Julie Stuart Seger photoStuart Grod—popular field member of the Fairfield County Hounds (CT)—has retired after forty-three consecutive seasons hunting in the first flight. A retirement party was held in Stu’s honor at the hunt’s clubhouse on November 22, 2014, where well-known food and travel author Michael Stern read a poem he composed for the occasion.
“Build a bridge with your hands on the mane;”
“Trot smooth as you head for the jump;”
“Go light when your hands hold the reins;”
“And don’t crowd on the lead horse’s rump:”
Just some of Stu’s tips I’ve acquired
Since I started to ride with you folks.
I’ll miss you up there, you strange country squire
With your bright eyes, your wisdom, and jokes.
So now, when I hear that horn of the huntsman,
The thunder of hooves, and the full cry of hounds,
You know I’ll be thinking of you, my dear lantzman,
For it isn’t quite right when Stu’s not around.
Stu’s friend and longtime hunting companion, Paul Kraus, writes, “Stu has been a highly visible figure in the foxhunting community for many years and is widely known and admired for his energy, enthusiasm, and warm welcoming demeanor. He is the only person to have won the season championship for an individual rider twice in a row in the old Adjacent Hunts Hunter Pace Series. The ‘Adjacent Hunts’ consisted of the hunts in the area surrounding New York City: Millbrook, Rombout, Litchfield, Middlebury, Fairfield, Golden’s Bridge, Smithtown, and Windy Hollow.
“No one would argue with my contention that Stu rode in more of those paces than anyone else. He almost always rode the course twice, and to celebrate his sixtieth birthday he rode the course three times! It was estimated that he jumped 150 fences that day. (The pace courses were eight to twelve miles and had forty to fifty jumps.) No one would argue with my contention that he was easily the most well known figure in that group of foxhunters.
“Over the years Stu took many hunting trips to northern Virginia, hunting with Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Orange County, Loudoun West, Bull Run, Rappahannock, Thornton Hill, and Old Dominion, widening his circle of friends. He also traveled to England where he met many hunters from other parts of the country.”
Posted November 27, 2014
The Fairfield County Hounds was recognized by the MFHA in 1926 and hunted country in Newtown, Connecticut and environs. As that area became built-up, William Stuart of Bridgewater, Connecticut developed new hunting country in Bridgewater, enabling the hunt to eventually abandon its congested country in 1987. William Stuart now serves as Fairfield’s senior Master.
Michael Stern, who wrote the poem in tribute to Stu Grod, is the author, with Jane Stern, of numerous books and articles on food, travel, and popular culture. Perhaps his best-known book is Roadfood, first published in 1977 and now in its 9th edition (2014).
Following the Fairfield County Hounds are (l-r) Paul Kraus, Peter Brainard, and Stu Grod. / Julie Stuart Seger photo