The Genesee Valley foxhounds meet on Opening Day of the formal season at The Homestead, home of W. Austin Wadsworth, MFH. Marion Thorne, MFH and huntsman (center) stands with hounds. / Barbara Smith photo
Genesee Valley, a stop along the MFHA’s Hark Forward Friendship Tour, was awesome! Six foxes put to ground in three-and-a-half hours! Epp Wilson, MFH, Belle Meade Hunt (GA), called it the best red fox hunt he had ever experienced.
Epp is Chairman of the Hark Forward Foxhound Performance Trials this season and is leading the tour across the North American foxhunting countries. Friendship Meets along the way have been scheduled. Join Epp and his fellow travelers for one or more (or any) of the exciting trials and/or hunt meets.
The Genesee Vally Hunt is renowned as one of the premier foxhunting clubs in North America. We were privileged to join Marion Thorne, MFH and huntsman, for their exciting Opening Day Meet on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Marion’s pack more than lived up to its reputation!
W. Austin Wadsworth, a passionate foxhunter, organized the Genesee Valley Hunt in 1876. His family was well established in the Genesee Valley, as large tracts of land were inherited across generations from an original purchase by Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth who was commissioned by George Washington during the American Revolution. The original purchase consisted of two million acres in the beautiful, arable Genesee Valley of northwestern New York State, around twenty-five miles south of Lake Ontario.
W. Austin Wadsworth inherited some six thousand acres and proceeded to provide some of the best foxhunting sport to fellow sportsmen, such as President Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Worcester Smith. In 1907, Wadsworth and Smith helped establish the Masters of Foxhounds Association, and Wadsworth was elected to serve as the first president. The idea for the MFHA was hatched at his lovely estate and home, The Homestead, which is still in the family and occupied by his grandson and namesake. It was here that we met for Opening Hunt. The day dawned with a stirrup cup, followed by a parade of foxhounds from The Homestead through town to his cousin Corrin Strong’s estate, where hounds were cast into first covert at 7:30 am.
Huntsman Marion Thorne, MFH, parades hounds through town on Opening Day to the first covert. / Barbara Smith photo
No scarlet coats are to be seen here. The story is told that Austin Wadsworth stated, in 1887, “I’ll be damned if anyone ever sees me in the hunting field in Tory Red. For generations, Wadsworths have worn the blue and buff of our own Continental Army. If it was good enough for them, its good enough for me.”
On this Saturday we had about one hundred riders follow Marion Thorne, MFH into the woods below first covert, and a fox was found in about fifteen minutes. This one quickly took cover in a brush pile nearby, and after the short run we continued hunting. Hounds spoke on a second fox in short order, which ran several large circles in the initial field and woods, giving the car followers a chance to enjoy excellent hound music before it went to ground. After praising hounds, Marion moved off northwards along an old railroad bed, bordering deep woods with many paths. The footing was excellent except for a few muddy crossings that the horses quickly learned to jump. Here we picked up a fox that started a run lasting about forty-five minutes in ever-increasing circles. At one point I thought we were on a coyote because of the speed with which we were galloping through the woods. The expression “hell bent for leather” comes to mind, as we careened around trees and through the mucky spots. Riders started to pull up and wait alongside paths for the next turn of the run. It was an excellent fox, passing several dens before finally slipping into one in the middle of the woods. Marion walked in to praise hounds, after which we had a short respite to shed jackets and have a drink. It was now close to ninety degrees in the sun.
Huntsman Thorne in Genesee Valley’s famous “Gullies.” / Barbara Smith photoUnfazed, Marion announced we were going to “The Gully” to continue hunting towards the kennels. Many ravines and gullies cross the Genesee Valley, the remains of glacial action. The large rocks and slabs of shale are full of fossils and the steep sides are good cover for foxes and coyotes.
For the next hour we ran up, down, around, and through the gully! Hounds split on two foxes, and the field followed Marion left-handed after one group that finally put their fox to ground up on a steep hillside above the creek bed. The other hounds rejoined the main pack after, we believe, running their fox to ground. All were again praised by Marion after a slippery climb up the bank.
With five foxes accounted for, hounds had a well-deserved drink in the creek before heading for home. Tired riders and horses were grateful for the shade of the woods as we climbed out of the gully, but this serious pack of hounds was not finished working. The field viewed the “kennel” fox heading north and hounds were on. We crossed Roots Tavern Road at a gallop and put the sixth fox of the day to ground in a deep bramble patch behind John Walsh’s home. It was a day to remember. In spite of the heat, the Genesee Valley hounds showed tremendous sport.
The Hunt hosted a lovely breakfast at The Homestead, where we were treated to a special tour of the “smoking” room. W. Austin Wadsworth’s office is filled with innumerable mementoes of a long, long love affair with foxhunting. Paintings, photos, books, stuffed foxes, old swords, spurs, and even ancient arrowheads were everywhere. His hand-written journals are displayed on the desk. One can just imagine the lively recounting of many foxhunts and steeplechase races in this room.
Grandfather Austin’s son, William P. Wadsworth, was as equally passionate about foxhunting as was his esteemed father. He wrote Riding to Hounds in America in 1962, some thirty years after becoming Master of Genesee Valley Hunt. This small booklet, still in print, is routinely given to new members of many hunts, and covers all manner of foxhunting practice, attire, and etiquette.
William P. was elected president of the MFHA in 1970. His son, the current W. Austin Wadsworth, became Joint-Master with his father in 1973 and sole Master in 1976. W. Austin’s sister, Martha, joined him as Joint-Master in 1987, and both remain in that office today. The family lineage continues as W. Austin’s step-daughter, Marion Thorne, became the third Joint-Master and huntsman in 2006.
Marion is as devoted to her hounds and hunting as any of the Wadsworth ancestors. That the hounds reciprocate this love and respect is evident. They watch her every move and stay quietly beside her until allowed into covert. Her husband and professional whipper-in/kennelman, Travis Thorne, is every bit as dedicated as Marion. Together they make a formidable team, which will ensure the future of Genesee Valley’s reputation as one of North America’s premier foxhunting establishments. Eerily enough, Travis looks very much like the original Austin Wadsworth. The handlebar mustache is not yet white, but the engaging personality and pride he takes in the Hunt’s history is equal to any former Wadsworth.
Posted October 1, 2017
Marion Thorne blows Gone to Ground as hounds mark the earth. / Epp Wilson photo