Munnings Portrait Expected to Fetch a Half-Million
Portrait of Harry La Montagne on a Grey, by Sir Alfred James Munnings
A 1920s work by famed equestrian artist Sir Alfred Munnings is estimated to fetch between $300,000 and $500,000 when it goes under the hammer at Christie’s in New York later this month. Titled, Portrait of Harry La Montagne on a Grey, the painting will be auctioned on October 26 during Christie’s sale of 19th Century European Art.
Munnings stayed with Harry and Beatrice La Montagne at their house, the Villa Regina in Pau, southern France, during the autumn of 1923 to paint Mrs. La Montagne’s portrait on horseback. This followed a recommendation to Munnings from Baron Robert Rothschild who described her as “a good-looking, smart, American woman. The well-turned-out lady was supplied by her devoted husband with superb horses.” (Sir A.J. Munnings, The Second Burst, Bungay, 1951, p. 100).
Sewickley Hunt Will Raise Funds for Local Park
Horse Show at Hartwood, 1932 Successful and long-lasting hunting establishments are those which not only provide benefits to their subscribers, but also contribute to and become an integral part of their communities. Like the Sewickley Hunt (PA), which will stage a demonstration fox hunt on October 9 to help raise funds for the Hartwood Acres […]
Qualifying Meets for Junior Field Hunter Championships Are In Full Swing
Huntsman Graham Buston brings the Blue Ridge hounds to the first draw, where a fox was quickly unkenneled for a field of juniors participating in one of 31 qualifying meets for the 2016 Junior North American Field Hunter Championships. / Michelle Arnold photo
Every junior who qualifies by competing at any one of thirty-one Qualifying Meets offered across fourteen states and provinces will be eligible to compete in the Junior North American Field Hunter Championship Finals this year. The meets are in full swing.
The Blue Ridge Hunt hosted a qualifying meet on Saturday, September 24, 2016 at the McIntosh farm situated just above the Shenandoah River under western brow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Anne McIntosh, MFH led the field of hopefuls, judges, and hunt members, the latter riding behind the junior competitors for a change.
Hunting was excellent, with foxes getting away right at the start and giving the judges plenty of opportunities to watch and judge the young riders and their mounts in action. And everyone viewed the quarry at least once!
Beth Carlson’s Fox Paintings
Look no further than Foxhunting Life’s Bookstore for a collection of Beth Carlson’s fox paintings in coffee-table book format. Each full-page painting—many in private collections and reproduced in full color on substantial, coated paper stock—is accompanied by a short essay by the artist explaining its history.
Reviewing Fox Tales for us last February, Martha Woodham wrote, “It’s not often that art lovers get to spend time with an artist to learn about the background of a painting, to discover insights into the thinking behind the work. But a lovely new book by Beth Carlson is like a walk through a gallery of her paintings with the Maine artist as your guide.”
Horses Can Learn to Read and Communicate
A Norwegian study recently proved that horses can quickly learn to read simple symbols and use them to communicate whether or not they wish to wear a blanket. The study was conducted with twenty-two riding horses of various breeds over a period of time during which weather temperatures varied from pleasant, to cold, to cold […]
New Conservative Government May Bring Vote on Hunting Act
UK Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom has consistently pledged to bring a free vote in Commons to overturn the hunting ban. It was part of her election plank as she sought to become Prime Minister in last summer’s election. Although she lost her election bid to current Prime Minister Theresa May, because Leadsom is head of […]
Peter Walsh—Everything Changed; Nothing Changed
Peter Walsh (number 7) in the Swan Lakes Stakes, 1993 Virginia Gold Cup Races. Lonesome Glory (white blaze, Blythe Miller up) went on to win the race and capture his second Eclipse award that year. / Douglas Lees photo
In 2014, Peter Walsh, ex-steeplechase jock, served as Field Master and hunted with both the Piedmont Fox Hounds and the Orange County Hounds, neighboring packs in Virginia. He was hunting five days a week and working as Farm Manager for Milton Sender, a field member of both packs. In the off-season, he played golf avidly.
Today, Peter Walsh is still hunting with both packs, still managing the farm, and still playing golf avidly. It would almost seem as if nothing had changed…except that between then and now, Peter lost his right arm.
Limestone Creek Holds Annual Parade
Limestone Creek Hunt (NY) celebrated the start of their official season with an annual Parade of Hounds. Professional huntsman Lori Gronau and staff took hounds and field from the village green, through the town, to the site of the meet. This year, the hunt invited the Beaver Meadow Foxhounds (ON) and the Green Mountain Hounds […]
Beth Blackwell Is New Huntsman at Tryon
Tryon Hounds recently announced the hiring of Beth Blackwell as their new professional huntsman. Blackwell moves to North Carolina over these first few days of September to take over the management and hunting of Tryon’s pack of American foxhounds. She will also hunt a foot pack of Basset hounds. Blackwell has been a professional staff […]
Venerable Quorn Embraces Latest Technology
Quorn huntsman Peter Collins rides a motorbike in the summer and wouldn’t dream of getting on without a proper safety helmet. He decided it was time to make a stand for mounted hunt staff, so he worked with Charles Owen to design the QH Hunter. The cap is available directly from the Quorn at £250.
Would you hunt in a safety helmet if it more nearly resembled the classic and traditional hunt cap? If so, maybe the new QH Hunter model will satisfy you. It satisfies Quorn huntsman Peter Collins, one of England’s premier huntsmen. And it satisfies the Quorn Hunt, founded in 1698 and renowned for their uncompromising standard of sport, style, and turnout.
Years of technological development have been invested in safety helmets, and the benefits are well-proven. Yet, many professional huntsmen (and Masters as well) continue to shy away from replacing their traditional headwear. It’s understandable. Most manufacturers have given the foxhunting community—a small segment of their market—short shrift in choices of traditional-appearing hunt helmets. Charles Owen is one helmet manufacturer, however, that has worked with the Quorn at making safety headwear for foxhunters that looks as much as possible like the classic hunt cap.*