Foxhunting Issue Erupts Again in Bucks County, PA
Jim and Judy Cox, a Warwick, Pennsylvania couple who live in the vicinity of Dark Hollow Park, are once again campaigning to ban foxhunting in the park. Four years ago the couple sued the Huntingdon Valley Hunt and huntsman Richard Harris, MFH, claiming that hounds knocked Judy Cox down while walking her dog and bit […]
Any Reasonable Horse
This is the first story (and the shortest) of thirty-two short stories from Foxhunting Adventures: Chasing the Story by Norman Fine, The Derrydale Press.
Master and huntsman Thady Ryan, whipper-in Tommy O’Dwyer, and the Scarteen hounds at Knocktoran Bog (1982) from a print of the oil painting by Peter Curling
When the nights turn crisp and the dinner talk turns to tales of foxhunting, I like to share a bit of philosophy imparted to me by that special animal—part horse, part cat, and all heart—the Irish hunter. That remarkable creature understands something of the flavor of life. He never allows natural caution, reticence, or conservatism to limit his perception of what’s possible.
The Scarteen hounds were hunting a most unusual piece of country in Kilcommon, County Limerick this day. A wild and forbidding landscape, far from the well-traveled roads, high into the hills, it was unknown country even to Master Thady Ryan. To complete the scene, a dense fog obliterated every feature of the landscape.
Sergeant Reckless: A Beloved Fellow Marine
New Memorial to Marine Staff Sergeant Reckless is dedicated in ceremonies at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California, on October 26, 2016.
Of the many images still stuck in Harold Wadley’s head from his combat tour in the Korean War, there’s one scene he’ll never forget: the silhouette of a 13.1-hand pack horse, Corporal Reckless, climbing the steep ridge with recoilless rifle ammunition strapped to her back for the Marines as incoming fire and return fire exploded around her. Then he’d see her picking her way back down, alone, carrying wounded marines. One day, during the Battle of Outpost Vegas, she made fifty-one trips, mostly alone, covering thirty-five miles.
Reckless was separated from her youthful owner during the Korean War and became one of the Marine Corps’ greatest heroes. In 1997, when Life Magazine published a special Collectors Edition titled “Celebrating Our Heroes,” the story of Reckless was included alongside the stories of other heroes such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and Mother Teresa.
Scottish Police Say Foxhunting Law Is Unworkable
Foxhunting was banned in Scotland in 2002 by enactment of the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act. Since that date, there have been no successful foxhunting prosecutions there. According to Police Scotland, while “exceptions to the offence to ‘deliberately hunt a wild animal with a dog’ are multiple and provide opportunities for exploitation by those […]
Fourth Annual Sporting Art Auction at Keeneland
Michael Lyne (British 1912-1989), DRAWN BLANK, Watercolor, gouache, 17 x 23-3/4, $7,000 to $10,000
For American art lovers, the upcoming Sporting Art Auction on Monday, November 21, 2016, 4:00 pm, at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion should be of special interest. Several lots by contemporary American and European artists feature North American hunts. Two in particular of the Old Dominion Hounds (VA) were painted by the late Peter Biegel (British) in the latter part of the twentieth century. Click to view the catalog.
This annual auction combines the expertise of two renowned institutions: Keeneland, the world’s largest Thoroughbred auction house and Gregg Ladd’s premier Gross Gate Gallery, both located in Lexington, Kentucky. The 2016 collection features 175 high-quality lots of paintings and sculpture from renowned masters as well as talented new artists. In the foxhunting genre alone, there are works by Peter Biegel, Julie Chapman, Richard DuPont, John Emms, Dede Gold, Harry Hall, Juli Kirk, J.B. Lalanne, Michael Lyne, LeRoy Nieman, Andre Pater, Belinda Sillars, Susie Whitcombe, and George Wright.
Meet David Twiggs: Soon To Be Executive Director of the MFHA
David and Ashley Twiggs
“It’s not often that one’s business and personal passions come together into a single opportunity,” says David Twiggs, the man selected to replace Dennis Foster as the new Executive Director of the MFHA. Dennis will retire on April 1, 2017.
David Twiggs’ business career has flowered from a passion for the successful integration of sporting activities into rural economies and, with an eye for conservation, developing them into widely recognized destinations and living space. He is currently Chief Operating Officer of the 26,000-acre Hot Springs Village in Arkansas, the largest planned sporting community in the country.
Thrilling Fox Hunt In a Distant County
The Pocahontas Times, Thursday, November 9, 1916: In some parts of West Virginia there is an effort to promote the hunting with hounds such as forms such a feature of country life in England. It consists of clothes, fine horses, and well bred hounds with a modicum of fox thrown in, or an anise seed […]
Farmington and Windy Hollow Hunts Top Winners at Penn National
Windy Hollow Hunt Tops Hunt Team Competition. / Al Cook photo Traditionally, Monday night is Hunt Night at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg. This year, twenty-two hunt teams from thirteen hunts showed up in formal hunting attire on October 17, 2016 to compete in the evening’s highlight event. As usual, the course featured […]
Fort Leavenworth Opening Meet Attracts Foxhunters From Coast to Coast
As a part of Opening Meet Weekend 2016, Riders in formal attire participate in a tribute at the Buffalo Soldiers monument. Front, l-r: Infantry Major Jeroen van Rantwijk of the Royal Netherlands Army, who is attending the Command and General Staff College, and Honorary huntsman Dr. Steven Thomas.
The Fort Leavenworth Hunt (KS) put together an Opening Meet Weekend attracting foxhunters from ten states and featuring the hunt’s unique place in our nation’s history. One hundred mounted riders and fifty car-toppers participated in a three-day program that included a historic ride on the 5,600-acre post, Opening Meet, Military Hunt Ball, wreath laying ceremony at the Buffalo Soldiers monument, and guided tours. The events were led by both military and civilian personnel, as appropriate.
Attending guests included current Masters from Bijou Springs Hunt (CO), Bridlespur Hunt (MO), North Hills Hunt (NE) as well as members from other hunts hailing from Alabama, California, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Built in 1827, Fort Leavenworth is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. The fort is also the oldest permanent settlement in Kansas. Historically, Fort Leavenworth has been known as the Army’s intellectual center. During the country’s westward expansion, Fort Leavenworth was a forward destination for thousands of soldiers, surveyors, immigrants, American Indians, preachers and settlers who passed through. The fort was the eastern terminus of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails, and the weekend events were aimed at exposing visitors to much of the post’s history.
Sherman P. Haight, Jr.: MFH, Statesman, Innovator
Sherman Haight is inducted into the Huntsman’s Room of the Museum of Hounds and Hunting in May, 2016. / Douglas Lees photo
With the passing of Sherman Haight, the foxhunting world has lost one of its longest serving gentleman-statesmen. He was ninety-three.
I use the term “gentleman” in its fullest sense, mourning both Sherman and an age that is passing with him and his few remaining contemporaries. I don’t believe I ever saw Sherman without a shirt and tie, even in his own home and even when visiting in the morning.
He was a true statesman for our sport, born of a dedicated foxhunting family. His father, his father-in-law, his brother, and he were all Masters. His mother, game for any adventure, followed hounds on both sides of the Atlantic. His record of accomplishments and innovations, many of which are taken for granted by today’s foxhunters, is lengthy.