Deep Run Warrior Is Grand Champion at Carolinas

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Hounds

By Norman Fine

Deep Run Warrior 2015 stands proudly for his award photograph. Judge Mary Ewing, MFH, presents the trophy for Grand Champion of Show to huntsman John Harrison. Stud groom and second whipper-in Chelsea Ray Kellerhouse is at left.

Huntsman John Harrison loves Warrior’s entire litter. “It’s the best litter in the kennels,” he says, “and Warrior is the best-looking hound in the litter.”

Apparently the judges thought so, too. Deep Run Warrior was judged Grand Champion of Show at the Carolinas Hound Show hosted by the Moore County Hounds on Saturday, May 12, 2018 at the grounds of the Walthour Moss Foundation in Southern Pines, NC.

Hunting In the Footsteps of Irish History

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Hunt Reports

By Dickie Power

Thirteenth century Liscarroll Castle in the Duhallow hunting country, near the site of the Battle of Liscarroll in 1642.

There are certain days that stand out in the sporting calendar, Gold Cup day in Cheltenham, Aga Khan day at the Royal Dublin Show, the Maryland Hunt Cup in the USA, Munster final in Thurles (especially if Cork and Tipperary are playing), but ranking at least equal to any of these must be a meet of the Duhallow in Liscarroll. The Duhallow kennels are nearby, and huntsman Ger Withers is a native of the parish so it could be described as their spiritual home. As if all this weren’t enough, longstanding hunt chairman Pat Fleming farms nearby, and the Flemings have been farming in Liscarroll since the Battle of Liscarroll around 1642.

Discovering the World In Springtime's Glory

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Photo of the Week

By Janet Ladner

Janet Ladner is a sporting photographer in the UK who shoots spectacular foxhunting and beagling images in the southwestern tip of England on the cliffs of Cornwall. This young cub and two other littermates were whelped in this huge earth covering about twenty feet of a granite stone hedge not far from the village of Ludgvan, writes Ladner.

“There are usually cubs in this field each year, and it’s where we walk our dogs regularly. I’m not sure how long they will be here as the potato crop is about to be harvested,” says Ladner.

She has been watching the earth for a couple of weeks, and used a Nikon D7200 with a 300 mm lens for this shot.

In Praise of the Penn-Marydel

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Hunt Reports

By Rumford Pigg

Gretchen Pelham photo

While packing hounds to the first covert on an autumn hunting morning a couple of seasons ago, I quickly noticed the absence of spider webs laying in the morning dew that so often are the bane of scenting here in the excessively drained sandy soils of my hunting country. Sure enough that harbinger proved accurate when precocious ten-month-old Dooley opened on riot, indicating that scenting conditions were indeed optimal. Whippers-in were out on point, so I had to break out my shooting iron to get the attention of the easily swayed new entry that joined the persistent Dooley.

After counting all twenty-five-and-a-half couple and telling them how disappointed in them I was, I moved from Manly Crossing and recast them into Cow Head. That particular cast was mostly to settle them down and perhaps jump another deer, as that location offers the opportunity for quick correction.

Hillsboro: A Clean Sweep at Virginia

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Hounds

By Norman Fine

Hillsboro Walnut 2017 is Grand Champion of Show at Virginia. (L-R, front row): Huntsman John Gray, Judge Dr. Marvin Beeman, MFH (straw hat), Joan Jones, president of the Virginia Foxhound Club, Orrin Ingram, MFH, (kneeling) with Lee Ann Ingram behind, and Leilani Gray. (L-R, back row): Charlie Burke, Hunt Secretary Dana Burke, Hill McAlister, MFH, Emily McMcAlister, Nina Lindley, Michael Lindley, MFH, and Eleanor Menefee Parks, MFH.  / Lauren Giannini photoAt this year’s Virginia Foxhound Show, the Hillsboro Hounds (TN) matched a bit of history made back in 2010 by the Live Oak Hounds (FL) in that most exciting final class of the day, Grand Champion of Show. The show was held at Morven Park on May 27, 2018

As usual, four hounds were qualified for the Grand Champion class—the American, Crossbred, English, and Penn-Marydel Champions. Hillsboro had two hounds in the ring, having won both the English and the Crossbred Championships. When the class ended, Hillsboro Walnut 2017 was Grand Champion of Show, and Hillsboro Starlight 2017 was Reserve Grand Champion. It only happened once before, and there have been seventy-one Virginia Foxhound Shows.

Brazos Valley Playboy Is Grand Champion at Central States

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Hounds

By Norman Fine

Grand Champion Brazos Valley Playboy 2016 is shown by Sandy Dixon, MFH. Standing are (l-r) Johna Sewell, Brazos Valley; Nick Badgerow, Show Chairman; Judge John Tabachka. /   Howard Gwin photoBrazos Valley Playboy 2016, an American foxhound, was crowned Grand Champion of the Central States Hound Show in Stilwell Kansas, on May 12, 2018.

Playboy was bred much like European royalty—all in the family—but even more so. Breeders know that the results of inbreeding can be successful beyond one’s wildest dreams. Or a nightmare.

“People are going to wonder, ‘What was she thinking?’” Sandy Dixon, MFH of the Brazos Valley Hounds (TX), readily admitted last year when Playboy’s littermate, Precious, was judged Grand Champion of the Southwest Hound Show. Just as riders don’t plan for the occasional involuntary dismount, so Dixon didn’t plan on this involuntary mount.

Photography I: Shooting Foxhounds at the Hound Show

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Hounds

By Norman Fine and Lauren Giannini

The conformation of Toronto and North York's Blue Ridge Wentworth 2015, Grand Champion Foxhound at the 2017 Canadian Foxhound Show, is clearly seen in this well-posed photograph. / Denya Massey photo

This may come as a surprise to new hound show photographers, but...

...your primary purpose at the hound show is to produce hound portraits that clearly display the conformation of those hounds recognized by the judges as superior examples of the breed.

Secondary purposes may be to include the smiling faces of the Masters, handlers, distinguished trophy presenters, and judges, along with candids of attendees enjoying the day and the action in the ring. Those are nice things to do. But they’re secondary. The hound show is about the hounds.

There are those experienced photographers who are expert at photographing four-legged animals, both hounds and horses. The basics are pretty similar. Editors of sporting magazines—those who cover dogs, hounds, horses—love those photographers. They make us proud by providing images for publication comparable to our unforgettable prose. So, here are some basic guidelines for shooting hound champion portraits at hound shows, even those that include all the smiling faces.

Fox News

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Photo of the Week

By Norman Fine

Bennett Tucker photo

Fox News has put Aiken’s favorite critters to work as newsboys. The news empire is making a sincere effort to improve their service in Aiken, South Carolina.

“Everyone knows foxes are smart, just perfect for this job,” said a company spokesperson. “They know every square inch of their territory, they are known to run consistent routes, and, being nocturnal, they don’t oversleep. Even the earliest Aiken risers are certain to receive their morning papers on time, every day. And foxes work cheap—just a mouse.”

Photo credit goes to Bennett Tucker, a two-legged “fox” for the Aiken Hounds (SC).

Posted May 28, 2018