Piedmont Masters Shelby Bonnie (center), Tad Zimmerman (left), and Gregg Ryan (right ) / Douglas Lees photo
Shelby Bonnie has ridden to hounds most of his life, especially with the Piedmont Fox Hounds (VA), known worldwide for fast runs and plentiful jumping. The pace is swift and the fences are stout.
Bonnie divides his time between his home in San Francisco, California and his Oakley Farm in Upperville, Virginia, home of the Upperville Horse Show grounds and the Piedmont Point-to-Point Races. Bonnie spent quality time during his formative years at Oakley in the company of his grandmother, Theodora A. Randolph, legendary Piedmont Master. Even after Mrs. Randolph stopped riding, she continued to run the farm and the hunt until her passing in 1996 at the age of ninety.
“I grew up in Kentucky, and when I was fourteen my parents sent me to Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. Every spring, I spent the two-week break in Virginia with my grandmother,” recalled Bonnie whose very horsey parents, Ned and Nina Bonnie, have a history of active involvement in foxhunting, showing and racing. Ned Bonnie was a longtime MFH of the Long Run Hounds (KY) and served as a director of the MFHA.
“My grandmother and I developed a special bond. She drove a four-door blue Jaguar, and we would go round the farm so she could survey what was going on. I really connected with the farm. I came back often over the years and hunted with her. She had a very strong personality. She was a good, committed horseman and horse owner. Although an infamously tough woman, she was a really good grandmother to me.”
Mrs. Randolph’s father, Charles Ayer, was Master of the Myopia Hunt (MA). She was riding at three and grew up hunting. During her years at the Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia, she sought out her uncle, General George S. Patton, MFH, Cobbler Mountain Hounds (VA) and a daredevil horseman, for advanced jumping lessons.
With his wife Carol, Bonnie has three children whom he has encouraged to find their own enthusiasms. “I’ve spent years driving a mini-van to my kids’ sporting events and shows, and I’ve turned into a good amateur photographer and videographer,” he said. “My sons, seventeen and fifteen, play lacrosse and my eleven-year-old daughter loves horses, hunting and showing.
Bonnie has shared the reins of the Mastership at Piedmont for fifteen years with Tad Zimmerman and, since 2009, with Gregg Ryan. He believes that fox hunting is a great community activity.
“In a world where neighbors put up fences and automatic gates and don’t know each other, fox hunting has the ability to bring people together in something that honors the land and is about sharing and respect between neighbors,” Bonnie said. “I’m a big believer in supporting the local horse community. At Oakley, we have the show grounds, annual point-to-point and Piedmont’s opening meet. A stronger horse industry creates a need for more horse farms and less likelihood for housing developments. I hope to see the farm used for more things like the Piedmont Hunter Trials.
“I was blessed when my grandmother left her farm with me,“ continued Bonnie. “Besides the summer, I come back as often as I can during cubbing in October and regular season in November and December. We always spend a week in Virginia for Thanksgiving. My grandmother respected you if you rode well and you and your horse were turned out well. She didn’t care if you had money or a fancy last name. She shaped the hunt to respect good sport, good riding and good horsemanship. She set a good example. I’ve really tried to carry on with that same spirit.”
Posted January 22, 2016
This is an edited version of the author’s story, “Shelby Bonnie Re-Masters Show Jumping,” published in the MIddleburg Eccentric, October, 2015.