The sheer beauty of a level pack of foxhounds is indisputable. There is a uniformity of appearance and traits, and such a pack tends to run well together. But isn’t there another option?
Why not a pack consisting of foxhounds of various types, welcoming the unique attributes of each hound type? Breeders know that no single type offers all the best attributes we want in a pack; hence the English-American Crossbred. But within those two categories there are still more individual types with more concentrated attributes that could allow each type to contribute at the appropriate stage of any hunt just when needed.
In this scenario, you want (1) the best noses to find the quarry in covert and, later, to recover the line when lost; (2) the best speed once out in the open to pressure the quarry; (3) the best accuracy to turn with the line when the speed hounds flash over, (4) the best cry for the benefit of huntsman, staff, and Field Master; and (5) the relentless drive and toughness to maintain the pressure and extend the run after the speed hounds slacken their initial dash, and before the gap widens and scent is irretrievably lost.
Think of what it takes to field a successful baseball team. There are infielders, outfielders, pitchers of all shapes, lithe and fast base-runners who can steal bases, and powerful long ball hitters. Specialists, in other words, who each contribute their unique attributes to the team. The only things that contributes levelness to a baseball team are the uniforms.
With the approval and encouragement of Masters Anne McIntosh and Jeff LeHew, huntsman Graham Buston at the Blue Ridge Hunt (VA) has been converting his pack to a team of specialists. The pack now consists of purebred and/or crosses on (1) American hounds for nose and voice, (2) Modern English hounds for speed to push the quarry early in the chase, (3) Old English hounds—sometimes referred to as Traditionally-Bred—for the drive and stamina to persevere and extend the chase, (4) Fell hounds for their athleticism and wider-ranging independence when separated from the huntsman, and (5) Penn-Marydel blood for low scenting in poor conditions, accuracy during the run, and even more voice.
The video above was taken about two hours after the coyote was found. Early on, the front runners were the speedy Modern English and English-American crosses. However, by the time the video was recorded, the lead hound behind the coyote was a hard-driving pure Old English bi*ch named Gina. Many of the Old English purebreds are of Buston’s own breeding at County Limerick and County Waterford (IRE) before coming to the States.
Just behind Gina was Blue Ridge Calamity—a draft from Tony Leahy’s Fox River Valley Hunt (IL). Calamity’s breeding is Crossbred top and bottom: a Fox River Valley sire that goes back to Piedmont Modern English-American Crossbreds and a Hillsboro bi*ch that goes back to Live Oak Modern English and Fell Crossbreds.
The next hounds seen in the video were first-season Fell crosses from Deep Run huntsman John Harrison’s breeding while at the Ullswater in Cumbria—one crossed with Old English, the other crossed with American. The pack accounted for the coyote after a hunt of three hours in total—fifteen miles as hounds ran. These first few front-runners in the video at two hours into the chase carried Old English, Modern English, American, and Fell bloodlines. Does Buston find that a pack of various types and attributes tend to get strung out on a long run, I wondered.
“I top and tail,” said the Irishman. “Every huntsman has to do that anyway.”
At my blank look (that was a new expression to me!) Buston explained that he culled from the front and the back of the pack, as is common practice for hunts even with uniformly-bred packs. It is certainly a hard thing for a huntsman to do—cull both the front runners, who may well have superb noses, and the tail hounds, who often are the older hounds from which the young hounds learn their jobs. But there are hunts in wide open countries that are happy to have the speedy hounds, and there are hunts in wooded countries who need a slower pack so huntsman and staff can keep with them. Huntsmen around the country know which hunt needs which type, so there are always eager recipients of good hunting hounds that do not meet the needs of their home country.
“First, I want a hunting pack,” said Buston. “It may not be a level pack to look at, but it’s a level pack when hunting. I need drive, toughness, and independence. When I’m satisfied with those improvements, I will try to bring the crosses closer together into two main strains, one consisting of Old English-Fell crosses, the other of Modern English-American-Fell crosses.”
After that, Buston has his eyes set on narrowing the breeding further to a single cross on the correct balance of all the attributes contributed by all the types. That’s a lofty goal. It took Ben Hardaway thirty years to wind up with a Crossbred hound at Midland that would hunt as he wished and reproduce itself through succeeding generations. Buston’s project is also reminiscent of the breeding program at Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire started more than fifteen years ago when that hunt began crossing two disparate types, Old English and Penn-Marydel, to achieve the attributes they wanted in their country.
When Buston came to Blue Ridge as huntsman three years ago, Master Anne McIntosh set the terms. “I want a pack that hunts,” she said. Just what Buston wanted to hear. He considers himself the team coach, and he is building his team—the hound pack—to hunt both fox and coyote to his satisfaction. It’s a daring breeding venture that will take time and perseverance, but he has a firm picture in his mind of the performance he wants from his hounds at every stage of the hunting day.
Posted November 1, 2018