Virginia Foxhound Show
Hillsboro Hounds: Home of Grand Champions!
Huntsman John Gray and professional whipper-in Leilani Hrisko show Virginia Grand Champion Hillsboro Siskin '14. Looking on (l-r) are Judge J.W.Y. "Duck" Martin, Virginia Foxhound Club Co-Chairman Mrs. Richard Jones, and huntsman John Holliday, Belvoir Foxhounds (UK). / Lauren Giannini photo
Virginia Foxhound Show, Morven Park, May 24, 2015: Okay, says Hillsboro huntsman John Gray, if you don’t like Graphic, I’ll show you Siskin!
On May 9, 2015 at the Carolinas Hound Show, Hillsboro Graphic ’14 was judge Tony Leahy’s pick for Grand Champion of Show. Two weeks later, at the Virginia Foxhound Show, Leahy, judging in the Crossbred ring, chose un-entered Midland Striker over Graphic for the Crossbred Championship.
It proved but a minor setback for Hillsboro. In the final class of the day in the English ring, Judge Charles Frampton chose Hillsboro Siskin ‘14 as the Champion English Foxhound. So when the very last class of the day rolled around—Grand Champion of Show—English Champion Siskin faced off against Crossbred Champion Midland Striker, who had just beaten Siskin’s kennel mate, Carolinas Grand Champion Graphic, for the breed championship.
The other formidable opponents in the ring were un-entered American Champion, Orange County Kermit and Penn-Marydel Champion, De La Brooke Tullamoore ’11. But Hillsboro was not to be denied. Judge J.W.Y. “Duck” Martin crowned Hillsboro Siskin ’14 Grand Champion of Show. Crossbred Champion Midland Striker was Reserve, and Hillsboro leaves town with two Grand Champion foxhounds in the last two hound shows!.
Virginia Foxhound Club Celebrates Sixty Years
Virginia Foxhound Show, Oatlands, 1986: Huntsman Shelly O'Higgins receives trophy from Joan Jones (now President, Virginia Foxhound Club). Judges are (l-r) Captain R.E. Wallace, MFH, Exmoor Foxhounds (UK); Bun Sharp, MB, Nantucket-Treweryn Beagles; Sherman Haight, MFH, Mr. Haight's Litchfield County Hounds.
The venerable Virginia Foxhound Club—the team that brings you the Virginia Foxhound Show each year—is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary. It seems timely to look back, evaluate the importance of hound shows in the overall scheme of foxhunting, and convince those with a passion for the sport that their membership in the Virginia Foxhound Club, no matter where in North America they hunt the fox or the coyote, is an investment that will benefit all fox hunters and their hunts.
The Virginia Foxhound Show, the largest hound show in the world, brings foxhounds of all types and all strains to the flags for viewing, comparing, and judging. Whether a Master or huntsman is seeking certain bloodlines, or an outcross to introduce hybrid vigor to the gene pool within his kennels, he sees such hounds at Virginia. And he has the opportunity to socialize and chat, in a magnificent setting, about the merits and traits of the canine objects of his desire. With your support, the best matings may continue to be made in Heaven, but they’ll be arranged in Virginia!
Virginia Foxhound Club Celebrates Sixty-Five Years
But no one came to the party.
Virginia Foxhound Show, Oatlands, 1986: Huntsman Shelly O'Higgins receives trophy from Joan Jones (now President, Virginia Foxhound Club). Judges are (l-r) Captain R.E. Wallace, MFH, Exmoor Foxhounds (UK); Bun Sharp, MB, Nantucket-Treweryn Beagles; Sherman Haight, MFH, Mr. Haight's Litchfield County Hounds.
There's an elephant in the room, sucking away so much attention from what we would normally be thinking about at this particular time of year. The Virginia Foxhound Club, for one.
The venerable Virginia Foxhound Club—the team that brings you the Virginia Foxhound Show each year...except this one—is celebrating its sixty-fifth anniversary. It seems timely to look back, evaluate the importance of hound shows in the overall scheme of foxhunting, and convince those with a passion for the sport that their membership in the Virginia Foxhound Club, no matter where in North America they hunt the fox or the coyote, is an investment that will benefit all fox hunters and their hunts.
The Virginia Foxhound Show, the largest hound show in the world, brings foxhounds of all types and all strains to the flags for viewing, comparing, and judging. Whether a Master or huntsman is seeking certain bloodlines, or an outcross to introduce hybrid vigor to the gene pool within his kennels, he sees such hounds at Virginia. And he will again have the opportunity to socialize and chat, in a magnificent setting, about the merits and traits of the canine objects of his desire. With your support, the best matings may continue to be made in Heaven, but they’ll be arranged in Virginia!
A Storybook Ending for Live Oak Charter
Charter and Tyler / Cynthia Daily photo
The odyssey of Live Oak Charter—the frightened foxhound that escaped from the Virginia Foxhound Show last May, traveled from Leesburg to Middleburg (more than twenty miles as the crow flies), crossed two major four-lane highways, subsisted on whatever food he could find, lost part of his tongue and shattered his jaw—finally ended after six long months in Hollywood’s finest style.
Charter has been adopted by the vet tech that cared for him at Blue Ridge Veterinary Associates. He lives on a hundred-acre farm, sleeps on his new owner’s bed, and runs long distances with him every day. Charter’s survival literally “took a village,” and Live Oak MFHs Daphne and Marty Wood, who supported and monitored the efforts of so many dedicated people from afar, couldn’t be happier.
VA Hound Show Weekend Features NSL Book Fair, Hunt Country Stable Tour
Visitors in town for the Virginia Foxhound Show will be able to attend the third annual Book Fair at the National Sporting Library and Museum in Middleburg, Virginia on Saturday, May 25, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A part of the annual Hunt Country Stable Tour, the Book Fair is open to the public, free of charge. Authors Rita Mae Brown, Charles de Kunffy, Jan Neuharth, and Dorothy Ours will speak and sign books. The Hunt Country Stable Tour centered in Upperville is another excellent diversion for out-of-town visitors. The stable tour runs on both Saturday and Sunday (May 25–26) and offers an inside view of many of the very best and most beautiful farms and training facilities in the region. This year’s tour features Ardarra Farm, Hickory House Farm, Salem Stable, Windsor Farm, and Peace & Plenty at Bollingbrook among more than a dozen stops. Many of the farms on the tour will provide demonstrations of equestrian activities ranging from show jumping to foxhunting to Civil War re-enactments. Visitors will be welcomed with coffee and donuts from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the Middleburg Training Track on Saturday only, to watch local racehorses workout. Tickets for the tour at $30.00 for adults are available during tour hours from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville. Proceeds benefit the church’s charities and non-profit programs. Maps, directions, and descriptions for all the tour stops are provided for self-touring. For complete information, call 540-592-3711 or visit www.trinityupperville.org/hunt-country-stable-tour. Posted May 24, 2013
Read More
Virginia Mourns Loss of Mary South Hutchison
Douglas Lees photoMary South Hutchison, a powerful presence in the world of Virginia foxhunting, died suddenly on Thursday, April 4, 2013. Mary South—as she was known to visitors and members of the Orange County Hounds, exhibitors at the Virginia Foxhound Show, and members of the Virginia Foxhound Club—served the Orange County Hounds as Honorary Secretary for about twenty years and the Virginia Foxhound Club as Treasurer for about the same period of time. “I don’t know what we’ll do without her,” Orange County MFH John Coles said. “Hers was a life dedicated to the sport. She was a traditionalist, and kept things in line for us.” Coles’s Joint-Master Malcolm Matheson agreed. “She was the eyes and ears of the Masters in the field,” he said. “She didn’t mind stating her opinions, good or bad!” He paused, then chuckled remembering. “And she was fearless,” he said. “One time hounds struck on the other side of a five-foot stone wall. She was one of only four field members to jump that wall. Even Melvin went around! We four had the hounds all to ourselves until the others caught up.” Hunting with the late Jimmy Young, MFH, Orange County in 1996 / Douglas Lees photo Mary South Hutchison lived in Middleburg and worked as a real estate agent. She had been battling cancer, but she was out and active right to the end, even closing on a property just three days before her death. The suddenness has shocked her community. Joan Jones recently stepped down as president of the Virginia Foxhound Club, the organization that puts on the Virginia Foxhound Show. She and Mary South as treasurer have been the faces of the hound show for a good twenty years or so. With the show approaching in May, Joan finds herself trying to get a handle on all the financial matters, including the vendor spaces, that Mary South has for so long managed. Joan echoed Master Coles’s words to the letter. “I don’t know how we’ll get along without her,” she said. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 in Middleburg. Posted April 7, 2013 Float tubing on the Shenandoah River with photographer Douglas Lees
Read More
Third Grand Championship in a Row for Live Oak at Virginia
Grand Champion Live Oak Farrier 2010 chases a biscuit from kennel huntsman Richard Daley. / Lauren Giannini photo
For the third straight year a Live Oak English hound was judged Grand Champion at the Virginia Foxhound Show. This year it was Live Oak Farrier 2010; last year it was his littermate, Fable; and the year before that it was Live Oak Maximus 2009. This feat of breeding begs a question. Has any one hunt ever won the Grand Championship at Virginia for three straight years? I’d lay money on a new record here.
James L. Young, ex-MFH
Douglas Lees photoFoxhunting lost one of its most notable Masters of Foxhounds with the passing of James L. Young, age seventy, on Friday evening, May 25, 2012.
Urbane, articulate, literate, trim and handsome both on and off the horse, Jimmy Young did everything with a flair, whether leading his field, presiding over the Virginia Foxhound Club Show, writing or speaking on his favorite topic---foxhunting as a noble art form.
NSLM Holds Book Fair Over Virginia Hound Show Weekend
Visitors in town for the Virginia Foxhound Show will be able to attend the second annual Book Fair at the National Sporting Library and Museum in Middleburg, Virginia on Saturday, May 26, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A part of the annual Hunt Country Stable Tour, the Book Fair is open to the public. Five authors will sign books and give brief talks about their work: Kathryn Masson (Hunt Country Style; Stables: Beautiful Paddocks, Horse Barns, and Tack Rooms; Historic Houses of Virginia; Great Plantation Houses, Mansions, and Country Places); Patrick Smithwick (Flying Change: A Return to Steeplechasing; Racing My Father: Growing up with a Riding Legend); Elizabeth Letts with guest Harry de Leyer (The Eighty Dollasr Champion: Snowman, the Horse that Inspired a Nation); Anne Hambleton (Raja: Story of a Racehorse); and F. Turner Reuter, Jr. (Animal & Sporting Artists in America). A duplicate book sale will also be going on at the Library and Museum, as well as other current exhibits, including Scraps: British Sporting Drawings from the Paul Mellon Collection. Posted May 14, 2012
Read More
Morven Park Clarifies its Future
Concerned horsemen were mostly mollified by the message from Morven Park officials in a pair of meetings held last week. While the plan is to make a wider public use of the Leesburg, Virginia property, it appears that the only equestrian casualty will be the steeplechase racecourse. Other equestrian facilities will be continued and even improved. Park officials said that the steeplechase races never made money, and the decision to close the track was strictly economic. The Fairfax Hunt Point-to-Point Races, to be run in April of this year, will utilize the racetrack for the last time. Preliminary plans call for a grand prix course to be built in the infield area. The Virginia Foxhound Show held each year over the Memorial Day weekend will continue, according to officials. The cross country schooling course will remain, and horse trial events will continue to be held. Horse show and dressage arenas will be relocated closer to the stables, and the indoor arena will be refurbished. The stable that was destroyed by fire last year will be rebuilt. The Loudoun Therapeutic Riding Foundation will be allowed to expand to accommodate more users, and equine therapy for wounded servicemen may be introduced. See Betsy Parker’s complete article in the Loudoun Times. Posted February 11, 2012
Read More
