This past season Goshen Hounds (Gaithersburg, Maryland) had much to celebrate; our huntsman Robert Taylor, MFH, hit a big milestone: 30 years as Huntsman for Goshen Hounds! Goshen Hounds has been very fortunate to have Robert as huntsman. He always provides us with amazing sport and displays an extraordinary commitment to the hounds and club.
So, what exactly is Irish Yoga? Well, it started as a humorous internet meme displaying people in awkward or amusing positions after a night of revelry. This plays on the stereotype of the Irish enjoying a drink or two. Anyone who has hunted behind our own Irishman knows of his Irish bark, love of good whiskey, and constant Irish blarney.
As part of our season of celebrations, a group of members embarked on what was aptly named “Robert’s Irish Yoga Tour.” A 10-day southern fox chasing adventure! To the south and the warm weather, WE GO…or so we thought!
Mother nature, as always, has quite the sense of humor. As we packed up our trucks and trailers, she was planning to throw us a big old sendoff party…and so began the snow. Some may have felt this was reason enough to throw in the towel, but not us Marylanders, some headed out of town a day early, while others stuck to the plan and dealt with the fresh covering of “white stuff”.
The first stop on our tour was warm and sunny Aiken, South Carolina. Except….it wasn’t! It was cold and it started to SNOW!! This did not stop our group from having a great time and enjoying the company of friends. We threw a welcome cocktail party at the beautiful Wilcox rental cottage. We were even surprised by a couple of Goshen transplants residing in Aiken. In fact, we stabled our horses at Tim and Vicki Shaw’s beautiful Jumping Branch Farm. Tim was a long-time Goshen member and previous Chairman of the Board. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to see all of our long-lost friends!
Throughout the Yoga Tour, we planned “family dinners” at the various rental homes. The crew coordinating the trip did an over-the-top and amazing job. They kept us all well-fed and certainly without thirst, as we also had a pub-sized travel bar that went wherever we did, quite literally, as it resided in the bed of one of our members’ pick-ups. After all, we have Irish Yoga to practice.
Unfortunately, the snow did keep us from being able to hunt with Aiken Hounds. Of course, this did not stop us from enjoying our time away with friends as we all gathered for our first family dinner, held at another one of the rental homes. Our next planned hunting day, with Genesee Valley Hounds, went off without a hitch! We pulled out of our rental houses, as we watched 2-wheel drive cars slide down hills, headed to the barn, and then onward to the fixture. We were treated to a fantastic day of hunting behind Marion Thorne in Salley, South Carolina.
To commemorate our “tour”, everyone on the trip received a “tour shirt” which displays the Irish Yoga meme. To spice things up, we suggested getting the tour shirt signed along the way. As we went along with our travels, each person earned a trip-specific nickname. Nicknames were given out by secretly writing them on the shirts and then presenting them during our family dinners.
At our final family dinner in Aiken, the first trip nickname was announced, Marie Antonette. The recipient of this nickname had a little snafu after dismounting back at the trailers. Her helmet strap got hooked on a full cheek bit, and she was nearly beheaded twice as she was lifted off the ground by her helmet. Horse and rider are both fine, but needless to say a full cheek bit has not been used since.
On our final day in Aiken, many of us took advantage of the spare time to enjoy lunch and shopping. What a beautiful town!
The next stop on our tour was Thomson, Georgia, for the Belle Meade Hound Performance Trials. Goshen has participated in these trials a few times previously. We brought along 3 hounds on our travels so that they could compete. While in Thomson we opted for hotel rooms and stabled our horses at the lovely Foxboro Farm, home of Epp and Judith Wilson. We were treated to two days of fantastic sport, comradery, and southern hospitality. I think everyone caught the view of the coyote, with hounds in full cry right behind, just as we closed out the second day of hunting. What a treat!
Our Goshen ground crew spoiled us every day with a trailer-side stirrup cup. On our final day, we headed out for a nice dinner at Bordeaux. Meanwhile, the nickname-naming team was hard at work preparing for more presentations at our next family dinner.
For the final leg of our Irish Yoga Tour, we headed to Southern Pines, North Carolina. One of our rental homes was on a beautiful lake setting, so this was the perfect location for our family dinners. Our horses enjoyed their stabling at the Carolina Horse Park. Each night we presented more nicknames, and we all had a good laugh.
For our final day of hunting, we headed to the Walthour-Moss Foundation to hunt with Moore County Hounds. What an absolutely amazing place they have preserved. There was no shortage of sport, and a great time was had by all. Following hunting, we headed into town for lunch with members of Moore County. Of course, we were all sad for our incredible adventures to end but the group quickly requested that another trip be planned for next season!
Robert’s Irish Yoga Tour was everything we had hoped it would be and more; we had the best of company during the entire trip. There was plenty of Irish Yoga practicing, general shenanigans, and spectacular hunting! We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the plans and execution of this trip, without their help it would not have been as incredible as it was. We are very blessed to have a Huntsman so worthy of being celebrated for such a huge milestone! Congratulations to our Huntsman, Robert Taylor, MFH!
