Andrews Bridge first-year huntsman Adam Townsend praises hounds for their work. Mounted rider is whipper-in Charlie Fleischmann.
Adam Townsend joined the Andrews Bridge Foxhounds (PA) this past April as its first professional huntsman in many years. Adam came to us from the Elkridge-Harford Hunt (MD) where he served as first whipper-in for the last three seasons. Since his arrival he has been working diligently with our pack of Black & Tan Penn-Marydels. Each day’s hunting has shown excellent sport but on Monday, October 28, 2013, Adam’s efforts were rewarded with a red letter day.
Hounds met at 8:00 A.M. at our kennels in Christiana. There was frost on the ground and a beautiful blue sky overhead. Adam and the pack had no sooner left the meet and crossed Bell Road when hounds found in the marsh at the bottom of Whites’ between Wares’ and Houghtons’ and were off running south in full cry. They exited the marsh, turning left toward Smith’s where our pilot turned right handed, resuming his journey southward through the Amish farms. He was viewed crossing Sproul Road as he set his mask for Bell Bank.
Our pilot ran the length of the ridge at Bell Bank and crossed Bell Road onto the Riddles’ without a check. The fox crossed the open fields which had been harvested to the woods on the cliff above the East branch of the Octorara Creek. He never slowed down as he exited the bottom of the woods past Tydings’ farm where the field galloped down a beautiful grass meadow along the creek for about a mile with the pack running as one. Hounds pushed the fox across the creek and the staff and the field had to double back to cross the ford at Parson Bowers’. That put the field a little behind, and now they were really pushing into country they hadn’t hunted for a dozen years or more. Fortunately, the beautiful cry of the Penn-Marydels kept everyone in touch.
Up the hill behind the old Andrews Bridge racecourse went the hounds with a field still racing to keep up. Our fox now turned down into the woods at what we used to call Frank’s, but has recently been purchased by the Topp family. There the pack resumed its flight southward heading to Holmeville, where, for the first time in the entire run of over an hour, they checked. Everyone’s horses were cooked, as were riders and hounds. After Adam praised the hounds for the wonderful work they had done, all were loaded into the hound truck (driven by our faithful ninety-three-year-old kennelman, Jake Ross) and transported back to the kennel, while the field hacked the long trek back to the meet.
All hounds ran as a solid unit from beginning to end, which was particularly rewarding for Adam, as many were just first and second year entry. A truly a memorable day!
Posted November 4, 2013