Southern Hound Show 2019

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Hounds

By Norman Fine

Huntsman Spencer Allen shows Grand Champion Foxhound of Show, Live Oak Able 2016. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Ledyard present trophy to  Masters Daphne Wood and C. Martin Wood III.  /  Wendy Butler photo

Mr. C. Martin Wood III, MFH, Live Oak Hounds (FL) has been line breeding his pack as he was taught by his late mentors, Captain Ronnie Wallace, MFH, and before that, Ben Hardaway, MFH. He absorbed the wisdom of both superb breeders, and, of course, brought some of his own wisdom to the kennels as well.

We often hear the familiar and simplistic saw, ‘breed the best to the best, and hope for the best.’ That may work for some when first starting a pack, but there is another vital step that follows. Which of those ‘best’ are passing on their good traits, and which aren’t? The long-running male and female breeding lines in the successful packs are those lines started by superior hounds, the progeny of which continue to pass on their excellent genes generation after generation. Not all the ‘best’ hounds—or even racehorses—do.

An American Foxhunter Meets the Irish Banks

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Hunt Reports

By Robert Fugate

The author on Gus: muddied but unbowed / John Flavin photoDid you ever hear the expression “cheating death?” This question was posed to me by Bob Goodman, my newfound friend and fellow foxhunter, as we both emerged from one of those double drain jumps common to the south of Ireland. The question carried added meaning coming from Bob, a former Air Force fighter pilot with 336 combat missions in Vietnam.

I arrived in Ireland on January 18, 2019 and made my way from the airport straight to Flavin’s stable near Tramore in County Waterford to practice jumping banks and ditches before the next morning’s hunt. On a good horse who knew his business, I found these obstacles to be easy enough, and I was assured that actual hunt conditions would be no more challenging than these practice jumps. Although confident, I had a sense that actual conditions might in fact be different…

Jimmy Day Entries Finish Strong at Old Dominion

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Horses

Photos by Douglas Lees

Maiden Hurdle race (l-r): #1, Apollo Landing (Bryan Cullinane up) finishes 1st; Leopard Cat (Paul Cawley up) places 2nd.

The trainer-rider team of Jimmy Day and Bryan Cullinane won four of the nine races carded at the Old Dominion Point-to-Point at Ben Venue Farm on Saturday, April 6, 2019. The Amateur/Novice Rider Hurdle (first race) was a walkover, and the rest of the fields were sparse, but Day and Cullinane won over hurdles, over timber, and on the flat.

In the Maiden Hurdle, Cullinane took Charlie Fenwick’s Apollo Landing right out to the front and pulled away from Leopard Cat for the easy win.

Gomena Saddles Three Winners at Orange County

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Horses

 Photos by Douglas Lees

(l-r) Menacing Dennis (Aaron Sinnott up) finishes first; Ack Feisty (Jacob Roberts up) is third in the Open Hurdle.

Julie Gomena-trained horses swept three of the seven races for three different owners with three different riders at the Orange County Point-to-Point on Sunday, March 31, 2019: Maiden Flat (second race), Open Hurdle (fifth race), and the Open Timber (sixth race). Racing was run over the Locust Hill Farm racecourse in Middleburg, Virginia:

Ancestors In The Dark

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Hunting Days of Yore

By Derek French

North Downs Way, Kent, England

The light fades fast on a December day in the rolling chalk hills, the centuries-old beech woods, and the ancient countryside of the North Downs in the county of Kent in England. It is Roman country...old Roman country. The Roman presence can still be seen and felt there. Watling Street, now a motorway, was built by the Romans to conduct their chariots from the chalk cliffs of the coast at Dover to old Londinium. London today, of course. Straight as an arrow and solid as the rock foundations on which it was built. In places, you can still see the wheel ruts worn down by the centuries of travel.

Here too, in the well-trodden countryside, ancient history's presence is felt as the Pilgrim's Way meanders through the landscape from Winchester to the Thomas Becket shrine in Canterbury Cathedral. Much of the route of the Pilgrims Way follows an ancient track dating back to 500 BC.

Young Handlers Classes Popular in UK

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Juniors

By Deirdre Hanna

Captain Ian Farquhar and young handler at the West of England Hound Show, Honiton, in 2018  /  Sarah Farnsworth photo

In response to the success and popularity of the Young Handlers Class established at the West of England hound show at Honiton, the organisers of The Harrogate and Peterborough hound shows have decided to hold their own young handlers classes for all hunts exhibiting at these shows in 2019.

Young Handlers Classes have been held for a great many years in the United States, chiefly at the Virginia and Bryn Mawr Hound shows, so we were delighted when, in the summer of 2016, the first Young Handlers Classes were held in England at some of our northern shows. The enthusiasm and zeal of these youngsters was remembered by those who ‘organise,’ and the following year at Honiton a full class of twenty youngsters put themselves forward to compete for the Captain Ronnie Wallace MFH Perpetual Memorial Trophy. The winner also received a hunting horn, and rosettes commemorating their participation were awarded to all entrants.

Grallagh Harriers at Meadow Court Hotel, Galway

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Hunt Reports

By Noel Mullins

The Grallagh Harriers Master and huntsman David Burke and field move off from the meet at the Meadow Court Hotel near Loughrea. / Noel Mullins photo

The Grallagh Harriers hunt much the same country as the Galway Blazers. The meet was at Meadow Court Hotel in Co. Galway, near my hometown of Loughrea. It brought back many happy memories so close as it is to St. Clerins, the former home of film director John Huston who wrote the screen play and/or directed such classic films as The Maltese Falcon, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Asphalt Jungle, African Queen, and Moby Dick. The list goes on. He won the Oscar twice and directed his father Walter and his daughter Anjelica to Oscar-winning roles as well.

John Huston was MFH of the Galway Blazers in the 1960s. It was nothing unusual to see his house guests following the hunt by car―Hollywood film stars like Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Orson Wells, playwright Jean Paul Sartre, or Paul Newman who bought a Connemara Pony from Lady Anne Hemphill.

Trainer Davies and Jockey Poretz Come Back Strong at Piedmont

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Horses

By Norman Fine

Photos by Douglas Lees

Maiden Timber (l-r): #14, Flaming Sword (Aaron Sinnott up), winner; Some Response (Eric Poretz up) is seen above winner; #12, Holiday Mousse (Jacob Roberts up); #3, Le Aqua (Paul Cawley up), finishes third

The Piedmont Point-to-Point Races at Salem Racecourse on Saturday, March 23, 2019 got off to an interesting start in the first race, Maiden Timber. Some Response and jockey Eric Poretz, captured above (top center) in a disagreement at the first fence, ultimately parted company at the sixth fence. The horse did prove he could jump and do the distance, however. He took his own line over a four-foot-three-inch boundary fence, raced east on Route 50, through the village of Upperville, and was finally captured unharmed at the Hunter’s Head restaurant by huntsman Jordan Hicks and whipper-in Lissa Green, outriders. The trio were met by a police escort for the return trip to Salem, followed by jammed-up westbound traffic.