grafton Farm showgrounds on Sunday, April 27, from 1 to 5 p.m. This is in coordination with the Garden Club of Virginia’s Historic Garden Tour in Middleburg.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a picnic and take a self-guided tour under the iconic tree canopy and explore the stream and wildlife habitat. Dogs are allowed but must be leashed and vaccinated.
Since last year, the showgrounds have added permanent handicapped accessible bathrooms, an awards staging room has been added to the grandstand, more trees have been planted, and the Smith memorial has an improved fountain. These and other investments have been made possible by the show’s ongoing “Jump In!” capital campaign, which has raised $5.5 million to date with another $2 million to go to finish improvements and start an endowment.
As the oldest horse show in the U.S., the Upperville Colt & Horse Show will celebrate its 172nd year on Monday, June 2, through Sunday, June 8. The Arbor Day celebration will take place on the same showgrounds the horse show has used since 1853. The site is known for its iconic trees and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. It is one of the most historically intact horse showgrounds in the nation. Some of the oak tree canopy dates to the Revolutionary War era and the grounds were witness to action during the Civil War.
Founded in 1853 as a one-day show to encourage better breeding and care of horses, the Upperville Colt & Horse Show has grown to a weeklong tradition with thousands of equestrian and equine pairs competing in a variety of competitive disciplines. The weeklong show culminates on June 8 with the excitement of the $200,000 Upperville Jumper Classic FEI CSI 4*, featuring top world-class equestrians. The day’s entertainment includes junior and amateur riders competing in both hunter and jumper disciplines, as well as the Horses & Horsepower car show. Throughout the show, vendors offer a variety of food in addition to equestrian, sporting, and fashionable clothing, milliners, tack and leather goods, jewelry, art, and handcrafted gifts. The venue is beautifully located in the heart of Virginia’s Hunt Country.
Parking and general admission for the show is free again this year for spectators.
In addition to MARS Equestrian™, sponsors of the 2025 Upperville Colt & Horse Show include Lugano, Ethel M. Chocolates®, The Salamander Collection, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Smith, B&D Builders, Markel Insurance, Delta Air Lines, and Koons Motors.
For more information and the weeklong show schedule, visit upperville.com.
Photos courtesy of the Upperville Colt & Horse Show.
Posted on: April 14, 2025