Horse & Hound
A Meet of Vixens and One Scarlet Fox
The Vixen Meet Fields. Photo by John Wilkoski.
I jumped at the chance when I was asked to join the committee to plan and execute the third annual Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Vixen Meet in Pennsylvania. I was thrilled to be on a hunt committee for the first time and had some big ideas brewing almost immediately. Luckily, my fellow committee members had the same big ideas to make this Vixen Meet bigger and better than ever before. The goal to make our Vixen Meet a destination, rather than just a one-day event, drove us to think big and think fabulous. We rallied the troops from our hunt community to pull off such a big endeavor.
Over the Cane
De La Brooke Foxhounds Dude at Maryland Performance Trial held in March 2023. Photo by Andrew Muro. Such a lovely example of a Penn-Marydel in De La Brooke Foxhounds’ Dude. Not only is he a handsome fellow, but he would make a very nice show jumper with those tight knees! Originally published on April 3, 2023
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The Inaugural All Maryland MFHA Performance Trials
The combined pack. Photo by Tisa Della Volpe Photography.
On March 4 & 5th 2023, Wicomico Hunt Club hosted the first ever All Maryland Masters of the Foxhounds Association (“MFHA”) Performance Trials on Wye Island. This performance trial brought together not just Penn-Marydel hounds (as in prior years), but the full chorus/compliment of diversity found in Free State packs: crossbred and American hounds.
Fun Fact: the first foxhounds in the Americas were brought to the colony of Maryland by Robert Brooke in the mid-1600s, making Maryland the cradle of foxhunting in America.
Troubling Start to Britain’s Year
Photo by Gretchen Pelham.
The new year is only a few months old, but it has been a long one for foxhunters in Britain. To hit the “high notes”, there have been guilty pleas, protests, arrests, national and celebrity outrage, and an updated Scottish ban on hunting. But the worst is that two hunt clubs have disbanded in the wake.
Moment between Moments
Henry Whittaker with Respite. Photo by Storme Whittaker.
“Foxhunting is all about the moment between moments.” - Kristy Lathrop of Fort Leavenworth Hunt.
Here is a moment between moments, a young boy and a hound pause in the middle of the chaotic time when the hunt is gathering to begin the day’s sport. Content with their own company, two souls soak in the living history before them.
Hound Trials in the Georgia Pines
Belle Meade Hound Trials 2023. Photo by Allison Howell.
Here is an account from the guest huntsman of the recent Performance Trial hosted by Belle Meade in Georgia. There were nine packs that competed: Belle Meade Hunt (GA), Bridlespur Hunt (MO), Bull Run Hunt (VA), Goodwin Hounds (NC), Goshen Hounds (MD), Mill Creek Hunt (IL), Midland Fox Hounds (GA), Rolling Rock Hunt (PA), and Tennessee Valley Hunt (TN). Steven Thomas, MFH is the Huntsman for the Fort Leavenworth Hunt in Kansas and had the pleasure of being the guest huntsman of the combined pack. Read below to hear what this huntsman thought of the weekend.
A Flash of Red
Photo by Douglas Lees.
Douglas Lees caught sight of a gorgeous red fox while out with the Piedmont Fox Hounds at Over Creek Farm.
Joe Scott Plummer, xMFH (1943-2022)
Photo by Gretchen Pelham.
Joe Scott Plummer was an Edinburgh investment firm chairman and a popular joint Master of the Duke of Buccleuch’s Hunt (1981 – 2007). He once was quoted in an interview that foxhunting was “a very important glue” that brought everyone together “from dukes… to retired shepherds”. He continued to hunt three days a week until this past April.
His legacy in foxhunting is that he helped draft the fox control protocol under which mounted hunts continued to operate in Scotland.*
An Education in Hunting Zig Zag Coyotes
Belle Meade Hunt after the Zig Zag Coyote run. Notice the high viz vests worn during deer season. Photo by Allison Howell.
“Do you know how to make sure you hunt on the best day of the season? It’s easy, you just have to hunt every hunt.”
Below is Epp Wilson’s hunt report of last week’s day of sport in Thomson, Georgia. Epp loves to check the weather data and game tables before each hunt. He has been studying what conditions effects scenting for decades, but he admits that he still hasn’t decoded it yet. Located in the deep south, Belle Meade is legendary for its coyote sport, and this day of hunting didn’t disappoint. They have a tradition of awarding Rough Rider points to all members who stay out for any run that lasts over 40 minutes. This hunt was an epic Rough Rider day. Continue to read for one of the best hunt reports you will ever read, and gain some pointers from one of the best huntsmen in North America. ***I have added a map from the GPS collars of their lead hounds at end.***
The Good Lord and Santa were both good to us Wednesday on the last hunt before Christmas. Very good.
Maryland Hounds, Beautiful In and Out of Sunshine
Professional Huntsman Kami Bitting at the 2022 Opening Meet for De la Brooke Foxhounds. Photo by Gunnar Eskeland.
The 2022 Opening Meet for De la Brooke Foxhounds in Maryland offered us two striking images - one in stark relief and one in full sunshine.
