'Stakes and Stakeholders'
draws reader behind the scenes
Staff Fauquier
Times-Democrat
A book that gives the reader an
intimate look at the horse world and
its people has just been published
by Upperville horseman and author
Bruce Smart. His new release, the
second in a planned three-part
series, is entitled "A Community of
the Horse: Stakes and Stakeholders."
He will autograph copies of his book
at Locke Store in Millwood from 5-7
p.m. next Thursday, Dec. 15.
Smart was former
Under-Secretary of Commerce; he now
lives on and works from Trappe Hill
Farm north of Upperville, a
Thoroughbred breeding farm that also
raises Angus cattle.
The 400-page, full-color book reads
like an appreciation of horsemanship
and those who practice it. Its first
chapter, "Breeding and Racing Horses
and Ponies," uses Farnley and Joan
Dunning's family as a quintessential
example.
Family is important at Berryville's
Audley Farm, too, where Smart
outlines the history from colonial
times, when George Washington's
family lived at Audley, to the
extended heirs of the late Hubertus
Liebrecht and present manager Dr.
Jens von Lepel.
But more than places, "Stakes and
Stakeholders" is about people -- the
rich and famous, the hardworking and
diligent, united by their love of
the horse. Among prominent horsemen
plucked from the area for Smart's
pages are race trainer Jimmy Day,
trainer of Claytonville Farm; author
Norman Fine; veterinarian Pug Hart;
and the late William Bell Watkins,
longtime master of the Blue Ridge
Hunt.
In addition to places and people,
"Stakes and Stakeholders" is,
naturally, about horses. Smart knows
his subject from the ground up at
Trappe Hill Farm and is a friend to
many of those prominent in the
field.
Smart tucks his writing into a
schedule of personal and civic
business. Energy is his stock in
trade -- he retired as chairman and
CEO of Continental Group in 1985 to
become Undersecretary of Commerce
for International Trade under
Reagan. When he took serious
retirement in 1988, he served four
years as a senior fellow for and
nine years as director of the World
Resources Institute, an
environmental policy research
organization.
His work as a conservationist is as
important to him as his
horsemanship. He has been vice
chairman of the board of The Nature
Conservancy, and a member of
Loudoun's zoning ordinance working
group and tax equity committee. He
recently wound up nine years on the
board of the League of Conservation
Voters.
Another of his books, "Beyond
Compliance: A New Industry View of
the Environment," describes
corporate adaptations toward, and
benefits from, environmentally sound
action.
Smart's civic contributions are
national, as in current membership
on the Council on Foreign Relations
and the
Republican Main
Street Partnership, and local, as in
past chairman and trustee emeritus
of Notre Dame Academy and past
senior warden of Trinity Church in
Upperville.
But "The Community of the Horse"
makes clear that horses are his
passion. He is a director of the
Virginia Thoroughbred Association
and, with wife Edie, is an avid
steeplechase fan and active owner;
for 13 years Edie Smart has been
joint-master for the Fairfax Hunt.
The first book in the series, "A
Community of the Horse:
Partnerships," appeared in 2003.
Copies of that book will also be
available at the Dec. 15
book-signing.
"A Community of the Horse: Stakes
and Stakeholders" is $65, available
at Locke Store and by mail from
Smart; call (540) 554-8302 to order.
ŠTimes Community
Newspapers 2006
