Foxhound Wins Best of Show at National Dog Show
Jewel, the American foxhound barely edged out (according to knowledgeable observers) at Westminster by the affenpinscher last February, was judged Best in Show at the National Dog Show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center. More than 1,500 dogs were entered in the all-breed show. The three-year-old female, GCH Kiarry’s Pandora’s Box (aka Jewel), is the […]
Social Media Brings Out New Foxhunters in England
Many hunts in England that have used FaceBook to recruit first-time foxhunters have reported a doubling of interest compared to last year, according to a report in The Guardian by Fiona Harvey. More than one hundred people showed up for opening meet with the Surrey Union Foxhounds, about seventy-five percent of whom were newcomers according […]
Thanksgiving Day Marks One Hundredth Blessing of Aiken Hounds
The Blessing of Hounds ceremony of the Aiken Hounds held at Memorial Gate in the Hitchcock Woods each Thanksgiving Day is an annual tradition in this horse-sport-minded South Carolina town. As with many hunts across the country and abroad, the ceremony represents the start of the formal season. This year Aiken Hunt members will celebrate […]
Coyote Population Rising in North Carolina
Coyote Population Rising in North Carolina Populating just the western part of North Carolina only ten years ago, coyotes are now said to be in all one hundred counties, according to an article by Michael Charbonneau for the Capitol Broadcasting Company. Nor have coyote sightings there been confined to rural areas. This year, seventeen separate […]
John Dean Is New Huntsman at Radnor
John Dean has returned to Pennsylvania to become huntsman for the Radnor Hunt. Although he spent his last seven years hunting coyotes in Missouri, Dean is well-known to veteran foxhunters in Pennsylvania. Dean was huntsman for the old West Chester Hunt, an un-recognized pack in that state, and served as professional huntsman for the Wicomico […]
Temporary Injunction Delays Resumption of Horse Slaughter
On Monday, November 4, a federal appeals court granted an emergency request by animal rights groups to temporarily block the expected reopening of horse slaughter plants in the U.S. After eleven years, horse slaughter was expected to resume as early as this week after a U.S. District judge in New Mexico last Friday threw out […]
Leith Griswold, Matriarch of Maryland Hunting Family
Leith Symington Griswold, matriarch of a Maryland riding and foxhunting family, died at the age of ninety-seven, on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 at her home in Monkton. Her favorite sport was foxhunting, and she hunted not only in Maryland, but in England and Ireland as well. It was in Ireland at Molly Cusack-Smith’s Bermingham House […]
Neil Amatt Is 2013 North American Horn Blowing Champion
Horn Blowing Championship trophy is presented to Neil Amatt by Richard Hornberger. Ringmaster is John Franzreb. / AlCookPhoto.com Neil Amatt, whipper-in to the Piedmont Fox Hounds (VA), won the 2013 North American Horn Blowing Championship on Monday, October 14. This final horn blowing competition of the season is held annually during Hunt Night activities at […]
Movement in Parliament to Ease the Hunting Ban
A surprising multi-party coalition of MPs—Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour, and Plaid Cymru—in sympathy with the plight of farmers suffering livestock losses from foxes are backing Parliamentary proposals to ease one aspect of the Hunting Act. Under the Act as it stands, when a farmer wants foxes on his property killed, only two hounds are allowed […]
Crawley and Horsham Prosecuted Again under the Hunting Act
Huntsman Nicholas Bycroft of the Crawley and Horsham Foxhounds in West Sussex, England admitted in court last month to illegal foxhunting after being filmed by an animal rights activist. A year ago, three members of the Crawley and Horsham, including the former huntsman, pleaded innocent of contravening the Hunting Act but were found guilty. Evidence […]