DEFRA Minister Sympathetic to Hunting
June 21, 2010
British foxhunters are encouraged by signs of improved relations between government and hunting. It was not only what was said, but where it was said that raised hopes.
Jim Paice, the new minister of DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), last week reiterated the coalition government’s commitment to a free vote in parliament on the repeal of the Hunting Act of 2004. What’s interesting is that Paice made the statement at the Annual General Meeting of the Masters of Foxhounds Association—the first time in memory that a DEFRA minister has attended that event.
Hounds to a View at Toronto and North York
May 19, 2010
The field held its breath. It’s not often one has the chance to know the exact point at which hounds will strike a line, and we weren’t disappointed. The cry was exuberant and definite. Hounds flew away as one, young and old, in full cry, and straight as an arrow.
Live Oak Hounds Dominate at Virginia
Two hounds from the Live Oak kennels in Monticello, Florida, took top honors at the Virginia Foxhound Show on May 30, 2010 at Morven Park near Leesburg. English Foxhound Champion Live Oak Maximus 2009 (Live Oak Daniel 2007–Their Mistress 2006) was judged Grand Champion, and Crossbred Champion Live Oak Apache 2008 (Live Oak Mascot 2005–Their Apricot 2004) was named Reserve Grand Champion.
Master’s Prophesy Fulfilled
“The day he was born, I held him in the palm of my hand and looked at him. I had just seen the movie, Gladiator, and the name came to me. ‘Maximus….Maximus!’ I said. ‘One day you are going to be Grand Champion at the Virginia Foxhound Show.’” So recounted the proud and jubilant Joint-Master […]
Bull Run Huntsmen’s Hunt 2010
Liz Callar photos
By March 7, Virginia’s record-setting snowfall had disappeared, but the rivers were running high and fast.
“Some of those hounds had never seen water like that,” said organizer Greg Schwartz, huntsman for the Bull Run Hunt (VA). “Thought we’d have to get life jackets for some of them,” he quipped.
Biography of a Sportsman, II
Most foxhunters know Sherman Haight by reputation, but it’s our guess that few know about his new memoir. That’s because it was written primarily for friends and family, but FOXHUNTING LIFE believes it deserves to be relished by a wider audience.
Tory–Lib Dem Coalition to Allow Free Vote on Hunting Act
May 20, 2010
BBC News today announced that the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition document promises a free vote in Parliament on the repeal of the 2004 Hunting Act. That’s good news to pro-hunting forces. Notwithstanding earlier promises by Conservative candidates, the forced coalition with the Liberal Democrats had cast doubts on the ability of Conservatives to fulfill their promises for a free vote.
Will Tory Victory End Hunting Ban?
May 15, 2010
Conservative candidates promised a free vote in Parliament concerning the Hunting Ban if elected. They were. Now what?
Ending thirteen years of a Labour-controlled government, Prime Minister Gordon Brown relinquished his office to David Cameron after voters returned Conservatives to power. The Conservative victory has led pro-hunting Members of Parliament (MPs) to call for an early vote on the contentious issue. They insist that their credibility would be shot if the vote were to be delayed. There’s a hitch, however.
Nancy Penn Smith Hannum, 1919-2010: A Fixity of Purpose
April 1, 2020
“Hundreds of hurrying people pass within a few miles of Unionville, Pennsylvania, every day—unaware of the magical transformation that waits over a hill and down a road. The village guards the entrance to acres and acres of rolling grassland suspended between the suburbs of Wilmington and Philadelphia like a mirage.”
“Immediately noticeable about this unexpected sweep of countryside is the luxury of miles of turf as closely woven and sturdy as homespun. And there is a wondrous absence of wire. No barbed wire, no hog wire, no flagged and electrified monofilament. The post-and-rail fences stretch on and on like railroad tracks. It’s the sort of landscape that strikes organ chords of rapture in a horseman’s soul: gallop-and-jump country, simply an outstanding foxhunting country. It has been painted by renowned artists George Weymouth and Andrew and Jamie Wyeth; filmed by Alfred Hitchcock (the hunt scenes in Marnie); been crash-landed on by Jacky Onassis and those not so famous. And for nearly fifty years, it has been nurtured by Nancy Penn Smith Hannum, the master of Mister Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds.”*
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