To the Grey Hunter
Here’s an excerpt from Tad Shepperd’s book of foxhunting and racing poems, Pack and Paddock, published by the Derrydale Press, New York, in 1938. Illustrated by Paul Brown, it was regarded by Derrydale founder Eugene Connett as one of his most handsome publications. Nine hundred-fifty copies were printed. The pages were gilt-edged on top and deckle-edged, untrimmed fore and bottom. The book was bound in red cloth with gilt lettering and boxed. Original price: $10.00.
Well did your sire know the feel
Of battling for the rail,
Of track dust flung from a driving heel,
Of thunder upon his tail!
Well did he know the cheering throng
That shivered the heaven’s dome.
Well did he know the jockey’s song,
In the desp’rate drive for home.
Well did he know the hail of mud,
The burn of the flaying goad.
For under his girth there pulsed the blood
Of the noble Roi Herode.
Aye, and well did your grandam know
The feel of the collar’s brace,
The weight of the wagon, creaking, slow,
The tug of the leathern trace.
Wise your dam to the hazy sweep
Of the moorlands, lush and rich.
Well did she know the slide-and-leap
Of the Irish bank-and-ditch.
Wise to the horn’s resounding skirl,
The hounds on the russet rogue.
Well did she know, “Hup-up, me gur-r-l!”
In a laughing Irish brogue.
Green Creek Bankrupt Is Grand Champion at Carolinas
Tot Goodwin, MFH and huntsman of the Green Creek Hounds with Carolinas Hound Show Grand Champion Bankrupt ’13 / Don West photo Following in his sire’s footsteps, Green Creek Bankrupt 2013 was judged Grand Champion foxhound at the Carolinas Hound Show on May 10, 2014. Bankrupt’s sire, Why Worry Braveheart 2009, garnered the same honor […]
Neil Morris Is MFH at Orange County
Neil Morris hunting a stakes-winning hurdle horse at Orange County / Douglas Lees photoNeil Morris is a new Master of the Orange County Hounds (VA). Morris joins current Masters John Coles and Malcolm Matheson in leading this, one of the most prominent hunts in the country.
“I’m so happy to have him,” said Coles. “Neil can do anything in this job that anyone could want. He’s a great guy, a great horseman…he’s made to order ”
Better known perhaps for his association with winning race horses he has trained for Kinross Farm, such as Grade I Stakes winner Sur La Tete; Virginia Gold Cup winner Miles Ahead; and Virginia-bred Researcher with winnings in the seven figures, Morris is at the same time an avid foxhunter. He hunts his steeplechase horses regularly and credits that time off in the field with providing the bottomless stamina his horses so often display on the race course.
Louisiana Embraces Fox Penning
A bill declaring fox pen hunting to be a folklife heritage of the state of Louisiana was signed into law by Governor Bobby Jindal on Monday, June 9. Officially incorporated into Louisiana’s culture, fox pen hunting will be preserved under the provisions of the bill. The bill faced criticism, but one representative who supported the […]
One Missing Hound Safe; One to Go!
One of the two unentered Live Oak foxhounds that were spooked upon their arrival at Morven Park for the Virginia Foxhound Show last May has been recovered. Perfect, who never left the Morven Park area, was finally secured in a box dog trap. Her companion in flight, Charter, has been more adventurous in his […]
Mediocre or Superior Hounds: A Choice
Karen L. Myers photoEach year we hear grumblings at the hound shows questioning whether those hunts that consistently win all the ribbons are being sportsmanlike by continuing to show their hounds in all the classes. Truth be told, I have been guilty of those grumblings, but I was flat out wrong.
On the flip side, I have even heard some winning Masters express hesitation about entering their hounds in certain shows because they feel funny about dominating the ring. They shouldn’t. They are doing us a service.
If the premier breeders of foxhounds don’t persist in putting their best hounds in the ring for all to see, how will we acquire the visual standard—that mental picture—to guide us in our own breeding programs?
True, more hunts would win ribbons, and members and Masters might feel better, but what would happen to the foxhound as a breed when lesser examples pose with their trophies? We need a North Star—a constant standard—toward which to strive if we want to breed the best foxhounds we can.
The better question is why do certain hunts consistently breed the winning hounds.
My Holiday with Hounds
Kennel huntsman Nick Hopkins exercises the North Cotswold foxhounds through the village of Broadway. / Denya Massey Clarke photo
On holiday one spring day in 2008 my husband (non-horsey) and I were walking down High Street in Broadway, enjoying the charms of one of the most attractive towns in the Cotswolds. Suddenly I heard hounds.
I determined to find the source, while my husband is thinking, “Really? We’re on vacation, and she finds hounds? Out of the blue? Really?” I saw a lane called Kennel Lane, and there, one block off High Street, were the kennels of the North Cotswold Foxhounds!
I was enchanted by the hounds living right in town. It made them so accessible, yet they weren’t. The North Cotswold foxhounds are a beautifully bred, highly respected pack. I imagined seeing them out of their kennels on a hunting day, yet, since we travel regularly to the Cotswolds in May, that wouldn’t happen.
While planning our third trip to Broadway, I couldn’t resist. I knew that the Joint-Master of the North Cotswold, Mr. Nigel Peel*, was a contributor to Foxhunting Life—in fact a member of FHL’s Panel of Experts. I asked editor Norman Fine if it would be impolite to ask to see the kennels. He kindly offered to introduce me by email to Mr. Peel, who bred this beautiful pack, hunts them himself, and whose reputation as a breeder and judge of foxhounds is universally renowned.
Fast forward: the phone rings in our Cotswold ‘cottage.’ It’s Nick Hopkins, kennel huntsman for the North Cotswold Foxhounds, calling on Mr. Peel’s behalf to invite me to walk out with the hounds on the twentieth of May at 7:45 a.m. Of course, I say. Thank you. Oh, mentions Nick, we’ll have a bike for you. A what? A bike. Oh, ok…. We hang up.
Sure, And the Going Was Soft!
As the owner of a multi-media production studio, Steve Toepp knows what he wants to convey in his foxhunting videos but he finds it to be a challenging task. “Filming while mounted is the most difficult type of videography I have ever encountered,” Toepp says. “I am trying to develop riding techniques that keep […]
Richard Normington to Carry the Horn for Radnor
Jim Graham photoThe Radnor Hunt (PA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Richard Normington as professional huntsman. Richard brings an impressive level of expertise and horsemanship that bodes well for Radnor’s ability to show good sport for seasons to come.
Before coming to the U.S., Richard was first whipper-in at the Grafton Hunt (Northamptonshire), the Worcestershire, the Crawley and Horsham (Sussex), and the Cheshire Hunt. He is third generation hunt staff, and a crack horseman, with experience in point-to-points and other cross-country competitions.
Foxhunters Acquitted; Repeal the Ban Says Defense Solicitor
A British defense solicitor has called for an end to the hunting ban in England because too many prosecutions are thrown out for lack of evidence. Passion, yes, he says. Evidence, no. A Master and huntsman from the Weston and Barnwell Harriers and his whipper-in were recently acquitted in court of charges leveled by […]