Labor Day weekend is creeping up, but this weekend still has plenty on the calendar — a breed championship, two hunter shows, and polo matches on both ends of the weekend. Here's what's worth the drive.
Weekend highlights
[Virginia Quarter Horse Championship Show](/events/virginia-quarter-horse-championship-show), Fri–Sun, Aug 28–30, at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington. The state's top quarter horses compete across three days of breed classes — a good excuse for a Shenandoah Valley weekend if you're not already headed that way.
[House Mountain Horse Show](/events/house-mountain-horse-show-august), Sat–Sun, Aug 29–30, also at the Virginia Horse Center. A reliably well-run hunter/jumper show that draws barns from across the region — worth checking out even if you're just there to watch.
[Four Oaks Farm August Hunter Show](/events/four-oaks-farm-august-hunter-show), Sat, Aug 29, at Four Oaks Farm in Palmyra. A one-day hunter show in Central Virginia for riders who don't want to travel far this weekend.
[Great Meadow Saturday Polo](/events/great-meadow-saturday-polo-aug-29), Sat, Aug 29, at Great Meadow in The Plains. Bring a chair and a cooler — Saturday polo at Great Meadow is one of the most reliably fun ways to spend an August afternoon in Northern Virginia.
[Roseland Polo Sunday Match](/events/roseland-polo-sunday-match-aug-30), Sun, Aug 30, at King Family Vineyards in Crozet. Sunday polo with the Blue Ridge as a backdrop — pack a picnic blanket.
Also on the calendar this weekend: the Stonehouse Stables Horse Show in Toano, an MDS Dressage Show at Southern Heritage Farm in Midland, a CVSJA Show at Deep Run Farm, and Colonial Downs live racing runs Thursday through Sunday in New Kent.
Looking ahead
Labor Day week brings the Warrenton Horse Show, Sep 2–6 at the Warrenton Horse Show Grounds — five days of hunter/jumper competition and one of the season's marquee stops. The same week, the Virginia 4-H State Championship Horse & Pony Show runs Sep 3–6 at the Virginia Horse Center.
The following weekend, Lexington stays busy: the Maryland Horse & Pony Show runs Sep 9–13 at Grafton Farm in Upperville, while the Rockbridge Regional Fair and Expo (Sep 10–13) and the Virginia Paint Horse Show (Sep 11–13) both take place at the Virginia Horse Center.
Check the full events calendar for everything happening across the state.
Photo: King Family Vineyards (Roseland Polo), Crozet.