Foot staff (l-r) are Tom Pardoe, MFH; honorary whippers-in Ande Kinder, Liz Lavine (front), MacKenzie Taylor (behind), and Dr. Frank Becker; and Robert Taylor, MFH and huntsman. / Frankie Pardoe photoPerhaps nothing is more important to the perpetuation of foxhunting than public relations. Consequently, when a prominent member of the local agriculture community contacted the Goshen Hounds and invited them to participate in the “First Annual Lisbon Ole Fashion Horse Parade,” the response was immediate. “Count us in!”
Goshen has never been bashful about parading its hounds in such events having for years been a part of the Maryland Million race day at Laurel Park, the Grand Prix Show Jumping for the Howard County Community College, and the Laytonsville Community Parade in the spring. This time was different though. Hounds would be walked the 1.9 miles of the parade route down a major thoroughfare through the town of Lisbon, Maryland. Although the road would be closed to vehicular traffic, the distraction of cur dogs along the route, the hundreds of dog lovers that just want to pet the “cute doggies,” the open lawns, the distraction of loudspeakers, and other sounds from strange sources all were reasons for concerns for Masters and staff. Furthermore, when huntsman and Joint-Master Robert Taylor opened the trailer and allowed fourteen couple to charge out rather than the five or six couple of the oldest and steadiest that were expected, more than a few of the foot staff issued an audible gasp!
With a hearty group of mounted members, one guest—Joe Bills—from the Carrollton Hounds, and the staff on foot better to control hounds, we gathered on the organizer’s harvested sod field (there’s a treat for any foxhunter!). The parade consisted of more than 240 entries with conservatively more than 300 equines from tiny miniature horses to gentle giants from a local draft horse rescue group, but none looked finer than the foxhunters in their scarlet and black with boots shined and tack polished as if for an opening hunt!
Getting that many groups and horses organized across a twenty-acre sod field was no mean task, but with a good humor and a loud commanding voice, organize we did and started off on the parade route. Hounds seemed to quickly realize that their job on this day was not to fly after a quarry, but to quietly stay with Master Taylor. And stay they did. With little more than an occasional “Back to ‘im!” or “Leave it!” at the frequent enticing morsels left by the horses in front of us or barking cur dog, the pack moved smoothly down Maryland Route 144.
As we walked briskly behind the hounds with the huntsman sounding a few notes on his horn for effect from time to time, it was extremely gratifying to hear the comments from the bystanders: “They’re beautiful!”; “Look, they don’t even have leashes!”; “Hey, that’s our hunt!”; and yes, many hearty wishes of “Merry Christmas.”
The entire process was completed in a bit more than an hour with all hounds safely back on the trailer that had been strategically parked at the end of the parade route. Things had gone so smoothly in fact that several staff suggested we just walk hounds back along the route to the starting point! Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed.
Comments from friends and neighbors continue to come in from those that saw us in the parade. Most gratifying are the comments from significant landowners who took great pride in telling their friends and neighbors, “Yeah, they hunt on my land all the time; I love seeing them go through!” It doesn’t get any better than that.
Posted December 15, 2011
(l-r) Honorary whippers-in Ande Kinder and Roger Pedersen, ex-MFH; huntsman Robert Taylor, MFH; and honorary whippers-in Dr. Mark Challberg, MFH and Liz Lavine / Frankie Pardoe photo