MFHA Seeks Executive Director
The Masters of Foxhounds Association, soon to be headquartered in Middleburg, Virginia, seeks an executive director to succeed Lt. Col. Dennis Foster, who will retire next year. Foster is just the third person in the 109-year history of the MFHA to manage the venerable association. The MFHA is the umbrella organization of mounted foxhunting in […]
Gold Medal Cyclist Switches Mounts; Rides at Cheltenham
Then: Pendleton, winning World ChampionshipScarcely one year after sitting on a horse for the first time, Olympic cycling gold medalist Victoria Pendleton raced over fences in the highly competitive Foxhunter Chase at the Cheltenham Festival (UK) on March 18, 2016. She rode Pacha Du Polder to a respectable fifth place finish, despite the misgivings of […]
Fire Erupts at Essex Fox Hounds Kennels; All Safely Evacuated
Forty-eight foxhounds in the kennels of the Essex Fox Hounds (NJ) were all safely evacuated by early responders from the local police departments as a fire that broke out in the feed room filled the building with smoke and flames soon seen shooting through the roof. The fire was reported at 4:51 am on March […]
James Edward Covington, Jr., MFH (1935–2016)
Senior Master James E. Covington of the Deep Run Hunt (VA) died at home, surrounded by family, on January 21, 2016. He was born February 23, 1935 in Richmond, Virginia, but spent most of the first four years of his life in Shanghai, China, where his father bought tobacco for Universal Leaf. After the Japanese […]
British Hunts: Damned If They Do and Damned If They Don’t
British hunts are damned and accused by hunt protesters whether the evidence is valid or not. A dead fox was found in a hedge in the vicinity where the Ledbury foxhounds were hunting. A member of the hunt staff, who had a chance to handle the carcass before it was hustled off by hunt protesters, […]
Bill Would Keep State-Raised Animal Rights Donations in Oklahoma
The Oklahoma House of Representatives will soon consider House Bill 2250, a measure crafted to forbid animal rights groups from spending monies raised in Oklahoma on any out-of-state expenses or for political purposes. The bill is being championed by State Representative Brian Renegar (D), a veterinarian. He was prompted to his crusade when, in the […]
Horses Can Read Human Facial Expressions
A study has shown that horses can distinguish between happy and angry human facial expressions. The study was performed by psychologists at the University of Sussex (UK) on twenty-eight horses. When viewing angry human faces, horses look more through their left eye. This phenomenon has also been seen in dogs and other animal species, the […]
NYC Horse Carriage Deal Goes Bust
In New York City, as Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” In the case of Mayor de Blasio’s animal rights-funded war against the horse-drawn carriages, that homegrown proverb was never truer. With a deal in hand between the mayor’s office and the Teamsters union representing the carriage drivers—requiring only the City […]
NYC Horse Carriage Deal Is Struck
Representatives of the horse carriage industry in New York City have reached an agreement-in-concept with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office on the future of horse drawn carriages there. To become effective, the deal must be approved by the City Council. Under the compromise agreement, new stables will be built in Central Park for the horses, […]
Author Martha Wolfe to Speak at VFC Annual Meeting
The Virginia Foxhound Club Annual Meeting, luncheon, and silent auction are scheduled for Sunday, February 14, 2016. This year’s guest speaker will be Martha Wolfe, foxhunter and author of The Great Hound Match of 1905: Alexander Henry Higginson, Harry Worcester Smith, and the Rise of Virginia Hunt Country. “There was to be a contest, a […]