The Keen Foxhunter’s Miscellany
The Keen Foxhunter’s Miscellany, Peter Holt, Quiller Publishing, 2010, 224 pages, illustrated, available on AmazonHere’s a book about foxhunting by a man who never hunted. Peter Holt’s wife, however, is a Master of Foxhounds, so the poor fellow has probably heard more about hunting than he ever wanted to know.
The book is a quirky collection of literary quotes, short reports, historical oddities, profiles of hunting eccentrics—no story longer than two pages.
Notwithstanding Holt’s lack of hunting experience, this is a very funny book. Admittedly, my sense of humor is sometimes weird, so here are a couple of samples. You decide.
Uzi Mows ’em Down at Maury River Hunter Trials
Despite threatening weather, the Second Annual Maury River Hunter Trials were held April 2 and enjoyed by more than seventy competitors, numerous tail-gaters, sponsors, spectators, volunteers, and judges on the rolling cross country fields of the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Virginia.
Cheryl Microutsicos and her handsome bay, WoW! Graphic Design’s Up & Coming (a.k.a. Uzi), accumulated the most points in the First Flight Open division to win the Melvin Poe Cup, sponsored by Brooks Cushman of Winbrooke Farm and awarded by the legendary Melvin himself, in attendance with his wife Peggy. Here, Cheryl is congratulated by Melvin and by Brian Ross, co-head of the Virginia Horse Trials.
Heroes & Hounds
Heroes & Hounds, Bill Miller, Illustrated by Mary Burkhardt, 154 pages, $11.95 (paperback), $3.99 (Kindle), Available on Amazon.comA lost tri-colored foxhound. A spunky eleven-year-old girl with an independent streak. A strange man who subsists in the woods. And weaving among them, a fox that seems at times to have almost mystical powers.
Author Bill Miller, an honorary whipper-in for the Norfolk Hunt (MA) for more than twenty years, crafts a tale of loss and forgiveness in Heroes & Hounds. Carly, a fifth grader who dreams of riding to the hounds with the posh Riverdale Hunt Club, lives with her irascible grandfather on a Virginia farm while her parents serve overseas in the military. Carly’s best friends are her talented pony, Monroe; a cat named Buster; and a schoolmate, Freddie, who follows her lead into trouble.
When Hampton, a young Riverdale hound, is lost, Carly vows to find him, dreaming of being hailed as a hero and being asked to join the hunt. Instead she risks Freddie’s life and discovers Strange Willie, who knows all too well about being a hero.
Hat Trick for Neil Morris at Old Dominion
Lake Placid and Matthew McCarron hold off Fantastic Foeand Jeff Murphy for the Open Hurdle win.Trainer Neil Morris scored a hat trick at the Old Dominion Point-to-Point races on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at Ben Venue Farm. Morris saddled three winners: Maiden Hurdle, Open Hurdle, and Open Timber.
Morris’s first two wins were the easy ones. In the Maiden Hurdle, Last Noble with Jacob Roberts aboard led the field all the way and won easily. In the Open Hurdle, Lake Placid with Matthew McCarron in the irons raced around the course on the lead, turned back a challenge by second place finisher Fantastic Foe, and won by four-and-a-half lengths.
Ben Hardaway Hospitalized with Broken Hip
Shortly after returning from the Southern Hound Show, Ben Hardaway, MFH of the Midland Fox Hounds (GA), fell in the kitchen of his home and suffered a broken hip. He is in the Hughston Hospital, Room 263 (phone 706-494-2100). Son-in-Law Mason Lampton writes that Hardaway “is in some pain but still has his humor.” Phone […]
James J. Culleton, MFH
judy ciliberto photoJames J. Culleton, MFH of the Reedy Creek Hounds passed away on Friday, April 8 at his home, Reedy Creek Farm, in McKenney, Virginia. Culleton was born in Brooklyn, New York, pursued a career in the New York City Public School System, and also owned and operated a riding school and hack stable […]
Jeff Murphy Has Two Winners at Orange County
Jeff Murphy brought two winners home—one over timber, the other over hurdles—at the Orange County Point-to-Point on Sunday, April 3, at Locust Hill Farm in Middleburg, Virginia.
Murphy’s win on Aero (photo) in the Novice Timber race was a repeat performance of the pair’s previous win at Warrenton this spring. This time, Aero stalked fifth-place finisher Thynnus twice around the course. Five fences from the finish Aero went to the front, was overtaken by third-place finisher I’m A Hokie, regained the lead with two fences remaining, and drew away in the stretch to win by seven lengths. Aero is trained by Doug Fout and owned by Alfred C. Griffin, Jr.
The Happiest Man in England
The happiest man in England rose an hour before the dawn;
The stars were in the purple and the dew was on the lawn;
He sang from bed to bathroom—he could only sing “John Peel”;
He donned his boots and breeches and he buckled on his steel.
He chose his brightest waistcoat and his stock with care he tied,
Though scarce a soul would see him in his early morning ride.
Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point
Trainer Richard Valentine continued his winning ways by saddling winners in the first two timber races at the Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point on Saturday, March 26, 2011 near Upperville, Virginia. Valentine-trained horses won two races at Warrenton the previous week.
Gus Brown was first at the wire with Beech Cay in the Maiden Timber for Augustin Stables, and George Hundt, Jr., pictured here, won the Owner-Rider Timber on Westbound Road. This was the second win in two weeks for Hundt, who won the Owner-Rider Timber at Warrenton on Justpourit.
Richard “Pinky” Edmonds, Popular Horseman, Dead at Eighty-Six
Richard “Pinky” Edmonds, 86, died on Wednesday, March 9 from post-operative complications following knee replacement surgery the week before, according to Jon Massey of Folsom, Louisiana. “He will be profoundly missed by everyone who knew him,” said Massey. “Pinky was one of the first real horsemen that I met when I started foxhunting,” said Jef […]