The author (right) with (l-r) Field Master Jean Derrick and Master and huntsman Epp Wilson at the final meet
Snow may have crippled Atlanta, but the few inches that fell in Thomson, Georgia during Belle Meade’s second annual “Gone Away with the Wind” Hunt Week (January 26 to February 2, 2014) did little to dampen the great foxhunting and lavish southern hospitality. The first day we arrived was warm and sunny, a welcome respite from a frozen Maryland. I was returning for a second awesome adventure with Belle Meade Hunt and had encouraged two more of my fellow Marlborough Hunt members to come down. Jayne Koester and her amateur-radio enthusiast husband Fred enlivened their trip by talking to all the Ham radio operators near Interstate 95 as they drove south. Following them was Gwen Alred, a member of both Marlborough and Potomac Hunt clubs, who also decided getting out of a frigid Maryland was a good idea.
Monday at 3:00 pm, after warm greetings from our southern hosts and welcoming remarks from MFHs Epp Wilson, Charlie Lewis, and Gary Wilkes, we quickly trotted across the road from the kennels and moved across open cattle fields. I was riding first flight behind my good friend, Belle Meade Field Master Jean Derrick, and it felt wonderful to be cantering across soft ground in informal ratcatcher attire!
Gwen decided to start with the second flight but quickly realized she was more than capable of “coyote speed” and moved up to first flight for the rest of the week. Jayne on her trusty grey, Canada, chose to go third flight (non-jumping) at the start but to her surprise found herself right behind second, if not first flight, on almost all of the hunts. I think she impressed herself by riding with the faster second field and having a great time doing it. She did mention that her knees were a little stiff but she did not miss a day of riding. Belle Meade offers four flights in their field to accommodate all who want to experience the thrill of the chase.
We ran several coyote that day even though the scenting seemed difficult. Hounds were having a hard time really latching on to a hot scent—probably a blessing as our horses were not that fit and I remembered the blistering pace from last year that left my horse wondering what had hit him. This year our first hunt was a manageable introduction to coyote hunting, and we had plenty of moments to share a flask and enjoy the beautiful Georgia countryside. A lovely breakfast followed at Boots Hall where we met the other guests from as far afield as Montreal Hunt, Toronto and North York, Golden’s Bridge, Bull Run, Blue Ridge, and closer to home Moore County, NC. I believe there were more than twenty enthusiastic guests for this year’s “Gone Away with the Wind” Hunt Week.
Tuesday was supposed to be road trip to nearby Aiken to hunt with the Aiken Hounds, but we were watching The Weather Channel and wisely chose to stay off the roads as ice was forecast. Gwen and I went trail riding at Epp Wilson’s beautiful farm, Foxboro, before the weather system came in. Foxboro has lots of great eventing-type fences which we had fun jumping, as well as thoroughly enjoying the great pine-needle footing. Our hosts, Epp and Nancy Wilson, more than stepped up to entertain us with soup and sandwiches in front of a roaring fire as I showed Gwen and Jayne the many mounted coyotes, foxes and bobcats which are a testament to Epp Wilson’s heritage of hunting and conservation in this part of Georgia. Each one has a great hunting story that goes along with it, some of which have probably become legendary!
That evening many of us braved the icy roads to enjoy Jean Derrick’s ham and bean soup, hot-buttered rum and to hear more of these legendary hunting stories. Norman Fine, the creator and former editor of Covertside, was also attending the Hunt Week to cover the events for his e-magazine, Foxhunting Life. He had some of his books and materials with him, as well as his many tales. Lauren Giannini of Horse Country fame had also flown to Atlanta to photograph and cover the story of Hunt Week. Many Belle Meade members shrugged off the icy road challenge and came out to help entertain the Northern guests. Gwen said it was “very dicey” getting back to the hotel that night, basically in a blizzard, and the next morning we heard the festivities continued until midnight. Thank goodness no one ended up in the ditch!
The next morning we awoke to about three inches of snow. Master Wilson insisted it would not stop hunting and it didn’t. We met at 2:30 pm for a picturesque stirrup cup in the snow and quickly moved off. In my experience hunting in snow is difficult. The quarry tends to curl up in foxholes and the scenting is literally cold! However, we did jump a coyote scent near Master Wilson’s paddocks and the pack showed us some really excellent hound work. They diligently followed, pushed, and tracked the quarry, which had definitely been there overnight. The snow-covered pines were gorgeous, and it was actually a rare treat for our Georgia hosts. Epp Wilson said that not one of the hounds in his current pack had ever actually hunted in snow, as the last snowfall they remembered was ten years ago! I must admit that the Belle Meade Crossbred hounds tried really hard and did show us some good sport that day. And I am used to Penn-Marydels with their exceptional noses.
We were entertained again that night by Epp and Nancy, with some famous, delicious Southern barbeque. It was accompanied by the best peach cobbler I have ever had. In fact, our Belle Meade hosts fed us so well I was groaning with pleasure at the end of every day and hoping I wouldn’t pop a button!
(l-r) Nancy Wilson, Norm Fine, and Gwen Alred enjoy a day with the beagles. / Barbara Smith photoThursday began with an invitation to go beagling with a local hunter. We met in snowy woods under a brilliant blue sky and followed six couple of beagles as they chased rabbits. We never saw the rabbits in the thick covert, but those beagles never stopped! About noon we moved to a hunter’s cabin in the woods to get warm by the fire and to enjoy more food! This time it was Bloody Marys and the best egg, cheese, peppers and mushroom casserole I ever tasted. Homemade biscuits, grits and bacon completed the wonderful breakfast, as we listened to the hounds circling in the woods.
That evening we had all been invited to a very special cocktail party in Aiken at The Pink House. Paddy Ann Burns welcomes visiting foxhunters to her beautiful home in Aiken every year. The home is a showcase for the Burns extensive sporting art collection and a Mecca for the horse people who travel to Aiken in winter. The evening was capped off by a special treat as the hostess sang for guests after dinner and a shy Norman Fine also gave us a thrill with a duet. Who knew!
The next two days we met to hunt at 9:00 am. Patches of snow were still visible but it had significantly warmed and the scenting became easier. Longtime Belle Meade member Lucy Bell hosted the stirrup cup Friday in her backyard. I had been invited to ride with their excellent first whipper-in, Barbara Lee, and had jumped at the chance. She is my “sister” from a different family as we have similar riding styles—fast and faster! Her husband Tommy Lee breeds and trains Saddlebreds, and that is all she rides. The purebreds looked like Thoroughbreds except for an upright neck carriage, and some are Saddlebred-Percheron crosses. They all had an unbelievable trot, to which my Thoroughbred comfortably cantered all day. We had another great day, ending with a run near the kennels on a coyote viewed by a member hacking home early.
That evening we were invited to the lovely home of Mr. and Mrs. Blount of Thomson, Georgia, who showed us again the charm of Southern hospitality. I had the pleasure of speaking that night to a gracious woman with the wonderful name of Thayer Montgomery. She mentioned that her husband had grown up in this home. She now lived across the street. We explored upstairs, all the way to the top floor, where a room was full of a boy’s childhood. There was a rattlesnake skin, a huge hornet’s nest over the desk and a snarling coyote on the wall. It was a most interesting house with lots of old photographs, several of the most famous Southern son, General Robert E. Lee
Saturday was the best hunting day of the week. We hit immediately, and I believe this first run qualified as a “Rough Rider,” being more than forty-five minutes. This year I was prepared for the speed of a coyote chase, so I was more interested in watching how these hounds hunted and how the huntsman used his whippers-in. Belle Meade has a lot of whippers-in, and they position themselves far out on the compass points, except for Barbara Lee who stays right with hounds and is Epp Wilson’s extra eyes and ears.
It is interesting to watch another hunt’s pack to see if they have similar issues to those you face at home. I listened as a puppy opened, but the older hounds were reluctant to honor, so we moved on. Suddenly a trusted hound speaks and the pack is gone. The coyote has been viewed and the huntsman blows to bring all hounds forward. Barbara Lee cries “Tallyho, Tallyho!” to the hounds, and all are off. We are racing at “coyote speed” once again, through fragrant pine forests, through swampy clear-cut areas, up and down boulder-strewn hills. Some of these boulders were as big as a house and I wondered, as I flew by, how had they come to be there.
The pack splits and Barbara and I are off with four couple on our own for twenty minutes. The huntsman and the fields are well ahead of us before we can bring our hounds up to the check. Magically all the fields have managed to keep up and are all reunited at the check to count hounds and have a beverage from the ever-welcome party wagon. Gwen and Jayne are smiling and happy and tired. A delicious “game–dinner” breakfast was waiting for the hungry horde at Boots Hall. From antelope to boar sausage it was “gone away” very fast with groans of culinary content.
I was very impressed this year by the number of juniors that are involved with Belle Meade Hunt. At this last hunt, on Saturday, there was a field of perhaps twenty-five juniors, ranging from lead–line to many teenagers. They were enthusiastic and happy, joking among themselves and having a ball. I have hunted with a lot of hunts and I know how unusual it is, nowadays, to have this many of the next generation actively hunting. There were some juniors whipping-in, little boys on unconcerned ponies, shoving each other like mini-knights jousting, and at the check I laughed to see the non-riding kids handing out beverages to riders. A few pig-tailed little girls stretched tall to hand out a beer to a tired, thirsty, grateful man or woman on horseback! It does take a village, and it was wonderful to see so many generations enjoying a sport together.
The Hunt Ball that night at Augusta Country Club was well attended and I heard from Epp Wilson that their silent auction was very successful! We realized that the annual Hunt Ball is a big social event in Thomson, as we chatted with a couple and their college-aged daughter from Ft. Gordon, who were not members and did not hunt at all, but obviously enjoyed the formal evening and the dancing. It could have been a scene from “Gone With The Wind,” as the handsome gentlemen in their scarlet tails squired beautiful ladies in ball gowns around a candle-lit dance floor. A perfect finale to a perfect week.
I can only hope the Belle Meade Hunt continues to extend this wonderful invitation to enjoy fabulous foxhunting and the chance to warm oneself in winter at the heart and hearth of Southern hospitality. I’ll certainly be back!
Posted February 11, 2014
The Belle Meade Hunt Ball provided a gala finsh to Hunt Week. Left to right, wearing scarlet, are Joint Masters Epp Wilson, Charlie Lewis, and Gary Wilkes. The prettier faces belong to Nancy Wilson and Barbara Smith. / Fred Koester photo