Drag Hunting in South Africa
The Rand Hunt in South Africa has its origins in the Germiston Hunt Club established in 1886—the year of the discovery of the Rand Gold Fields. In 1914 the hunt was moved to Johannesburg and renamed the Rand Hunt. Today, though most members are wealthy white South Africans, the hunt field is integrated. Typically attracting […]
Equine Herpes Interrupts Hunting in Devon
Three hunts—Devon and Somerset Staghounds, Exmoor Foxhounds, and Dulverton West Foxhounds—recently cancelled meets due to an outbreak of equine herpes virus (EHV-1) at a North Devon racing yard. EHV-1 is a serious and sometimes fatal disease that is transmitted through the air or close contact. Hunt representatives said that the cancellations are precautionary and temporary. […]
Foxhunting Enhances School Curriculum in Aiken
Walter Cheatham, MFH of the Edisto River Hounds in Aiken, South Carolina is a ninth and tenth grade history and science teacher at Mead Hall Episcopal School there. A proponent of interactive cross curriculum teaching away from the classroom, Cheatham and a like-minded English teacher, Donna DeTroye, took twelve students on a field trip to […]
Seven Years Later: Has Britain’s Hunting Act Failed?
That’s the view of Barney White-Spunner, Executive Chairman of the Countryside Alliance. “Hunting remains in good heart…and support is strong,” he wrote in the Alliance’s latest newsletter. After seven years under the law, White-Spunner claims that eighty-six percent of all hunts in England have the same number or more members and most feel higher or […]
Hunting and Fishing in ID, KY, NE, and WY Now Protected by Constitutional Amendment
Voters in Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Wyoming overwhelmingly passed amendments to their state constitutions on election day protecting their rights to hunt and fish. The National Rifle Association has been pushing this amendment state by state as a preemptive strike against attacks on hunting by animal rights activism. Thirteen states had already passed such constitutional […]
Wise Dan Emerges Favorite for Horse of the Year
Wise Dan has emerged as a favorite contender for Horse of the Year honors after setting a new record for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita last Saturday. The gelding beat a strong field, including the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom whom he bested by one-and-a-half lengths. Trained by Charlie Lopresti, Wise Dan […]
Two Families with Five Generations in the Genesee Valley Field
The Genesee Valley Hunt (NY) can boast of two families still hunting in the fifth generation. It’s no surprise that the Wadsworth family is one. After all, it was Major W. Austin Wadsworth who established the hunt in 1876. Three generations of the Wadsworth family are hunting today—Martha Wadsworth, MFH, Marion Thorne, MFH, and Piper […]
Fox Pen Debate Continues in Virginia
The Virginia General Assembly brought opponents and proponents of fox penning together last February in an attempt to review the practice and work out a mutually acceptable set of rules. David Whitehurst of the Department of Game and Fisheries says that no compromise acceptable to each constituency was reached. The issue is expected to be […]
Hunt Club, MFH Sued: Hound Attack Alleged
A lawsuit has been filed in Buck’s County against the Huntingdon Valley Hunt and Richard Harris, MFH by a Warwick, Pennsylvania couple. John and Judy Cox claim they were attacked on January 1 while walking their blind dog in Dark Hollow Park. Hounds were hunting in the park at the time and came in contact […]
Journalist Sarah Greenhalgh’s Death Is a Confirmed Homicide
Photojournalist Sarah Greenhalgh at the Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point in the 1990s / Douglas Lees photo The investigation into the death of equestrian photo/journalist Sarah Greenhalgh is now entering its fourth month. On Monday, October 8, 2012, an official from the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office said that Greenhalgh was murdered by a gunshot to the […]