February 18, 2013
The Hunt Button Mystery
It began with a subscriber’s question. Vicki Reeves wrote, “A friend inherited some hunt buttons which have a hunting horn on them and "M.B.H. 1881." How can I find out what hunt they represent or any additional information about the buttons?”
Foxhunting Life was able to identify the buttons as those of the Meadow Brook Hunt (NY). Once that was established, the owner of the buttons, Connie Rhodes West from Tampa, Florida was able to surmise the likely provenance of the buttons back through family history. Her story was so interesting, and the chronicle of the fabled Meadow Brook Hunt is so extravagant, we thought our readers would enjoy a trip back to those bygone days.
Riding Shotgun; Armed with a Camera
Whipper-in Neil Amatt races to get between hounds and coyote, turns to stop hounds.
Nancy Kleck is a sporting artist who follows the hunt with her camera to record action images of hounds, horses, riders, and foxes for later use in her paintings. She rides with former Blue Ridge huntsman Chris Howells, now a wheel whipper-in, and has discovered that her photos are of use not only to her in her art, and not only to the field members for their enjoyment, but sometimes even to the staff. Nancy writes:
I’ve been following the hunt nearly every meet since huntsman Guy Allman and first whipper-in Neil Ammatt came on board. I've gotten some fun photos as a hilltopper, and it's been a really interesting perspective, listening for the horn, trying to interpret it, and keeping an eye out for anything that moves with a brush!
