Phantasmagorial New Zealand
Central Otago Hunt, South Island, New Zealand
First of two installments by national award-winning journalist and author Karin Winegar.
Yes, they jump wire.
Wire and mostly wire fences, three to four feet high, five or six taut strands with a top strand, often barbed, is what contains New Zealand’s thirty million sheep, defines its vast stations, and renders rides thrilling for outsiders.
No one—at least not the Kiwis—thinks anything of it.
Kiwi horses, harrier hounds, and riders just barrel cheerfully along in a landscape that resembles (depending on the hunt country and the season) Provence, Africa, Montana, Ireland, California, or Norway. And given the size of New Zealand’s population—only 4.4 million—there are lots of horses, hounds, and riders.
Layered Spinach Salad
This salad is espeically nice becuase it needs to be made ahead. It looks lovely in a glass trifle bowl, and tastes great.
A Thanksgiving Tradition at Blue Ridge
Seven Years Later: Has Britain’s Hunting Act Failed?
That’s the view of Barney White-Spunner, Executive Chairman of the Countryside Alliance. “Hunting remains in good heart…and support is strong,” he wrote in the Alliance’s latest newsletter. After seven years under the law, White-Spunner claims that eighty-six percent of all hunts in England have the same number or more members and most feel higher or […]
For the Joy of It!
Jim Graham photoPhotographer Jim Graham captured an exuberant Bruce Miller—MFH and Field Master of Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds—in a moment that conveys by expression and posture the pure joy of galloping cross country. From Miller’s dainty grip on his stick to the loop in his reins, this is a picture of a confident rider on […]
Virginia Field Hunter Championships
Barbara Batterton, riding Linda Armbrust’s Nicki-Z, is 2012 Virginia Field Hunter Champion / Liz Callar photoBarbara Batterton, riding Nicki-Z for the Blue Ridge Hunt, won the Virginia Field Hunter Championships on Sunday, November 11, 2012. Nicki is owned by Blue Ridge MFH Linda Armbrust, who often leads the field on him. An Argentina-bred Dutch Warmblood, Nicki did some showjumping in that country before finding his home in Virginia’s hunt country.
Kathleen O’Keefe, riding for the Casanova Hunt, was Reserve Champion. Best Turned Out was won by Helen Brettell of Middleburg Hunt.
The Virginia Field Hunter Championships were hosted this year by the Fairfax Hunt at Winter Farm in Middleburg, as a result of Fairfax member Karyn Wilson’s win last year.
New Age Hunting Journal
Throughout the history of foxhunting, many Masters, huntsmen, and even field members have kept hunting journals. These accounts generally include the date, meeting place, names of hunting staff, weather and scenting conditions, and other factual details. Then, depending on the writer’s bent and talent, there may be textual descriptions of runs, actions of specific hounds, and even artistic renditions of special moments. Such journals have provided us with valuable historic information as well as stirring tales of the great hunts of yesteryear.
It came home to me only recently that most of us today carry in our pocket a resource that revolutionizes the traditional hunting journal: the smart phone.
The Golden Age of Hunting?
The Finish by Henry Alken
Foxhunters often evoke the nineteenth century as the belle-époque of English foxhunting. This may have to do with the extensive documentation provided by the famous artists and writers of the time. The efforts of Nimrod, Alken, and friends immortalized an age of rollicking runs across open countryside, dashing horsemen and women, and fine stout foxes flying across hill and dale.
Whilst The Golden Age as it is known has long since provided a benchmark of foxhunting excellence and excitement, we note that today’s foxhunters are blessed with some decided advantages.
Hunting and Fishing in ID, KY, NE, and WY Now Protected by Constitutional Amendment
Voters in Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Wyoming overwhelmingly passed amendments to their state constitutions on election day protecting their rights to hunt and fish. The National Rifle Association has been pushing this amendment state by state as a preemptive strike against attacks on hunting by animal rights activism. Thirteen states had already passed such constitutional […]
Wise Dan Emerges Favorite for Horse of the Year
Wise Dan has emerged as a favorite contender for Horse of the Year honors after setting a new record for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita last Saturday. The gelding beat a strong field, including the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom whom he bested by one-and-a-half lengths. Trained by Charlie Lopresti, Wise Dan […]