George Briscoe: Grand-Master of Hounds
George Briscoe, MH of the Tara Harriers for 71 years, greets Charlie Noell of Ardbraccan House, County Meath, and the Elkridge-Harford Hunt (MD). / Noel Mullins photo
If there were a title of Grand Master of Hounds in our hunting world, George Briscoe would certainly fit the bill. This season George Briscoe hosted his seventy-fifth consecutive opening lawn meet of his beloved Tara Harriers at Craystown, County Meath. The occasion marked his seventy-first season as Joint-Master, making his period as Master and for a time huntsman a world record. Especially when you consider that the majority of the hunt followers were not even born when he succeeded his father in the Mastership in 1942 at age twenty-one.
George is one of nature’s gentlemen, with a broad welcoming smile, a kind word for everybody, and unbounded passions for hunting, the farming community, and the Tara Harriers. He never misses an opportunity to remind followers of the illustrious history of the Tara Harriers. His sitting-room window looks out onto the Hill of Tara, the royal seat of the High Kings of Ireland—probably the most important ancient site in Ireland, the history of which goes back as early as 5,000 BC. George has penned two books on the life of a country gentleman which is a record of life around the big house, hunting, shooting, and fishing, as well as a few racy references just for good measure!
George was a great friend of Betty Bird and her husband Charlie, who was Joint-Master of the Meath Foxhounds from 1956-59 when George was hunt chairman. Later he hunted with the Bird’s home pack, Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds in Pennsylvania, USA. Interestingly one of George’s neighbours, Anne Kelly, left Ireland to work with Betty Bird producing horses for showing and hunting and settled in Pennsylvania. She married racehorse trainer Michael Moran whose mother Betty owned the Aintree Grand National winner, Papillion. Anne is now a Joint-Master of Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds.
Cleveland Bays Come “Home” to Farnley
l-r: Organizer Peter Cook, Blue Ridge Hunt; hosts Hettie Mackay-Smith Abeles and Dr. Matthew Mackay-Smith; Denya Dee Leake, honorary whipper-in, Old Dominion Hounds, step-granddaughter of Alexander Mackay-Smith / Liz Callar photo,
It’s been nearly seventy-five years since Alexander Mackay-Smith’s Farnley Farm in White Post, Virginia was home to a herd of some fifty Cleveland Bays. In his travels, Mackay-Smith had discovered the ancient breed of coach horse in the northeast of England and became convinced they would make ideal field hunters. He imported breeding stock, encouraged Tom and Marilyn Webster of the Idle Hour Stud to buy and stand Rambler’s Renown (who was to become North America’s leading sire of Cleveland Bays), and re-introduced the endangered breed to a new generation of horsemen and women in this country.
Farnley was once again in its bay glory on Saturday, November 16, 2013 as a record number of twenty-one Cleveland Bays (seven purebreds and fourteen part-breds) gathered at the invitation of Mackay-Smith’s children, Hetty Mackay-Smith Abeles and Dr. Matthew Mackay-Smith; Cleveland Bay breeder Peter Cook; and the Masters of the Blue Ridge Hunt for a celebration of the legacy that Farnley has left to the Cleveland Bay breed in North America.
Hetty Abeles and Dr. Matthew Mackay-Smith greeted the Cleveland Bay delegation and welcomed them back to Farnley as they assembled for a photograph in front of the house. Blue Ridge Joint-Master Anne McIntosh gave the official welcome on behalf of Joint-Masters Linda Armbrust and Brian Ferrell, after which participants divided into three flights and trotted up the lane to the first covert.
Foxhunting Museum Gallery Open for Holiday Shopping in Middleburg
Scurry of the Orange County Hunt by Jean Bowman
A satellite gallery of the Museum of Hounds and Hunting at Morven Park is open in Middleburg for art-minded Christmas shoppers. Sporting art—original paintings, signed prints, and sculptures by contemporary American artists are for sale at prices ranging from $385.00 to $9,600.00 with all sales benefitting the Museum.
Modestly priced items—books, calendars, note cards, and sporting novelties—are also available. Whether or not you are ready to shop, it’s worth a stop if only to see what today’s talented, contemporary artists are producing and to learn more about the Museum, its permanent exhibits, and its programs.
One of the surprising items for sale is the limited edition print of the late Jean Bowman’s brilliant 1989 Scurry of the Orange County Hounds. Four of these prints were recently found safely in storage, Jean Bowman having been a member of the Museum Advisory Committee and a generous supporter. Two of the prints are signed by Ms. Bowman, and the price is still a very reasonable $385.00. The prints come with a key identifying the figures, among them James L. Young, MFH; Governor Bruce Sundlin; Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; the Hon. Charles Whitehouse; Senator John Warner; Melvin Poe, huntsman; the artist herself; and sixty-six other notable members.
Other artists represented in the benefit sale include Anita Baarns, Cynthia Benitz, Jean Clagett, Mary Coker, Mary Cornish, Teresa Duke, Sandra Forbush, Juli Kirk, Nancy Kleck, Gail Guirrei Maslyk, Alice Porter, Belinda Sillars, Dana Lee Thompson, and Cathy Zimmerman.
Macy the Foxhunting Mule Is a Keeper
It’s the ears, of course. At a walk, the long, warm-brown ears swing with metronomic precision forward and back, forward and back, to her hoof beats. At the trot, they stiffen forward, and at a check they go into neutral, except when something catches her attention. Then she points with them, head up.
Macy the foxhunting mule is an eight-year-old, 15.2-hand molly (or mare) with zebra markings on her hocks and knees, a dorsal stripe, and a cross on her withers. Her coarse dun hair and sparse tail are more similar to her donkey father than to her quarter horse mother.
She is owned by Suzanne Dow of Dundalk, Ontario, honorary whipper in of the Eglinton and Caledon Hunt and MFH of the Bethany Hills-Frontenac Hunt from 1998 to 2004. Suzanne kindly offered to let me ride Macy for a Monday hunt recently, and I took her up on the offer. A landowner issue caused the hunt to be cancelled, but we did go out for a trail ride so I could sample the virtues of a mule. There are many.
Hamilton Fox, ex-MFH, WWII Hero, Dead at 93
Hamilton Phillips Fox, ex-MFH, died at his home on Maryland’s Eastern Shore on November 26, 2013 at age 93. He was a decorated Naval veteran of World War II and enjoyed a distinguished law career in Salisbury, Maryland for nearly fifty years, starting in 1947. He served as MFH of the Wicomico Hunt (MD) for […]
Foxhound Wins Best of Show at National Dog Show
Jewel, the American foxhound barely edged out (according to knowledgeable observers) at Westminster by the affenpinscher last February, was judged Best in Show at the National Dog Show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center. More than 1,500 dogs were entered in the all-breed show. The three-year-old female, GCH Kiarry’s Pandora’s Box (aka Jewel), is the […]
Social Media Brings Out New Foxhunters in England
Many hunts in England that have used FaceBook to recruit first-time foxhunters have reported a doubling of interest compared to last year, according to a report in The Guardian by Fiona Harvey. More than one hundred people showed up for opening meet with the Surrey Union Foxhounds, about seventy-five percent of whom were newcomers according […]
The Whipper-In Revealed
Stephanie Boyer, professional whipper-in, Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds (PA): “I am the huntsman’s eyes and ears, and I have to be honest with him at all times concerning what I see, whether he wants to hear it or not!” / Jim Graham photoYou may have noticed that the whipper-in has been Foxhunting Life’s theme this week. We field members watch these heroic figures, intent in their mission, standing in the irons, galloping on, claiming their “right-of-way” when passing the field, but what do they actually do?
For the answer to this question, read “The Whipper-In Is the Huntsman’s Right Hand” below.
The article “Whipper-In: What’s in a Name?” compares the differing agendas of the professional versus the honorary whipper-in and examines the best use of the whip they carry. “The Galloping Whip” by Brooksby is a poetic tribute to Charles Isaac, a nineteenth century whipper-in with the Pytchley (UK).
For anyone with aspirations to whipping-in one day, a particularly useful book devoted to the subject is Whipper-In by Dennis Foster, Executive Director of the MFHA. Indeed, it’s a good read for anyone interested in how the whipper-in, huntsman, and hounds work together in the field.
According to Peter Beckford, the whipper-in can be the decisive ingredient in turning a mediocre hunting day into a brilliant one. Here’s what he had to say in his classic, ageless 1781 treatise, Thoughts on Hunting.
Whipper-In: What’s In the Name?
Booli Selmayr, professional whipper-in, Millbrook Hunt (NY): “A good day whipping-in is not having to be told, but instead, allowing natural instinct to guide me: listening to the horn and hounds, reading the terrain, and quickly distinguishing whether fox or coyote.” / Kirsten Edlund-Tunkel photo
Professional or Honorary
The world of whipping-in is split into two camps—professional and honorary. The professional whipper-in often fills the position to gain experience and recognition on his or her road to becoming a huntsman. As the title suggests, it is a paid position. The honorary whipper-in is not paid, is generally recruited from the ranks of the hunt membership, and generally does not aspire to become a huntsman. He or she may be a riding member or one of the Masters.
Professional hunt staff in England go through a structured period of apprenticeship. Years there are spent just doing kennel work before even being allowed to walk hounds out on exercise and before even being allowed on a horse. If recommended, they will finally be taken on as second whipper-in to a hunt. After a few moves, they may be recommended to fill an opening for a first whipper-in somewhere else. Under the system, they purposely move every few years from one hunt to another, gaining experience and exposure to different huntsmen and different methods before finally being offered a huntsman’s post. Clearly a strong foundation is laid through such a rigorous system.
Whipper-In: What’s In the Name?
This article was first published in 2013. With an archive of thousands of articles available on our website, we hope you will agree that at least a few are worth republishing!
Booli Selmayr, professional whipper-in, Millbrook Hunt (NY): “A good day whipping-in is not having to be told, but instead, allowing natural instinct to guide me: listening to the horn and hounds, reading the terrain, and quickly distinguishing whether fox or coyote.” / Kirsten Edlund-Tunkel photoTo the uninitiated, the term whipper-in might conjure images of a callous fellow laying his whip across the backs of hounds for every infraction. In fact, the whip is used primarily for its loud crack as an attention-getter. The explosive noise breaks the concentration of hounds from whatever they are doing that the whipper-in wants to stop.