2013 North American Field Hunter Champion Greyland Woods, owned by Karen Mantz and ridden by daughter Teresa Croce, jumps to victory over Judge Jean Derrick’s scarlet coat (Belle Meade colors). / Liz Callar photo
Blistering hot weather visited Virginia for the past four weeks. While not unusual this time of year, the length of the hot spell, with temperatures hovering in the high eighties and even reaching into the low nineties, has proved miserable to man and beast alike, but it failed to deter foxhunters who entered this year’s North American Field Hunter Championships.
On Monday, September 30, the Championships began at Keswick. Hounds met at Glenwood, a fixture in the neighborhood of James Madison’s Montpelier, outside the town of Orange. Contestants from as far away as Florida and Georgia traveled to compete in the event, as well as to enjoy early autumn hunting in Virginia. They were not disappointed. Keswick huntsman Tony Gammell provided a fine day of sport in the lovely rolling countryside as hounds ran across the nearby road, back again, and beyond the fixture into a scenic expanse of woods and cornfields. Afterward, everyone enjoyed a tailgate as five contestants were selected for the finals.
On Tuesday, October 1, hounds met at Owl Run Farm in Warrenton, home of Casanova Hunt Joint-Master Mrs. Joyce Fendley. Previously the home of Donna and Jack Eicher, huntsman at Rombout and later Farmington Hunt, the grounds include a lake and a cluster of graceful weeping willows out front. The residence and barns all exude the charm of old Virginia Hunt Country—weathered stone, stout board and batten, low eaves and metal roofs. A special surprise awaited the field this morning when shortly after casting hounds, an eruption in a cornfield revealed that hounds had encountered a black bear! Fortunately, the pack obeyed their orders to ignore the bear as it beat a hasty retreat. The remainder of the morning proved quieter, and as the field hacked in, Mrs. Fendley positioned herself, as she always does at the end of a hunt, such that she could personally thank everyone in the field as they passed by on their way to their trailer. This small but thoughtful act is just one of many that make hunting in Virginia so special and unique. It was a hot, thirsty, and tired field that gathered under a tent to drink and devour a delicious crab dip while recalling the excitement of having gone on their first bear hunt! This morning, six finalists were announced.
Reserve Champion is Turnadieu, ridden by Karen Russell, Orange County Hounds. / Liz Callar photo
On Wednesday, October 2, Snickersville Hounds hosted the day of sport. The field gathered on Sunnybank Farm, the Smithwick estate, just outside of Middleburg. The farm is replete with history and character. It was here that Robert E. Lee’s famous grey, Traveler, was born, and family diaries recount how the farm was raided by Yankees searching for silver and horses during the Civil War. It was here, also, in the comfortable rambling farmhouse on top of the hill, that Dot Smithwick conceived of the idea that evolved into the Field Hunter Championships themselves. Today, the farm encompasses over one thousand acres of woods interspersed with rolling fields, all separated with stone walls, coops, and rail fences. Huntsman Eva Smithwick called to hounds to move off, and they had not even left the fixture before hitting a line. In full cry the pack swept up the short hillside towards an outbuilding. It was a wonderful start to what proved to be a lovely day. Bringing up the rear of the field, landowner Speedy Smithwick was seen riding with a visiting friend who was overheard commenting that “the last time I hunted was eight years ago with the United in Ireland, and it was the most terrifying morning of my life.” To his delight, his day out with Snickersville was not a repeat performance! The tailgate, held in a converted dairy barn and decorated with numerous historical articles from the Washington Times of D.C., all having to do with foxhunting on the East Coast in years gone by, was a splendid affair. Special thanks go to Robin Strom of Snickersville Hounds for her efforts. This day, eight riders were chosen for the finals.
Wednesday evening, Pippy McCormick graciously hosted a reception at her family’s residence, a stately mansion built of old brick and surrounded by ancient trees and bushes which proved the perfect setting for a gathering of foxhunters. As the soft Virginia dusk fell, laughter could be heard drifting out the open doors as Mr. Colvin (Gregg) Ryan, Joint-MFH, Piedmont Fox Hounds and Snickersville Hounds, alongside Mr. Henry Woods, an ardent foxhunter, regaled a delighted bevy of ladies with hunting and steeplechasing tales. The gathering provided a chance for visiting foxhunters to meet others, and more than a few new friendships blossomed as emails and phone numbers were exchanged. Some of the judges were also there. Mrs. Lilith Boucher, who was an instant hit with everyone she met with her great cheery smile, had traveled south from Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds (PA), while the ever popular Mrs. Jean Derrick, a frequent competitor in the event in years past, had journeyed north from Belle Meade Hunt (GA). Local judges included the enthusiastic Mrs. Karen Nutt Kingsley from the Middleburg Hunt and Mrs. Beth deStanley from the Loudoun Hunt. The always elegant Mrs. Penny Denegre, Joint-MFH, Middleburg Hunt also attended with her husband Mr. John Denegre, for she was judging the Best Turned Out on Sunday afternoon. The crowd was rounded out with Eva Smithwick, Joint-MFH of the Snickersville Hounds, accompanied by her husband, Speedy, and Mr. Gary Baker, who is instrumental in assisting with the Championships, among others. It was a crowd of hard riding and hard working people who all shared a love of the open countryside, the sound of galloping hooves, and the sweet cry of hounds in the morning.
Thursday, October 3, Piedmont Fox Hounds. Turning into the long, winding driveway off Atoka Road, driving back into a rolling pasture bordered with a crumbling stone wall and ancient rider’s gate, back-dropped by the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and with only a few rooftops of working farms in the vale between, everyone sensed it was to be a special morning. Huntsman Spencer Allen first cast north before swinging a circle back to the meet, then west to where hounds were crying after a fox which a member of the field surmised, based on the hounds going out onto the end of a submerged log, must have leapt off it into the creek to make a timely escape. The field then descended a steep hillside before crossing Goose Creek and emerged on Crenshaw Road where many gallops later, another fox was put to earth and hounds roundly praised for their efforts. Hunting on, the field was treated to vistas of the fabled Thursday “Mellon Country,” a canvas of unsurpassed beauty. Even a nearby cell tower had been encased in a silo, so as not to destroy the ambiance of this treasure of a countryside. Not content to rest on their laurels of a good day of sport, not one but two tables heaped with food awaited the field upon their return. On this final day of competition, seven members were chosen to compete in the finals.
Marilyn Ware from the Keswick and Deep Run Hunts and her lovely gray, Belleview’s Gray Smoke, were judged Most Suitable Pair. / Liz Callar photo
The twenty-six selected riders were:
Louisa Fisher, Belle Meade Hunt, GA
Eduardo Coria, Casanova Hunt, VA
Joanne Norman, Deep Run and Bull Run Hunts, VA
Marilyn Ware, Deep Run and Keswick Hunts, VA
Jennifer Nesbitt and Nancy Wiley, Keswick Hunt, VA
Kathy Noffsinger, Anna Billings, Patti Brantley, Live Oak Hounds, FL
Karyn Wilson, Larry Summers, Paula Michaels, Loudoun-Fairfax Hunt, VA
Lamy Buck, Low Country Hunt, SC
Barbara Smith, Marlborough Hunt, MD
Andrea Gilman, Old Dominion Hounds, VA
Karen Russell, Julia Coles, Pann Drunagel, Mary Ann Ghadban, Mo Baptiste, Orange County Hounds, VA
Lindsey Kelley, Orange County Hounds and Piedmont Fox Hounds, VA
Lissa Green, Jacey Wilkins, Piedmont Fox Hounds
Patricia Smithwick and Laurie McClary, Snickersville Hounds, VA
Teresa Croce, Loudoun Hunt, VA
Twenty-four riders gathered at high noon for the finals at Glenwood Park on Foxcroft Road outside of Middleburg. It is a particularly lovely setting, framed with the Blue Ridge Mountains upon the far western horizon and the gently rolling racecourse in the foreground, bordered with stone walls and dotted with old oaks and a small pond. Under a merciless sun and in a scorching dry heat, made bearable only by a brisk wind, six riders elected to be reviewed for Best Turned Out and lined up to be inspected by the judge, Mrs. Penny Denegre of side saddle fame. Mr. Colvin (Gregg) Ryan then took the field on a mock hunt across adjacent Sunnybank Farm. The entire field made a dramatic sight as they stretched out across the race course in a hard gallop upon their return. The riders then jumped a simple course of six fences: three away from the grandstand, a halt and a reverse of direction after the third, and a return trip back over the same three only towards the grandstand where each rider brought their mount to a halt before and after the last fence of their trip. Mr. Ryan then departed but not before considerately shaking the hands of several contestants and offering them good wishes, the sort gracious gesture often seen in this part of the world. Afterward, eight riders were chosen for the final test which consisted of three fences, the first of which had Mrs. Jean Derrick’s scarlet coat draped over the top rail, then on to a drop jump, and another halt from a hard gallop.
Karen Russell, Lissa Green, Theresa Croce, Eduardo Coria, Jennifer Nesbitt, Marilyn Ware, Karyn Wilson, and Pann Drunagel were requested to ride the final test prior to everyone lining up to await the awards.
Patti Brantley from the Live Oak Hounds was judged Best Turned Out. / Liz Callar photo
Congratulations are in order for:
Runner Up, Best Turned Out, Patricia (Trish) Smithwick from Snickersville Hounds. Trish presented nothing less than a stunning picture dressed in vintage canary breeches topped by a seldom seen bowler and thick black hairnet. Her ensemble harked back to another era, and she provided a welcome glimpse of sheer feminine elegance in her most proper of turnouts.
Reserve Champion for Best Turned Out went to Eduardo Coria of Casanova Hunt. This gentleman will perhaps be best remembered for his generosity of spirit as he unstintingly offered to get nearly each and every gate for not one but for two days of hunting.
Best Turned Out was awarded to an effervescent Patti Brantley of Live Oak Hounds, Florida. Impeccable from head to toe, the only complaint that could be lodged against her was her failure to ride one of her colorful paint horses bred on her farm, Flying Colors.
Most Suitable went to Marilyn Ware from both Deep Run and Keswick Hunts. It was her first entry in the Championships and the pair—Marilyn, trim and elegant, and her grey mount, Belleview’s Gray Smoke, polished to perfection—were an eminently matched pair;
The Sportsmanship award went to Kathy Noffsinger on her smart grey, also from Live Oak Hounds, who positively beamed with pleasure all week long at her good fortune to be hunting in Virginia.
Reserve Field Hunter Championship went to Karen Russell of Orange County Hounds riding Turnadieu, an athletic dark bay, She handled both the course and the blood horse she rode with a gritty yet relaxed determination.
Top Honours went to Karen Mantz’s seventeen-year-old gelding, Greyland Woods, masterfully ridden by daughter Teresa Croce of the Loudoun Hunt.
Posted October 9, 2013