Horse & Hound
Southern Hound Show 2019
Huntsman Spencer Allen shows Grand Champion Foxhound of Show, Live Oak Able 2016. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Ledyard present trophy to Masters Daphne Wood and C. Martin Wood III. / Wendy Butler photo
Mr. C. Martin Wood III, MFH, Live Oak Hounds (FL) has been line breeding his pack as he was taught by his late mentors, Captain Ronnie Wallace, MFH, and before that, Ben Hardaway, MFH. He absorbed the wisdom of both superb breeders, and, of course, brought some of his own wisdom to the kennels as well.
We often hear the familiar and simplistic saw, ‘breed the best to the best, and hope for the best.’ That may work for some when first starting a pack, but there is another vital step that follows. Which of those ‘best’ are passing on their good traits, and which aren’t? The long-running male and female breeding lines in the successful packs are those lines started by superior hounds, the progeny of which continue to pass on their excellent genes generation after generation. Not all the ‘best’ hounds—or even racehorses—do.
An American Foxhunter Meets the Irish Banks
The author on Gus: muddied but unbowed / John Flavin photoDid you ever hear the expression “cheating death?” This question was posed to me by Bob Goodman, my newfound friend and fellow foxhunter, as we both emerged from one of those double drain jumps common to the south of Ireland. The question carried added meaning coming from Bob, a former Air Force fighter pilot with 336 combat missions in Vietnam.
I arrived in Ireland on January 18, 2019 and made my way from the airport straight to Flavin’s stable near Tramore in County Waterford to practice jumping banks and ditches before the next morning’s hunt. On a good horse who knew his business, I found these obstacles to be easy enough, and I was assured that actual hunt conditions would be no more challenging than these practice jumps. Although confident, I had a sense that actual conditions might in fact be different…
Jimmy Day Entries Finish Strong at Old Dominion
Photos by Douglas Lees
Maiden Hurdle race (l-r): #1, Apollo Landing (Bryan Cullinane up) finishes 1st; Leopard Cat (Paul Cawley up) places 2nd.
The trainer-rider team of Jimmy Day and Bryan Cullinane won four of the nine races carded at the Old Dominion Point-to-Point at Ben Venue Farm on Saturday, April 6, 2019. The Amateur/Novice Rider Hurdle (first race) was a walkover, and the rest of the fields were sparse, but Day and Cullinane won over hurdles, over timber, and on the flat.
In the Maiden Hurdle, Cullinane took Charlie Fenwick’s Apollo Landing right out to the front and pulled away from Leopard Cat for the easy win.
Gomena Saddles Three Winners at Orange County
Photos by Douglas Lees
(l-r) Menacing Dennis (Aaron Sinnott up) finishes first; Ack Feisty (Jacob Roberts up) is third in the Open Hurdle.
Julie Gomena-trained horses swept three of the seven races for three different owners with three different riders at the Orange County Point-to-Point on Sunday, March 31, 2019: Maiden Flat (second race), Open Hurdle (fifth race), and the Open Timber (sixth race). Racing was run over the Locust Hill Farm racecourse in Middleburg, Virginia:
Ancestors In The Dark
North Downs Way, Kent, England
The light fades fast on a December day in the rolling chalk hills, the centuries-old beech woods, and the ancient countryside of the North Downs in the county of Kent in England. It is Roman country...old Roman country. The Roman presence can still be seen and felt there. Watling Street, now a motorway, was built by the Romans to conduct their chariots from the chalk cliffs of the coast at Dover to old Londinium. London today, of course. Straight as an arrow and solid as the rock foundations on which it was built. In places, you can still see the wheel ruts worn down by the centuries of travel.
Here too, in the well-trodden countryside, ancient history's presence is felt as the Pilgrim's Way meanders through the landscape from Winchester to the Thomas Becket shrine in Canterbury Cathedral. Much of the route of the Pilgrims Way follows an ancient track dating back to 500 BC.
Grallagh Harriers at Meadow Court Hotel, Galway
The Grallagh Harriers Master and huntsman David Burke and field move off from the meet at the Meadow Court Hotel near Loughrea. / Noel Mullins photo
The Grallagh Harriers hunt much the same country as the Galway Blazers. The meet was at Meadow Court Hotel in Co. Galway, near my hometown of Loughrea. It brought back many happy memories so close as it is to St. Clerins, the former home of film director John Huston who wrote the screen play and/or directed such classic films as The Maltese Falcon, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Asphalt Jungle, African Queen, and Moby Dick. The list goes on. He won the Oscar twice and directed his father Walter and his daughter Anjelica to Oscar-winning roles as well.
John Huston was MFH of the Galway Blazers in the 1960s. It was nothing unusual to see his house guests following the hunt by car―Hollywood film stars like Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Orson Wells, playwright Jean Paul Sartre, or Paul Newman who bought a Connemara Pony from Lady Anne Hemphill.
Trainer Davies and Jockey Poretz Come Back Strong at Piedmont
Photos by Douglas Lees
Maiden Timber (l-r): #14, Flaming Sword (Aaron Sinnott up), winner; Some Response (Eric Poretz up) is seen above winner; #12, Holiday Mousse (Jacob Roberts up); #3, Le Aqua (Paul Cawley up), finishes third
The Piedmont Point-to-Point Races at Salem Racecourse on Saturday, March 23, 2019 got off to an interesting start in the first race, Maiden Timber. Some Response and jockey Eric Poretz, captured above (top center) in a disagreement at the first fence, ultimately parted company at the sixth fence. The horse did prove he could jump and do the distance, however. He took his own line over a four-foot-three-inch boundary fence, raced east on Route 50, through the village of Upperville, and was finally captured unharmed at the Hunter’s Head restaurant by huntsman Jordan Hicks and whipper-in Lissa Green, outriders. The trio were met by a police escort for the return trip to Salem, followed by jammed-up westbound traffic.
Warrenton Kicks Off Virginia Point-to-Point Season
Photos by Douglas Lees
Open Hurdle race, Second Division: (l-r) Orchestra Leader, 15, (Keri Brion up) wins in the fastest time of both divisions. Storm Team is 4th and Special Skills finishes 3rd.
Hunt racing in Virginia opened on a beautiful spring day with the Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point at Airlie on Saturday, March 16, 2019. Ten races were carded with the Open Hurdle and Maiden Hurdle races split into two well-filled divisions each.
The Scarteen at Lattin and Knockcarron
John Halligan stretches for a big double at Lattin. / Catherine Power photo
Spoiled for choice with three top-class Scarteen meets back-to-back, it appeared only logical to cover all three. With Christmas comes a choice of great hunting, and with scent (that essential but illusive ingredient) improving daily, the omens were good. And so it proved.
The little village of Lattin is so called because it was a seat of learning in the middle ages. The story goes that a weary traveller asked the way to Emly Cathedral of three roadside workers. The first answered in Gaelic while the second disagreed in Lattin, but the definitive directions were given in Greek. Gone are the classics, and the little village on the Tipperary/Limerick border would hardly warrant a backward glance from motorists today, but on a Scarteen hunting day it becomes a mecca. Keen enthusiasts arrange days off, marriages are postponed, and births delayed so that they might be there because it is a special place. Horses had been rested or galloped with the point-to-pointers in preparation for the day.
Casanova Hunt and Tommy Lee Jones Honored by Virginia House of Delegates
Photos by WLS Photography
Casanova Master Joyce Fendley and huntsman Tommy Lee Jones were honored by the Virginia House of Delegates in Richmond. On February 1, 2019, Representatives of The Virginia State Legislature approved a Resolution commending the Casanova Hunt in Fauquier County on its 110th anniversary. Casanova’s history and contributions to the land and the community were noted.
A second Resolution recognized Casanova’s professional huntsman of forty-nine years, Tommy Lee Jones, for his contributions to hunting and showing in his Fauquier County community as well. Tommy Lee is the show manager for both the Upperville Colt and Horse Show and the Warrenton Horse Show.
