May 28, 2014
Liam Neeson Steps Aboard; Help Share His Opinion
City dweller Liam Neeson, who also happens to be a respected actor, has stepped up to defend the iconic horse-drawn carriages in New York City by narrating a lightly-funded but well-made YouTube video titled “Save New York Horse Carriages.” What, you might ask, has that to do with foxhunters who mostly choose to live far from the bustling city, in the quiet countryside, where horses are part of the everyday scene?
As editor of Foxhunting Life, I try to be ever watchful that my personal feelings don’t overly influence the content of this website, the mission of which is to inform and entertain our readers about foxhunting. At times, though, at least in my mind, the borders blur between foxhunting and certain issues of the day.
The New York City carriage horse controversy is one such issue. Just this year, FHL has published four news stories on the subject,* and early this month I devoted my Blog to a related commentary.**
While our statistics inform us that these articles have been read by numerous people, only one reader—a lady in Ireland who is completely mystified by the mind-set of those opposing the carriages—has yet troubled to write a Comment after any of them. The silence notwithstanding, I cannot conclude that the NYC carriage horse issue doesn’t relate to us, our passion for horses and hounds, the natural world, and the foxhunting life.
The Penn-Marydel Is Grand Champion at Virginia and Bryn Mawr
Joan Jones presents the Grand Championship Trophy for Golden's Bridge Phoenix to huntsman Ciaran Murphy. / Liz Callar photoFor the second time* in history, a Penn-Marydel foxhound was judged Grand Champion of the Virginia Foxhound Show. The William W. Brainard, Jr. Perpetual Cup was presented to Golden’s Bridge Phoenix 2012 at Morven Park in Leesburg on Sunday, May 25, 2014. Golden’s Bridge huntsman Ciaran Murphy showed the Champion.
The following weekend, for the first time in foxhound history, the same Penn-Marydel repeated his stunning Virginia victory by being judged Grand Champion of Show at Bryn Mawr.
The Penn-Marydel as a breed is justifiably loved by its admirers for a number of reasons—nose, voice, biddability—none of which includes a reputation as the standard for foxhound beauty. Yet Golden’s Bridge Phoenix prevailed over the usual suspects so often in the Virginia lineup for the final class of the day: Live Oak Hounds (FL), Midland Foxhounds (GA), and Potomac Hunt (MD). At Bryn Mawr, Phoenix topped the other breed champions from the Blue Ridge Hunt (VA), Potomac Hunt, and GreenSpring Valley Hounds (MD).
