Brian Ferrell is new MFH at Blue Ridge. / Nancy Kleck photoBrian Ferrell has been appointed MFH at the Blue Ridge Hunt (VA), joining Masters Linda Armbrust and Anne McIntosh in a team of three. Ferrell, who is dead serious in his commitment to the hunt and to the sport, is nevertheless somewhat bemused.

“I don’t really fit the mold,” he says with a faint grin, the most you can expect from this soft-spoken, reserved, yet very popular member of the hunt. “I don’t come from a hunting background, and a Mastership was never my goal. I started taking riding lessons because my kids were riding. I picked it up reasonably well because I’ve always been pretty athletic.”

There’s a typical Ferrell understatement. As a high school state regional tennis finalist and a third-ranked regional giant slalom skier in Middle School, he was indeed a top athlete in his boyhood.

Ferrell grew up in Waterford, Virginia. His dad—also a good athlete—rode a little, but neither the family nor Brian ever had thoughts or aspirations of foxhunting. That came from his children, Emily and Charlotte. His wife Clare is from Devon, England and also rides.

Ferrell has no illusions about the prestige of Mastership. “Everyone at Blue Ridge has to work and contribute,” he said. “I’m willing to put the time in and do the work, and I think I can provide a balance to the team of Masters through my own business experience and understanding of the need for teamwork. In the end I just want everyone to go out and have fun.”

Posted May 20, 2013