Horse & Hound
Gordon Chandler Keys (1933-2023)
Gordie Keys (on the right) hunting with Piedmont Fox Hounds in 1991. Photo by Douglas Lees.
Gordy Keys died last week in Middleburg, Virginia. This was a huge loss for the hunting and racing community in Virginia.
Wateree Hounds Celebrating Friends
Wateree Hounds dedication plaque on their new kennel expansion. Photo by Clare Buchanan.
The Wateree Hounds in South Carolina dedicated their kennel expansion to celebrate family, friendship, and the fox hunting tradition.
British Podcast on the Joys and Impact of Foxhunting
Photo by Gretchen Pelham.
“On Hunting” is a new podcast out of England where, as we know, mounted foxhunting with hounds has been banned since 2004. Its aim is to change the public’s perception of hunting in an effort to save it. The reasons behind the ban on traditional fox hunting are not based on fact, nor are they in the interest of animal welfare whatsoever, but rather on animal rights groups who have convinced virtue-signaling politicians to take up their cause for money, votes, and power. There is a huge difference between animal welfare and animal rights, as is explained in some episodes.
Charles Montgomery was Awarded the 2023 Ian Milne Award
Mells Fox Hounds Joint Masters at the 2023 Virginia Hound Show on the lawn of Morven Park. Pictured (L-R) Bill Haggard, Charles Montgomery, Theresa Menefee, and Gerald Robeson. Not pictured: Stasia Bachrach. Photo by Boo Montgomery.
Periodically, the Ian Milne Award is presented by the Master of Foxhounds Association to active huntsmen who are of sound character and who have made lasting contributions to the sport of foxhunting. Recipients of the award have learned their craft through long service in the field and in the kennels, and who uphold a high standard within the sport.
Roading for the 116th Season
Millbrook Hunt's 116th First Roading of the new season. Erin McKenney, Huntsman, and Alex Price, First Whipper-In. Photo by Bill Richards.
The first week of July was Millbrook Hunt's first day of roading hounds. This is Millbrook Hunt's 116th season, which is just amazing.
Wrangling the Organized Chaos of the Pack Class
Alayna Myers and Tiffany Evitts are all smiles with the winning Crossbred Pack on the lawn of Morven Park, Photo by Judith Wilson.
Practicing for the Pack Class starts with handling hounds daily in the kennel. It’s about creating trust and boundaries. Teaching them to have manners, discipline, and respect without being overbearing. Knowing how to manage their attention span – how to extend it, and when to let them relax. Not letting them bowl you over or stampede through gates and interacting with them more than just feeding and hosing down. Spending extra time bonding with the aloof or shy ones. And, of course, choosing the hounds who will be the most comfortable and responsive in a stressful, public environment.
Puppy Season with Longreen Foxhounds
The off season is puppy season. Susan Walker's Longreen Foxhounds have a very cozy whelping box at Susan's house outside of Memphis, Tennessee.
Longreen Foxhounds Furnace with her new puppies. Photo by Susan Walker.
The Meath Foxhounds at Ardbraccan House County Meath Ireland
Meath Foxhounds huntsman John Henry and whipper-in Barry Finnegan with the hosts of the meet, Charlie Noell owner of Ardbraccan, and Serina Williams Ellis at Ardbraccan House . Photo by Noel Mullins.
Noel Mullins gives a hunt report from last November about a meet of the Meath Foxhounds at Ardbraccan House in County Meath, Ireland.
Tipperary Foxhounds – Better to Fall Than to Ponder
Gavin Shorten, huntsman on the Tipperary Foxhounds, and James ODonnell meet at the Rock of Cashel. Photo Catherine Power.
Here is a wonderful hunt report of the Tipp’s this past February.
There are many special days on the sporting calendar, but this meet of the Tipp’s at the foot of the Rock of Cashel promised to be all of the above and more besides. In addition, it was going to be their hunt ball night, the first ever to be held in the newly refurbished 5-star Cashel Palace. The ball was a sell-out with all 220 tickets sold and several on the reserves hoping they might get balloted in before they went to post.
According to local legends, the Rock of Cashel originated from the Devil's Bit, when St. Patrick banished Satan from a cave, resulting in the Rock's landing in Cashel. Not since 1647 during the confederate wars when the rock was besieged by troops under Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin, was there so much mounted activity on this day at the foot of the famed Rock of Cashel.
Going Home One Last Time
Dude and Bre Kruger hacking the hounds back to the meet. Photo by Traci Duckworth.
A great huntsman impacts not only their hunt but members of other hunts. Sometimes this is through breeding their hounds, inviting guests to hunt, or attending hound shows and performance trials. In the case of Dave “Dude” Kruger, it was the Burwell.
North Hills Hunt has hosted an invitational hunt in Burwell, Nebraska, for something like 50 years. Little more than a slightly larger dot on a map, Burwell is known for three things: Nebraska’s Big Rodeo, the Calamus Reservoir, and foxhunting. It’s centrally located and easy to get to (if you don’t mind section roads through farmland), so the invitational weekends attract members from many hunts across the West. The country is only hunted 3-4 weekends a year so the coyotes are fresh and it’s always a good time. It is breathtakingly beautiful, and the weather is guaranteed to be interesting no matter the time of year.
