The author, leading the field / Nancy Kleck photoMasters, staff, and field of the Blue Ridge Hunt are thankful for the recent Martin Luther King holiday. We always advance the meet from our usual Tuesday to any Monday holiday to give the juniors a chance to hunt. With the Virginia hunting country enveloped in sub-freezing arctic air on Tuesday, Monday’s “storybook” hunt—fifty-five minutes on one fox—was a special gift.
The meet was at Catherine Berger’s Rolling Hills Farm. Hounds found their fox in the first covert where it was viewed across the open fields by a car follower. Before horses were even warmed up, we found ourselves racing to the first fence—a brand-new, raw, double-wide coop standing high on its timbers.
In full cry, the pack pushed their fox through the woods behind Barbara Batterton’s where he crossed the Springsbury Road and swung left-handed below Suzie’s Bailey’s. Crossing the creek and through the pines, he took us toward Woodley and the race course. The field jumped the in-and-out coops into the field parallel to hounds hunting across the seed.
Tied to the line / Nancy Kleck photo
Here our pilot took a change of course, sending hounds to their noses. He was viewed doubling back behind Llewellyn Farm. Huntsman Guy Allman quickly brought hounds forward, and we were in full cry again across their cover crop of winter wheat. Hounds hunted fast towards Springsbury Road, and we thought that he was headed back to whence he had come. But no, he was headed by a car, and turned right again just before crossing the road.
The field jumped onto the road and galloped to the track behind Claudia Morley’s house and Brian Ferrell’s new creek crossing. Speaking strongly, hounds crossed right in front of us, swinging up the hill toward Lockes Mill Road where they crossed. Up Brian’s drive and a lovely gallop across his fields and through Barry Fry’s, where Guy dismounted and gave them some encouragement on foot.
Taking the coops as they come / Nancy Kleck photo
Down the hills, across the pond and coop behind Bob Soonthornchai’s. Here, hounds satisfied themselves that their fox was no longer running in front of them. Casting down a slight gully, they marked to ground in a large earth. Hounds scratched, dug, and bayed at both entrances with enthusiasm, but this brave fox was given best out of respect for a big run and for remaining in country where we could follow.
It was about a three-mile point*, but probably eight miles as hounds ran.* The first flight jumped eleven coops that we can remember. I think it was just about a perfect hunt, and everyone had a marvelous time. We could see and hear hounds all the while, which made it special.
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* A “point” is the shortest straight-line distance between the find and the finish. “As hounds ran” describes the distance of the run.
Posted January 30, 2013
(l-r) Honorary whipper-in Teddy Mulligan with huntsman Guy Allman and hounds / Nancy Kleck photo