Last summer, Covertside Online reported on the Monmouth County Hunt (NJ) encouraging young riders to get out of the ring and into the hunt field. Our huntsman and whippers-in did a demonstration at Wow Camp for New Jersey Pony Clubs at the Horse Park of New Jersey. This event educated the young riders about hunting traditions, but also created enthusiasm to join us this season.
Since 1897, Baily's Hunting Directory has maintained a comprehensive listing of packs of hounds of all types. The publisher has more recently added helpful articles, anecdotes, and galleries, and produced a printed collection of sketches in 1997, Great Days. Demand for another anthology of stories from the field - some dramatic, some comedic, some bittersweet - encouraged this summer's Great Days Two, a delightful volume of short, easily-read and relatable vignettes. Enjoy these excerpts shared by kind permission of publishers Peter and Dr. Helen Brook.
We have just finished the most amazing trip of our lives. Over the course of the season we traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific. California to Canada. 15,000 miles with horses. Thirteen Hound Performance Trials. Fifteen more Friendship hunts along the way. Twenty-eight different locations. Twenty-eight unique experiences. Our overall mission was to “Wave the flag of foxhunting all across America.” What a great gig! We love this great sport! Representing the MFHA in so many locations was truly an honor and a privilege!
The latest MFHA Hark Forward Hound Performance Trial, hosted by Wicomico Hunt in Chestertown, Maryland, started in a whirlwind. Literally, Winter Storm Riley brought wind gusts over 70 mph, which resulted in travel restrictions on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and overturned tractor trailers that closed I-95 to the north. Many participants were delayed more than a day with the high winds and traffic problems. Jan Sorrells, MFH, Sedgefield Hunt (NC), and I, representing Bull Run Hunt (VA) and Marlborough Hunt (MD), two of the five judges, had decided to come a day early due to the wind warnings.
January 19th and 20th marked the 16th annual Belle Meade Performance Trials, as well as the seventh performance trials of the Hark Forward initiative. Six hunts and 42 hounds entered, including two hunts competing in performance trials for the first time. Midland Fox Hounds (GA), Bull Run Hunt (VA) and, of course, Belle Meade Hunt (GA) represented the “returning royalty” for this annual event. Newcomers were the Saxonburg Hunt of Saxonburg, PA and Aiken, SC, and Whiskey Road Foxhounds (SC).
As the huntsman of a nearly 100-year-old drag pack in the Pacific Northwest, Woodbrook Hunt Club (WA), I was honored to have the chance to hunt with Belle Meade Hunt (GA) and judge the Drag Performance Trials organized by Aiken Hounds (SC) in Belle Meade's hunt country. Traveling from Seattle-Tacoma International airport to Augusta, Georgia took up an entire day, but the journey was eased when we settled in with our very welcoming hosts, Epp Wilson, MFH, Belle Meade, Judith Craw, and the farm dogs Marty, Gracie, and Dusty at Wilson's Foxboro Farm.
Subscribing Membership to the MFHA is open to anyone who cares about the future of country lifestyles and wants their voice and vote to make a difference. You will also receive Covertside magazine 4x a year!
