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Is the wearing of traditional and proper hunting attire an outdated, outmoded, and irrelevant concept today? If sadly that appears sometimes to be the case, consider this.

Just about every major article of apparel worn by men today throughout the entire western world traces its origin back to the hunting fields of England.

Jake ChalfinYour vote in the HRTV Film Festival at Santa Anita could steer “some serious prize money” to the Jake Chalfin Beneficiary Trust. Jake is a brave young man with a healthy attitude, and I hope you’ll watch his film and vote.

Foxhunting Life first reported on Jake in Norm Fine’s Blog of September 18, 2010 and in a follow-up article a year later. What follows is Jake’s latest adventure, in his own words:

I recently met a wonderful woman, Kristy Cecil, who was in from California visiting her folks who are my neighbors. This chance meeting opened a new chapter in my life. Kristy and I instantly found a connection and the next thing I knew we were making a film.

Norm Fine's Blog

Karen L. Myers photoThe State of Kentucky values the foxhound exceedingly. Indeed, this high regard was emphatically established in 1948 case law by the old Kentucky Court of Appeals which, at the time, was the highest court in the state.

Foxhounds were hunting across Tennessee Valley Authority property one day in 1946 when, during a chase, one hound fell into an open well and drowned. An individual named Stratton, presumably the owner of the hound, sued the TVA for damages (Tennessee Valley Authority v. Stratton, 306 Ky. 753, 209 S.W.2d 318 (1948)).

In recognizing that Stratton suffered damages, the court said most poetically, “In the great fraternity of fox hunters, a man’s hound is a pearl of considerable price.”

The court went on to write an effusive tribute to the joys of foxhunting.

With this final installment of The Mardale Hunt, we bring Ron Black’s touching vignettes of the Mardale Hunt to a close. In the course of offering these downloads, a new idea presented itself. But before we get to that, let’s have a final look at Mardale.

The Mardale Hunt

Every hunting culture is unique to its time and place. I was won over by the people of Mardale—hard-working sheep farmers—who lived in a picturesque valley and hunted the fox in the purest way.

As most of our readers know, horses may no longer be slaughtered in the United States because there are no longer any slaughter houses in operation here. The last horse slaughter facilities closed when, in 2005, Congress curtailed funding to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the inspection of horses in transit to slaughter. The lack of inspection resulted, as it was intended to do, in a defacto ban on horse slaughter.

Some applauded Congress’s action. Certainly the mainstream animal rights activists who lobbied Congress to take that action counted it as a victory. Many, many horse lovers also counted that action as a victory for the welfare of horses. And in a perfect world it well might have been so.

Karen L. Myers photoIn my last blog, I expressed the wish that hunting organizations would become more visibly proactive about getting our own house in order. In our reluctance to condemn those irresponsible hunters who ignore game laws, who poach, who hunt private property without permission, and who help give all hunters a bad name, we often relinquish the high ground to the HSUS, an organization that would ban all hunting in a moment if they could.

In the wake of a disgusting poaching incident in which a mountain lion was killed and brutally mutilated, the California Department of Fish and Game organized the Cal-TIP program which offers financial rewards to people who turn in poachers or polluters. Cal-TIP funded the program with $2,500.

Some California hunters are upset by the fact that Cal-TIP accepted a matching funding donation from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).  (See story.) I have a different take on this story. I would ask, why didn’t we hunters beat HSUS to the punch?

According to a recent national poll, seventy-one percent of Americans believe that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an umbrella organization of their local pet shelters. This, according to an article by Rick Berman of the Center for Consumer Freedom published in MyCentralJersey.com, a Gannett Company publication.

HSUS is not, in fact, associated with your local humane shelter. But certainly due in part to this misunderstanding, HSUS raised $131 million last year. I’m not about to debate here the merits or shortcomings of HSUS. That has been done, some would say, ad nauseum. But I do fault HSUS for not setting the record straight.

Going home. Time to start composing a hunt report!  /  Karen L. Myers photoWho had a good day with hounds yesterday? Foxhunters like to know. What did your hounds do that made you proud? Tell us about it.

Fred Berry, MFH, Sedgefield Hunt (NC) came up with an idea to make it easier for hunts to submit hunt reports for publication. Berry suggests that we publish a simple form—Hunt Report: Short Form—that huntsmen or Masters can fill out directly on their screen. Foxhunting Life will publish these reports which will be accessible to all, subscribers and nonsubscribers alike.

Okay, I’ll admit that I’m a Neanderthal when it comes to social media. Why does Foxhunting Life need a Facebook page, I wondered. Those in the know assured me it would be useful. They were right. Some of you have posted some terrific material on Foxhunting Life’s Facebook page. Hugh Brown from the Glenmore Hunt (VA) posted a cubhunting photo he took. It’s one of the most scenic hunting photos I’ve seen in a long time; it makes you hum. Photographer Karen Myers posted a video from her husband’s website of a foal’s first shower bath that will bring a smile to your face no matter what your day was like. I’m beginning to understand that these are the kinds of short takes that are perfect to distribute via Facebook. FHL invites you to do the same for your fellow foxhunters. Post photos, videos—anything that you know another foxhunter will appreciate. We are an international fraternity, after all. To receive our posts, or to be able to post your own photos and videos on our Facebook page, you must first click on the “Like” button just above. (Or click on the “Like” button on Foxhunting Life’s Facebook page.) Once that’s done, you will be able to post your material on the FHL Facebook page, and you will receive all posts to our Facebook page directly on your personal Facebook News Feed. What’s hard to Like? Posted September 12, 2011