Amwell Valley huntsman Steve Farrin blew a flawless set of horn calls to best two-time winner John Tabachka and claim the 2010 North American Horn Blowing Championship. Contestants were asked to blow Moving Off, Gone Away, Gone to Ground, and Going Home. The judges proclaimed a tie after the first round, and Farrin and Tabachka were called back to blow one more call of their own choosing. Tabachka blew Going Home, demonstrating amazing control of the stretched out and slowly modulated volume, but Farrin won the night with his Gone Away.
This final competition of the season is held annually on Hunt Night at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg and took place this year on Monday, October 18. Hunt staff members qualify to compete for the championship by winning a horn blowing contest at any one of the MFHA-sanctioned hound shows held the previous spring.
Judges were MFHs Sheila Jackson Brown and J.W.Y. “Duck” Martin, Jr. of the Green Spring Valley Hounds (MD) and Russell Jones of Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds (PA).
Previous winners have been Andrew Barclay, Emma Downing, Tommy Jackson, Brian Kiely, Ian Milne, Charles Montgomery, Adrian Smith, and John Tabachka.
A perpetual trophy engraved with the name of each year’s winner remains on permanent display at the Museum of Hounds and Hunting at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia.
October 20, 2010