Hunter’s Rest

l-r: huntsman Chris Cerrone (hunting horn by Bounty), first whipper-in Annabelle Whitticar,
honorary whippers-in Ainsley Colgan (7) and Sam Homeyer (9), kennelman Jean Simpson with
Old Dominion hound puppies Feagan (front), Febe (behind left), Fever (behind right) on walk
Betsy Parker photo

What better way to introduce summer campers to foxhunting than by bringing a foxhound puppy or two on the trail ride with the other dogs and then writing it up in the form of a formal hunt report? Good for the puppies to be exposed to all the sights and sounds in the woods and good for the campers who have a fun ride and learn about hunting. All it takes is a multi-talented camp director like Betsy Parker. -Ed.

July 24, 2013, 7:30 am meet at Hunter’s Rest (site of the old Old Dominion Hounds kennels), Flint Hill, Virginia.
 
Air temp 71 degrees at first cast. BP 29.73 and rising. Breeze variable 3-6 mph from the east/northeast. Fine overcast, cool and cloudy.

Staff: Huntsman Chris Cerrone, first whipper-in Annabelle Whitticar, amateur whippers-in Ainsley Colgan and Sam Homeyer, kennelman Jean Simpson

Hunted hounds: two couple. Old Dominion Feagan, Hunters Rest Mel, Nap and Sneak. (Old Dominion Febe and Fever were left in kennels.)

The pack moved off promptly at 7:29 am from kennels, drawing east toward the Jordan River. Whips rode wide to keep young entry on track as the field jogged along the “Aiken Line” and followed Linden Lane and Redbud Lane to first covert.

Steve Price and Frosty test their mettle at Old Dominion / Tom Sullivan photoI wouldn’t consider myself a real foxhunter.

True, I’ve ridden to hounds several times, but always more like a spectator than a participant. This September, however, I had an awakening!

Thanks to the good graces of my friends Betsy Parker, proprietor of Hunter’s Rest in Flint Hill, and Norman Fine, of Millwood (and Foxhunting Life), I’ve been wending my way for the past four years from my New York City home to steep myself in semiannual Virginia equestrian sprees. Trail riding on Betsy’s school horses and on one of Norm’s hunters, Guitar, is the primary lure. In addition, Norm has taken me hunting with the Blue Ridge Hunt in the hilltopping field.