Mells Fox Hounds Joint Masters at the 2023 Virginia Hound Show on the lawn of Morven Park. Pictured (L-R) Bill Haggard, Charles Montgomery, Theresa Menefee, and Gerald Robeson. Not pictured: Stasia Bachrach. Photo by Boo Montgomery.
Periodically, the Ian Milne Award is presented by the Master of Foxhounds Association to active huntsmen who are of sound character and who have made lasting contributions to the sport of foxhunting. Recipients of the award have learned their craft through long service in the field and in the kennels, and who uphold a high standard within the sport.
The Milne Award was established to honor the memory of Ian Milne, a huntsman whose career began in England and continued until his death here in the United States. Milne was recognized for his devotion to the sport and hounds, and most importantly for his generous friendship and willingness to mentor other huntsmen in the sport.
This year’s recipient is Charles Montgomery, MFH and professional huntsman of the Mells Fox Hounds in Tennessee.
To say that Charles has a devotion, like the award’s namesake, to hunting and hounds is an understatement. The intensity that Charles enters the hunt field each and every time is unparalleled. To him, every hunt is an opportunity to further the development of his pack with an eye to producing the best sport possible in the hunting field. Charles believes that the root of success in the hunting field is outstanding care for his hounds in the kennels. This, he feels can only be accomplished through meticulous attention to detail. These principles have guided Charles throughout his career, and at the beginning of his 44th year in professional service, haven’t changed.
Charles began to learn to care for hounds as a teenager at the Belle Meade Hunt, in his hometown of Thomson, GA. The Belle Meade community is a family-driven environment. Charles learned that foxhunting is larger than its hunting participants. He saw that without the support of landowners and farmers, hunting cannot take place. These skills and lessons are ones that he has carried with him through his positions as huntsman at the Mecklenburg Hounds (North Carolina), the Shakerag Hounds (Georgia), the Whiskey Road Foxhounds (South Carolina), the Live Oak Hounds (Florida), the Full Cry Hounds (Alabama), the Bull Run Hunt (Virginia), and now at the Mells Fox Hounds (Tennessee).
During Charles’ fourteen seasons at Live Oak, he was introduced to many of the great houndsmen of history. Men such as Captain Ronnie Wallace and C. Martin Wood, III MFH, have helped to shape Charles’ keen eye for hound confirmation and knowledge of bloodlines. During his tenure at Live Oak, Charles proved his skill in the show ring. He won Grand Champion of Show at the Virginia Hound Show four times with hounds he had helped to breed and had prepared for the ring.
Charles Montgomery with his hounds in Mells’ country – Lynnville, Tennessee. Photo by William D. Kenner.
Charles says his role as Master and professional huntsman of the Mells “is one of the highlights of [his] career.” To him, it is the cooperation between the Masters that makes the Mells exemplary. The teamwork of the mastership affords him not only the opportunity to use his years of experience to breed and shape his own pack of hounds, but also to impact the greater hunting community. As a team, the Masters of Mells Fox Hounds work daily to foster relationships with the landowners and farmers that surround the primary hunt country. They work continuously to ensure that there is open land, under direct hunt control and conservation, to provide a place for hunting in the future. In addition to these conservation and community-building efforts, they have also made the active fostering and education of junior foxhunters a primary mission in hopes that hunting will continue into the next generation. Their teamwork is an example that will hopefully help other hunts in their endeavors to sustain themselves and foxhunting into the future.
Parading the Mells Fox Hounds at the 2023 Iroquois Steeplechase. Pictured with his wife, Boo Shepard Montgomery, and Genevieve Kennan. Photo by William D. Kenner.
Charles presenting Mells stallion hounds at the Hound Judging segment of the Junior North American Field Hunter Championship hosted by the Mells Fox Hounds this March 2023. Photo by Michael Gomez.