Tommy Lee Jones: 50 Years Hunting Hounds at Casanova

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By Joyce Fendley, ex-MFH

Douglas Lees photo 2019

Masters, staff, and members of the Casanova Hunt (VA) are proud and pleased to celebrate Tommy Lee Jones’s fiftieth season as huntsman. Tommy Lee has carried the horn for this venerable 110-year-old sporting establishment for nearly half of its existence—a remarkable feat made possible by a lengthy and talented career in the saddle from a young age.

Growing up, Tommy Lee was fortunate to have hunted with many fine Virginia huntsmen, among them Messrs Melvin and Albert Poe, Andrew Branham, and Duke Leech. While hunting with Casanova in 1967, Tommy Lee was appointed whipper-in to the Irish huntsman, Captain Ian Benson. When Captain Benson returned to Ireland in 1970, the horn was passed to Tommy Lee.

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Huntsmen on the Move in 2022

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By Norman Fine

It’s that time of the off-season to check up on huntsmen who are moving or retiring and those hunts acquiring or seeking huntsmen. Here’s what we know.

Guy Allman at Blue Ridge with then whipper-in Neil Amatt and hounds  /  Betsy Burke Parker photo

Live Oak Hounds (FL)
British-born Guy Allman has returned to the States from England to hunt the well-bred pack of Modern English and Crossbred foxhounds at Live Oak in north Florida. Allman has been in hunt service for thirty-seven seasons, all but three years of that time in England.

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The Kriz Horseshoeing Dynasty: A Tribute

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By Paul Kraus

Joe Kriz and son ready for a day with the Middlebury Hunt (CT), circa 1962

Joe Kriz, known by family and friends as "UJ" (Uncle Joe), and his son Joe Kriz, known as "Little Joe," appear in the photo above in hunting attire for a day with the Middlebury Hunt (CT), circa early- to mid-1960s. In the background is the family farm in Bethany, Connecticut, owned by UJ and his brother Johnny.

UJ and Jonny were seventh-generation farriers in a family that immigrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia. The brothers lived side-by-side on the farm for most of their adult lives, including their final years. Because of their hospitality and generosity, their farm was the local hub for horsey folks in the area. Sundays and many holidays were Open House with food and drink and good cheer in abundance.

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First-Year Huntsman; A Lifetime in Training

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By Norman Fine

How to pass the horn: Fred Berry, MFH, Sedgefield, after 35 years as huntsman passes the horn to whipper-in Randall Wiseman Carty.

When the hunting season starts this fall, the Sedgefield Hunt (NC) will field a new huntsman. After thirty-five years carrying the horn, Fred Berry, MFH, has passed it on to a first-year professional huntsman, Randall Wiseman Carty. First-year notwithstanding, Ms. Carty will hardly be new to hounds or hunting.

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