Huntsman Jordan Hicks moves from the Tryon Hounds to the Piedmont Fox Hounds / Erik Olsen photoAs we approach the close of the 2014/2015 foxhunting season, here’s our report on thirteen hunts that have either hired or will require a new huntsman for next season. We have already featured personal close-ups of three of the migrating huntsmen—Guy Allman, Brian Kiely, and Graham Buston—and we plan to bring you more.
We invite readers to fill us in on any moves that we’ve missed. We also invite you to send us a personal profile on any of these huntsmen that we can publish as a feature article. Or, just send us the information, and we’ll write the story. Use the “Contact Us” link that appears at the bottom of every screen to communicate directly with me, and be sure to include your phone number.
What follows is foxhunting’s version of musical chairs.
Round I
Guy Allman, huntsman, Blue Ridge Hunt (VA), will return to England as huntsman for the Bicester with Whaddon Chase Foxhounds in Cambridgeshire.
Graham Bustin, huntsman, Bear Creek Hounds (GA), will replace Allman at the Blue Ridge Hunt.
Stephen Clifton, huntsman, Eglinton and Caledon Hunt (ON), will replace Bustin at the Bear Creek Hounds.
Round II
Jordan Hicks, huntsman, Tryon Hounds (NC), will be the new huntsman at the Piedmont Fox Hounds (VA).
Trey Bennett, huntsman, Saxonburg Hunt (PA), will replace Hicks at the Tryon Hounds.
Round III
Brian Kiely, huntsman, Myopia Hunt (MA), will be the new huntsman at the Potomac Hunt (MD), replacing retiring long-time huntsman Larry Pitts.
Philip Headdon, huntsman, Chagrin Valley Hunt (OH), will replace Kiely at the Myopia Hunt.
Mark McManus, huntsman, Ottawa Valley Hunt (ON), will replace Headdon at the Chagrin Valley Hunt.
Antony Gaylard will return to the Ottawa Valley Hunt to carry the horn once again.
Huntsman Antony Gaylard returns to the Ottawa Valley Hunt / Denya Massey Clarke photo
Also
Jeff Woodall, trainer of show jumpers and show hunters, huntsman of his own pack, and former whipper-in at the Bull Run and Rappahannock Hunts (VA), will be the new huntsman at the old Dominion Hounds (VA).
The Thornton Hill Hounds (VA) will soon announce a new huntsman to fill the boots of longtime huntsman Billy Dodson, who will retire after this season.
Conclusion
Why do I love to follow the movements of our huntsmen? From my perspective, having been a member of many fields in many hunting countries, the huntsman is my hero. From the time we mount up in the hunting field and for the few hours that follow, it is the huntsman who is most directly responsible for the pleasure we field members derive from this activity in which we invest so much of our time, energy, thoughts, hopes, and treasure.
One might argue that the hounds have something to do with it, and this I grant. But the pack is the product of the huntsman, and the level of our sport really depends on how our hounds perform as a pack.
I hope to hear from anyone who can add to this year’s accounts of “huntsmen on the move”!
Posted February 12, 2015