Huntsman Johnnie Gray shows Hillsboro Denmark 2012, Grand Champion Foxhound of the Carolinas Hound Show. / Leilani Hrisko photo
Hillsboro Denmark 2012 was judged Grand Champion of the Carolinas Hound Show on Saturday, May 11, 2013. Bred by Nigel Peel at the North Cotswold kennels in England, he was picked up late one night at LaGuardia Airport, along with another three-and-a-half couple of his North Cotswold kennel mates—all unentered hounds—by Hillsboro huntsman Johnnie Gray.
Before you call Mr. Peel and ask if he will send you a comparable draft, you should know that this was an “inside job.” Nigel Peel’s Joint-Master at the North Cotswold, Bradford Hooker, happens to be the son of Hillsboro’s senior Master, Henry Hooker.
Denmark is all North Cotswold breeding with a cross to Duke of Beaufort in the third generation and a cross to Vale of the White Horse in the fourth generation. Gray is a happy huntsman. This four couple of pure English hounds gives the Hillsboro a reservoir of fresh bloodlines from impeccable sources with which they can refresh the Crossbred bloodlines in their kennel.
Gray likes the drafts so much, he has already bred three of the bitches even thought they are still young. This is a smart thing for a hound breeder to do when he has what he believes to be a special bitch, because hunting is always “job one,” and you never know what might happen to a hound in the field or kennel that can terminate its ability to be bred.
Denmark is a big hound, but his size has not hampered his work. “He draws extremely well,” said Gray. “That’s his specialty. He gets right into the coverts and pushes his way through the briars.”
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Posted May 23, 2013