Six US Congressmen Seek Probe of HSUS Tax Status
Six Republican members of Congress have written to Inspector General Eric Thorson claiming that the level of lobbying activity conducted by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is incompatible with HSUS’s 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. Previous letters written to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman and Director of Exempt Organizations Lois Lerner have been unproductive. […]
What to Do When a Horse Goes Missing
Many of us know someone who has lost a horse to theft. And whenever it happens we can’t help imagining how we would feel if it happened to one of our own. It’s a sickening prospect, and it strongly suggests we take precautions not only to prevent such an experience but to increase the likelihood of a happy outcome should it occur.
In the event a horse disappears, here’s what every owner should have on hand: bill of sale or cancelled check; registration papers with brands, marks, and scar locations; a veterinary certificate with recent Coggins test and vaccinations; and four good photos (front, rear, and both sides) showing brands, marks, and scars. These photos should be updated periodically.
Brazos Valley Meadow Takes Top Honors at Central States Hound Show
Brazos Valley Meadow, shown by Sandy Dixon, MFH and huntsman, is Grand Champion. Standing (l-r): Dr. Robert Smith, ex-MFH, Ringmaster; Bobby Dixon; John (Jake) Carle, ex-MFH, Judge; Terry Olsen, MFHIt was Mom’s day out on Mother’s Day weekend for Brazos Valley Meadow 2006. She was judged Best Hound of Show at the Central States Hound Show on May 7, 2011. Among the other division champions over which she prevailed was her son, Brazos Valley Mystic 2010, who just a month earlier had been judged Grand Champion at the Southwest Hound Show.
Sandy Beall Is New Joint-MFH at Tennessee Valley
The Masters and Hunt Committee of the Tennessee Valley Hunt (TN) have announced the appointment of Samuel “Sandy” Beall as Joint-Master of Foxhounds. Beall is founder and CEO of Ruby Tuesday, and his wife Kreis is founder of Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. A Relais and Cheateau Resort, Blackberry Farm hosts hunting at the Three […]
Dr. Richard Patton Is New MFH at Caza Ladron
The Caza Ladron Hunt (NM) has announced the appointment of Richard S. Patton, Ph.D. as Joint-Master of Foxhounds. Dr. Patton is the former president of the hunt. According to hunt president Nancy Ambrosiano, Dr. Patton has been a staunch supporter of the hunt, people, hounds, and territory over the years. Patton is an animal nutritionist. […]
Brazos Valley Mystic Is Grand Champion at Southwest Hound Show
(l-r) Dennis Foster, judge; Sandy Dixon, MFH; Nancy Jones, presenting trophy / Bryan Hall photoThe Master’s Cup for the grand championship of the Southwest Hound Show was awarded to Brazos Valley Mystic 2010. Mystic is a Brazos Valley-bred American dog hound with strong Potomac bloodlines on the dam’s side. Mystic’s maternal grandfather was the knockout-handsome Potomac Jefferson, Grand Champion of the Virginia Foxhound Show in 2007.
“Mystic was a bit exuberant when he entered,” said Sandy Dixon, MFH and huntsman at the Brazos Valley Hunt (TX). “He had a tendency to run too fast without taking the time to search for scent. However, by the end of his first season [2011], he had learned what a coyote was and how to slow down until he had the line before turning on the speed.
Why This Foxhunter Cares About Horseracing
Karen L. Myers photo
Over the past couple of months we have run a few News items about the Triple Crown season, kicked off just last Saturday by the Kentucky Derby. We wrote about Uncle Mo, who many in the Thoroughbred industry hoped would be a legitimate Triple Crown contender and breathe new life into the industry. We wrote about Rosie Napravnik who with nearly one thousand wins to her credit hoped to be the first woman to win the Kentucky Derby. True, this isn’t foxhunting, and the question arises whether or not I should be publishing these stories in Foxhunting Life. Why do I?
My answer is because that’s where our great horses come from. The Thoroughbred is the elite athlete of the equine world, and many of our field hunters are off-the-track Thoroughbreds, Thoroughbred crosses, or have Thoroughbred bloodlines in their foundation stock.
If when you take to the field you care at all about grace, generosity, and/or athleticism, you have to thank those bloodlines and those beautiful dreamers—the breeders, trainers, owners, and jocks—who commit their lives, their fortunes, and all their energies to the mostly unforgiving quest of producing a better racehorse. And except for one happy outcome last Saturday, weren’t the hopes of many of those beautiful dreamers cruelly dashed?
Will Rosie Napravnik Make History at the Kentucky Derby?
Rosie Napravnik is a goal-oriented girl. After her first pony race at the age of seven, she decided she wanted to be a jockey. Done. Check. At the age of sixteen, she decided she wanted to be the first girl to win the Triple Crown. Pending. Now at the age of twenty-three, her first opportunity […]
Foxhunting and Polo: A Sporting Crossover in Aiken
The Tallyho Cup (foxhunters and polo mallets) and Polo Saturday (polo players and hounds) debuted in Aiken, South Carolina this season, reaffirming the traditional Aiken bond between foxhunting and polo. The two sports have been entwined in Aiken since the early 1900s, when all the great polo names of the day—Hitchcock, Knox, Bostwick, Corey, and others—played polo in Aiken and rode to hounds as well.
Polo Saturday
In keeping with this historic tradition, Linda Knox McLean, MFH sent out an open invitation to all of Aiken’s polo players to cap with the Aiken Hounds on their polo ponies while wearing their polo gear. Dubbed Polo Saturday, the day was the brainchild of Theresa King, who hunts with the Aiken Hounds and plays polo on her foxhunter.
Private Attack and Blythe Miller-Davies Formidable in Maryland
Blythe Miller-Davies on Private Attack is congratulated by husband Joe Davies after winning the Maryland Hunt Cup. Michael Wharton leads the winner.First the Grand National on April 23, then the Maryland Hunt Cup on April 30. Two winning performances for Blythe Miller-Davies and Private Attack. Yet the circumstances made it all the more dramatic.
Miller-Davies—former champion jump jock, mother, and trainer—had retired from riding races more than eight years ago. Mark Beecher was to ride Sportsmans Hall’s Private Attack in the Grand National for trainer Alicia Murphy, but was having visa problems in Ireland. Murphy turned to Miller-Davies, and the pair won by a neck.
Meanwhile, Miller-Davies had been training her husband’s horse Fort Henry which she had intended to ride in the Maryland Hunt Cup one week later. The Grand National win changed those plans, and husband Joe Davies, a former three-time winner of the Maryland Hunt Cup, graciously scratched his horse so his wife could ride Private Attack in that race.