Fox Hunting News

The British government is expected to introduce a new hunting bill in Parliament that would abolish hare coursing and stag hunting. The hunting of fox with hounds would be allowed in parts of England and Wales under a licensing system. Once the bill is introduced and the content is known, it will surely provoke controversy. FHL will report on this story as it develops. Posted June 5, 2012

In the 1970s, in a space of just six years, three horses swept the Triple Crown. It’s been thirty-four years since the last horse did it. Why? There are some obvious explanations that Andrew Beyer points out in his Washington Post article. Certainly the Triple Crown fields are bigger now, as owners and trainers respond to the increased media hype. In 1948, Citation raced against only nineteen horses in the three races combined. I’ll Have Another had to beat fifteen other horses just in the Derby alone. Looming larger than all other factors, however, is the mile-and-a-half distance demanded by the Belmont. And the recent trend in breeding has been more for speed than endurance. Again, why? According to Beyer, back in the days when Thoroughbred racing was dominated by generations of wealthy families, every Derby winner had an important one-and-a-half-mile runner somewhere in the first two generations of its pedigree. That’s no longer the case. Today’s buyers don’t have the patience of the Vanderbilts and the Whitneys. Fast results are wanted, and with the popularity of auctions for two-year-olds-in-training, proven speed at an eighth of a mile sells horses. Thus stallions known to pass on speed are favored over those with staying power. For further demonstration of this theory, consider this. If you had bet every starter in every Belmont Stakes Race in every one of the last fifteen years, you would have almost doubled your money. Long odds, short odds, it’s a tossup! Posted June 5, 2012

Lynn Carlisle, a talented and well known sporting artist, was found dead in her home in Aiken, South Carolina on Wednesday, May 17, 2012. The Aiken Standard reports that police responded to a 911 call from her, and upon arriving at her home were fired upon by her ex-husband Craig Jarvis. The police returned fire, and Jarvis died in surgery. Foxhunting Life published a profile of Lynn and her work in January this year. She showed remarkable artistic talent even as a child and was enrolled in art lessons at the age of five. By the age of nine she was attending all-day classes every Saturday at the Art Institute of Chicago. “No one is more surprised than I,” wrote Lynn, “to see my portraits evolve on the watercolor paper. They just come up from the colors and shapes that I see.” I have always loved her work with horses, but the dogs in her portraits really talked to me. She had an uncanny ability to capture a feeling of earnest communication between the dog and the viewer. She was a generous and loyal friend, and I will miss her greatly. Certainly her passing will leave a great gap in the Aiken sporting community. “Lynn was a devoted friend, a loving mother, an avid sportswoman, and a talented artist,” said Linda McLean, MFH, Aiken Hounds. “Her death is a tremendous loss for her family, the Aiken community, and the entire foxhunting community.” The family has asked that donations in Lynne’s memory be made to the Hunt Staff Benefit Foundation of the MFHA. Posted May 18, 2012

Three members of the Crawley and Horsham hunt in West Sussex, England were found guilty in Horsham Magistrates Court of violations under the Hunting Act. These are the first convictions in Sussex under the act. Four of the hunt’s members were charged with five separate offences. All pleaded not guilty. The evidence, including video clips, was furnished by a West Sussex animal rights group. Neill Millard, MFH; Rachel Holdsworth, hunt secretary; and Andrew Phillis, former huntsman (now Master and huntsman of the Dart Vale Harriers) were found guilty of illegal foxhunting. Charges against Jamie Hawksfield, MFH were dropped during the trial. The judge disagreed with assertions by the accused that they were taking part in legitimate trail hunting, following a scent laid for hounds. A representative of the Countryside Alliance expressed disappointment in the verdict and promised that the organization would continue to support the defendants should they wish to appeal. Posted May 17, 2012

Visitors in town for the Virginia Foxhound Show will be able to attend the second annual Book Fair at the National Sporting Library and Museum in Middleburg, Virginia on Saturday, May 26, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A part of the annual Hunt Country Stable Tour, the Book Fair is open to the public. Five authors will sign books and give brief talks about their work: Kathryn Masson (Hunt Country Style; Stables: Beautiful Paddocks, Horse Barns, and Tack Rooms; Historic Houses of Virginia; Great Plantation Houses, Mansions, and Country Places); Patrick Smithwick (Flying Change: A Return to Steeplechasing; Racing My Father: Growing up with a Riding Legend); Elizabeth Letts with guest Harry de Leyer (The Eighty Dollasr Champion: Snowman, the Horse that Inspired a Nation); Anne Hambleton (Raja: Story of a Racehorse); and F. Turner Reuter, Jr. (Animal & Sporting Artists in America). A duplicate book sale will also be going on at the Library and Museum, as well as other current exhibits, including Scraps: British Sporting Drawings from the Paul Mellon Collection. Posted May 14, 2012

A genetic study of horses combined with mathematical analysis of various scenarios has traced the domestication of horses to the wide open grasslands of southwestern Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Domestication is generally thought to have occurred about six thousand years ago, but the new evidence suggests that it may have taken place independently in different places within that geographic area. The study, which was performed at the University of Cambridge, examined DNA from horse hair collected over a sixteen year period. Samples were taken from more than three hundred “local village-type horses” in the expectation they would have less crossbreeding confusion in their genetic profiles. For more information, read the Associated Press report by Rafael Satter. Posted May 8, 2012

The Blue Ridge Hunt (VA) will welcome in a very few days the arrival from England of two new professional staff members—huntsman Guy Allman and first whipper-in Thomas Hopson. Huntsman Allman comes to Blue Ridge after twelve years hunting hounds at the Mid Devon Foxhounds in England. Before that he was kennel huntsman at the Golden Valley, first whipper-in to huntsman Anthony Adams at the Heythrop, and kennel huntsman and whipper-in to Nigel Peel, MFH at the North Cotswold and earlier at the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray. Tom Hopson is a Yorkshire man, a graduate of the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, a keen rugby player, and a dedicated horseman. Oh yes, he hunts, too! He was first whipper-in at the Berkeley for a season. The two will need much support from the hunt membership as they take over an unfamiliar pack in equally unfamiliar country. Posted April 30, 2012

The trial of four members of the Crawley and Horsham Hunt in West Sussex, England opened in Horsham Magistrates Court on Monday, April 23. The four are accused of violations under the Hunting Act. Two Masters, the hunt secretary, and the former huntsman (who now hunts the Dart Vale Harriers) are charged with five separate offences. All pleaded not guilty of the charges against them. The evidence, which includes video clips, was furnished by a West Sussex animal rights group. The defendants are expected to present their arguments to the court later in the week. See Horse & Hound magazine for more details. Posted April 25, 2012

Foxhunting Life will participate in Covertside’s first expo being held in conjunction with the MFHA Staff Seminar on Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22, at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, Virginia. Norm Fine will be there to talk about the website, to listen to subscribers for their ideas and reactions, and to showcase some of the products in the FHL Bookstore, including CDs and DVDs. And, in the unlikely event that there is a foxhunter who doesn’t yet have a copy of his book, Foxhunting Adventures: Chasing the Story, he will be happy to sign one or two! Norm is looking forward to seeing old friends and making new acquaintances. Please stop by and say, Hi. Posted April 19, 2012