with Horse and Hound

Photo by Douglas Lees

mhc13.profmaxwell.lees

Professor Maxwell Wins Maryland Hunt Cup

mhc13.profmaxwell.leesLook, Ma, no stirrups! Mark Beecher flies four timber fences without stirrups on his way to victory aboard Professor Maxwell in the 117th running of the Maryland Hunt Cup.

In a gutsy performance, Mark Beecher rode Mrs. George Ohrstrom’s Professor Maxwell to victory in the Maryland Hunt Cup despite a recently broken collarbone and a lost stirrup.

The collarbone was broken only two weeks earlier at the My Lady’s Manor races. Fortunately, the horse is a careful jumper and, according to Beecher, requires only that the rider sit quietly and do nothing. Beecher did just that without stirrups over four of the imposing solid timber fences.

Trainer Richard Valentine called Beecher’s ride “remarkable.”

Read More
odhptp13.1

Smithwick Saddles Four Winners at Old Dominion

odhptp13.1Fogcutter gives Woods Winants his first of three winning rides and trainer Eva Smithwick her first of four wins on the card in the Amateur/Novice Rider Hurdle Race. / Douglas Lees photoEva Smithwick-trained horses won four of the eight races on the card at the Old Dominion Hunt Point-to-Point held on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at Ben Venue Farm. Woods Winants drove home three of her winners: Fogcutter in the Amateur/Novice Rider Hurdle, Coturnix in the Maiden Hurdle, and Rutledge Classic in the Foxhunter Timber Race.

Smithwick’s other win came with Dr. Alex, owned and ridden by Teddy Zimmerman, in the Amateur Highweight Timber Race. This was the second win for Zimmerman and Dr. Alex in this year’s series, their previous victory coming at the Piedmont Point-to-Point.

Read More
och13.1

Strong Showing for Trainer Neil Morris at Orange County

och13.1Old Timer gives jockey Jacob Roberts and trainer Neil Morris their first wins of the day in the Novice Timber Race.

Trainer Neil Morris made a bold statement on his home turf at the Orange County Hounds Point-to-Point Races on Sunday, March 31, 2013 by saddling four winners on the card. The day’s racing was run at Locust Hill Farm in Middleburg, Virginia.

Morris-trained horses won three races for Kinross Farm, home to his training stables: Old Timer ridden by Jacob Roberts in the Novice Timber, Sand Box Rules (Chris Read) in the Open Timber, and King Ting (Jacob Roberts) in the Maiden Hurdle.

Read More
pfhptp13.amateur highweight

A Brilliant Day at the Piedmont Races

pfhptp13.amateur highweightAmateur Highweight Timber (l-r): Dr. Alex (Teddy Zimmerman) will beat Justpourit (George Hundt) after a hard-fought duel in the stretch.

The Piedmont Fox Hounds 2013 Point-to-Point Races went off under brilliant skies on Saturday, March 23, 2013 with some exciting racing over the big, rolling timber course that includes stone walls, drop fences, and reverses of direction. Here are a few highlights, with complete results just a click away.

Read More

Orange County Hounds After Their Fox

Click the photo above to view the whole sequence in the Photo Gallery.
Read More
2011_va_fld_hntr_ch

Fairfax Hunt Duo Wins Virginia Field Hunter Championship

2011_va_fld_hntr_chKaryn Wilson and Chase from the Fairfax Hunt won the 2011 Virginia Field Hunter Championship. Last year's winner Marilyn Jarvis, representing the Piedmont Fox Hounds, presents the trophy. Piedmont hosted the event at Salem Farm.

Read More
working_hound

The Working Foxhound

working_hound

There are strip horses, upon whose pristine limbs no blemish may appear lest the judge be offended. Then there are the field hunters who carry their lumps and bumps like badges of honor.

There are show dogs, most of whom exhibit beautiful form but little function. Then there are the working hounds who slog through the bogs and rip their ears crashing through the briers.

The Casanova Hunt (VA) had their Opening Meet on Saturday, October 22. The pack started out clean and beautifully groomed for the photo ops during the Blessing, but after huntsman Tommy Lee Jones put them into covert they got down to business. We thought Douglas Lees’s portrait of this Casanova hound displayed the indomitable spirit and courage of that canine warrior—the Working Foxhound.

Read More