Willow Bend Farm

Willow Bend Farm is a family-owned and operated 3-day event facility set in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains not far from the historic town of Unison. Mara DePuy Dean, an Olympian and current international event rider, competes, trains and teaches out of this barn. Three day eventing is the triathlon of the horse world consisting of three phases: dressage, cross- country and show jumping. It takes considerable time and effort to bring horse and rider to international levels of competition, a life-long goal of Mara's, which precipitated the acquisition of this property in 1997.

The surrounding foxhunting territory is ideal for conditioning the horses and schooling over natural cross-country obstacles. The arena adjacent to the barn is used for practicing precision riding as required by dressage, as well as gymnastic exercises over jumps which are beneficial to the show jumping phase.