Horse & Hound
Once-In-A-Lifetime
Solo Lord and Michael Hoffman in the hunting field.A dear friend was lost today. We have known each other since he was two. There was an immediate friendship and connection. We did a lot of firsts together, and when we were both home you knew the other was there. He was an international traveler, visiting the Cheltenham Festival in the spring of 2002. He loved to foxhunt but was just as happy doing grid work and flat work.
The late Bay Cockburn and Gordie Keyes introduced us in Olney, Maryland. He was tall and skinny with a devilish gleam in his eye and a scar around his right ankle. And you knew right off there was something special about him. He was tough, but a quick learner and a graceful athlete. He took to field sports immediately and nothing was beyond his reach.
Captain Ronnie Wallace: In Memory and In Awe
Captain Ronnie Wallace with hounds while Master of the Heythrop / Oil portrait by Michael Lyne
Captain Ronnie Wallace, MFH, was the undisputed dean of British foxhunting for the entire latter half of the twentieth century. A Master of Foxhounds for more than fifty consecutive years, he was a genius in the art of venery, possessed a mystical connection with hounds, and was revered for his uncanny breeding sense. He was arguably the English breeder most influential in the development of today’s modern English foxhound.
It’s been sixteen years since Captain Wallace died in an automobile accident at age eighty-two. We have remembered the Captain in previous articles, but as we hear more personal and first-hand stories of his inexplicable feats with foxhounds, his legend merits revisiting.
Douglas Lees Honored at Equine Media Conference
Douglas Lee’s winning photo, "Rainy Winner," was published in the May 29, 2017 edition of The Chronicle of the Horse. This is Irvin Naylor’s Ebanour (Gustav Dahl, up) with Beth Supick headed to the winners circle after winning Virginia Gold Cup race in 2017.
Douglas Lees, the talented photographer who provides Foxhunting Life with so many riveting photographs during the foxhunting and point-to-point seasons, was honored by the American Horse Publications at their 2018 Equine Media Conference held in Hunt Valley, Maryland, June 14-16.
At the awards banquet that concluded the conference, Douglas discovered his photograph, "Rainy Winner," had won the 2018 AHP Award for Best Freelance Editorial Photograph. No stranger to the awards platform, Douglas has been honored in previous years by the AHP for his outstanding photography, and he is also a multi-winner of the prestigious Eclipse Award from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.
Andrews Bridge Kodiak Is Grand Champion Penn-Marydel
Champion Penn-Marydel foxhound Andrews Bridge Kodiak 2014 with huntsman Adam Townsend (kneeling). Standing are (l-r) Chief Steward Steve Hill, former Andrews Bridge huntsman; Judge Donald Philhower, huntsman, Millbrook Hunt; and MFHs Betsy and Steve Harris, Andrews Bridge.
The 2018 Penn-Marydel Foxhound Show was held on Saturday, May 12, 2018, in Fair Hill, Maryland. In spite of a rather bleak weather forecast for the afternoon, the rain held off, and we finished up well ahead of the evening storms for this, our sixty-fourth foxhound show.
Well over one hundred hounds were entered from eight packs: Andrews Bridge Foxhounds (PA), Golden’s Bridge Hounds (NY), Kimberton Hunt (PA), Lewisville Hunt, Marlborough Hunt (MD), Mt. Carmel Foxhounds, Red Oak Foxhounds (VA), and Snickersville Hunt (VA).
Millbrook Hunt Entry Tops New York District Puppy Show
Best in Show is Millbrook Hunt’s Galaxy (right) with Erin McKenney, whipper-in. At the left is Windy Hollow Hunt's Riley in Reserve, with huntsman Chris Burrowswood. / Becca Loyche photo
The 2018 New York District Puppy Show, hosted by the Old Chatham Hunt (NY), was held at Valley View Farm, courtesy of Doe Hee Kim and Michael Leder, on May 20, 2018. The day dawned with cloudy skies that, upon the start of the show, turned to a steady rain with temperatures in the low fifties. Not the nicest of spring days in the Old Chatham foxhunting country west of the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts.
Old Chatham Master Jef Murdock and his members were prepared, however, and the show was moved into a spacious tent. Participating hunts were Golden’s Bridge Hounds, Millbrook Hunt, Rombout Hunt, Windy Hollow Hunt, and the hosts, Old Chatham Hunt.
OCH Kermit Is Grand Champion at Bryn Mawr
Grand Champion Foxhound Orange County Kermit 2015 poses with the Midland Foxhounds Trophy at the conclusion of the Bryn Mawr Hound Show. Huntsman Reg Spreadborough is the handler. Standing are (l-r) Show Chairman Lance Taylor, Radnor Hunt; Catherine "Bundles" Murdock, Hon. Sec., Orange County Hounds; and Judge C. Martin Wood III, MFH, Live Oak Hounds. / Liz Callar photo
Orange County Kermit 2015, after three consecutive appearances in the Grand Championship Class at the Bryn Mawr Hound Show over the last three years, proved that persistence pays off. The show was held Saturday, June 2, 2018 on the spacious grounds of the Radnor Hunt in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and Judge C. Martin Wood declared Kermit to be the “best example of an American Foxhound that he had ever seen.” And Mr. Wood has seen a few.
Last year, Kermit was beaten in the Grand Championship Class by Midland Striker, after winning the Grand Championship at Virginia just the week before. One year earlier, 2016, Striker had the same experience; he was passed over at Bryn Mawr after winning the Grand Championship at Virginia as well.
Huntsman Donald Philhower Is Recipient of the Ian Milne Award
Ian Milne Award winner Donald Philhower, huntsman, Millbrook Hunt (NY) with his pack of attentive and adoring hounds / Capturing Moments Photography
The MFHA’s Ian Milne Award is a serious tribute to accomplished huntsmen across North America. It is awarded periodically to a huntsman of sound character who has made outstanding contributions to the sport of foxhunting. Recipients of the Ian Milne Award have learned the hard lessons of the field and the kennels as well as in life, and they have learned to do it right.
This year, that honoree is Donald Philhower, huntsman for the Millbrook Hounds in New York State. Consider the namesake whom the award personifies.
Ian Milne was respected and liked by all. His hunt service began in England and continued until his last breath here in North America. He was a genuine friend and a generous mentor to aspiring and established huntsmen. He was a gentleman, honest as the day is long, and he lived for hounds and hunting.
Ottawa Valley Captures Grand Championship at Canada
Ottawa Valley’s Toronto and North York Cloud with Pam Black. Huntsman Antony Gaylard's longtime partner, Black helps as a road whip, cares for the hunt’s whelping bi*ches, the puppies after whelping, and, if it’s late in the year, may bring a whole litter back to the kennel by the house to give them a safe start in life. In her spare time, she operates her own business! / Heather Swan photo
Ottawa Valley Hunt’s Toronto and North York Cloud 2012 was judged Grand Champion of Show at the Canadian Hound Show. The show was hosted by the London Hunt (ON) and held on the grounds of the London Hunt and Country Club, Saturday, June 9, 2018.
In addition to Ottawa Valley, hounds were shown by Eglinton and Caledon, Hamilton, London, Montreal, Toronto and North York, and Wellington-Waterloo Hunts.
Ottawa Valley huntsman Antony Gaylard bred and entered Cloud while huntsman at the Toronto and North York Hunt (ON). When Gaylard departed T&NY to return as huntsman to Ottawa Valley, he took Cloud and others of his breeding with him, with permission, as is customary. Though technically English, Cloud has Crossbred lines in both sides of her pedigree. And an impressive pedigree it is, with outstanding tail lines—both male and female.
Deep Run Warrior Is Grand Champion at Carolinas
Deep Run Warrior 2015 stands proudly for his award photograph. Judge Mary Ewing, MFH, presents the trophy for Grand Champion of Show to huntsman John Harrison. Stud groom and second whipper-in Chelsea Ray Kellerhouse is at left.
Huntsman John Harrison loves Warrior’s entire litter. “It’s the best litter in the kennels,” he says, “and Warrior is the best-looking hound in the litter.”
Apparently the judges thought so, too. Deep Run Warrior 2015 was judged Grand Champion of Show at the Carolinas Hound Show hosted by the Moore County Hounds on Saturday, May 12, 2018 at the grounds of the Walthour Moss Foundation in Southern Pines, NC.
Hunting In the Footsteps of Irish History
Thirteenth century Liscarroll Castle in the Duhallow hunting country, near the site of the Battle of Liscarroll in 1642.
There are certain days that stand out in the sporting calendar, Gold Cup day in Cheltenham, Aga Khan day at the Royal Dublin Show, the Maryland Hunt Cup in the USA, Munster final in Thurles (especially if Cork and Tipperary are playing), but ranking at least equal to any of these must be a meet of the Duhallow in Liscarroll. The Duhallow kennels are nearby, and huntsman Ger Withers is a native of the parish so it could be described as their spiritual home. As if all this weren’t enough, longstanding hunt chairman Pat Fleming farms nearby, and the Flemings have been farming in Liscarroll since the Battle of Liscarroll around 1642.
