Bill Getchell, a whipper-in for the Nantucket-Treweryn Beagles, a foot pack in Virginia, attended the MFHA-sponsored seminar for whippers-in held on Saturday, May 23, 2015 at Morven Park, the day before the Virginia Foxhound Show, and filed this report.

MFHA Executive Director Dennis Foster opened the day’s program, introducing Moderator Andrew Barclay and Panelists John Gray, Richard Roberts, Stephen “Reg” Spreadborough, and Charles Montgomery.

Lauren Giannini photoHuntsman John Gray, Hillsboro Hounds (TN)
A good whipper-in, said huntsman John Gray, must like hounds, know the hounds in his/her pack, and trust them.

He/she must be a good rider who understands how and when to save his horse over the many miles to be covered during the course of the day, so there will be reserves if needed at day’s end.

A good whipper-in knows his country and the landowners, and knows where he can and where he must not go.

Gray wants his whipper-in to tell him concisely, precisely, and simply what he saw, not what he thinks. The good whipper-in stays ahead of hounds in position to stop riots before they start.

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