Mount Carmel Hounds

Mount Carmel Onyx was Best Penn-Marydel foxhound. / Karen Kandra Wenzel photo

For once in the thirty-nine-year history of the Maryland Foxhound Club’s annual puppy show, the weather-gods cooperated. On a marvelously sunny day, supporters of twelve foxhound packs and seven foot hound packs met on the lawn of Tim and Vicki Shaw’s lovely home to show the products of their breeding programs. The show is restricted to unentered hounds as well as the stallion hounds and brood bitches that produced these hounds.

With one ring devoted to foxhounds and another devoted to foot hounds, Jeff Blue, MFH of Middleburg Hunt (VA) and Bob Dougherty, MB of Hidden Meadows beagles and ex-MFH and huntsman of the Plum Run Hunt (PA) had a full day of judging to do. A total of 141 foxhounds were entered and 73 foot hounds went through the rings. In the only combined class of the day, nineteen young fox and rabbit hunters paraded before both judges in a really tough junior handler class. No doubt Masters Blue and Dougherty worked their hardest to pin that class!

Penn-Marydel Champion Mount Carmel Mandolin with (l-r) kennelman Nancy Morris and handler Allen Forney  /  Karen Kandra Wenzel photoFor thirty-seven years now on the “first Sunday after the first Saturday in May,” foxhunters from the Mid-Atlantic region have gathered to display and compare the results of their breeding programs for the past year. Initiated by Dr. Roger Scullin, MFH, Howard County-Iron Bridge Hounds (MD) in an effort to better prepare young hounds for the *big* shows in Virginia and Bryn Mawr, the Maryland Foxhound Club Puppy Show has grown to now having representatives from nearly all Maryland packs, both recognized and private, several Virginia packs, and many from Pennsylvania. This year the show even attracted hounds from as far away as New York state. In all, nearly two hundred hounds were entered.