Horses
BEES!
Nothing is more terrifying during early Autumn Hunting in the East than when a member of field yells “BEES!”. Yellow Jackets are a dangerous surprise that can cause complete chaos in late summer (Yellow Jackets are wasps, not bees, but when in the moment the fewer syllables required to scream a warning is best). There are some precautions everyone should take when riding out in the country in late summer to prevent injury from falling off a panicked horse, anaphylactic shock from a venom allergy (for both horse and rider), and permanently terrifying new riders to never ride out of the ring again.
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Southern California Flower Bloom
The third weekend of May this year, the Santa Fe West Hills Hounds, based in Southern California, hosted a trail ride to enjoy the flower blooms at the historic Garner Ranch in Idyllwild, outside of Palm Springs. This working cattle ranch has been a fixture for the hunt for a long time. It has also been a film location for several Hollywood B-Westerns and the television series “Bonanza”. Many of the opening credits scenes for “Bonanza” (1959 – 1973) and its episode “The Grand Swing” was filmed on the ranch.
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Outrider Seminar
In late February of 2024, the Foxfield Races Office in Charlottesville, Virginia held a seminar for the outriders of the local steeplechases and point-to-points.
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Gold Cup Press Release
Riders Up! Saturday, March 2nd, 2024 the Rappahannock Hunt will host its Annual Point-to-Point Race in Boston, VA. The races will take place at The Hill, located at 13257 Durantes Curve, Boston, VA 22713 (off Rt. 522). Bring your family, friends, and colleagues!
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Fun Without Ribbons
Blair Snivley and Blaze at the 2022 MFHA FHC Virginia Qualifier. Meredith Newman photo.
This past weekend Blair Snively and her horse Blaze, members of the Bedford County Hunt, competed at the MFHA Field Hunter Championship Qualifier hosted by Deep Run Hunt at the Pine Crest Farm in Manakin-Sabot, Virginia. Not to highlight only the competitive winners (like there were just two riders the whole day) but let us feature the rest of the riders who just want to show up and have fun on the horses that they love. Despite the long day. Despite new, now-forbidden equine romances. Despite our horses deciding, “I’m out!” Blair’s recount of the day is a great representation of why we love to compete in these Field Hunter competitions.
A New Way to Build a Leather Case
Sarah Martin Photo
Sarah Martin, MFH and Huntsman for Ozark Highland Hounds in southern Missouri, got inventive when she decided to have custom leatherwork made to solve her appointments issue.
Middleburg Hunt Point-to-Point
Maiden Flat: Bay B, Thomas Garner up, finishes strongly for the win. / Doug Gehlsen photo
Sunday, May 1, 2022, dawned cool and overcast at Glenwood Park, Middleburg, VA―a fine racing day as far as the horses were concerned. With sanctioned racing gearing up and attracting the more experienced performers, of the seven races carded at the Middleburg Hunt Point-to-Point, five were for Maidens and/or young riders.
Maiden Flat, the second race of the day, was a wire-to-wire win for Bay B, under jockey Thomas Garner. Trained by Niall Saville, Bay B took the lead and only widened it in the stretch to win by five lengths in the seven-horse field.
Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point
Jump race jockey Teddy Davies, a teenager, already a record holder, and having a breakout season in sanctioned racing. Here, Davies rides Brave Deacon in the second race at Blue Ridge, Amateur/Novice Rider Hurdles. / Joanne Maisano photo
Trainer Joseph Davies stood at the Entry desk on Sunday, April 17, 2022. It was at Woodley Farm near Berryville, Virginia, the traditional venue for the Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point Races. Davies trains racehorses for steeplechasing but was in earlier days a winning steeplechase jockey himself. And a two-time winner of the Maryland Hunt Cup, the stiffest timber race in the world. Davies was paying for his race entries and picking up the numbered saddle cloths.
A few other trainers waited their turn. “Congratulations, Joe, on your wins yesterday. And here you are again today!”
Old Dominion Point-to-Point
Going to the Start / Douglas Lees photo
The Old Dominion Point-to-Point Races held on April 9, 2022, at Ben Venue drew the healthiest list of entries so far this season. No jump race went off with a field of less than five horses, and the second race, Maiden Hurdle, was split into three divisions of from seven to nine horses in each. There was fine weather and a number of close and exciting finishes, making it a good day for the spectators as well.
Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point
Maiden Timber Race: (l-r) Profiteer (Eric Poretz up) finishes third; Cracker Factory (Brett Owings) places second; Ya Boy Ya (McLane Hendriks) is first. / Douglas Lees photo
Piedmont ran seven races over the Salem Race Course in Upperville, Virginia on Saturday, March 26, 2022―four timber races and three on the flat.
McLane Hendriks rode two winners this day, book-ending the day’s races. His first came in the First Race, Maiden Timber, and his second in the Seventh Race, Virginia VHBPA Flat. In the Maiden Timber, Hendriks held Ya Boy Ya off the pace, content leading the middle runners in the six-horse field most of the way around. In the final quarter he asked his horse and won the race in the stretch by a length-plus. The Irish-bred Ya Boy Ya is owned by Bon Nouvel Chasers II and trained by Julie Gomena.
