Museum of Hounds and Hunting
Haight, White, Barclay Inducted into the Huntsmen’s Room
Andrew Barclay (left) and Sherman Haight congratulate eachother on the occasion of their mutual induction into The Huntsmen's Room at the Museum of Hounds and Hunting. / Douglas Lees photo
Three huntsmen, two living and one deceased, were honored the day before the Virginia Foxhound Show for their uncommon skill as huntsmen and for their contributions to foxhunting in North American. Sherman P. Haight, Jr., ex-MFH; William John White, Jr.; and Andrew T. Barclay were inducted into The Huntsmen’s Room of the Museum of Hounds and Hunting in ceremonies held at Morven Park on Saturday, May 23, 2015.
While recognized by this honor for their achievements in handling hounds in the field and producing the highest level of sport, each of these three men of disparate backgrounds contributed uniquely to our sport. Their stories are just as uniquely fascinating.
The Making of a Book…Starting From the Ending
Jane Pohl and Fitzrada, painted by Paul BrownIn 2001 the Museum of Hounds and Hunting in Leesburg, Virginia, mounted an exhibit of the works of artist Paul Brown, famed for his elegant rendering of horsemen, horsewomen, and horses—racing, showing, and foxhunting. I was, at the time, a member of the Museum Advisory Board, and on the night of the exhibit I watched with curiosity and interest a slim, elderly, and proudly composed woman being carried in her wheelchair up the narrow back steps inside the Westmoreland Davis mansion to the second floor where the exhibit was hung.
I didn’t know whom she was, nor did I even meet her. Two months later she was dead, and I was equally unaware of even that occurrence. Her name, I was to learn some years later, was Jane Pohl, and, though she was terminally ill the night I saw her, she was determined to attend the exhibit, her last outing, because she had lent some of the Paul Brown art depicting her and her horse Fitzrada for the exhibit. I couldn’t know at the time that I was witnessing the ending of a story with which I was to become more than familiar.
Foxhunting Museum Gallery Open for Holiday Shopping in Middleburg
Scurry of the Orange County Hunt by Jean Bowman
A satellite gallery of the Museum of Hounds and Hunting at Morven Park is open in Middleburg for art-minded Christmas shoppers. Sporting art—original paintings, signed prints, and sculptures by contemporary American artists are for sale at prices ranging from $385.00 to $9,600.00 with all sales benefitting the Museum.
Modestly priced items—books, calendars, note cards, and sporting novelties—are also available. Whether or not you are ready to shop, it’s worth a stop if only to see what today’s talented, contemporary artists are producing and to learn more about the Museum, its permanent exhibits, and its programs.
One of the surprising items for sale is the limited edition print of the late Jean Bowman’s brilliant 1989 Scurry of the Orange County Hounds. Four of these prints were recently found safely in storage, Jean Bowman having been a member of the Museum Advisory Committee and a generous supporter. Two of the prints are signed by Ms. Bowman, and the price is still a very reasonable $385.00. The prints come with a key identifying the figures, among them James L. Young, MFH; Governor Bruce Sundlin; Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; the Hon. Charles Whitehouse; Senator John Warner; Melvin Poe, huntsman; the artist herself; and sixty-six other notable members.
Other artists represented in the benefit sale include Anita Baarns, Cynthia Benitz, Jean Clagett, Mary Coker, Mary Cornish, Teresa Duke, Sandra Forbush, Juli Kirk, Nancy Kleck, Gail Guirrei Maslyk, Alice Porter, Belinda Sillars, Dana Lee Thompson, and Cathy Zimmerman.
Museum of Hounds and Hunting Celebrates the Warrenton Hunt
Lauren Giannini photo
The Museum of Hounds & Hunting NA opened its season with a reception for 200 members and guests Saturday evening, May 26, 2013 at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia. The Virginia Foxhound Show took place on the grounds the following day.
Visitors viewed new exhibits featuring art and artifacts of the Warrenton Hunt (VA), established in 1887 and celebrating its 125th anniversary. Warrenton’s three current Masters—Kim Nash, Celeste Vella and Rick Laimbeer—graciously sponsored the Member’s Reception.
Melvin at Ninety
Melvin Poe celebrating his ninetieth birthday
Douglas Lees photo
Douglas Lees photo
Hounds were screaming, and the huntsman was cooking. A cattle guard loomed ahead—a coop to the left and a gate to the right. The huntsman veered left.
"Melvin," someone yelled, "the gate’s on the right!"
"Melvin just kept kicking on, right over the coop," recalled Joe Conner, shaking his head and grinning in wonder.
Conner, who has whipped-in to Melvin for years at Bath County (VA), didn’t resurrect that story out of a distant past. It had happened only weeks before Melvin Poe’s ninetieth birthday celebration.
A month or so earlier, I had recognized the same notes of awe and wonder as I stood chatting with Brian Smith, my farrier, about Melvin’s upcoming ninetieth birthday.
