Horse & Hound
Master of All He Surveys
I used to pass this stack of round bales every day on the school run. It’s a few hundred yards as the crow flies from the Cottesmore (UK) kennels! One day I noticed this fox and was able to stop the car, get the camera out, and shoot several frames. He/She didn’t bat an eyelid. When I drove past later that day it had gone. Posted November 4, 2011
Read More
Who Is This?
This gentleman’s portrait along with the question of his identity was posted on our Facebook page to provide an entertaining and informative way of featuring iconic figures in American foxhunting. We had some respectable guesses, but no one came up with the correct answer!
Meet A. Henry Higginson, MFH!
And the Chase Is On
And the Chase Is On, bronze sculpture by Margery Torrey, will benefit injured jump jockey Jake ChalfinHere is a delightful work of art by sculptor Margery Torrey that will bring a smile to any foxhunter. Torrey is one of a number of generous individuals who have donated their unique talents to help raise funds for injured jockey Jake Chalfin.
A little over a year ago, during a hurdle race at the Blue Ridge Fall Races, a runaway racehorse he was riding catapulted Chalfin into the perimeter fence. It turned out to be a life-changing event for Chalfin. He remains paralyzed from the chest down.
The Working Foxhound
There are strip horses, upon whose pristine limbs no blemish may appear lest the judge be offended. Then there are the field hunters who carry their lumps and bumps like badges of honor.
There are show dogs, most of whom exhibit beautiful form but little function. Then there are the working hounds who slog through the bogs and rip their ears crashing through the briers.
The Casanova Hunt (VA) had their Opening Meet on Saturday, October 22. The pack started out clean and beautifully groomed for the photo ops during the Blessing, but after huntsman Tommy Lee Jones put them into covert they got down to business. We thought Douglas Lees’s portrait of this Casanova hound displayed the indomitable spirit and courage of that canine warrior—the Working Foxhound.
Sam Clifton Wins North American Horn Blowing Championship
Sam Clifton is 2011 North American Horn Blowing Champion. / Al Cook photoSam Clifton, huntsman for the Green Spring Valley Hounds (MD), won the 2011 North American Horn Blowing Championship on Monday, October 17. The sound of the horn has been a part of Clifton’s life from the cradle. His father Stephen is the long-time huntsman at the Eglinton and Caledon Hunt in Ontario.
Two-time champion John Tabachka, huntsman for the Sewickley Hunt (PA), placed second; last year’s champion, Steve Farrin, huntsman for the Amwell Valley Hounds (NJ), was third; and Martyn Blackmore, huntsman for the Loudoun West Hunt (VA), placed fourth.
Chris Ryan Brings the Irish Method to Kentucky
Chris Ryan, MFH and huntsman, Scarteen Foxhounds, Co. Limerick, IrelandFifty riders from four states converged on the Woodford Hounds’ kennels September 3 to 5, 2011 for a foxhunting clinic featuring Chris Ryan, MFH and huntsman of the Scarteen Black and Tans, County Limerick, Ireland. For those who haven’t ridden with Chris, it is a life-altering experience that centers on safety, preparation, and fun.
Chris taught three levels of riders: those already riding first flight, green but gutsy riders ready to move up, and second flight members wanting to ride more aggressively to follow and enjoy hounds better. Each group practiced many of the same exercises, which were designed to perfect straightness and pace.
Snickersville at Banbury Cross
Huntsman Todd Kern / Middleburg PhotoRide a cock horse to Banbury Cross
To see a fine lady upon a white horse
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes
She shall have music wherever she goes
Although we can’t vouch for bells on toes, there were fine ladies on white horses on Sunday, September 18, 2011 when the Snickersville foxhounds met at Banbury Cross Farm in Middleburg, home of Nelson and Wendi Gunnell. Those fine ladies (along with everyone else) heard plenty of good hound music wherever they went from the pack of seventeen couple of Penn-Marydel and PMD crosses brought by huntsman Todd Kern. His report follows. [-Ed.]
A Foxhunter’s Wish
Marge Warder and Monty, Opening Meet, Tryon Hounds, 2005 / Erik Olsen photoMarge Warder has had a lifelong love affair with horses. As a child, riding was her favorite activity.
She traveled the world as a stewardess with Pan American Airways and lived the big-city life in New York.
After retirement, she moved to North Carolina, resumed her life with horses, and joined the Tryon Hounds and the Green Creek Hounds.
Last year, at the age of seventy, Marge Warder fell off her horse Monty. Something was wrong. A few months later she was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotropic lateral sclerosis, ALS). She moved into an assisted living home near her sister Carrie Bartlett in Louisiana. She decorated her room with horse stuff and told stories of her foxhunting adventures. She shared one heartfelt wish with a social worker visiting the home. She wanted to ride a horse one last time.
Autumn Foxhunting in Maryland
Members of the Carrollton Hounds joined members of the Howard County-Iron Bridge Hounds on Sunday, September 18 for a day of autumn foxhunting in the open rolling hills of Frederick County, Maryland. Photographer Susan Bloom captured the action and color of a busy day with hounds.
Puddle of Puppies
This photo was taken by Rebecca Harris the morning after Hurricane Irene hit Pennsylvania. The puppies had been kept awake all night by howling winds and torrential downpours that flooded one side of their kennel. With morning came the sun, a big breakfast, and, finally, blessed sleep.
Read More
