Magnificent mules and an unmatched viewshed of America’s foxhunt epicenter define this Virginia antebellum relic, with walls that could tell stories of historic proportions
Written by Kristen Hampshire
Photography by Robert Radifera | Styling by Stylish Productions
For Garon and Donna Stutzman, their most thrilling and fulfilling hunt led them to Old Denton, a historic antebellum estate and farm in Northern Virginia. The Eastern Shore couple had already consolidated their waterfront homes and lived on a Chesapeake Bay farm before exploring America’s premier foxhunting region in Fauquier County. They envisioned a place where they could ride mule-driven carriages across the countryside.
With their Grove Creek Mules, they defied equestrian norms, challenging traditional hunt clubs like the Orange County Hunt Mules. The Stutzmans, along with their world-class champions, stood out by redefining convention.
Donna, who grew up riding American Saddlebreds and competing in dressage at Madison Square Garden, is well-versed in hunter and pleasure events. Garon, a mule enthusiast, asserts, “They’re stronger, sure-footed, more sensible and reliable.”
Their mules, in fact, recently delivered supplies through the Blue Ridge Mountains for Hurricane Helene victims, navigating areas impassable to vehicles.
“Comparing a mule to a horse is like comparing a well-built, four-wheel-drive pickup truck to a Lamborghini,” Garon jokes, highlighting their adaptability. Donna adds that mules are known for their hardworking and safe nature.
“We have the only mule that went to Kentucky to compete against horses in dressage, making us a curious yet respected anomaly,” Donna laughs, noting that her mule, Tom Collins, ranked ninth in the USDF Level 2 Nationals. Tom Collins is just one of their exceptional mules, with the couple now maintaining a team of six primarily used for carriage driving.
For their farm, they sought scenic backroads and gravel lanes suitable for trailers of hunt animals, along with space for hosting meets and delightful post-hunt breakfasts.
In Old Denton, they found their perfect match. This antebellum estate, predating the Civil War, is nestled at the heart of the Piedmont Heritage Area, surrounded by over 100,000 acres of conservation land. Horse-drawn carriages regularly pass by, celebrating the local hunt tradition.
Old Denton is a property rich with history, featuring structures built with bricks made from mule-pulled clay. Dating back to the early 19th century, it is a prize the Stutzmans cherish, as they preserve its tales and host charitable events to support conservation and the foxhunt culture.
“It feels safe, warm, inviting, and when we entertain for charity or with family and friends, everyone agrees, ‘This house has a feeling,’” Donna shares.
Over the years, the Stutzmans have enlisted Jamie Merida Interiors and Bountiful Home in Easton for extensive renovations, interior design and holiday décor. The team continues a tradition, appointing Old Denton with a clean, uncluttered and thoughtful program of furnishings and décor. For the holidays, Old Denton shines as always.
Entry Points
Every element of Old Denton is attached to a story, some of the Civil War era and others from Donna and Garon’s own lives. Each artifact, decorative feature and natural material (stone, brick, mule-hair plaster) on the property’s grounds comes with a reason why.
Keeping watch on the front porch are a pair of white whippet statues from a dear friend of Donna’s who breeds Italian Greyhounds. “She told me, ‘These look like they were born to live on this front porch,’” says Donna. “The porch looks out to what I consider the most beautiful viewshed of our farm with the rolling hills,” she continues.
During the holidays, guests are greeted by the whippets along with subtle notes of Christmas, with evergreen brightened by holly berries. Boughs of greenery and garland are arranged to look festive but not overdone and never in competition with the property’s surroundings.
Holiday Hunt
Inside, the living room’s Christmas tree is rich with muted textures and ornaments that speak to the property’s wildlife theme: foxes, ducks, round bulbs wrapped with feathers, and finials that resemble tree bark and acorns, among other nature-inspired pieces sourced from Bountiful Home.
“I JUST LOVE THIS PLACE”
Clean, crisp finishes carry into the kitchen, where the Stutzmans recall unofficially sealing the deal on Old Denton after years of searching for a Virginia hunt property.
“Donna and I walked into the house, moseyed into the kitchen—and she started crying,” says Garon. “I asked, ‘What’s the matter?’ and she said, ‘I just love this place.’ That was a done deal.” Donna nods, adding that the home’s energy feels like a warm hug.
The spacious kitchen enjoys a good deal of use with Donna at the helm of year-round dinner party preparations as well as annual holiday fare arrangements.
“It’s the kitchen I’ve always dreamed of—all white with subway tile,” she beams. “We didn’t want heavy and dark.”
A standout feature is Donna’s cherished butcher block carving station, acquired over 25 years ago. This piece, with its vintage charm, serves as an island, adding a touch of rich woodwork to the otherwise pristine white space.
THE MULE SKINNER’S PUB
The home’s original kitchen, located below the main level in what once served as the servants’ quarters, features a dumbwaiter that was used to quickly send meals upstairs. Today, this space has been transformed into a cozy retreat, retaining its charming wood-burning fireplace and original brick flooring.
The Stutzmans refer to the space as the Mule Skinner’s Pub. (“Skinner” is Old West slang for someone who can outsmart mules into behaving.) The hearth is a quarried wonder, and the English basement, partially below ground, displays brass Moscow mule mugs in glass-front cabinets, Jamie Merida points out.
“When we entertain, we start in the pub, especially when it’s cold, with a nice wood-burning fire,” says Donna. “Everyone loves that room.”
While it’s an intimate setting, Donna attests, “I’ve counted 25 people packed in the “pub” when we have bigger events.”
SADDLE UP TO THE TABLE
Upon learning of the scores of influential visitors who have broken bread and stayed the night at Old Denton, the Stutzman’s guests often ponder, “If these walls could talk…” as they move from the merriment in Mule Skinner’s Pub to gather at the dining table. Among the estate’s previous renowned visitors are governors, senators, congressmen, ambassadors, Masters of Foxhounds from Europe, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, and many other historical movers and shakers.
Today, the Stutzmans estimate that they entertain about 500 guests each year, graciously opening their home for charitable gatherings and fox hunts followed by traditional full breakfasts.
In the dining room, a generous farmhouse table with a practical rustic finish runs the length of the space and is not meant to be treated as an heirloom. “We don’t put tablecloths down when we have dinner parties,” Donna says of its functional purpose.
While the chandelier is not original—otherwise, it would be candle-lit, Garon points out—the fixture has stood the test of time. A “show-stopper mirror,” whose glass is framed in retired saddles, hangs above the mantle of a wood-burning hearth, always sparking conversation.
WHERE HISTORY LIVES
While Old Denton honors Virginia hunt culture, of equal significance is the farm’s rich Civil War era history—in particular, a stately American Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) known as the Mosby Tree. As a Confederate safe house for visits and meetings during the war, Old Denton once housed Col. John Singleton Mosby, a battalion commander known as the “Gray Ghost” for his quick, ruthless raids. The area where he operated in Northern-Central Virginia became known as Mosby’s Confederacy.
As history tells it, Mosby and his wife took shelter at Old Denton, and when Union officers knocked, demanding entry to search the premises, he escaped through an upstairs window, grasping a nearby branch to hide in the tree. From midnight into the early morning, Mosby successfully balanced on the limb to evade the Union officers.
The tree is a few hundred years old. The exact limb is no longer there, however.
Just as the Stutzmans view themselves as stewards of Old Denton, they are equally invested in protecting the famed tree, which travelers visit to touch and take selfies.
“Before we moved here, there was a bus tour to see this tree, but we keep it to a one-lane gravel road to keep the Maseratis out,” Garon quips. The tree is a marvel of great interest to Old Denton guests, the Piedmont Environmental Council and the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Association.
Before moving in, Garon recalls remarking to the realtor that the tree’s size, age and proximity to the main house seemed like a real liability. Then he learned the story.
The Mosby Tree is very much a symbol of Old Denton’s role in American history and can be admired from the home’s generous Italianate-style covered side porch, a favorite spot to relax with guests, grill out and enjoy the sunsets.
Of the home’s Italian and Greek Revival architectural influences and the front porch with its Doric columns. “Our house was the last Virginia plantation house built,” he says.
In a booklet Garon prepared in tribute to the home, its storied past and modern role, he writes, “We genuinely hope that all future owners who live at Old Denton will continue to do all they can to preserve the foxhunting story.”
Indeed, homeownership is stewardship at Old Denton.
“It still brings tears to my eyes. The energy in this house is something amazing,” Donna says, reflecting on the couple’s first look at the property and the lively traditions they maintain when hosting visitors, friends old and new, neighbors and foxhunters who ride the land.
At Old Denton, history lives on.