Clifford Hunt, a genuine old horseman and a passionate foxhunter, passed away on December 2, 2010 at age eighty-four. I can’t begin to tally the number of individuals whose lives this man changed. He was a teacher who created many dedicated foxhunters. He was a hosteller, and, with his wife and partner Laura, he provided visiting foxhunters with bed, meals, hirelings, and transport at his well-known Hunting Box in Boyce, Virginia for twenty-six years (1978–2004). Sportsmen came to The Hunting Box from Canada and all the northern states to experience foxhunting in Virginia. Many loved it so much they moved here.
I speak from experience. One day in early December of 1983, I found myself hacking back to the Nashoba Valley Hunt meet in the company of friends after the last hunt of our Massachusetts season. Hunting ended all too soon in the northern climes, and at that precise, morose moment I decided to extend my season elsewhere. I uncovered an old advertisement for The Hunting Box that I had clipped from The Chronicle of the Horse promising everything a visiting foxhunter would want, including proximity to at least ten hunts no more than an hour away. I made the call, introduced myself to Cliff, and booked in. I didn’t know it at the time, but that telephone call was a life-changer.
At The Hunting Box my wife Joan and I met foxhunting people from all over North America. Many have remained friends to this day. The atmosphere in the comfortable living room, filled with sporting prints and photos, a fire blazing away in the double-sided fireplace, was thoroughly conducive to camaraderie and good cheer. Cliff would regale everyone with jokes and stories of his own adventures, like when he was a trick rider with the Gene Autry and Roy Rogers Rodeos.
Five years later Joan and I moved to the area permanently, and numerous other guests of Cliff’s have done the same. The hunting fields of many Virginia hunts are populated by Cliff’s transplants today.
Cliff was the first to take me to the Warrenton, Blue Ridge, Rappahannock, Middleburg, Piedmont, and Loudoun Hunts. When it came to horses, Cliff was the real deal. His hirelings knew their job and hunted all those countries fairly. My wife bought two of his horses, both of which hunted regularly into their twenties, and I bought one that I hunted from age five to age twenty.
Cliff was opinionated about all things equine and hunting, but could argue his positions from vast experience and rigorous thinking. He wrote books about riding and hunting, whipped-in to the Blue Ridge foxhounds for many years, and traveled regularly to England for the tail end of the season when the local hunting was winding down. Joan, I, and other friends accompanied Cliff and Laura on several of these trips.
One time, after having moved to Virginia, we received a once-in-a-hundred year snowfall the day before we were all to fly to England for two weeks of hunting. Roads were blocked, and vehicular traffic was paralyzed. Luckily, a single lane was opened on my road by a large farm tractor, but Cliff’s road was totally cut off. Horseman that he was, Cliff took two of his draft crosses, lashed the luggage onto their backs, and he and Laura rode them out through the snow for five miles, sitting on top of the luggage, to meet us at a gas station that we could drive to. We loaded the Hunts and their luggage and all made it to the airport. Needless to say, we savored that hunting experience.
Cliff’s good friend, Matthew Mackay-Smith, remembers the time when Cliff rode his horse down a trail across which a low chain had only recently been placed. The horse tripped and fell, and Cliff tumbled off, peeling some skin down the bridge of his nose. Matthew, a world-renowned vet, jumped off his horse and went to Cliff’s side.
“Is my nose still on my face?” asked Cliff.
“Yes, it’s behind your left ear,” said Matthew. “But don’t worry; we’ll fix it!”
Anyone who knew Cliff will have a story to tell about this exuberant foxhunter. You are invited to use the Comments box below to add your unforgettable moment with Cliff Hunt.
Cliff grew up in Philadelphia riding delivery horses from his father’s dairy and then horses from his father’s riding stable. He rode hunters and jumpers on the Eastern Pennsylvania Show Circuit. In 1962 he bought Dunmoven Farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania where he boarded, trained, and sold horses for the show ring and the hunting field. He ran a summer day camp at the farm and taught many children and adults to ride, hunt, and show. He was a member and honorary whipper-in at the Huntingdon Valley Hunt, a member and president of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Professional Horsemen’s Association, and a founding member and MFH of the Lenape Hunt in Pennsylvania. He was a Steward and a Recognized judge of hunters, jumpers, and hunt seat equitation with the then American Horse Shows Association.
In 1978 he and Laura moved to Boyce, Virginia, where he built The Hunting Box. He was a member of the Blue Ridge hunt for more than twenty-five years, served as honorary whipper-in for much of that time, served two terms as Chairman of the Hunt Committee, and for several years managed the Blue Ridge Hunt Horse Show.
He managed the Upperville Colt and Pony Show in 1980 and recommended the present manager, Tommy Lee Jones, as his replacement. He founded and managed the Berryville Charity Horse Show as a means of giving back to the community, which, over the seven years of his involvement, returned more than $50,000 to community charities. In 2004 Cliff and Laura Hunt retired to Middlebrook, Virginia.
Cliff was a veteran of World War II, serving in the First Cavalry and the 11th Airborne in the Philippines. He was honorably discharged after suffering a jump injury.
A Memorial Celebration of Cliff Hunt’s life will be held Friday, December 17, 2010 at the Middlebrook Community Center at 2:00 p.m. Directions may be had by going to http://www.charltonandgroomefuneralhome.com. Memorial contributions may be made in Cliff’s name to the Hunt Staff Benefit Foundation, PO Box 363, Millwood, Virginia 22646.