Oakleigh B. Thorne (1932–2020)
Oakleigh B. Thorne, sportsman, philanthropist, and businessman, known for his quick wit and irreverent personality, died on October 7, 2020 at his home in Millbrook, New York. He was 88 years old.
“Oakleigh came from the family that, more than any other, was instrumental in establishing the Millbrook Hunt as we know it today,” said Farnham F. Collins, ex-MFH.
Sporting Art Auction 2020 at Keeneland
Lot 9, Joseph Maiden (British, 1813 – 1843), WARE HORSE, Oil on board, 10-1/2″ x 12″, Signed, Inscribed en verso, $4,000 – 6,000
Sunday, November 22, 2020 will mark the eighth annual Sporting Art Auction at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion—a cooperative venture between the world’s largest Thoroughbred auction house and its Lexington, Kentucky neighbor, Cross Gate Gallery, a leading source of the world’s finest sporting art.
Bids may be made online or by phone for works by highly regarded artists at estimated prices as low as $1,000—a charcoal sketch by Munnings, for example. The hammer will fall on many lovely hunting paintings in the $3,000 to $10,000 range. At the more rarified altitudes, an Andrew Wyeth painting might bring six figures, and several of LeRoy Neiman’s works are offered, one of which will surely fetch six figures. Be sure to see them when the online catalog becomes available.
Cheshire Huntsman Is a Good Neighbor
Huntsman Ivan Dowling is an asset to his community. Public goodwill, we believe, is the key to the future of foxhunting.
Cheshire huntsman Ivan Dowling, hounds, and field on their way to the next draw / Jim Graham photo
Foxhunting Life has argued in past articles that the future of foxhunting depends simply on telling the truth about our sport and being good neighbors in our communities. Take Irish-born Ivan Dowling for example.
Bronze Age Humans Domesticated Foxes, Scientists Say
Fox painting by Beth Carlson
The Iberian Peninsula comprises that territory at the southwest corner of Europe, consisting mostly of Spain and Portugal, a sliver of France, and at its southernmost tip, the British territory of Gibraltar. In the northeast of that huge peninsula, between the third and second millennium BC, a widespread funeral practice of burying animals with humans was discovered. At two excavation sites of Early to Middle Bronze Age tombs, four foxes and a large number of dogs were found together with their dead humans in large burial silos.
A Bluebird Day for Racing at Blue Ridge
Maiden Hurdle, Div 1: (l-r) Noble Weed (Sean McDermott up), 3rd; All Out Of Aces (Graham Watters up), 1st / Douglas Lees photo
Saturday, September 19, 2020 was a bluebird day indeed for horses, horsemen, and spectators to be racing, riding, and cheering at Blue Ridge Hunt’s postponed spring point-to-point. Except the latter—the spectators— were sadly absent.
The ground was hard, but the ancient thatch of grass on the Woodley racecourse provides a thick natural cushion for horses. Nine races were run: hurdles, flat, then timber. Of the nine races, trainer Neil Morris entries won three—Maiden Hurdle, Open Hurdle, and Novice Rider Flat.
Hunting with Daniel O’Connell, The Liberator
Portrait of Daniel O’Connell and one of his Kerry Beagles / Noel Mullins photo
Researching the history of one’s sport can be very rewarding, as little did I know during my history classes in school that the Irish politician Daniel O’Connell (1775-1847), known as The Liberator, was a hunting man. Maybe I would have paid more attention had I known!
I explored Daniel O’Connell’s hunting life further when I was given a seventy-year-old unfinished manuscript on the Kerry Beagle written by the great Irish writer, poet, broadcaster, and hunting correspondent, Stanislaus Lynch (1907–1983). I since edited Lynch’s manuscript and published his book in 2017 titled, In Search of the Kerry Beagle.
Entries are Well-Filled at Old Dominion Point-to-Point
Maiden Hurdle, Division 1: Last fence (l-r) He’ll Do (Parker Hendriks up), 2nd; You’re No Better (Archie Macauley up), 1st. / Douglas Lees photo
With the 2020 events calendar at sixes and sevens for sporting events worldwide, Old Dominion Hounds’ annual Point-to-Point Races at Ben Venue came off on September 12th in the fall of the year rather than in the spring. The good news that some point-to-points are coming off at all is testament to the fact that we are trying to learn how to co-exist with a new reality. Not ideally, to be sure, but we are testing boundaries and, hopefully, learning what works and not what doesn’t.
The fact that most of the ten races on the day’s card were well-filled with entries demonstrates a heartfelt desire for a return to normalcy, but the many horses pulled up during the course of so many of the jump races also demonstrates the training difficulties encountered this year.
MFHA Appoints Andrew Barclay
MFHA Director of Hunting Andrew Barclay
In a September 2, 2020 letter to members of the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA), president Tony Leahy made the following announcement.
“After an extensive search process, it is my pleasure to announce that Andrew Barclay has been appointed as the Director of Hunting.
“Andrew’s experience and knowledge of foxhunting combined with his work with the MFHA to further its mission has proven that he meets the needs of our members. Over the past 14 years he successfully led the Professional Development Program as well as supporting a variety of MFHA initiatives.
Liam Clancy: Foxhunter, Artist
“Elegance.” Maureen Conroy Britell out with the Piedmont Fox Hounds (VA). Acrylic paint on textured acrylic paper.
Irish artist Liam Clancy made a fast tour of the Virginia and Maryland hunting countries during the first week of March 2020—just before the world stopped in its tracks as the result of COVID. He got in some hunting, both mounted and on foot, and he gathered material for his work—painting commissions.
Liam works mostly in acrylic paint, which he likes for its versatility. “I can dash off something that looks like a watercolor, or build up a painting in layers as you would with oils,” he explains.
Casting Hounds at a Loss
Norman Fine examines what happens when hounds find a loss on the line.