History About

         Don Richardson grew up on a farm near Clarksburg, West Virginia.  His father, Warren, had to work many jobs in order to provide for his family: he was a farmer, a teacher, and a coal industry worker.  His mother, Jessie, was one of the few women in the area who had gone to college; she was also a teacher.  They raised Jersey cattle.

         When Don went to high school, the family sold the farm in West Virginia for the coal rights, and bought Strathmore, a farm in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.  His father began raising horned Herefords, which was the beginning of their life-long love of the breed.  Herefords were powerful beef cattle with strong maternal qualities and docile temperaments.

         Don met his wife, Sheila, when he was in medical school at the University of Virginia, and she was in a pre-nursing program at Mary Washington University.  They married and had four children.  After a short time as a flight surgeon in the Air Force, Don set up practice as a dermatologist in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

        Desiring a place to escape from the pressures of the medical practice, Don and Sheila bought a farm west of Charlottesville near Crozet, Virginia, where he began his own herd of polled Herefords.  They name this farm "Dun-rovin", because they felt that they would never want to leave this beautiful part of God's creation, which was their new home.  His children, Warren, Donna, Debbie,and Scott, grew up on that farm enjoying the beauty of the country and the Hereford cattle.  After going away for college and beginning their own careers, Warren, Debbie, and Scott all returned to Dunrovin Farm to raise their families, while Donna settled in the Shenandoah Valley with her husband.  When Don decided to retire, Donna asked to buy half his cattle herd.  Today, Don and Donna, with the help of Warren, Debbie, Scott, and 8 grandchildren, continue to run a small, registered Hereford herd.  Always striving to improve the quality of their Hereford cattle, they enjoy the time they spend working together and the thrill of seeing each new calf crop being born.