SUFFOLK, Va. — Horses, riders and families filled Liberty Lane Farm on Sunday for Suffolk’s second annual Salute to Veterans Stall Crawl, an event aimed at honoring veterans while introducing visitors to the city’s agricultural community.
Sunny Days Farm also participated in the crawl, giving visitors another opportunity to experience Suffolk’s rural side.
“It's the opportunity to shine the light on veterans just in front of Veterans Day,” Liberty Lane Farm owner Bryan Harris said. “But at the same time, opportunity to pull folks in that maybe aren't familiar with the farming and the rural side of Suffolk.”
The event included patriotic horseback performances and resources for veterans, bringing together Suffolk’s military and agricultural communities just days before Veterans Day.
For Harris, who also serves as vice chair of the Suffolk Agricultural Advisory Committee, the event is an opportunity to bring more attention to the value of rural land.
“I think the piece for folks to realize is that with that pressure, requires some degree of advocacy for the value of these rural lands,” Harris said. “And opportunities like this, I think, help shed light to these rural lands.”
As Suffolk continues to grow, some rural land has already made way for new development.
On Lake Kilby Road, city records show nearly 89 acres of land that had periodically been used for farming were rezoned from Rural Estate to Residential Medium Density to allow 204 single-family homes. The property totals approximately 88.96 acres, according to Suffolk’s Planning Commission staff report.
Suffolk City Council approved the rezoning 5-3 in 2023.
“At the end of the day those growth opportunities are gobbling up, for lack of better terms, those rural lands and those opportunities in production,” Harris said.
Harris said events such as the Stall Crawl give residents an opportunity to experience that side of Suffolk firsthand.
“We encourage anybody that's in the local area that wants to come out, learn more about horses,” Harris said. “We'd love to help connect those people, bring them out, get that exposure and help grow that base and support.”
For Harris, maintaining that connection starts by getting people onto the farms and around the horses, one stall at a time.
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