Proposed Ban on Fox Penning Is Shelved
The proposed measure in the Virginia General Assembly to ban fox penning has been shelved for a year. More than an hour of testimony was presented to the Senate Agriculture Committee at a meeting crowded with animal rights advocates and pro-hunting forces. Supporters of the bill argued that the practice is inhumane and often ends […]
Morven Park Clarifies its Future
Concerned horsemen were mostly mollified by the message from Morven Park officials in a pair of meetings held last week. While the plan is to make a wider public use of the Leesburg, Virginia property, it appears that the only equestrian casualty will be the steeplechase racecourse. Other equestrian facilities will be continued and even […]
General Patton Wouldn’t Give Way at the Fences
Three long-time residents of Potomac, Maryland spoke recently to a standing-room-only crowd at a local restaurant about their town’s past. Two of the three speakers—Bob Hanson and Leonard Proctor—had hunted with the Potomac Hunt. Hanson related an amusing anecdote about a recalcitrant General George Patton. “Patton was not a gentleman when it came to jumping […]
Ancestral Mother of All Horses Lived 160,000 Years Ago
Scientists have discovered through mitochondrial DNA that a mare that walked the earth 160,000 years ago is the ancestral mother of every horse in the world. Eighteen different genetic clusters were identified as having come from the ancestral mare reports Bloomberg News, which suggests that domestication of horses occurred in many places across Europe and […]
Belle Meade Hunt a Feature Attraction for Georgia Tourism
McDuffie County, home to the Belle Meade Hunt in Thomson, is one of five northern counties in the Clark Hills Partnership of Georgia. The Partnership highlights attractions in each of the counties that tourists will enjoy, and Belle Meade’s famous Opening Meet is promoted as one of the offerings for McDuffie. “The 46th Annual Blessing […]
Legislation Proposed to Ban Fox Pens in Virginia
The News Virginian reports that proposals in the General Assembly would ban fox penning. Some hunt clubs use fox pens to train young hounds to hunt the proper quarry. Other foxhound enthusiasts use the pens to conduct competitive field trials. Identical proposals for banning the practice have been introduced by Senator David W. Marsden, D-Fairfax […]
Foxhunter/Lawyer Trevor Potter Tastes Celebrity with Colbert
Trevor Potter, a long-time field member with the Orange County Hunt and a member of the hunt’s board of directors, has become something of a TV celebrity. The Chicago Tribune reports that Potter, a Washington attorney, has become a popular figure on The Colbert Report by analyzing legal questions “and trading banter” on-air with comedians […]
Morven Park Will Reveal Master Plan to the Public
Morven Park has invited all interested parties to a meeting on Tuesday, January 31, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. Director Frank Milligan will share maps and explain the recently adopted plans charting Morven’s future. A new “easy-to-find” entrance is planned; a visitors center; trails for hiking, riding, and bicycling; along with new uses for the land […]
EHV-1 Case Confirmed in North Carolina
The neurologic form of equine herpes-virus, EHV-1, has been confirmed in a horse that was stabled in Rockingham County, North Carolina. The horse is presently under quarantine at the College of Veterinary Medicine at N.C. State University. This is thought to be the first case of the neurologic form of the disease in North Carolina. […]
New Public Land Rules Affect Horseback Riders in Virginia
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) owns more than 200,000 acres of land on 39 Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in the Commonwealth. Most of the land was purchased and has been maintained with proceeds from hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses. For years, bird watchers, nature enthusiasts, and horseback riders have accessed and […]