Fort Leavenworth Valor ’13 begins his day at Central States by capturing the English/Crossbred Championship. North Hills Kid Rock, last year’s Grand Champion of Show, was Reserve. Huntsman Stephanie Wilcox Carter, MFH shows Valor. Judge Cameron Sadler is standing (right). / Glen Carter photo
Fort Leavenworth Valor ‘13 was crowned Grand Champion Foxhound at both the Southwest Hound Show on April 18, 2015 and the Central States Hound Show on May 2, 2015.
Valor is a fitting name for Fort Leavenworth hounds, tied as the hunt is to that venerable military post in Kansas. Three Fort Leavenworth foxhounds have proudly carried the name, Valor, in the last thirty years!
Southwest Hound Show
Exhibiting hunts at the Southwest Hound Show included Brazos Valley Hounds (TX), Fort Leavenworth Hunt, and Independence Foxhounds (TX). Judges George and Jeanie Thomas, MFHs of the Why Worry Hunt (SC) were impressed by both Valor and the hound show. In a “joint communique” George and Jeanie write, “We like Valor a lot, and he showed the way a champion should. We found him to be a very nice hound with super conformation and correctness. He is a fluid mover and has a lot of power from his lovely hind end. Although he is not a big hound, he made up for it with his drive and verve. We are looking forward to seeing him in Virginia!”
The Thomases close with high praise for the show management and facilities and express the hope that more packs in the region will make the trip to enjoy this well-staged hound show in the future.
Central States Hound Show
The Bridlespur Hunt (MO), Brazos Valley, Fort Leavenworth, Mission Valley Hunt (KS), and North Hills Hunt (NB) brought their best to show at the Central States Hound Show. Cameron Sadler, MFH, Moore County Hounds (NC) judged the entries, and, at the end of the day, Valor was once again crowned Grand Champion of Show.
Grand Champion Valor ‘13 is a tricolor Crossbred dog hound by Brazos Valley Baxter ‘08 out of Fort Leavenworth Piper ‘07. American and Crossbred bloodlines are predominantly from Fort Leavenworth, Brazos Valley, and the Piedmont Fox Hounds (VA). The most recent contribution of pure English blood to this handsome Crossbred was from the Arapahoe Hunt kennels (CO), three generations back.
Stephanie Wilcox Carter, MFH and huntsman of the Fort Leavenworth pack describes Valor as athletic, hard-driving, yet biddable.
“He’s not a strike hound,” says Carter, “but when hounds are running, he is always up with the front-runners.
“He was easy to enter. I only had to scold him twice, and he was deer broke. He’s eager, he hunts true, with a lot of drive, and has a lovely, deep voice. He’s a real asset to the pack”
While at a hound show, Carter describes him as a “bit of a ham. He knows he’s pretty, and he’s very smart. He’ll stand waiting and watching the others on the flags, poking my pocket where I keep the treats.”
Organized in 1926 by the U.S. Tenth Cavalry Regiment, the Fort Leavenworth hunt kennels are on the Fort. Valor and his kennel mates hunt fox and coyote mostly on Fort Leavenworth lands in the region where the Santa Fe Trail begins. Hunt subscribers are military personnel, their families, as well as civilians.
Posted May 18, 2015
Valor is Grand Champion of Show at Central States. / Glen Carter photo