All in the Families at Rolling Rock

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By Norman Fine

R.K. Mellon's great-granddaughter Kendra McBroom, showing her hound in the Junior Handlers Class at the VIrginia Foxhound ShowFrom the founding family—the Mellons—to the professional huntsman’s family—the Stickleys—the Rolling Rock Hunt nourishes its family connections.

Today, two Rolling Rock Masters represent the founding family: Mrs. Armour (Sophie) Mellon and Christina Henderson, granddaughter of hunt founder Richard King Mellon. Christina’s daughter, Kendra, thirteen, helped with hounds at the Virginia Foxhound Show this year and showed in the Junior Handlers Class—a fourth generation of the Mellon family involved in the hunt.

Mark Stickley, the current Rolling Rock huntsman, whipped-in to his father Lovell Stickley, who came to Rolling Rock as kennel huntsman in 1956 and carried the horn from 1961 to 1977. Today, Mark’s daughter Virginia whips-in to Mark and worked side-by-side with her dad showing hounds at the Virginia Foxhound Show—a third generation of Stickleys working with hounds at Rolling Rock.

Irish Foxhunter Will Attempt Side Saddle High Jump Record

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By Noel Mullins

Susan Oakes and saddle, the provenance of which includes the training of ceremonial horses for Queen Elizabeth IILongtime foxhunter Susan Oakes will attempt to set a new world record for the side saddle high jump at Aintree’s Annual National Show on July 28, 2012. The record of six feet, six inches was set by Mrs. Esther M. Stace at the Royal Sydney Easter Show, Australia, in 1915.

Susan Oakes hails from County Meath, where her parents Clare and Oliver and her sister Elizabeth are all involved in horses. Since childhood she has pony clubbed and hunted with the Meath Foxhounds, Tara Harriers and the Ward Union Staghounds, often riding side saddle. She also campaigns her point-to-point horses Parson’s Pistol and O’Muircheartaigh. She is also a show judge of hunters and side saddle, and an accomplished show rider winning the first ever coloured horse class at the RDS with Cisco Kid, and the coloured cob class with Crowboy JJ.

Who Is This?

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By Norman Fine

Liz Callar photo

We featured this photo in our most recent “Who Is This?” contest on FaceBook. We dropped the hint that our mystery horseman is a familiar figure in the hunting field and in the horse show world as well.  Can you identify him?

Nick Greenwell from Bluemont, Virginia was the first with the correct answer, and he’ll receive a prize from Foxhunting Life. Apparently it was an easy puzzle. There was an immediate flood of correct answers—a testament to the popularity of....

We've Been Noticed!

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By Norman Fine

Foxhunting Life editor Norman Fine is profiled in the August 2012 issue of Middleburg Life. Well known equestrian writer Steve Price serves up more than you ever wanted to know about Norm. The print version is available at many Middleburg, Virginia locations; click to access the electronic "flip-page" version. Open the “Latest Issue” and see pages 4 and 5!

Posted August 15, 2012