Virginia E. Daffron

Virginia Daffron is a writer and editor in Asheville, N.C.


The Chronicle of the Horse •

Playing The Long Game Pays Off For Kristina Harrison-Antell

As Kristina Harrison-Antell, who was part of the gold-medal-winning 2003 Pan American Games U.S. team, progressed in her dressage career, she had an epiphany. “I realized if I wanted to get anywhere, I needed to put together a string,” she said. That strategy, 15 years and countless predawn rides in the making, recently culminated in Harrison-Antell’s first CDI Grand Prix victory, riding her own Finley, imported in 2013 as a just-started three-year-old.
The Chronicle of the Horse •

Dry Conditions, Helene Debris Fuel Fires And Force Horse Evacuations

Equestrians in western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina saw their watchful waiting turn to alarm as wildfire activity that began in the region last week intensified Sunday, March 23. Amid extreme drought conditions and high winds, and with debris from the Hurricane Helene catastrophe six months ago still on the ground throughout the region, small fires and sparks from trees falling on power lines quickly grew into significant threats. While livestock officials say the exact number of...
The Chronicle of the Horse •

Heidi Humphries Is Pumped Up

Heidi Humphries likes to go big. She’s the founder and chief executive officer of Spectra Baby USA, which produces the country’s best-selling electric breast pump.  She runs Zen Elite Equestrian Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as Zen Haven, a nonprofit animal sanctuary that’s home to hundreds of cats, goats, pigs, birds and other animals, which she runs alongside her partner, Danielle Linder.  And she’s making a big mark on the sport of dressage as the owner of a string of h...
The Chronicle of the Horse •

Solving Problems With The Pearl Pod

Olivia Schlichting, DVM, is a small animal veterinarian who breeds sport horses and rides with the Warrenton Hunt (Virginia). In 2019, 5-year-old Kat was Schlichting’s mount for hunting throughout the fall and winter. While many mares’ cycles cease during the colder months, Kat’s didn’t. And when she was in heat, Schlichting recalled, “Her behavior became totally different.”  The normally sensible young horse became “kicky” and “spooky,” Schlichting said. When a veterinarian palpated Kat’s ov...
The Chronicle of the Horse •

Sabine Schut-Kery Reflects On Sanceo’s Career And A New Beginning

Sabine Schut-Kery sometimes struggled to hold back tears while reflecting on the recent retirement of Sanceo, her partner of 14 years and a breakout star of the Tokyo Olympic Games. In many ways, she explained, the decision to transition the 17-year-old stallion to a quieter life at the 1,000-acre Texas ranch of his owners Alice Womble and equine veterinarian Dr. Mike Heitmann had been an easy one. Sanceo’s team, which also includes long-time coach Christine Traurig, all wanted him to go out on...
The Chronicle of the Horse •

One To Watch: Briggs Surratt And His Pony Aim For Highest Levels Of Eventing

What happens when you wrap proven bloodlines, deep eventing connections and a spicy personality into one fun-sized package? According to Briggs Surratt, 26, you get Corture, a 14.2-hand Holsteiner cross he suspects is the only pony currently competing at the three-star level in the United States. Surratt spells the mare’s stable name as “Haute,” as a nod to the French phrase “haute couture,” but he pronounces it “hottie.” The “cor” part of her registered name nods toward a lineage shared by Tad...
The Chronicle of the Horse •

From Feral Foal To Champion, Young Attorney Grows Her Own Dressage Star

As a corporate attorney, Haley Barrett Hyska is analytical and deliberate. But when she saw 5-month-old Mi Amora RW, an unhandled foal whose breeder had died, those lawyerly qualities took a back seat to pure emotion. “I remember walking into the back of the barn and seeing this tiny little baby that looked just like my Zalsa,” Hyska recalled. The resemblance in color and markings between “Mia” and Zalsa, Hyska’s now-18-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding who she’s competed through Intermediaire 1,...
Photo by Virginia Daffron
Mountain Xpress •

Beat a retreat: City Council doubles down on plan to meet behind closed doors

Under Virginia's leadership, Mountain Xpress gathered a coalition of local media outlets to challenge the city of Asheville's plans to circumvent public meeting laws by meeting in closed session for "team building" exercises. Buncombe County Superior Court Judge Steven Warren agreed with the coalition's arguments and ruled in its favor, compelling the city to open the meeting to the public.
Mountain Xpress •

Mission nurses advocate for PPE, training

Under the watchful eye of Mission Hospital security, several nurses involved with the push to unionize their colleagues demonstrated during the 6 p.m. shift change on April 9. Their signs and conversations with other staff members questioned the availability of personal protective equipment and training to deal with the COVID-19 threat — and how a union might increase their safety. “The biggest thing we’re pushing right now is that we want the highest level of PPE,” including N95 masks (which f
Mountain Xpress •

Police, judges, attorneys work to reduce Buncombe jail population ahead of COVID-19

People confined in the Buncombe County Detention Facility have considerably more elbow room today than they did prior to N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper’s March 10 declaration of a state of emergency over the COVID-19 crisis. Since then, local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies have reduced the jail’s population by 39%. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued detailed guidance for correctional facilities, noting that the integration of housing, health care and food ser
Mountain Xpress •

New Asheville superintendent to lead district starting June 1

Gene Freeman will begin working at Asheville City Schools on Monday, April 20, earlier than the July 1 start date previously announced, said Shaunda Sandford, chair of the Asheville City Board of Education, at the board’s meeting on April 2. Freeman and Bobbie Short — who has served three stints as interim superintendent for the district, most recently since the sudden departure in June 2019 of previous Superintendent Denise Patterson — will “co-lead” the district until Short’s final day on May
Mountain Xpress •

Dogwood CEO weighs grant allocations for COVID-19 fight

For the past couple of weeks, the authoritative word on the local coronavirus situation has come from state and county government officials. By contrast, Antony Chiang’s perspective as CEO of the $1.5 billion Dogwood Health Trust is nongovernmental and regional, encompassing the 18 counties of Western North Carolina and the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Chiang spoke to local news media by teleconference on March 25, providing insight into how Dogwood is responding to
Mountain Xpress •

Asheville mayor gets emergency powers

It was a City Council meeting like no other. With nine people present in the echoing chamber, Council members on March 24 unanimously approved a consent agenda that granted Mayor Esther Manheimer broad emergency powers. Manheimer, along with Council members Sheneika Smith and Keith Young, attended via phone as their four colleagues in City Hall first passed a measure allowing up to three members to participate in meetings remotely. The emergency ordinance gives Manheimer — or, in her absence,
Mountain Xpress •

Asheville school board stands by its man

Gene Freeman may have gotten some bad press in Pennsylvania, but the Asheville City Board of Education remains committed to its choice for the school system’s new superintendent. “The Asheville City Board of Education received 28 applicants and spent many hours reviewing [survey results indicating] the most desired skills, characteristics and qualifications made by more than 2,000 students, staff and community members,” district spokesperson Ashley-Michelle Thublin told Xpress by email on Feb.
Mountain Xpress •

News reports raise questions about incoming Asheville City Schools superintendent

A lack of transparency, unusually generous contract terms, potential conflicts of interest and an extended recent absence are among the concerns raised about Gene Freeman, Asheville City Schools’ incoming superintendent, by a Pennsylvania journalism nonprofit in 2019 and in February. The stories highlight issues related to Freeman’s six-year tenure as superintendent of the Fox Chapel Area School District, located in a suburb of Pittsburgh. Freeman was selected as the new superintendent of Ashev
Mountain Xpress •

Unusual virus pattern shapes early flu season in WNC

This year’s season for the flu and influenzalike illnesses is packing a wallop, according to Dr. William Hathaway, Mission Health’s chief medical officer. “Across the board, we’ve been hit heavily. We typically see an escalation of influenzalike illnesses, many of which are flu, hit a crescendo and a peak, and then drop off over a six- to eight-week time period. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Flu signs and symptoms usually come on suddenly. People who are sick
Mountain Xpress •

Slates set for March 3 primary

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Buncombe, announced Dec. 19 that he won’t seek reelection to the 11th Congressional District seat he’s held since 2013. Before the day was out, three Republican candidates had filed to replace him. And on the filing deadline of Dec. 20, nine more Republicans added their names to the list. All told, 19 candidates are currently in the running for Meadows’ position in the U.S. House, including five Democrats and one candidate each from the Green and Libertarian parties. But ev
Mountain Xpress •

Collaborative community effort tackles rising health inequities

“Around the world, infant mortality rates are seen as a key measure of how healthy a community is, because we know that so much more goes into this than just prenatal care,” Hannah Legerton of the Mountain Area Health Education Center told the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners in an update on the county’s Community Health Improvement Process on Dec. 3. Since 2010, Legerton said, the county’s white infant death rate has dropped from 4.7 to 3.8 deaths for every 1,000 live births, putting Bun
Mountain Xpress •

Life and hard times in the Buncombe County jail

Steps away from Asheville’s broad, busy front lawn with its grand pair of government buildings lies an entrance to another city. A hidden city. A place where hundreds come and go and eat and sleep and wait and wonder and worry. Pass between City Hall and the Buncombe County Courthouse and descend a pleasant set of concrete steps to Davidson Drive below. Cross the street and step up into the Buncombe County Detention Center’s harshly echoing lobby. Beyond the reception desk, a set of sliding doo
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