devon and somerset staghounds
An American’s Experiences as an English MFH
Linda Armbrust, MFH, High Peak Harriers (UK), leads her field. / Jim Meads photo
Years have passed since I was resident and MFH of two hunts in England. Now, as a married and ex-MFH in Virginia, I reflect on my fourteen years of English hunting. All the dark moments—rain, rain, and more rain, difficult farmers, and monumental mistakes—have faded now, leaving me with thoughts of good friends, outstanding hunts, great hedges and walls, and lovely hounds.
Sporting Art Auction 2019 at Keeneland
Lot 51, Franklin Brooke Voss (American, 1880–1953), THE MIDDLESEX FOXHOUNDS IN THE MILLBROOK COUNTRY, signed, dated 1921, $8,000. – 10,000
Sunday, November 17, 2019 will mark the seventh annual Sporting Art Auction at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion—a cooperative venture between the world’s largest Thoroughbred auction house and its Lexington, Kentucky neighbor, Cross Gate Gallery, a leading source of the world’s finest sporting art. Collectors will take home works by highly regarded artists at prices possibly as low as $900, many under $3,000...others, truly exceptional works, as high as six figures.
This year’s offerings feature 189 lots of paintings and sculptures by masters long gone as well as by leading contemporary sporting artists of the day. Among the European artists represented are Henry Alken, Peter Curling, John Emms, Harry Hall, the various Herrings, Michael Lyne, Sir Alfred Munnings, and many others. American artists this year include Paul Brown, Juli Kirk, Booth Malone, LeRoy Neiman, Sandra Oppegard, Andre Pater, and Larry Wheeler.
Huntsmen On the Move: 2018
Neil Amatt will hunt hounds at Loudoun Fairfax.Having been a member of many fields in many hunting countries, the huntsman has always been my hero. From the time we mount up and for the few hours that follow, it is the huntsman who is most directly responsible for our day’s sport.
One might well argue that the hounds have something to do with it, and this I grant. But the pack is the product of the huntsman, and, since the level of sport depends on how hounds perform in the field as a pack, it all comes back to the huntsman.
Here’s our annual report on the recent moves of huntsmen Neil Amatt, Martyn Blackmore, Tony Gammell, and Sam Clifton.
Huntsman Walter Perry Dead in UK
Retired huntsman Walter Perry died in his nineties on September 17, 2014 in Crowcombe, Somerset, UK. Walter hunted the Devon and Somerset Staghounds from 1963 to 1971, the Dulverton East Foxhounds from 1971 to 1978, and accepted his final post in 1978 as kennel-huntsman and huntsman for the Quantock Staghounds. He retired from the Quantock in May, 1991. Funeral services will be held on Friday September 26, 2014 at 3:00 pm at Exford Church, Somerset.
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Equine Herpes Interrupts Hunting in Devon
Three hunts—Devon and Somerset Staghounds, Exmoor Foxhounds, and Dulverton West Foxhounds—recently cancelled meets due to an outbreak of equine herpes virus (EHV-1) at a North Devon racing yard. EHV-1 is a serious and sometimes fatal disease that is transmitted through the air or close contact. Hunt representatives said that the cancellations are precautionary and temporary. Click for more details in the Somerset. http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Hunts-called-equine-herpes-outbreak-racing/story-17381729-detail/story.html
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