Andrews Bridge Foxhounds, New Huntsman Have a Red Letter Day
Andrews Bridge first-year huntsman Adam Townsend praises hounds for their work. Mounted rider is whipper-in Charlie Fleischmann.
Adam Townsend joined the Andrews Bridge Foxhounds (PA) this past April as its first professional huntsman in many years. Adam came to us from the Elkridge-Harford Hunt (MD) where he served as first whipper-in for the last three seasons. Since his arrival he has been working diligently with our pack of Black & Tan Penn-Marydels. Each day’s hunting has shown excellent sport but on Monday, October 28, 2013, Adam’s efforts were rewarded with a red letter day.
Junior Field Hunter Championships Just Keep Growing
(l-r) Lauren Gibson and Landmark Cracker Jack, winner of the Hilltopper Division; Iona Pillion; and Douglas Wise-Stuart, MFH / Liz Callar photoThe tenth annual Junior North American Field Hunter Championship competition is in the offing with this year’s finals scheduled for Sunday, November 4, 2012 at the Radnor Hunt in Chester County, Pennsylvania. What started in Virginia has now spread to neighboring mid-Atlantic states and the number of participating hunts continues to grow.
More than a competition, the main purposes are to expose foxhunters eighteen years of age and younger to a variety of hunting countries, to instill in their young minds the importance of open space preservation if our sport is to continue beyond their lifetimes, and to stress suitability of mount to rider. The concept was hatched ten years ago by Douglas Wise-Stuart, MFH and Iona Pillion, both renowned for their junior foxhunting programs.
Why This Foxhunter Cares About Horseracing
Karen L. Myers photo
Over the past couple of months we have run a few News items about the Triple Crown season, kicked off just last Saturday by the Kentucky Derby. We wrote about Uncle Mo, who many in the Thoroughbred industry hoped would be a legitimate Triple Crown contender and breathe new life into the industry. We wrote about Rosie Napravnik who with nearly one thousand wins to her credit hoped to be the first woman to win the Kentucky Derby. True, this isn’t foxhunting, and the question arises whether or not I should be publishing these stories in Foxhunting Life. Why do I?
My answer is because that’s where our great horses come from. The Thoroughbred is the elite athlete of the equine world, and many of our field hunters are off-the-track Thoroughbreds, Thoroughbred crosses, or have Thoroughbred bloodlines in their foundation stock.
If when you take to the field you care at all about grace, generosity, and/or athleticism, you have to thank those bloodlines and those beautiful dreamers—the breeders, trainers, owners, and jocks—who commit their lives, their fortunes, and all their energies to the mostly unforgiving quest of producing a better racehorse. And except for one happy outcome last Saturday, weren’t the hopes of many of those beautiful dreamers cruelly dashed?
Hunt Breakfast Recipe Contest Winners
Juliet Mackay-Smith, chef and proprietor of Locke Modern Country Store
Results are in for our Hunt Breakfast Recipe Contest! Our judge Juliet Mackay-Smith has made her selections, and we will pin the winning recipes with a blue ribbon within the website so readers will know which recipes have received these honors.
“Born into a foxhunting family, I have had first-hand experience of what makes for satisfying fare at a hunt breakfast…both for the hosts to prepare and for the guests to consume,” said Mackay-Smith.
Andrews Bridge Mustardy-Dill Egg Salad
Can be made 1 – 2 days ahead of time. Serve with crackers, baguette slices or thin bread.
Andrews Bridge Peachy Bread Pudding
Note: Depending on size of the bread loaves, you may need to add or cut back on liquid amounts. More maple syrup and/or schnapps can be added if mixture looks too dry.
Juniors Meet in Pennsylvania for 2010 Junior North American Field Hunter Championships
Lauren Giannini photo
For their first seven years, the Junior North American Field Hunter Championships took place in Virginia, mostly at Old Whitewood, part of Orange County’s country in The Plains. However, after Alex Matz won the First Flight (12-and-Under) championship in 2009, the notion of staging the next finals in Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire country came to fruition. Blue Ridge Hunt’s David Pawlak partnered with the indubitable Paris to ace the individual test in the First Flight and claim their second consecutive 13-18 championship. Makayla Benjamin (Loudoun West) and Butterfly Painting went home with the reserve tri-color.
Juniors Meet in Pennsylvania for 2010 Junior North American Field Hunter Championships
Lauren Giannini photo
For their first seven years, the Junior North American Field Hunter Championships took place in Virginia, mostly at Old Whitewood, part of Orange County’s country in The Plains. However, after Alex Matz won the First Flight (12-and-Under) championship in 2009, the notion of staging the next finals in Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire country came to fruition. Blue Ridge Hunt’s David Pawlak partnered with the indubitable Paris to ace the individual test in the First Flight and claim their second consecutive 13-18 championship. Makayla Benjamin (Loudoun West) and Butterfly Painting went home with the reserve tri-color.
Famous Smoked Mac and Cheese
An Andrews Bridge favorite!
Blue Ridge Mortimer Is Grand Champion at Bryn Mawr
June 6, 2010
Blue Ridge Mortimer 2009 (Crawley and Horsham Morpeth 2005 ex Blue Ridge Crocus 2006) was judged Champion English Foxhound and ultimately Grand Champion of the Show at Bryn Mawr on Saturday, June 5. Mortimer goes back in tail-male to Marty and Daphne Wood’s renowned Live Oak Drummer 1989, but the bloodlines had to cross the Atlantic twice before winding up in the Blue Ridge kennels.