Douglas Lees photo
In the announcement of Katharine T. (“KT”) Atkins’s election to the Mastership at the Warrenton Hunt (VA), Kim Nash, MFH wrote, “Her extraordinary wealth of foxhunting knowledge and equestrian skills bring remarkable depth to our team of Masters.”
KT whipped-in to her late husband, Jim Atkins, for nearly thirty years in Virginia, all through his service as professional huntsman to the Old Dominion Hounds, Piedmont Fox Hounds, Dr. Gable’s Foxhounds, and the Warrenton Hunt. Jim was inducted into the Huntsmen’s Room at the Museum of Hounds and Hunting last May, and, as his whipper-in through all those years, KT has seen some outstanding hound work. And she knows what it takes to produce it.
“It was natural that KT carried the whip for Jim throughout his career, as she truly was his right hand,” Nash wrote. Indeed, at Jim’s induction into the Huntsman’s Room, Will Allison, ex-MFH at Warrenton, took the microphone to recall the “Atkins team,” telling the crowd how KT whipped-in to Jim and schooled hunters for the Masters and hunt members. “They were the hardest working couple,” said Allison, “and they made it all so easy for the Masters.”
Now she is one of them. “This was such a surprise,” said the modest, soft-spoken new Master. “I was speechless when they asked me.”
KT continued as whipper-in at Warrenton after Jim’s retirement. She knows every inch of the hunting country, and she knows all the landowners. “Jim taught me the importance of landowner relations,” she said. “He had a special way.”
KT was taken on her first foxhunt at the age of ten or eleven. “I was hilltopping on a great, old, slow pony, and we came up and found that hounds had accounted for their fox,” she recalled. “There was a special ceremony since it was my first. It was all very exciting.”
She followed a familiar track for horsey juniors, learning and showing as a member of the Blue Ridge Hunt Pony Club. Her mother Barbara Jones got involved, and before long there wasn’t a horse show or event in the Blue Ridge Hunt country where KT’s mom wasn’t recruited to be the Show Secretary.
“KT’s unassuming demeanor belies a profound command of every aspect of our sport, from whelping hounds to hunting hounds,” Nash concluded. “She knows the names of each entry, subscriber, and landowner. It is exceptionally fitting that KT adds MFH to her long list of foxhunting accomplishments.”
Masters Jim Elkins, Kim Nash, and Celeste Vella can count on KT’s expert assistance in the coming seasons. “I will help in any way they ask, ”she said. And she will continue to whip-in and school field hunters.
Foxhunting Life adds its congratulations to this hard-working, modest, and highly accomplished new Master of Foxhounds.
Posted September 11, 2017