Huntsman Spencer Allen / Douglas Lees photo
Huntsman Spencer Allen has gone through a rocky time in the past couple of years. He’s been forced to consider other options for his future, but he knows in his heart what he loves the most—working with and hunting foxhounds. And this is why he’s so happy to be in Monticello, Florida at Marty and Daphne Wood’s unparalleled establishment as huntsman for the Live Oak Hounds.
After serving six years in the Marine Corps, including a tour in Iraq, Allen began as an amateur whipper-in at the Bull Run Hunt (VA). Two seasons later he turned professional and moved to the Piedmont Fox Hounds (VA), serving four seasons as first whipper-in to huntsman Richard Roberts. Allen found himself working with a talented and attractive whipper-in, Rachel Gray, who also happened to be the daughter of the previous huntsman, Butch Gray. Spencer and Rachel were married, and in 2010 Spencer was named huntsman at Piedmont. He hunted the Piedmont hounds for five seasons, showing excellent sport, but trouble followed.
On June 25, 2015, Rachel, mother of three children, was killed in a motorcycle accident at the age of thirty-one. The Piedmont Masters had also decided to replace Allen as huntsman for the following season, so there he was without a job and without a mother for his children.
He went back to Bull Run for the 2015/2016 season as kennel huntsman under Charles Montgomery, who had been the longtime huntsman at the Live Oak Hounds. It was a long drive from Bull Run to be with his children, and it was a tough year for Allen. He considered other avenues for his life, but couldn’t shake his love for working with hounds.
“I came to realize with all my soul,” said Allen, “that this is all I want to do. However, I can’t do it if my kids might suffer.”
The circular connections in foxhunting are one of the queer things about our wonderful sport. In addition to the Charles Montgomery connection to Live Oak, the Piedmont Masters and the Woods at Live Oak are close, and Allen’s departure at Piedmont was accomplished with strong loyalty and respect remaining between both parties at separation. Also, Allen and the Woods had been in touch all through the latter half of his final season with Piedmont over another affair altogether that speaks further to Allen’s love for foxhounds.
It began with two young foxhounds from Live Oak becoming frightened and escaping their staff while at the Virginia Foxhound Show at Morven Park in Leesburg in 2014. One hound was soon recaptured, but the other, Live Oak Charter, embarked on an odyssey across two major highways and perhaps twenty miles as the crow flies, winding up finally in Orange County hunting territory in The Plains, Virginia. Charter was malnourished and hurt, but he wouldn’t allow himself to be approached by any humans. Spencer Allen took the lead in scouting the area where Charter had been seen, bringing food regularly, and updating a highly concerned Daphne Wood periodically. After nearly five months living off the country and on what Allen and other volunteers provided, Charter was finally captured, and, sitting with Allen in the back seat of the car, was taken to the vet for treatment.
Allen was hardly a stranger to Marty Wood then when they met for dinner at the MFHA Staff Seminar last April to discuss the future. As a result of that meeting, Allen finds himself at a foxhunting establishment unsurpassed by any in North America in terms of facilities, and working for a hunt notable for the capability and longevity of so many staff members. He expresses enthusiasm in a continuous stream that this reporter couldn’t keep up with.
“The Woods are very good with their staff,” Allen told me.
“I love the hunting country. It’s beautiful and so open. Being in the south, I was surprised at how open it is.
“The kennels are everything you could want—efficient and easy to work in. The whole operation runs like a well-oiled machine. Everyone has a clear role and knows just what they’re responsible for. And everyone is fully supportive of the other…helps each other. There’s a real family dynamic here. Being the new guy I wasn’t sure what to expect, but everyone has been nothing but supportive to me.”
“The hounds are wonderful, and they have been very, very well-handled for a long time by very, very good people. I’m following Charles Montgomery and Dale Barnett, who has been here for so many years. I have some big shoes to fill.”
Posted July 12, 2016