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Dr. Bruce Dalton, MFH, Killed in Plane Crash
Dr. Bruce Dalton, MFH of the Red Mountain Foxhounds in Rougemont, North Carolina, was killed last week when his single-engine plane crashed in Colorado. Dalton was sixty-nine and a certified, experienced pilot. His friend and passenger, Steven Huber, an instrument-rated commercial pilot was also killed. The crash is under investigation. Dalton was a pediatrician and a specialist in occupational health. He was the retired founder of Occu-Health, Inc. A graduate of Davidson College and the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, he also earned Masters Degrees in health care administration from Baylor University and in public health from Johns Hopkins University. Dalton’s death is a shock to the Rougemont community, where he shared the Mastership with Irmgard Hill, Garry Riggs, Ronnie King, and Angela Royal, at whose home I had the privilege to meet him. He was congenial, amusing, and full of life. In 2003, Dalton lost a leg below the knee and broke his hip in a glider crash. Doctors told him he shouldn’t expect to walk again, but he came back to ride horses, dance, fly planes, and ski. For further details, see Tammy Grubb’s article in the News & Observer. Posted September 19, 2012
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Irving Abb Dead at Eighty-six
Irving Victor Marken Abb died at his home in Woodbine, Maryland on July 13, 2012 at age eighty-six. Mr. Abb was a passionate foxhunter. He kept a private pack of hounds in Howard County, Maryland in the 1970s. He helped organize the Carrollton Hounds and, after he stopped riding horses, followed the Goshen Hounds in his vehicle. Mr. Abb was as knowledgeable as he was passionate about the sport. An enthusiastic reader, I greatly enjoyed his occasional phone calls to comment on a just-published article while I was editor of Covertside. Donations may be made in his memory to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, PO Box 834, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Read Tom Pardoe’s tribute to Irving Abb and three other men dear to Tom and to the Goshen Hounds. Posted September 12, 2012
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FBI Probes Actions of Connecticut MFH
According to an Associated Press report, on July 11, the FBI raided the Bridgewater, Connecticut Town Hall for, among other records, documents relating to a trust fund established in the 1920s to benefit the town’s needy. Until recently the fund has been controlled by the town’s First Selectmen of nearly thirty years, William Stuart, MFH of the Fairfield County Hounds. Critics accuse Stuart of channeling disbursements to friends and allies. Stuart, who has kept development at bay in his rural town has often come up against controversy over his methods. He accuses those enemies of spreading falsehoods to investigators. One in particular, a lawyer, has, according to the AP report, been stymied in his efforts to build a house on mountain ridge-top property that he purchased near Stuart’s home and kennels. One Bridgewater resident interviewed gave Stuart credit for his preservation efforts, while acknowledging that his tactics might be bold at times. Click for Michael Melia’s Associated Press article in boston.com. Posted September 4, 2012
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Hound Hunting Bill Passes California Assembly
A bill that will ban the hunting of bear and bobcat with hounds (SB1221) was passed by the California State Assembly on August 22, 2012. Because it was amended in the Assembly, it must be passed again by the State Senate, after which it will go to the Governor for signature. SB1221 passed the Senate by only two votes in May as California foxhunters and other sportsmen and women made themselves heard. The next vote could come at any time, and opponents of the bill are urged to call their senators. To find your senator, go to the USSA Legislative Action Center. Hunting proponents argue that there is a healthy population of both species, and hunting with hounds is a humane way to take them cleanly with rifles when at bay. Further, it is estimated that passage of the bill will result in a fiscal impact to the state of nearly one million dollars. Sportsmen also argue that similar bills passed in other states have resulted in population increases of game to troublesome levels. Read more details in the USSA’s Sportsmen’s Daily. Posted August 23, 2012
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MFH and Hunt Worker Found Guilty of Illegal Foxhunting in UK
Two representatives of the Meynell and South Staffordshire Foxhounds were found guilty of hunting the fox with dogs under the 2002 Hunting Act. John Greenall, MFH was fined ₤3,000 and hunt worker Glenn Morris was fined ₤250 in Magistrates’ Court after a two-day trial.. The prosecution was bolstered by a video taken by hunt monitors hiding in the woods. A fox expert for the prosecution, Stephen Harris, told the court that the excited squeals audible in the video were foxhounds following the fresh scent of a fox. The pair denied breaking the law. The defense claimed that the hounds were following an artificial scent during exercise. However, Greenall declined to give testimony in his defense in court. Click for more details in the BBC report. Posted August 20, 2012
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Foxhunter Becomes World-Class Carriage Driving Expert
Ed Young—newly appointed to the five-member FEI (international) Driving Technical Committee—was plucked from the Genesee Valley hunting field in the mid-1970s by Bill Remley, founder of the Walnut Hill Carriage Driving Competition in New York State. Remley recognized Young’s math, organizational, and leadership skills and asked him to help out with the scoring in an upcoming competition. That small job, and others that followed, fired a growing enthusiasm in Young for driving. As he became more involved in the sport of driving, many encouraged him to become licensed as a Technical Delegate. He became so highly regarded that he recently left for Germany as chef d’equipe of the U.S. team and last January joined a Hungarian, a Belgian, a German, and an Australian on the FEI Technical Committee. Until his retirement Young, was a math teacher in the public school system for thirty-eight years, where he developed alternative math programs. He first came to the Genesee Valley area with an interest in hunters and jumpers, and soon joined the Genesee Valley Hunt. For more details, read Sally Fox’s article in Geneseo’s Livingston County News. Posted August 19, 2012
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New Mexico Horse Owners Support Slaughterhouse Proposal
A group of horse owners and equestrian clubs in New Mexico are in favor of the establishment of a horse slaughter facility in their state. The group says that the closing of the last such facility in the U.S. five years ago has caused “needless suffering under the cruelest conditions.” In a letter to Governor Susana Martinez, New Mexico Horse Council President Rusty Cook wrote that an informal survey of the council’s membership showed that ninety-four percent favored humane slaughter. Cook wrote that there were insufficient facilities for unwanted horses in the state, and she estimated that one thousand horses a month are being shipped through New Mexico to slaughter facilities in Mexico. She said that a slaughterhouse in New Mexico would help alleviate the overpopulation of horses and would provide economic benefits to the state in the form of jobs and products, both foreign and domestic, such as meat, dog food, and glue. The governor and other groups, including animal rights activists, oppose the proposal. An application to the USDA has been filed by a New Mexico meat packer to provide such a facility. The USDA is evaluating slaughterhouse applications from New Mexico and Missouri, but has indicated that there will probably be no decisions made until after the presidential election. Read further details in the Associated Press report on CBS News. Posted August 5, 2012
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Connemara Hoof Syndrome Cause Revealed
The tough and talented Connemara pony sometimes falls victim to a debilitating problem of hoof wall separation in which the hoof wall splits away from its underlying structure. Though some Connemara breeders have argued against the theory of a genetic cause, researchers at the University of California, Davis have recently proven a genetic link and are working to identifying the genes responsible. The researchers discovered a strong association between those ponies affected by the disease and a genetic variant appearing in at least one percent of the Connemara population. The work of sequencing genes in this region is currently underway. They believe that their work will ultimately lead to the development of a genetic test which could eliminate this ruinous syndrome from the breed over the long term. Connemara Hoof Wall Separation Syndrome is insidious because the mating of healthy parents can produce an affected pony. The research results have been welcomed by the Connemara Pony Research Group, an association formed to initiate the research and educate owners and breeders about the condition. The group is encouraging Connemara owners and breeders worldwide to provide samples from their ponies to the researchers (who require large numbers of samples) in order to hasten the day when a test for the disease will be available. More details may be seen in Horsetalk.co.nz. Posted August 5, 2012
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Foxhunter Crushed in Automobile by Fallen Tree
Albert Carl Roeth III, a longtime member of the Fairfax Hunt (VA), was killed Tuesday, July 17, in Great Falls, Virginia, when a massive oak tree by the side of the road fell on his car. The tree is estimated to be two hundred years old and to weigh forty tons. Arborists that have examined the tree claim it was obviously decayed in both the roots and canopy and was waiting to fall. Joseph Keusch, ex-MFH of Fairfax and proprietor of Paper Chase Farm in Middleburg and his wife, author Jan Neuharth, were deeply saddened by the tragedy. “Carl started riding later in life and got hooked on hunting,” said Keusch. “He had a real passion for the sport, worked tirelessly to improve his riding, and was always immaculately turned out. Carl was a friend to all and will be greatly missed.” For more details, click to read Justin Jouvenal’s article in the Washington Post. Posted July 22, 2012
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Aiken Huntsman Weds; Goes to Sea
Katherine Gunter and John Dunbar were married on June 9, 2012, at Tybee Island, Georgia. Katherine has been huntsman for the Aiken Hounds (SC) for the past four seasons. Prior to Aiken, she was professional staff at the Whiskey Road Foxhounds (SC) and the Bear Creek Hounds (GA). John laid the drag for Aiken Hounds for much of this past season, riding western! John’s family owns and operates a large cotton farm east of Aiken, and both share a love of fishing and hunting. Katherine and John met through foxhunting friends, Danielle Sertick and Todd Martineau, who will also be married later this summer. Katherine and John were married on the beach at Tybee with fifty family and friends in attendance. Katherine’s bridesmaids were foxhunting friends Mary Taylor Miller (whipper-in for Middleburg Hunt), Ria Burton (whipper-in for Aiken), Christine Raley (wife of Moore County huntsman David Raley), Danielle Sertick (whipper-in for Aiken) and Alison Brown (rider and trainer). The couple honeymooned in the Florida Keys where they went deep sea fishing for five days. Shortly thereafter they went on another fishing trip off the North Carolina coast with Tony Gammell, huntsman for the Keswick Hunt (VA), Jordan Hicks, huntsman for the Tryon Hounds (NC), and Adrian Smith, huntsman for the Metamora Hunt (MI). Pretty good summer for the newlyweds so far! Posted July 22, 2012 Linda Knox McLean is MFH of the Aiken Hounds.
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