Don't change Albemarle

I appreciate Rita Mae Brown's comments about people who come to Virgnia because they "like our ways and then don't want to join in." [March 24 cover story: "Tally no! Matthews bans the hunt"].

I was raised in Virginia and was lucky enough to return here to enjoy the rural aspect, including horses and foxhunting. I appreciate a good ham biscuit, I say "hey" to people on the street, and I'm one of "those people" who drive slowly on our beautiful county roads.

I will never understand why people come here for all that Albemarle County has to offer and then want to change our community so it's more like Northern Virginia, the North, or other metropolitan areas.

On a completely different note, I would like to point out that foxhunters give many horses who didn't make it at the racetrack a second chance. Instead of going to the slaughterhouse, these rescued horses are retrained and become a foxhunter's trusted partner and a respected family companion.

Pattie Boden
Charlottesville

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