John Tabachka
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.)
Sam Clifton Wins North American Horn Blowing Championship
Sam Clifton is 2011 North American Horn Blowing Champion. / Al Cook photoSam Clifton, huntsman for the Green Spring Valley Hounds (MD), won the 2011 North American Horn Blowing Championship on Monday, October 17. The sound of the horn has been a part of Clifton’s life from the cradle. His father Stephen is the long-time huntsman at the Eglinton and Caledon Hunt in Ontario.
Two-time champion John Tabachka, huntsman for the Sewickley Hunt (PA), placed second; last year’s champion, Steve Farrin, huntsman for the Amwell Valley Hounds (NJ), was third; and Martyn Blackmore, huntsman for the Loudoun West Hunt (VA), placed fourth.
Who Carries the White Whip?
Huntsman John Tabachka“Are MFHs supposed to carry white whips?” asks John Tabachka, huntsman for the Sewickely Hunt (PA).
While there are slight differences in the answers from our experts, the common thread seems to place the white whip properly in the hands of those who deal with hounds in the field, either as huntsman or whipper-in. That said, as always, the Master may do anything he or she likes!
One thing you can always count on from Foxhunting Life's Panel of Experts: they speak their minds!
Tabachka and Buckley: Engaged
John Tabachka, huntsman for the Sewickley Hunt (PA) and Jennifer Buckley, honorary whipper-in for the Reedy Creek Hounds (VA) are engaged to be married. The wedding date has not yet been set, but plans are in the works. For those who don’t know Tabachka, click here to see and hear his brilliant work on the hunting horn. Posted July 23, 2011
Read More
Hunt Breakfast Recipe Contest!
One interesting statistic from the FHL website that got our attention told us that our Hunt Breakfast Recipe pages receive a lot of hits. Since we want to feature subjects that are important to you, our readers, we had an idea. With Opening Meets occurring with increasing frequency over the next couple of weeks and cubhunting tailgates morphing into more formal hunt breakfasts, we thought we ought to expand our stable of recipes. So we’re having a contest! If you point to the Social drop-down menu above and click on Hunt Breakfast Recipes, you will see that our recipes are organized into seven categories: Appetizers, Breads, Desserts & Sweets, Flask Concoctions, Main Dishes, Side Dishes & Accompaniments, and Soups & Salads. Here are the contest rules: You are invited to submit a favorite recipe in any category. You may submit as many recipes as you like. Recipes will be judged by prominent chefs on aptness, gustatorial satisfaction, and ease of preparation. All recipes received through December 31, 2010 will qualify for the contest. The winner—one for each category—will be announced, interviewed for additional useful tips on putting on hunt breakfasts, and will receive a gift of FHL‘s DVD, Calls on the Horn, featuring John Tabachka. Winners will be announced after the new year. Simply click on the red type—Submit One Now—here or on the Hunt Breakfast recipe page and upload, type, or paste your favorite hunt breakfast recipe into the appropriate spaces. Images may be uploaded as well. The idea is to provide the best resource possible for the satisfaction of tired, happy, and hungry foxhunters. Let’s see what you got!October 26, 2010
Read More
Steve Farrin Wins North American Horn Blowing Championship
Steve Farrin displays championship ribbon presented by MFHs Sheila Jackson Brown and J.W.Y. Martin, Jr. (right).
-Al Cook photo
Amwell Valley huntsman Steve Farrin blew a flawless set of horn calls to best two-time winner John Tabachka and claim the 2010 North American Horn Blowing Championship. Contestants were asked to blow Moving Off, Gone Away, Gone to Ground, and Going Home. The judges proclaimed a tie after the first round, and Farrin and Tabachka were called back to blow one more call of their own choosing. Tabachka blew Going Home, demonstrating amazing control of the stretched out and slowly modulated volume, but Farrin won the night with his Gone Away.
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
Read More
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.
Read More
