He shows. He hunts. He judges. He races. And sometimes, he does it all in one day.

But if you really want to find Brown on a given day, make sure you check his barn first. While Brown is a man of many talents, his first love is breeding and training ponies and horses out of his family farm in Reva, Va.

A life-long Virginian, Brown, 54, has led a life that many horse enthusiasts dream about. His career has spread over numerous disciplines and activities in the horse world, and he’s been successful in each area. His devotion to improving the quality of show hunters (ponies and horses) and giving back to the community makes him an admired and an extremely popular horseman.

He’ll tell you that his family’s an integral part of the equation too, including wife Joan, son Michael, 31, daughters Libby, 10, and Samantha, 25, and step-daughter Kristen Killie, 15.

In the world of sport horse and pony breeding, Oliver is one of the top handlers in the business. He’s earned titles at the country’s most prestigious shows, including Devon (Pa.), Upperville (Va.) and Warrenton (Va.), to name a few, and his ponies have topped the Virginia Pony Breeders Futurity and earned top prizes nationally in U.S. Equestrian Federation awards and in USEF Zone 3.

After two decades as a professional huntsman, Brown changed directions in the late 1990s and now spends a majority of his time showing and breeding ponies and horses. In addition to producing his own stock, Brown has several clients for whom he shows, including pony breeder Robin Greenwood of Grand Central Inc. (N.Y.) and sport horse breeder John W. Kelly Jr. of Virginia.

“I’m actually fortunate to be able to do both ponies and horses,” he said.

In His Blood
Born the son of Elzy and Catherine Brown, Oliver’s father was famous for breaking “all the wild horses in Virginia,” said J.B. Haney, Oliver’s feed salesman. Oliver grew up with brothers Charlie and Mike and sister Patricia on a 75-year-old family farm in Rappahannock County, near the Culpeper County line. The Brown family has been in this area for more than 200 years.

“I was fortunate to be able to do a lot where I grew up,” reflected Oliver. “I hunted, showed and did 4-H.”

Oliver’s family was involved in horses and farming, and from an early age Oliver was out working too. He started breaking ponies when he was 7, and by age 12 he’d moved on to horses. By this time, younger brother Charlie had taken over breaking the ponies.

“My first riding experience was in a Western saddle. I remembered that it hurt like hell,” said Oliver, laughing.

Oliver was timid about jumping at first, but it didn’t take long for that to change. “There was a log that lay near a fence that my father always tried to get me to jump. Finally, he had to spank me to get me to jump. Shortly after that, he had to spank to get me to stop jumping,” remembered Oliver. “I jumped my first jump in a Western saddle too.”

While Oliver’s long since lost count of the blue ribbons he’s won over the years, his first ribbon at a horse show didn’t come easily. “At my first show, I showed the entire day and finally got a third place in the very last class,” he said with a smile.

Even as a youngster, Oliver was known for being able to ride all types of horses. “I wasn’t good at riding bad horses,” he recalled. “I was good at making sure they weren’t bad. My worst falls have been on good horses.”

Like many children of horsemen, the horses that came through the Brown family’s barn got sold quickly. Oliver never had any that he got to show from one year to the next. He focused on showing hunters, did an occasional jumper class and has been a life-long avid foxhunter.

Oliver started hunting with Rappahannock Hunt in 1956. He held the position of huntsman for 20 years. These days, Oliver said he only rides to hunt. A bad back limits his time in the saddle.

He’s still active in his com-munity’s 4-H program. He’s a leader in the Culpeper County Horse Program, which his father started in 1961. He believes education is vital.

“Even though I always knew I wanted to work in horses, having an education was very important to me,” said Oliver. “You can never have enough
education.”

With a busy schedule as a youngster, Oliver joked that he went to college to rest. “I went to [Virginia] Tech, but majored in Radford [Va.],” said Oliver with a smile. “Radford had a lot more girls than Tech did.”

After a few years in the animal science department at Virginia Tech, Oliver earned his business degree from Germanna Community College (Va.).

Holding The Line
While most of Oliver’s accomplishments in the show ring have come from showing horses on the line, he also showed as a professional in the hunter divisions after college. Some of the most notable horses that he worked with were Royal Orbit, Jethro and Sea Star.

Oliver’s early interest in showing horses on the line occurred when he began helping horseman Delmar Twyman with Diana Dodge’s Nokomis Farm horses. Twyman was showing Dodge’s horses at the time, and in 1984, Oliver started showing Dodge’s second string.

Then, in 1986, Oliver began showing all of the Nokomis horses. This position helped him gain exposure, and he also showed a few of them under tack. In 1987, Oliver won the Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania futurities with three different horses that belonged to Dodge.

Since then, Oliver’s wins have spanned many states for many customers. Today Kelly and Greenwood are two of Oliver’s most involved customers, and he enjoys a great professional relationship with these horsemen.

“They understand the business and know what’s best for the animals,” said Oliver. “I’m one of the most fortunate people at the shows. I have great horses, great friends and great customers.”

One horse that Oliver is especially proud of is Kelly’s Absolut Magic. “Chewy” is a 2002 chestnut gelding by Absolut. He was named best young horse at Upperville in 2003. That same year, Chewy was USEF Horse of the Year in yearling hunter breeding and was crowned USEF overall hunter breeding
champion.

Chewy then went on to be reserve best young horse at Devon in 2004 and again claimed a USEF Horse of the Year title–this time for 2-year-olds. In September, Chewy won the 3-year-old division at the International Hunter Futurity at Warrenton with Olin Armstrong in the irons.

Oliver also handled Absolut Magic’s full brother, Foxy’s Remember When, to win the IHF Challenge Series best young horse award, held in at the Kentucky Horse Park in September.

Most of Oliver’s competition horses and ponies reside at his Hunter’s Haven Farm, where he and his family care for them meticulously. “We treat every show like it’s Devon. We get tails braided for every show and put forth our best effort at all times,” he said.

It’s a team effort at Hunter’s Haven. Laura Hitchcock does all the breaking of young horses and works for Oliver at the shows. Marshall and Kacy Jenkins do everything from shipping to braiding. Wendy O’Bannon braids at the shows too. And Oliver’s brother Charlie is a huge asset to Oliver’s business. He often helps at the farm and handles horses in the ring for his older brother.

While Oliver agrees that pedigrees are important, he doesn’t base a lot of emphasis on them. He said, “A good stallion is whatever will throw a good baby.”

Living in a hotel consumes about a third of Oliver’s year. In addition to the showing, hunting and involvement in 4-H, Oliver also works Thoroughbred sales for agent Eaton Sales, which focuses mainly on yearlings and breeding stock.

It’s no secret that the Thoroughbred is Oliver’s favorite breed.

“The Thoroughbreds are just more versatile,” said Oliver. “When you get a nice line of Thoroughbreds, nothing is better. But there is good and bad in all breeds.”

Steeplechasing is a sport that Oliver considers a hobby. It was Oliver who provided steeplechase jockey Greg Ryan with his first timber race victory on Roman Hunt, a horse on whom Oliver hunted hounds on for nine seasons. Oliver also trained Nina Straight’s Loafer’s Glory, who won the Rokeby Bowl (Va.) with Brooks Durkee in the mid-’90s. Oliver also regularly hunted Loafer’s Glory.

“I love to hunt. I love to show. I love the sales. I am just so fortunate,” said Oliver.

When talking to Oliver, his pride for his family shines through. He met his wife Joan during Hunt Night at the Washington (D.C.) International Horse Show. They’ve raised their children and instilled in them a love of horses and horse sports too.

Michael, 31, an insurance agent, began hunting hounds at age 16 and has succeeded his father as the huntsman for the Rappahannock Hunt. “Samantha and Kristen help me out at the shows, but Libby is the rider in the family,” he said.

Not surprisingly, he treats his horses and ponies like children too, and when they’re trained and ready to leave home, the Browns actively follow their careers in whatever sport they may tackle. “Joan gets very attached to the horses and ponies. It’s hard for her when we sell one,” said Oliver. “But it’s just like a kid. We’ve put them through college and now it’s time for them to find a job.”

In what little spare time Oliver has, he enjoys staying at home. He plays a little tennis and attends Virginia Tech football games.

And while Joan’s father and brother are avid golfers, Oliver hasn’t quite employed his golf cart for the intended purpose. “Golf is something I just can’t get into,” he admitted. “I’m too competitive, and I’d have to practice until I was perfect at it!”

Should Be More Than “Feed And Lead”
Oliver Brown carefully evaluates his ponies and horses before he decides if he’s going to show them on the line. “I don’t want one that’s pretty but can’t do. I want an athlete who will have a future career [in the show ring],” he explained.

He noted that it’s up to the judge to evaluate the relative importance of beauty and athleticism.

“As a whole, I think the judging in this country is good. It’s not for the faint of heart or for the faint of pocket book,” he said. “It’s so hard to judge ponies because there are so many types of ponies.”

But Brown would like to see the judges put more emphasis on movement. When he breeds a pony or chooses to purchase a young prospect, he’s looking for one who’ll go on to perform in the show ring.

“I’m tired of hearing the breeding critics calling the hunter breeding division the ‘feed and lead.’ It’s a chilling comment,” he noted.

“But we’ve given people little reason not to say it. I’d like to see more emphasis on athleticism,” he continued. “I try and weigh my decisions more heavily on performance–it’s not to say every one we’ve shown has been a star in the [performance] ring. But I’ve got a couple of 4-year-olds that are starting to perform and do well. I’m hoping we can gradually put more emphasis on movement so we can get away from the ‘feed and lead’ comments.”

Brown, who’s on the Virginia Horse Shows Association Hunter Breeding and Hunter Futurity Committees, attends 35 to 40 breeding shows a year. When time permits, he’d like to get his USEF judge’s card.