Foreground (l-r): Michael Brown, huntsman and Oliver Brown, MFH, Rappahannock Hunt with host Epp Wilson, MFH, Belle Meade Hunt / Karen Raiford photo
This article—about foxhunters on the road and the joys of visiting—is being published in several installments: 1. A Huntsman’s Perspective, 2. One Master’s Perspective, 3. Another Master’s Perspective, and 4. A Member’s Perspective. Here is our second installment.
I first met the Ambassador of Foxhunting, Ben Hardaway, MFH, of the Midland Foxhounds (GA) in 1973. It was Ben’s first trip to Virginia, and I was in awe of this traveling foxhunting circus. His members were so excited as were his hounds to show their adaptation to a different territory. Many more times did he come to hunt with us, and I also had the pleasure of being invited to hunt with him in his country. But I envied being able to take your own hounds to strange territories. So after hunting in Midland several times and becoming enthused, my son Michael and I made our first trek south with hounds in 1999.
It was the start of more than I ever hoped for. Since then, we have hunted with more than twelve packs south of Virginia and forged many friendships along the way. This year was the first time we did not hunt with a new hunt because we have so many hunts that seem to like us! This was our largest group ever—thirty members—to make the journey.
What is exciting for me is to see my hounds work. That enthusiasm is shared by the huntsman, who happens to be my son, and every other member of Rappahannock Hunt, six of whom were making their maiden voyage. This has become a much anticipated trip by our members, and some who have made the trip before are always upset when commitments hinder them from participating yet again.
It has been the best for developing camaraderie amongst the members because we spend a week together socializing and participating in the sport and lifestyle that we all adore. The experience has become like having a time share in a wonderful southern hunting spot. We have been treated with the utmost hospitality that anyone can ever encounter. Of the many comparisons I have heard over the years, one stands out to me the most after this trip. This particularly foxhunter had just started hunting this fall and after hunting the first four months and this trip south, he said it was more of an adrenaline rush than when he went sky diving!
The quarry we have run down south has consisted of bobcats, gray and red foxes, wild pigs, and primarily coyotes. One of the best red fox runs I have ever experienced in over fifty years of foxhunting occurred in Belle Meade Hunt territory in Thomson, Georgia. My longest coyote run—over seventeen miles—was recorded in this same territory as well. After fifty years of hunting, I still experience the hair standing up on my neck often during these trips.
As soon as one trip is over, I am already thinking about the agenda for next year’s trip. So many hunts have been so kind to invite us back year after year that it becomes difficult to work it all into one week of hunting. Maybe the only reasonable solution is to start doing two trips! As I write this, it has been three weeks, and members are still talking about it. I get excited listening to them and watching how much more comfortable they are after being together for a week.
This annual trip has been one of the most pleasurable experiences of my foxhunting career. Hunting the hounds for twenty years, I wish I would have had the opportunity to hunt them down there myself, but the next best thing is having my son and family so involved and their anticipation for the upcoming trip. I plan to do this for many more years to come, because the best hunt is yet to come. Right? Tallyho!
Posted April5, 2012