Bruce Miller
Cheshire Centennial Meet at Brooklawn
Cheshire Honorary Whipper-In Paddy Neilson, Huntsman Ivan Dowling, and professional whipper-in Stephanie Boyer at Brooklawn / Noel Mullins photo
Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds (PA), founded in 1912, are celebrating their Centennial this season. W. Plunkett Stewart, a Philadelphia banker, set out to find the perfect hunting country and settled on the rolling hills, rich pastureland and extensive woods around Unionville. As what in modern terms could be classed as a committed environmentalist, he purchased thousands of acres of land and, before reselling, amended deeds to restrict development and nurture conservancy, clean water, and natural habitat. As a result of his efforts and the culture of conservation he passed on, the Cheshire hunting country today boasts thirty square miles and twenty-six thousand acres free from ribbon residential and commercial development that has allowed foxhunting and National Hunt racing to thrive.
For the Joy of It!
Jim Graham photoPhotographer Jim Graham captured an exuberant Bruce Miller—MFH and Field Master of Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds—in a moment that conveys by expression and posture the pure joy of galloping cross country. From Miller’s dainty grip on his stick to the loop in his reins, this is a picture of a confident rider on a trustworthy horse. F. Bruce Miller was the trainer of five-time champion and Hall of Fame steeplechase horse, Lonesome Glory. Miller raced over fences himself, is still an active trainer who has topped the Leading Earners’ list more than once, and is the father of champion jockeys Blythe and Chip Miller. The Cheshire members are celebrating their one hundredth anniversary this year and, as the photo attests, are still enjoying great sport! Posted November 18, 2012
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The Simple Game: An Irish Jockey’s Memoir
The Simple Game:
An Irish Jockey’s Memoir
by Thomas Foley
Foreword by Otto Thorwarth
Caballo Press of Ann Arbor Book, Ann Arbor, Michigan
2010, 163 pages, ISBN-13: 9780982476659
Thomas Foley was an empty-headed (by his account) seventeen-year-old when he came to America from Ireland to pursue a career in jump racing. This month he will be seen by millions of movie goers as he plays the part of Secretariat’s exercise boy in Walt Disney’s long-hyped movie about the great racehorse. Between the two events, which bracket a period of twelve or thirteen years, young Foley has experienced a bit of life.
