Most foxhunters know Sherman Haight by reputation, but it’s our guess that few know about his new memoir. That’s because it was written primarily for friends and family, but FOXHUNTING LIFE believes it deserves to be relished by a wider audience.
Sherman Haight has been a leader of our sport for more than a half-century. He comes from a dedicated foxhunting family: his father, his father-in-law, he, and his brother were all Masters, and his mother followed hounds both in the U.S. and in England. Sherman was MFH of Mr. Haight’s Litchfield County Hounds (CT); president of the United States Pony Clubs; a prime mover in the wrenching change that established term limits for MFHA presidents in 1970; past president of the MFHA from 1978 to 1981; and a founder of the Museum of Hounds and Hunting at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia. Sherman spearheaded the establishment of the Huntsmen’s Room at the museum and serves as chairman of the selection committee that inducts huntsmen to be so honored.
The story behind the title of the book is that Sherman’s great-uncle Austin D. Haight wrote an earlier memoir titled The Biography of a Sportsman. Because Sherman followed in his great-uncle’s footsteps, two generations apart in their mutual love for sports afield, he chose to use the identical title.
A member of the 7th Cavalry in World War II, Sherman saw reconnaissance action in the Pacific until finally catching multiple rounds from a Japanese .25-caliber machine gun in the stomach, head, and elbow. The triage doctor in the field placed him with other severely wounded men upon whom, in that doctor’s estimation, medical time and resources were not to be wasted. But Sherman lived to tell his story!
Sherman comes from a long line of Cavalry soldiers. Another great-uncle serving on frontier duty was with the column that discovered the Custer battlefield, arriving twenty-four hours after the massacre. Later Sherman’s great-uncle participated in the Nez Perce wars, volunteered to be held hostage by the Nez Perce during negotiations, and became a lifelong friend of Chief Joseph.
Sherman’s mother was every bit as adventurous as the male side of the family. In Connecticut late one summer, heavy rains left the nearby river running so high as to barely allow a canoe to pass safely under the bridge. Thirteen-year-old Sherman proposed that he and his mother should shoot the rapids in their canoe, a notion to which his mother readily agreed. A servant drove them to the point of entry, them departed to meet them below the rapids. The servant arrived at the calm waters below the rapids and eventually saw the canoe floating toward him—empty.
“I was to paddle stern position, and we set out for the ride of our lives! The rocks were mostly obscured by high waves; the force of the water was immense. My mother, in the bow of the canoe, shouted orders which I was to follow. We passed under the bridge thinking the worst was behind us, but little did we know! In the lower stretch of the rapids there was a sharp turn in the river that caused the canoe to be thrown against the bank with such force that we were thrown out. My mother and I stayed together until we found a tree with branches leaning over the river, which we used to get on dry land.”
Sherman was raised in a life of privilege, but with that came a family heritage of integrity and responsibility. He makes no apology for his advantages, but tells his life’s story with humility and humor.
Besides fishing and shooting, there’s plenty of foxhunting and old-time foxhunters, from Fletcher Harper in Virginia to Isaac Bell in Ireland to Sir Alfred Goodson in England to Major Charles Kindersley in Canada. There’s advice on handling hounds in the field and judging hounds on the flags. This book is so satisfying in so many ways, I heartily recommend it.
Books may be purchased for $25.00 each plus $5.00 shipping, directly from Sherman Haight, Thunder Hill, PO Box 286, Hamilton, VA 20159. Tel. 540-338-3640. There’s no answering machine, no email, and no computers there. If no one answers, call back! Or post a letter with your check and shipping information!