Mission Valley 2018 Performance Trials: Fort Leavenworth Tracker 2010 (#71) was overall High Point foxhound after two days of hunting. / Allison Howell photo
The schedule of Foxhound Performance Trials for the 2021/2022 foxhunting season has been released by Trial Chairman Fred Berry, MFH, Sedgefield Hounds (NC). Nine qualifying trials will be run across the country, and the tenth and final trial will crown a Grand Champion and the top ten performance hounds in North America.
“‘Pretty is as pretty does’ really applies to foxhounds,” says Fred. The Brits invented mounted foxhunting and hound show, but they shouldn’t have stopped there.
Nothing is more fun than foxhunting. And when it’s too warm to hunt, hound shows get us together to compare our hounds on the flags for conformation appropriate to the work we ask of them. But there is still something missing: how do we know we are breeding the best attributes into our packs without comparing performance in the field?
Here’s where we owe a debt of gratitude to the late Ben Hardaway. He saw the benefits (and fun) of foxhound field trials as practiced by the American night hunters and hound breeders and decided that those trials could be modified for mounted pack hunting. He and his Joint-Master Mason Lampton staged the first foxhound performance trial for mounted foxhunters in North America in 1996, and it turned into a grand and continuing success.
Also offered along this ‘trail of trials’ are opportunities for foxhunters to ride in the field and see these hounds working in the field first hand. Or their own hounds at work alongside other bloodlines. Or where might be found the best outcrosses to add vitality to their favorite bloodlines. An invaluable opportunity to observe, learn, and decide. Or simply enjoy a great day of hunting (and parties) with one’s peers.
Competing hunts will enter their top hounds for two days of hunting. Think all-star teams! The hounds will be hunted as a pack and will have numbers painted on their sides. Skilled judges will ride among them, recording who does what and when. The top ten hounds in each trial will qualify for the finals, to be held March 26-27, 2022, in Hoffman, NC.
The rules are simple. Hounds are judged in three main categories: Hunting, Trailing, and Full Cry. The points, awarded automatically, increase for each category scored by a hound. A hound that is sniffing vigorously with his nose down, trying to find a line is Hunting. Once the scent is found, and the hound is speaking on the line or feathering, it is Trailing. Hounds running the line and speaking on a hot track are in Full Cry. Judges carry hand-held voice recorders, data is entered into a computer after each hunt, and a special software package assigns scores and ranks the foxhounds.
Midland 2018 Performance Trials: Fox River Valley Bracket (78), Aiken Euro (65), and Essex Oatlands (27) listen in as huntsman Ashley Hubbard negotiates with the coyote. / Allison Howell photo
Here is the schedule and contact information. If you want to go, and you should, start planning and making reservations. Space will be limited.
QUALIFIERS
September 8-9, Millbrook Hunt (NY)
Erin McKenney, [email protected]
September 24-25, Andrews Bridge Foxhounds (PA)
Betsy Harris, [email protected]
October 2-3, North Hills Hunt (NE)
Bre Kruger, [email protected]
October 9-10, Sedgefield Hunt (NC)
Jan Sorrells: [email protected]
October 23-24, Bull Run Hunt (VA)/Blue Ridge Hunt (VA)
Tim Michel: [email protected]
December 3-4, Long Run Woodford Hounds (KY)
Spencer Allen, [email protected]
January 21-22, Belle Meade Hunt (GA)
Epp Wilson, [email protected]
February 19-21, Western States Performance Trial at Tejon Ranch, CA
Angela Murray, [email protected]
March 5-6, Wicomico Hunt Penn-Marydel trial (MD)
Ed Fry, [email protected]
March 26-27, Grand Championship Trials, Hoffman, NC
Posted July 15, 2021