Blue Ridge, Camden, Old Dominion Make Staff Changes
Chad Wilkes moves from Camden to Blue Ridge / Karen Myers photo By common agreement among hunts and professional hunt staff, April 30/May 1 is the long-accepted transition date for hunt staff changes. In a round robin of moves, the Blue Ridge Hunt (VA), Camden Hunt (SC), and Old Dominion Hounds (VA) all connected and […]
Steve Currey Is New Kennel Huntsman at Arapahoe
The Potomac Hunt (MD) hosted a farewell reception April 21, 2011 for professional whipper-in Steve Currey and his wife Kelley. Currey, who has whipped-in to Potomac huntsman Larry Pitts for ten years, takes up his new position as kennel huntsman and first whipper-in at the Arapahoe Hunt (CO). Potomac Joint-Masters Skip and Vicki Crawford give […]
Foxhunting Amateur Rider Wins Irish Grand National
The value of the foxhunter’s riding experience was well demonstrated on April 6 when Ward Union Staghounds hunt follower and amateur rider Nina Carberry won the 250,000 Euro ($350,000) 3 miles 5 furlong Irish Grand National on a horse named Organisedconfusion at Fairyhouse Racecourse in County Meath. She prevailed against top National Hunt jockeys, including Ruby Walsh and recently crowned sixteen-times British Champion Jockey A.P. McCoy.
Lakeland Hunting Memories
Do you know what “Forester’s Corn” is? (I’d be exceedingly impressed if you did!)
In the Lake District of northern England, during the eighteenth century, a custom by that name was practiced in which the bailiff kept dogs for the hunting and destroying of foxes and other vermin. The bailiff in the neighborhood of Patterdale received forty quarts of oats from every tenant for providing this service.
This little bit of hunting history was but one small gem gleaned from a story in a wonderful website we just discovered—Lakeland Hunting Memories—which I particularly commend to you. Whenever we find a worthy site we add it to our “Links We Like” directory (see left-hand column on the Home Page). This site, all about hunting in the Lake District of northern England, is beautifully written and sensitively presented by Ron Black in Cumbria, UK.
Killinick Harriers Point-to-Point Attracts American Visitors
The Killinick Harriers Point-to-Point Races in County Wexford, Ireland are probably the last point-to-point bank races still run in Ireland. Traditionally, point-to-points featured members’ and farmers’ races that were run over natural fences such as the double bank fence in the photograph. Now most Irish point-to-points are run over standard chase fences. Martha C. Wadsworth, Ann […]
Reader Survey – Point-to-Points
All sanctioned steeplechase meets are covered by the Steeplechase Times (and other publications), and interested race followers are well-advised to seek their excellent coverage. Unsanctioned hunt point-to-points, however, are not covered by S-T. Since FHL views steeplechasing as yet another dimension of the foxhunting year, we have brought you weekly reports of many of the hunt meets throughout the spring season, featuring the award-winning photography of Douglas Lees. Please help us publish what you like by taking this quick survey.
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The Keen Foxhunter’s Miscellany
The Keen Foxhunter’s Miscellany, Peter Holt, Quiller Publishing, 2010, 224 pages, illustrated, available on AmazonHere’s a book about foxhunting by a man who never hunted. Peter Holt’s wife, however, is a Master of Foxhounds, so the poor fellow has probably heard more about hunting than he ever wanted to know.
The book is a quirky collection of literary quotes, short reports, historical oddities, profiles of hunting eccentrics—no story longer than two pages.
Notwithstanding Holt’s lack of hunting experience, this is a very funny book. Admittedly, my sense of humor is sometimes weird, so here are a couple of samples. You decide.
Federal Judge Protects Hunting on Public Lands
Sportsmen won a major courtroom battle when Federal Judge James S. Gwin in Columbus, Ohio denied a lawsuit seeking to close hunting on fifty refuges within the National Wildlife Refuge System. The lawsuit was filed in 2003 by the Fund for Animals, which later merged with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). The […]
Stubbs Painting Could Fetch $33 Million at Auction
You have until July 5 to save up if you want to bid on Christie’s offering of a George Stubbs portrait of Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath with trainer, stable lad, and jockey. The large painting, which measures more than six feet by three feet, is described by Christie’s senior director John Stainton as “one of […]
Uzi Mows ’em Down at Maury River Hunter Trials
Despite threatening weather, the Second Annual Maury River Hunter Trials were held April 2 and enjoyed by more than seventy competitors, numerous tail-gaters, sponsors, spectators, volunteers, and judges on the rolling cross country fields of the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Virginia.
Cheryl Microutsicos and her handsome bay, WoW! Graphic Design’s Up & Coming (a.k.a. Uzi), accumulated the most points in the First Flight Open division to win the Melvin Poe Cup, sponsored by Brooks Cushman of Winbrooke Farm and awarded by the legendary Melvin himself, in attendance with his wife Peggy. Here, Cheryl is congratulated by Melvin and by Brian Ross, co-head of the Virginia Horse Trials.