Bill McDevitt: Friend and Benefactor
Bill McDevitt, honorary whipper-in and benefactor of the Los Altos Hounds (CA) since 1963, passed away at his waterfront Sausalito home over the weekend. He will be remembered by his many hunt buddies and the numerous Masters he served, including Tom Harris, W.W. Mein, Richard Collins, Eugene Rettig, Mrs. Jay Foss, and Albert Schreck. He […]
Two Views
Foxhunting Life takes pleasure in publishing the winning entry in the United States Pony Club annual Hildegard Neill Ritchie Joys of Foxhunting Writing Contest for 2011.
As one of the contest judges, I was impressed by Katy Ropp’s vibrant depictions of sounds, smells, and sensations. Katie, 15, is a D-3 member of the Kalamazoo Valley II Pony Club in the Great Lakes Region.
Juniors Will Vie in Ninth Annual Field Hunter Championships
The meets have been announced for the Junior North American Field Hunter Championships in 2011. For fifty bucks, juniors eighteen-and-under can hunt with other juniors in new surroundings and experience camaraderie; competition; and a variety of hunting countries, foxhound types, and hunt staffs. It’s both fun and educational.
New Evidence Pushes Back Earliest Domestication of Horses
It has long been thought that the domestication of horses goes back about five thousand years to central Asia. New evidence could push that estimate back by another four thousand years and change the locale. Among the remains of a recently discovered ancient civilization in the Arabian Peninsula was a three-foot tall bust of a […]
The Huntsman Introduces Himself
Andy Bozdan is the new huntsman for the Tennessee Valley Hunt. Here he calls in the Barwon hounds after a sharp hunt in Victoria, southern Australia.A dear friend used to keep a reminder tacked to her refrigerator. It was all about attitude. The essence of it was that attitude is the most important aspect in life. And it’s really the only thing over which we have total control.
The Tennessee Valley Hunt just hired a new huntsman—Andy Bozdan—who will soon arrive in the States. Andy sent an email to his new hunt, introducing himself and explaining his perceptions of the job. It is so brimming with good attitude that, rather than extracting a few facts for a brief News bulletin, I thought you might enjoy reading Andy’s entire message. He wrote:
Hunt Club Pages: An Enhancement
Karen L. Myers photoLast month we announced a new feature on Foxhunting Life — Hunt Club Pages. We have a page for every North American hunt with all the articles we have published about that hunt or referring to it. Now we want to make your hunt’s page even more informative.
We have added space for historical or descriptive text about each hunt plus a link to the hunt’s website. The description and link will always appear first on that hunt’s page—before the articles.
A Dicey Intervention
Field Master Gus Forbush, MFH / Karen L. Myers photoSaturday, November 28, 2009. A large field of about fifty or sixty met at Henchmen’s Lea near the Old Dominion Hounds’ kennels. For the first draw, huntsman Gerald Keal had taken hounds to nearby Thumb Run. Field Master Gus Forbush was standing by a field of soybeans on Thumb Run when he heard hounds speak. Here’s his story:
“The hounds’ voices were weird,” recalled Forbush. “I wasn’t sure what was happening.”
At that point, Keal came galloping back and said there was a bobcat caught in a snare on the other side of the river.
Blue Ridge Hunt Intro
The Blue Ridge Hunt was organized in 1888, but this gently rolling grassland in the Valley of the Shenandoah echoed to the music of hounds, the huntsman’s horn, and the rhythm of galloping horses long before that time. A youthful George Washington regularly followed the hounds of his friend and employer Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax […]
Red Rock Hounds to Parade at $25,000 Jumping Derby
The Red Rock Hounds are scheduled to parade at the 2011 Franktown Meadows USHJA International Hunter Derby in Carson City, Nevada on Labor Day, September 5. The “best horse and rider combinations in the country” are expected to compete over this beautiful course in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Hounds will parade around the […]
Promised Vote on British Foxhunting Ban “Dead and Buried”
A new generation of urban Tory has upset the countryside’s applecart. Notwithstanding Prime Minister David Cameron’s pre-election pledge to allow a free vote in Parliament on the hunting ban, twenty members of his party are opposed to revisiting the ban. Calling themselves the Blue Fox group, they comprise a younger set of MPs who are […]