Virginia Thoroughbred & Standardbred Farm Visits To Blacksburg, Bristol, Palmyra & Beyond

Stevica Djuric and his assistant Madison, a Virginia Tech grad, are with a Virginia-Certified 2020 colt by Speightster out of Crema d’Oro at his picturesque 36 acre farm in Blacksburg.
Djuric Sporthorses, the name of Stevica’s farm, is located across from the municipal golf course in Blacksburg, not far from Virginia Tech’s campus.
The Djuric farm incudes a 7 stall barn, 29 fenced acres and between 15-20 horses on site at any one time. Stevica also works at Big Lick Farm in Crozet and may ride on occasion this summer at Colonial Downs. “This is my life,” he said. “I’ve been at it since I was 15 years old. I stay busy.”
Mike Anderson’s 300 acre farm/property in Bristol appears to be the farthest southwest in the state with thoroughbreds based at it. He is in the auction business, has 1,000 cattle on site, horses of course, and he built a professional rodeo ring on the grounds where he hosts five sanctioned rodeos a year.
Mike Anderson with his Virginia-Certified colt Auction Kingdom. The Kentucky-bred is by Animal Kingdom out of Behavioral. Mike is diving into the horse business as a hobby and has been in the winners circle twice at Laurel already with his trainer, Ham Smith.
Anderson is also building a training track at his Bristol farm which he hopes to make use out of some day soon. Asked about his racing experiences so far, he replied, “When the gate flies open and the horse runs out, I feel like I’ve won already because a horse of mine is competing.”
Harness horseman Gideon Brenneman is based in North Carolina but sends his foals to Paul Schlaback’s farm in Burkes Garden, Virginia to be raised. This one will be eligible for the lucrative Certified Residency program after a minimum six month stay.
Another resident at Schlaback’s scenic property in Burkes Garden, located just outside of Tazewell.
Tracy Bradshaw and his wife Tara (shown here with Zoey, a goat she raised) at their farm in Bland.
Meet J Lee, one of two new foals the Bradshaw’s welcomed this spring. This one is by Deweycheatumnhowe was born April 30. Their other, Broken English, was born on May 4. Look for them to compete in Virginia Breeders and Virginia-Certified races at Shenandoah Downs in 2023.
Harness horseman Adam Akers’ new filly by Uppity Hanover out of La Nina K is shown at his Bastian, Virginia farm. She was foaled on March 19.
74-year-old harness horseman Earl Parks, at his 60-acre farm in Draper, Virginia right off I-81. Earl has been here since 2002 when he moved from West Virginia.
Earl Parks is with his new Team 6 filly out of Marlene and Grace. He also has a pair of yearlings — Urintroublenow and Roadgraciemissellie. The trio are all Virginia Breeder’s eligible and are in the Virginia-Certified Residency program.
The outside of Dan Chansky’s standardbred farm in Keysville, Virginia pays tribute to one of the sport’s greatest drivers, Herve Filion.
Here is one of Dan Chansky’s five new foals — all by Nathalie, Virginia-based stallion Snow King. Some of his creatively named Virginia-bred yearlings on site include Idontgiveachuck, Imroddythebagman, Idareyoutotickmeoff and Idontcheatiwin.
Dr, Liz Addison is with her Kentucky-bred and Virginia-Certified yearling filly, Gijima, at her 400-acre farm in Palmyra. She is by Bal A Bali (BRZ) out of Petite Idee (FR). If Addison races the filly in Virginia, she will be trained by Richard Valentine, and is hopeful of competing at Colonial Downs since she was bred for turf.
Before Dr. Addison purchased Oak Hill Farm in Palmyra in 2002, the property was owned by Hugh Wiley, an equestrian show jumper who rode in the ’56 and’60 Summer Olympics. His famous horse Nautica, a Hall of Famer, was the subject of a Disney movie “The Horse with the Flying Tail.”
All the fields at Oak Hill have a lot of grass and big run in sheds. Three Off The Track horses currently enjoy life there in one of the fields.
Oak Hill features a barn that Wiley built, and a one mile steeplechase training track at the lowest section of the property which Addison describes as “something special”. It is a “jumpers track” with a river sand base that has been maintained. It was used primarily when Addison and her partner trained steeplechase horses.
When Dr. Addison moved from England to Palmyra in ’02, she brought a steeplechase horse with her from England and campaigned the horse successfully at Virginia Point-to-Points. Her focus has transitioned to thoroughbreds though most recently.