The U.S. Army is looking to buy 100 acres of land in Rappahannock County for a federal equine horse training and wellness facility for a herd of 100 horses — and not just any horses, but those that participate in patriotic military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent a general inquiry on July 8 to local boards of supervisors in Northern Virginia seeking assistance with finding pastureland that is within 100 miles of Fort Myer as well as Arlington National Cemetery, according to documents filed by the federal agency.
A discussion of this request will be held at the upcoming Board of Supervisors meeting on July 25 at 6 p.m. at the county courthouse. The Army asked to be advised of any available land by July 31.
“An ideal site must contain approximately 100 acres of open pastureland for grazing and exercise, as well as contiguous land for equine wellness facilities such as stables, exercise equipment, barns and staff housing,” wrote Stan H. Graham, chief of the real estate division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in a letter to the supervisors.
The facility would accommodate stabling for 80 horses with onsite accommodations for up to 15 personnel, according to Graham.
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Spc. Colin Martin, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (Old Guard) gives a kiss to Hank, an 11 years old Caisson Platoon horse, before conducting funeral training at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Feb. 6, 2018.
County Administrator Garry Currey wrote to the supervisors that they “might want to share the opportunity with property owners who have property that might work for the desired facility, but might not be actively on the market.”
In response to a question from the Rappahannock News, Curry wrote: “From a zoning perspective, non-spectator equine facilities are permitted by right in our county in areas that are zoned agriculture.
“If a private landowner had an interest to sell to the federal government for the envisioned facility, zoning should not be an impediment,” Curry wrote. “The County does not have suitable property to provide, so this is left to private property owners.”
Curry said there “might be pros and cons” to having a federal facility in the county and that the supervisors “can speak for themselves on how those pros and cons come together.”
Army officials could not be reached for comment on whether the search for such an equine facility for its military horses was in response to the suspension of horse-drawn funerals at Arlington National Cemetery since May 2023 over concerns of inadequate horse care and poor living conditions after two military horses died. The suspension is expected to extend for several more months as the Army faces obstacles in improving care of the horses, according to the Stars & Stripes, a military newspaper published by the U.S. government.
Thirty additional horses also are needed to be purchased as well as pastureland to support them, the newspaper reported, and the stables at Fort Myer in Arlington need to be reconstructed to properly care for the horses.
Once a site is selected, “the Army intends to ask Congress for authority and appropriations to acquire it,” Graham wrote in his letter to the supervisors.
Attention land owners
Interested property owners can submit written expressions of interest via email to Bryan Gordy at [email protected] referencing the number (DACA31–R-24-0279). For more information visit, rappnews.link/1dy.
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