Jim Graham photoThe Radnor Hunt (PA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Richard Normington as professional huntsman. Richard brings an impressive level of expertise and horsemanship that bodes well for Radnor’s ability to show good sport for seasons to come.
Before coming to the U.S., Richard was first whipper-in at the Grafton Hunt (Northamptonshire), the Worcestershire, the Crawley and Horsham (Sussex), and the Cheshire Hunt. He is third generation hunt staff, and a crack horseman, with experience in point-to-points and other cross-country competitions.
A native of Northumberland, Richard has hunting in his blood. Both his grandfather and father were well known in English hunting circles. Richard’s father, Tom Normington carried the horn for the Grafton Hunt (Northamptonshire) for twenty-two seasons and is featured on the Grafton website as one of three key historic personages during that hunt’s long history. Upon retiring from the Grafton, Tom Normington took care of Prince Charles’ and Camilla’s hunt stable and horses for ten years.
Richard left hunt service when the Hunting Act was put into effect in England and took up the reins with the Darley enterprise, given his love of point-to-points and experience in racing. He has worked in Dubai, Japan, and finally Lexington, Kentucky where he met his American wife and settled down to start a family.
Laid up with a back injury as the result of a riding accident with a young horse, Richard happened to see a Radnor ad seeking a replacement for retiring Radnor huntsman Joe Cassidy. At the urging of his wife Nicole, he wrote that he had always wanted to get back into hunting.
Richard and his family are now at Radnor, where we view his arrival as a serendipitous occurrence for all concerned!
Radnor Hunt is the oldest continuous hunting enterprise in the United States recognized by the Master of Foxhounds Association. Founded in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania in 1883, Radnor continues to hunt three days a week with American and Crossbred foxhounds in and around the club house in Malvern; in the old Brandywine Hunt country near West Chester; and along the Brandywine Creek in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and northern Delaware.
Posted May 22, 2014