We arrived at the barn of Copper Beech farm
My wife turned her head, looked over and said:
“Today’s the joint meet, and they have to look neat.”
So joining our forces, we washed both the horses.
“His shoe looks quite loose”, to Susan said Bruce, upon inspecting the gray.
“My sport horse from Ireland, must ride as we had planned, and all without further delay.”
The Tryon Hounds broke ground on Saturday, March 16 on a new residence for their Huntsman. The new home will be constructed on the Tryon Hounds’ property located off of Little Mountain Road in Columbus, NC.
The ranch styled home will feature three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, family room, sun room and garage.
“One of the most significant benefits when hiring a qualified huntsman is the housing package”, commented Bonnie Lingerfelt, Joint Master for the Tryon Hounds. “We have been fortunate to have Jordan Hicks as our huntsman for the past six years. This new residence will make a wonderful home for Jordan and his wife Jennifer and their daughter McKinsey”, added Lingerfelt.
Photo by Cathleen A. SpringerSuper Storm Sandy did her utmost to thwart the charity ride sponsored by HorseAbility and Smithtown, but Sandy didn’t reckon with the tenacity of the Smithtown Hunt members and friends. Weeks of chain saw, bush hog and back breaking manual labor organized by John Rooney converted a wasteland back to ride-able trails on the campus of SUNY Old Westbury. 22 members and 17 cappers thoroughly enjoyed the mild temperatures on December 12, 2012.
Prior to the first cast, Frank D. Bradford and Bernadette McHugh of the NSHA Rough Riders, posted the colors for the singing of the National Anthem by Guy Yuhas. Then, 10 1/2 couple hounds were singing themselves silly through the beautiful President’s Field and on restored paths through the tree carnage. An abundance of caution guided MFH’s Kevin Maple and Arthur Gerdts as newly cleared trails were negotiated by both the seasoned and novice foxhunters behind a cracking good pack cheered on by Huntsman, Brian Quinn ably assisted by Whippers-in Craig Boehner and Christine Toner. Sadly, not all riders and horses kept company throughout the day, but all were restored to optimum condition as of this writing.
On Saturday, February 19th, a new unofficial record was set for the number of side saddle riders out hunting, as well as for the number of side saddle riders from different countries. Fifty ladies, ranging in age from 9-70, from the USA, UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Italy, and Israel attended the second annual Irish Side Saddle day, hosted by the Meath Foxhounds in County Meath, Ireland, about an hour north of Dublin, and contested the ditches & banks for which the east coast of Ireland is famous.
For excellent photos detailing the thrills and spills of this incredible weekend, visit www.middleburgphoto.com
Photo by Phil AudibertAt first it seemed that circumstances conspired against me. Hurricane Sandy roared through the Northeast, raising floods and dumping snow, and causing terrible problems for so many people. I watched the disaster unfold on the news and felt guilty as I nursed my private concern: would the Keswick Hunt go out on Friday the second of November, and would I be able to get my horse from Tennessee to Virginia to hunt with them? My friend P.J. Drayton and I had planned our trip for months, even “practicing” hauling our horses with our cobbled-together combination of my truck and her trailer, and making detailed packing lists and contingency plans for various calamities. But we had not counted on the disaster that was Sandy. Our Deep South foxhunting buddies in Tennessee and Alabama warned us by phone, text, and email that we were committing certain suicide by attempting the trip. There was snow on the ground up there, for heaven’s sake!
Once a year, the entire membership of Rocky Fork Headley Hunt convenes to tell tall tales about the ignominious unplanned dismounts of the preceding season. Last year among all the other sad stories, Bill Bering had to confess to his own disgrace. The saga which follows was Bill’s rendition of the time when Missy got the better of him, as told at the annual Thrills and Spills convocation.
January 25th
Dear Diary,
Today Missy bucked me off during a hunt. My first reaction was to deny that it happened. After all, who would they believe: me--or Bob, Liz, and Linda, the alleged witnesses? I quickly abandoned the idea though thinking that perhaps I might crack under cross examination.
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