hunting horn
Brian Kiely Wins Fourth National Horn Blowing Championship
Brian Kiely bested a strong lineup of fourteen participants to win his fourth National Horn Blowing Championship. / Liz Callar photo
Brian Kiely broke his own record by winning his fourth National Horn Blowing Championship. Since the start of the competition in 1995, five men have won the title twice—Andrew Barclay, Steve Farrin, Ian Milne, Adrian Smith, and John Tabachka—but with his fourth championship Kiely continues to move the goal posts for the rest of the field. Kiely is the new huntsman at the Potomac Hunt (MD), and his victory was accompanied by the cheers of his supporters led by retiring Potomac huntsman Larry Pitts.
The 2015 National Horn Blowing Championship was held at Morven Park on May 23, 2015 over the Virginia Foxhound Show weekend. The large crowd on hand under the Saturday night dinner tent listened enthusiastically to the fifteen entries in a strong lineup of contestants.
After the first round in which all participants blew three calls on their horns, three individuals were asked to return for a blow-off: Brian Kiely, Adrian Smith, and John Tabachka. This was an all-star lineup with all three finalists holding multiple titles. Adrian Smith is huntsman for the Metamora Hunt (MI), and John Tabachka is huntsman for the Sewickley Hunt (PA).
Hunting Horn Ringtones on your iPhone!
Huntsman John TabachkaWe finally worked it out: how to download our horn call ringtones to an iPhone! So many people have asked, and here’s how. But first, a story.
I tried to phone Steve Price, a member of Foxhunting Life’s Panel of Experts, but he was out. I left a message asking him to return the call on my cell phone. When his call came, I happened to be in the stall with my retired hunter, Guitar. Upon hearing the ringtone, "Gone Away," old Guitar pricked his ears and took a couple of lively turns around the stall! I laughed and explained the scene to Steve.
“You should have given the phone to Guitar and told him, ‘It’s for you,’” said Steve.
FHL's ringtones are the brilliant horn work of John Tabachka, huntsman, Sewickley Hunt (PA), a two-time winner of the National Horn Blowing Contest at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg. (Click to view FHL's popular video, Calls on the Horn, in which John explains the meaning and usage of the principal horn calls heard in the course of a day's hunting.)
What follows is the ringtone download procedure for iPhone users only, and uses M4R files required by the iPhone; most other cell phone users should use the mp3 files that we have made available for some time now. (Note: This "read more" link is open to all viewers.)
Night Hunting with Dad
This is a true story as best as I can recollect. I was about six or seven years old that night, but as you can imagine this was a story told and retold around many a local foxhunter’s fire for many years thereafter.
Dad often took me foxhunting with him when I was little. I don’t have many memories of those hunts other than falling asleep in the back of whatever old car dad had at the time. The foxhunting that dad and his friends participated in did not involve horses or fancy scarlet coats. Their steeds were Ford and Chevy, GM and Oldsmobile; the uniforms worn were usually whatever work clothes they had been wearing that morning.
Free Hunting Horn Ring Tones
Huntsman John Tabachka, Sewickley Hunt (PA)With the start of the new season, we want to remind readers once again of our popular free hunting horn ring tone offer for your cell phone.
Through the courtesy of two-time National Horn Blowing Champion John Tabachka, you may download mp3 files of the horn calls from John’s popular Foxhunting Life video, Calls on the Horn.
Just click on the horn icon below. We have had a huge response to this offer from the start, and we enjoy hearing from people who are having fun with it. Here’s what some of you had to say:
Ring Happy
What a response we had from our recent free hunting horn ring-tone offer! We thought it would be a fun way of celebrating the start of the new foxhunting season, and we were right. Here’s what some of you had to say: Send me ‘doubling.’ I am enjoying your website immensely! Ilove the ring-tones! I want them all. I am going to forward your email to all 600 of my ** fox hunting folks. What a clever idea! Thank you. I really have to say, hearing John Tabachka blow ‘Going Home’ is very moving. Really amazing, indeed. I really enjoy your newsletter and website! I’m a huge fan of John and his calls. I am looking forward to driving my teenage children (and everyone else around me) crazy. We’re happy everyone is having fun with it. Remember, however, if any of you forget to turn off your ringer while in the hunting field, and the huntsman’s wrath descends upon you, we don’t know you!August 24, 2010
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Ring in the Season!
Want your cell phone to ring like this (click the horn)? Foxhunting Life invites you to ring in the new hunting season with free hunting horn ring-tones! Select and download the calls of your choice for your cell phone, courtesy of two-time National Horn Blowing Champion John Tabachka, huntsman for the Deep Run Hunt (VA). (Just remember to turn your ringer off in the hunting field, or we’ll all be in trouble!) You may choose doubling, gone away, gone to ground, or whip-to-me—all calls from John’s popular FHL video—and download them directly to your computer. If your phone does not have computer connectivity, we can send a text message containing the audio files directly to your cell phone, which you can save to your list of ring-tones. If we do not already have your e-mail address, you will be asked to enter it before downloading files. We will use your e-mail address to send you our periodic e-letters with the latest postings and news on Foxhunting Life. Remember, you can unsubscribe at any time, and keep your free foxhunting ring-tone. Get your ring-tones now! FHL wishes you a safe and enjoyable hunting season. Share this with your friends using the “share” button below to email, Tweet it, post to Facebook, and more. {sharethis}... This content is for subscribers only.Join NowAlready a member? Log in here
Read More
Ring in the Season!
Want your cell phone to ring like this (click the horn)? Foxhunting Life invites you to ring in the new hunting season with free hunting horn ring-tones! Select and download the calls of your choice for your cell phone, courtesy of two-time National Horn Blowing Champion John Tabachka, huntsman for the Deep Run Hunt (VA). (Just remember to turn your ringer off in the hunting field, or we’ll all be in trouble!) You may choose doubling, gone away, gone to ground, or whip-to-me—all calls from John’s popular FHL video—and download them directly to your computer. If your phone does not have computer connectivity, we can send a text message containing the audio files directly to your cell phone, which you can save to your list of ring-tones. If we do not already have your e-mail address, you will be asked to enter it before downloading files. We will use your e-mail address to send you our periodic e-letters with the latest postings and news on Foxhunting Life. Remember, you can unsubscribe at any time, and keep your free foxhunting ring-tone. Get your ring-tones now! FHL wishes you a safe and enjoyable hunting season. Share this with your friends using the “share” button below to email, Tweet it, post to Facebook, and more. {sharethis}... This content is for subscribers only.Join NowAlready a member? Log in here
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Download Your Ring-tones
Thank you for signing up to receive our periodic e-Magazines! We look forward to providing you with entertaining stories, breaking news, and valuable resources through Foxhunting Life. You may unsubscribe at any time and keep your free hunting horn ringtones, courtesy of John Tabachka and Foxhunting Life. Please download your chosen ring-tones below. (mp3 format) Windows users: right-click on filename, left-click on Save Target As (or save link as), and save file to your computer. Mac users: option/click and save to your computer. Moving Off Doubling Gone Away Gone to Ground Whip to Me FHL cannot support all possible cell phone configurations, so please check with your cell phone provider on how to use these files as ring-tones. If you prefer, you may email us with your chosen ringtone and your cell number and we will text you the file through your phone’s messaging system. Text-messaging costs may apply depending on your cell phone plan. If you need a different format please let us know and we will try to accommodate you. Tip: Try saving the MP3 file to your computer, then emailing it to yourself on your phone! Then download there and save as a ringtone.... This content is for subscribers only.Join NowAlready a member? Log in here
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Download John Peel Music & Lyrics
Thank you for signing up to receive our periodic e-Letters! We look forward to providing you with entertaining stories, breaking news, and valuable resources through Foxhunting Life. You may unsubscribe at any time and keep your free music and lyrics, courtesy of Marilyn Mackay-Smith. Please download your files (pdf) below. ... This content is for subscribers only.Join NowAlready a member? Log in here
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Calls on the Horn: A New Video
FHL is proud to announce our first video production, Calls on the Horn with John Tabachka. In the seven-minute video, John blows eight calls and explains when and why the calls are used by your huntsman. John Tabachka is huntsman at the Deep Run Hunt near Richmond, Virginia. He is a two-time winner of the National Horn Blowing Championship at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg. Since John filmed the video, he’s been on a roll, winning the horn blowing contests at both the Virginia and the Bryn Mawr Hound Shows in May! John’s video, live on our site, is also available on DVD in the FHL Bookstore.
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