Midland Striker 2015 captures the William W. Brainard, Jr. Perpetual Cup on the lawn in front of the Morven Park mansion. Midland huntsman Ken George holds Striker’s attention as three generations of Lamptons and Hardaways gather to accept the trophy from Virginia Foxhound Club President Joan Jones. Dr. John W.D. McDonald, MFH (lapel ribbon) judged this final class of the day. / Nancy Kleck photo
With six hundred foxhounds from thirty-seven hunts showing in five separate rings at the Virginia Foxhound Show at Morven Park on Sunday, May 29, 2016, the hour gets late before the four individual division champions—American, Crossbred, English, and Penn-Marydel foxhounds—finally get their chance to face off for the William W. Brainard Jr. Perpetual Cup designating the Grand Champion of Show.
The hour arrived, somewhere around six p.m., as four handsome champions came together before Dr. John W.D. McDonald, MFH, judge of this prestigious class. It had been a long, hot, and tiring day for everyone—spectators, judges, handlers, and hounds alike. But one foxhound looked like he was still ready and happy to run from one end of the field to the other, which he did when asked to show his movement. With long, powerful, yet graceful strides that looked like a slow-motion camera had been set up just for him, Midland Striker made his statement and would not be denied.
“He is one of the most beautiful movers anyone could expect to see,” said Judge McDonald in admiration. “And he has perfect conformation.”
“He’s a ham!” exclaimed huntsman, Ken George. “He knows what he has to do!”
Reserve Grand Champion honors went to English Foxhound Champion Iroquois Hackle. If there’s something to be taken away by the Iroquois contingent this year, it’s the knowledge that Midland Striker was Reserve Grand Champion of the Virginia Foxhound Show last year as an unentered hound. He had a year to figure out how to get the job done.
Midland Striker 2015 (Midland Rocket ’11 ex Staffordshire Moorland Stunning ’11) was also judged Grand Champion of Show earlier this spring at the Southern Hound Show in April. Striker’s dam Staffordshire Moorland Stunning was Champion English Foxhound at Virginia in 2014.
Midland huntsman Ken George confirms just what Striker shows by the way he moves. “He has such grace,” Ken told me on an earlier occasion. “On hound exercise, he’ll just lock in next to me and keep up an effortless pace for as long as he wants. It’s easy for him.”
According to his huntsman, Striker is more than just a pretty face. “As an unentered hound last season, Striker was in on ten kills. He’s always right there,” Ken said.
Huntsmen sometimes worry about a first-year hound being too precocious. Often, by the second or third year, such hounds begin to think too much of themselves as individuals to fit in as good team members of the pack. Ken’s not worried about Striker in that way.
“He’s a sober and cautious hound,” he said. “In the kennel on a hunting morning, while the other hounds are jumping about, I have to walk over to the bench where Striker is still lying quietly in order to put his tracking collar on. But once he’s hunting, he’s a demon. In the field, he knows when he’s right, and he hates coyotes!”
Striker’s approach to showing is similar. He’s not naturally effusive, but when he knows he has a job to do, he throws himself into it with all the energy he can muster.
“He’s high maintenance in the show ring.” Ken says. “I really have to work on him ahead of time to get him up for it.”
One would never know it to watch him.
Any aspiring student of foxhound conformation would do well to stare for a few moments at Nancy Kleck’s excellent photo of Striker just to plant an image in the mind of what constitutes class in the foxhound ring: the handsome head, connected to the body by a long and graceful swan neck, a sloping shoulder with a right-angle bend from the point of the shoulder to the elbow, a lovely top line showing a strong loin muscle (or wheel), a graceful bottom line deeply curving to the elbow allowing plenty of heart-lung capacity, all coupled to a powerful engine in the hind end with a strong gaskin and hocks let down low to the ground. Lines drawn up the front legs, across the back, down the hind legs, and back to the front feet form a good square, showing he’s neither too short-coupled nor too long in the back—just right! And he stands straight and square, all on his own! We can’t see his feet and pasterns in the grass, but I suspect—based on his smooth and fluent movement—that the front pasterns are slightly laid back to absorb the shock of landing at the trot and gallop and affording this hound plenty of years of service.
Show judges this year at Virginia were Marion Thorne, MFH, Genessee Valley Hunt (NY) in the American ring; Mrs. C. Martin Wood, III, MFH, Live Oak Hounds (FL) and Mr. Orrin Ingram, MFH, Hillsboro Hounds (TN) in the Crossbred Ring (under thirty-five couple); Lt. Col. Dennis J. Foster, Executive Director, MFHA in the Crossbred Ring (over thirty-five couple); A.D. Osborne, MFH, Cottesmore Foxhounds (UK) in the English Ring; Dr. Scott Dove, MFH, Old Dominion Hounds (VA) and Larry Pitts, ex-huntsman, Potomac Hunt in the Penn-Marydel Ring; Mrs Jean Roberts, ex-MFH, New Market-Middletown Valley Hunt (MD) and K.T. Atkins, Warrenton Hunt (VA) for Junior Handlers (ten and under); Jeff Blue and Penny Denegre, MFHs, Middleburg Hunt (VA) for Junior Handlers (eleven to sixteen); and Fred Berry, MFH, Sedgefield Hunt (NC) for Performance Trial Hounds, and Dr. John W.D. McDonald, MFH, London Hunt (ON) for Grand Champion of Show.
Foxhounds were shown by Aiken Hounds (SC), Blue Ridge Hunt (VA), Brazos Valley Hounds (TX), Bridlespur Hunt (MO), Casanova Hunt (VA), Elkridge-Harford Hunt (MD), Essex Fox Hounds (NJ), Farmington Hunt (VA), Fort Leavenworth Hunt (KS), Golden’s Bridge Hounds (NY), Goshen Hounds (MD), Green Creek Hounds (SC), Hillsboro Hounds (TN), Howard County-Iron Bridge Hounds (MD), Iroquois Hunt (KY), Keswick Hunt (VA), Kimberton Hunt (PA), Long Run Hounds (KY), Loudoun Fairfax Hunt (VA), Marlborough Hunt (MD), Middleburg Hunt (VA), Midland Fox Hounds (GA), Moore County Hounds (NC), Newmarket-Middletown Valley Hounds (MD), Old Dominion Hounds (VA), Orange County Hounds (VA), Piedmont Fox Hounds (VA), Potomac Hunt (MD), Rappahanock Hunt (VA), Red Oak Foxhounds (VA), Rolling Rock Hunt (PA), Saxonburg Hunt (PA), Sedgefield Hunt (NC), Tennessee Valley Hunt (TN), Toronto and North York Hunt (ON), and Warrenton Hunt (VA).
Click for complete show results.
Posted June 3, 2016