Is Britain’s House of Lords Doomed?
Prime Minister David Cameron wants to replace Britain’s House of Lord’s with a smaller, elected body of legislators, according to an Associated Press report. Cameron’s plan calls for the gradual introduction of elected members to a new chamber which would replace the House of Lords—that body of hereditary peers—that has been a branch of government […]
A Visitor’s View
It was an unrivalled invitation: to spend two months hunting in the United States with Anne McIntosh, MFH of the Blue Ridge Hunt (VA). As a hunting-mad Brit who’d grown up with the West Country packs of my native Somerset, I was intrigued to learn about the tradition of the sport on the other side of the pond.
Coming over to help with Anne’s horses, I took particular interest in the type and manners of what I would usually call hunters, soon learning they were called field hunters stateside. What struck me was their condition. A sunny American summer was as evident in the bloom on these horses’ coats as in the suntans on their riders! The fact that the majority of these horses also live out throughout the hunting season (which would be impossible with our muddy British winters) I think contributed to their impeccable manners and relaxed temperaments.
Fuss, Fuss
I’ve been grousing about four long rows of round hay bales left in my field. The guys that make the hay usually take the bales right off. But it’s been two weeks, and they’re still sitting there. Now, I’m going to have four long stretches of dead grass. Fuss, fuss.
This morning I took my dog Mara out for a walk as usual, and, glancing over to where the round bales were still sitting, it seemed there was something lying on top of one. Too big for one of the cats and not the right color. I recalled that foxes love to perch on top of round bales. Every warrior seeks the high ground. I stopped, hoping it was what I thought, and sure enough an alert head and two enormous ears fixed me in their sights.
Adventures on the Road with Brazos Valley
The adventures of Sandy Dixon and Mystic, shown here at the Virginia Foxhound Show, were just beginning. / Lix Callar photoThe Brazos Valley Hunt is back home in Texas now, having returned from this year’s Virginia Foxhound Show. That may not sound like a great achievement, but traveling to hound shows has been one adventure after another over the years.
Returning from the Central States Hound Show in 1995, we drove into a tornado. The hound trailer was flipped over on Interstate 35 in Ardmore, Oklahoma, spilling sixteen hounds onto the highway. We had two kennels strapped down in the bed of the pickup, both of which were sucked out. I actually saw Melody, a pregnant bitch I had just picked up from Tommy Jackson, fall out of the sky and hit the ground running south down the median.
All in the Families at Rolling Rock
R.K. Mellon’s great-granddaughter Kendra McBroom, showing her hound in the Junior Handlers Class at the VIrginia Foxhound ShowFrom the founding family—the Mellons—to the professional huntsman’s family—the Stickleys—the Rolling Rock Hunt nourishes its family connections.
Today, two Rolling Rock Masters represent the founding family: Mrs. Armour (Sophie) Mellon and Christina Henderson, granddaughter of hunt founder Richard King Mellon. Christina’s daughter, Kendra, thirteen, helped with hounds at the Virginia Foxhound Show this year and showed in the Junior Handlers Class—a fourth generation of the Mellon family involved in the hunt.
Mark Stickley, the current Rolling Rock huntsman, whipped-in to his father Lovell Stickley, who came to Rolling Rock as kennel huntsman in 1956 and carried the horn from 1961 to 1977. Today, Mark’s daughter Virginia whips-in to Mark and worked side-by-side with her dad showing hounds at the Virginia Foxhound Show—a third generation of Stickleys working with hounds at Rolling Rock.
All Foxhound Puppies to Be Microchipped in England
Starting next year, all foxhound puppies whelped by hunts in England will be microchipped. With more than twenty-five hundred foxhound pups born each year, that will be a daunting task, but hunts want to be ahead of the curve on expected legislation. Laws aimed at puppy mills are expected to be passed in Great Britain […]
British MFHA to Hunts: Document Your Hunting Day
The British MFHA has recommended that all hunts record evidence of their hunting activities to document that they are hunting within the law. The MFHA’s message comes as the result of recent successful prosecutions by authorities and stepped up efforts against hunting by the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS). Three members of the Crawley and […]
A View from the Driver’s Seat
Huntsman Andy Bozdan at his first TVH Opening MeetArriving to take up your post as huntsman three days before your first meet is probably not the traditional way to begin the season. However, after months of tussling with the U.S. Immigration Department I finally arrived at the Tennessee Valley Hunt on 13 September 2011.
Through September and October the hounds and I were finding our way. The meets were still very new to me, and the hounds were quite wayward in terms of running riot and biddability. We were walking out every day, and hounds slowly but surely began to respond to my voice and my horn.
Happy Memories of the Coniston Pack
Bernice Melrose, who lives in Australia, purchased this wonderful photo about three years ago at auction.
“It’s a beautiful vintage photo,” she wrote, “and I would love to know more about it if possible.”
Traditional Foxhunting Attire: Is It Relevant?
Is the wearing of traditional and proper hunting attire an outdated, outmoded, and irrelevant concept today? If sadly that appears sometimes to be the case, consider this.
Just about every major article of apparel worn by men today throughout the entire western world traces its origin back to the hunting fields of England.