The Remarkable Life of Major Charles Kindersley, MFH

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By Norman Fine

Book Review by Norman Fine

Major Charles Kindersley with hounds and son, Richard, whipping-in. Painting by Jean Bowman. This book is available in the U.S. for $30.00 (USD) and in Canada for $40.00 (Canadian). Shipping is included in the price. Please e-mail your order directly to the author and include your phone number. She will call you for your credit card information.

The Life and Memory of Charles Montague Kindersley by Lynne Kindersley Dole is a story of ingenuity and adventure that takes us well beyond Major Kindersley's distinguished Mastership of which many readers are already familiar.

He was born in 1900 and lived through most of the twentieth century―until 1993. This story deserved to be written because he lived such a remarkable life. Likewise, it well-deserves to be read because it is authentically written by his daughter and is a riveting read.

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Leading the Field

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By Erskine Bedford

The late Erskine Bedford, Piedmont's consummate Field Master for twenty seasons through the late twentieth century, explains how to lead and educate the field.

Erskine Bedford, MFH and Field Master, Piedmont Fox Hounds, 1979-1998

The Field Master’s job has five simple rules: first, have a great pack of hounds; second, have a great huntsman; third, have a great horse; fourth―getting serious now―know your country; and fifth, make it fun.

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Willie Leahy: Horseman, Entrepreneur, Field Master

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By Noel Mullins

Willie Leahy, while Field Master of the Galway Blazers  /   Noel Mullins photo

Ireland and the horse world lost one of their best-known horsemen, Willie Leahy. He provided outstanding field hunters for visitors to Galway, served as Field Master of the Galway Blazers, was the first to offer pony trekking tours to Ireland, and developed the Connemara Trail. Willie was an uncle to Tony Leahy, MFH, past president of the Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America.

His home was Aille Cross in Loughrea, County Galway. In the nearly seventy years I have known Willie, he remained true to the Traditional Irish Horse, Connemara Pony, and the countryside where he was most content. He started from modest means on a small family farm with one horse, leaving school early, but his boundless imagination and vision saw Willie develop one of the largest equestrian enterprises in Ireland, with farms in Loughrea and Connemara.

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Frank Burke: Man and Horseman

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By Noel Mullins

The Irish possess a mystical, possibly genetic relationship with the horse. The late Frank Burke is a splendid example of the horseman all horse-lovers aspire to be.

Frank Burke with Siscero, winner of the 2016 Dublin Horse Show Puissance at 7-feet, 3-inches and ridden by Shane Breen  /   Noel Mullins photo

A constant outpouring of messages of sympathy flew at the sad news of the passing of Frank Burke―West of Ireland horseman and lifetime follower of the Galway Blazers Foxhounds. The messages expressed what so many were thinking: a great warrior, kind and caring, inspiring, a joy to meet, smiling and good-humoured, hospitable, strong, a passion for life, steely determination, brave, tough and positive. Some said they admired his deep faith, a gentleman who suffered in silence from a dreadful illness over the last twenty years, yet remained pleasant and uncomplaining.

Frank knew he was not fighting his battle alone. He has his family in his corner and particularly his beloved wife Bernie, a trained nurse who was his ‘rock,’ sharing both his good days and bad days. And he had sons and daughters, all living as a close family unit. His son David said that his father gave a whole new meaning to the word, tough, recalling when the Hospice Nurse called to the house to attend to Frank only to be told he was out on the farm painting a gate!

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