Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point
After winning three consecutive Amateur/Novice Hurdle Races and placing second in four starts, Annie Yeager and Mischief wind up in the turf at Old Dominion.The Amateur/Novice Hurdle team of Annie Yeager and her brilliant gray horse Mischief experienced a frightening moment at the Old Dominion Point-to-Point on Saturday, April 7, 2012 at Ben Venue Farm in Flint Hill, Virginia. With three consecutive wins and a second place finish in four starts in the division, Mischief went down with Yeager, who was airlifted from the course.
The good news is that the horse is fine, and Yeager was released from the hospital the following day with a concussion and a broken collar bone. Those who witnessed the fall close up, including this reporter, expected a far worse outcome, and that expectation clouded the rest of the day’s racing.
9th Annual Junior Field Hunter Championship Is Bigger than Ever
Emily Digney and Mr. Goodbar, Farmington Hunt, were Champion, 13 and Over.With more than two hundred entries, organizers Douglas Wise, MFH Old Dominion Hounds (VA), and Iona Pillion, Blue Ridge Hunt (VA), were thrilled to observe that the 2011 Junior North American Field Hunter Championship drew the biggest fields to date in the nine years of this unique trial. The program listed twenty-one finalists in Hilltoppers, twenty-two in First Field 12 & Under, and twenty-one in First Field 13 & Over. On November 6, 2011, trailers from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia gathered in the heart of the Warrenton Hunt country for what is turning into a huge event that bodes well for the future of foxhunting.
Juniors Will Vie in Ninth Annual Field Hunter Championships
The meets have been announced for the Junior North American Field Hunter Championships in 2011. For fifty bucks, juniors eighteen-and-under can hunt with other juniors in new surroundings and experience camaraderie; competition; and a variety of hunting countries, foxhound types, and hunt staffs. It’s both fun and educational.
Hunt Club Pages: An Enhancement
Karen L. Myers photoLast month we announced a new feature on Foxhunting Life — Hunt Club Pages. We have a page for every North American hunt with all the articles we have published about that hunt or referring to it. Now we want to make your hunt’s page even more informative.
We have added space for historical or descriptive text about each hunt plus a link to the hunt’s website. The description and link will always appear first on that hunt’s page—before the articles.
A Dicey Intervention
Field Master Gus Forbush, MFH / Karen L. Myers photoSaturday, November 28, 2009. A large field of about fifty or sixty met at Henchmen’s Lea near the Old Dominion Hounds’ kennels. For the first draw, huntsman Gerald Keal had taken hounds to nearby Thumb Run. Field Master Gus Forbush was standing by a field of soybeans on Thumb Run when he heard hounds speak. Here’s his story:
“The hounds’ voices were weird,” recalled Forbush. “I wasn’t sure what was happening.”
At that point, Keal came galloping back and said there was a bobcat caught in a snare on the other side of the river.
Dr. Scott Dove Is New Joint-Master at Old Dominion
Dr. Scott Dove, MFH / Karen L. Myers photoThe Old Dominion Hounds (VA) have a new Joint-Master—Dr. Scott Dove. If his name doesn’t ring a bell with you, his dog’s name probably will. Dove owns the most famous dog in America—Foxcliffe Hickory Wind, the Scottish Deerhound that won Best in Show at Westminster this year. But if you know Dove, you know he earned the Mastership through his own hard work at foxhunting.
Dove has served Old Dominion as honorary whipper-in for twenty-three seasons. One of his roles as Master will be mentoring new honorary whippers-in.
Blue Ridge, Camden, Old Dominion Make Staff Changes
Chad Wilkes moves from Camden to Blue Ridge / Karen Myers photo By common agreement among hunts and professional hunt staff, April 30/May 1 is the long-accepted transition date for hunt staff changes. In a round robin of moves, the Blue Ridge Hunt (VA), Camden Hunt (SC), and Old Dominion Hounds (VA) all connected and […]
Hat Trick for Neil Morris at Old Dominion
Lake Placid and Matthew McCarron hold off Fantastic Foeand Jeff Murphy for the Open Hurdle win.Trainer Neil Morris scored a hat trick at the Old Dominion Point-to-Point races on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at Ben Venue Farm. Morris saddled three winners: Maiden Hurdle, Open Hurdle, and Open Timber.
Morris’s first two wins were the easy ones. In the Maiden Hurdle, Last Noble with Jacob Roberts aboard led the field all the way and won easily. In the Open Hurdle, Lake Placid with Matthew McCarron in the irons raced around the course on the lead, turned back a challenge by second place finisher Fantastic Foe, and won by four-and-a-half lengths.
Good News and Sad News with Personal Connections
Foxcliffe Hickory Wind greets her admirers with regal dignity.Two news items recently posted on the Home Page touch me somewhat personally—one joyous, one sad: the Scottish deerhound that won Best of Show at Westminster and the destruction by fire of William Frazer’s custom tailor shop in Ireland. What follows in this blog are just sidebars to the stories below. Scroll down to see them.
Foxcliffe Hickory Wind
As every dog person knows, Best of Show at Westminster is huge. Even so, foxhunting veterinarian Scott Dove was completely unprepared for the widespread exuberance, the congratulations, and the excitement of friends and strangers over his Scottish deerhound being anointed with that honor.
Scott is a long-time foxhunter and honorary whipper-in to the Old Dominion Hounds. My wife has been a client of his for her field trial Labrador retrievers. I wanted to meet Hickory and my first opportunity was a party at a local restaurant/pub in Flint Hill, Virginia.
Foxhunter Has Best in Show at Westminster
Foxhunter Scott Dove’s Foxcliffe Hickory Wind Is Best in Show at Westminster Kennel Club Jack Grassa photoFoxcliffe Hickory Wind, a Scottish deerhound bitch owned by foxhunter Dr. Scott Dove, his wife Ceil, and Sally Sweatt, was judged Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club in New York yesterday, February 15, 2011. Hickory is the first of her breed ever to capture that honor at Westminster.
The news clips on TV showed her to be not only a magnificent specimen of a dog, but an astoundingly beautiful mover. Watching her trot across the ring, one would think she was filmed in slow motion—floating effortlessly—were it not for the legs of her handler doing double-time beside her!