Foxhunting Life takes pleasure in publishing the winning entry in the United States Pony Club annual Hildegard Neill Ritchie Joys of Foxhunting Writing Contest for 2011.

As one of the contest judges, I was impressed by Katy Ropp’s vibrant depictions of sounds, smells, and sensations. Katie, 15, is a D-3 member of the Kalamazoo Valley II Pony Club in the Great Lakes Region.

Hunting Songs, Volume One: The Lakeland Fell Packs, Ron Black and Wendy Fraser, Blurb Publishing, 2011, 75 pages, 7.50 pounds (soft cover), 15.50 pounds (hard cover), www.cumbrian-lad.comRon Black and Wendy Fraser collaborated on this collection—a folk history, really—of Lakeland hunting songs. Over the course of three-hundred years, followers of the fell packs of the English Lake District wrote these songs to memorialize historic runs, iconic huntsmen, special foxhounds, and—what pleased me especially—brave terriers! Perhaps I just never noticed, but I cannot recall any other book of hunting songs and poems that includes odes to these feisty little creatures.

Or perhaps I paid special notice here because I now happen to be the smitten owner of a nine-month-old Border terrier whose ancestors scurried in their determined fashion over those same fells on the English-Scottish border. Here’s the story of Badger and Butcher by Mr. and Mrs. Curry, and it’s still sung today!

A recent poll assured us that most FHL readers enjoy reading foxhunting poems by the old masters. As we approach the cubhunting season, try to imagine what's in store for the young entry! Here's a sympathetic look by Will Ogilvie.

The winter sunset lit the leafless trees
With Gold and crimson as the short day waned;
The wind had ceased its plaintive melodies;
The woodland darkened, and deep silence reigned.

Something happened to William Butler Yeats on his way to becoming a painter...in the footsteps of his father. He decided he liked writing poetry better. Certainly he was a favorite of most of the English teachers I’ve ever had, but I don’t remember any of them assigning his foxhunting poems for study! Yeats was born in Ireland, so the foxhunting came naturally.

“Now lay me in a cushioned chair
And carry me, you four,
With cushions here and cushions there,
To see the world once more.