Hark! Old Horse

Details

Literature

By Carla Hawkinson

Carla Hawkinson, MFH with her soulmate, Forty-One, her inspiration for the poem / Joy Bragg This poem was first published in the Summer 2008 issue of Covertside when I was editor of that magazine. It was re-published in 2013 (the year the old horse passed away) in Foxhunting Life. It’s time for a reprise, if only to remind our readers that there are some excellent contemporary sporting poets still among us, though precious few.

The horse, Forty-One, died at age twenty-seven. He hunted the better part of nineteen seasons for the author, who was MFH of the Tennessee Valley Hunt.

Why the Extra Half-Couple in the Pack?

Details

Ask the Experts

By Messrs. Wood, Scott, and Young

C. Martin Wood, MFH / Karen L. Myers photoWhy do most huntsmen make up their packs for a day’s hunting with an odd number of couples, e.g., twelve-and-a-half couples rather than just twelve couples. Is there any practical reason? asked Kathy Rubin.

Three members of FHL's distinguished Panel of Experts offer not only their opinions, but expand their answers with sound hunting advice.

The Fox that Collects Shoes

Details

Picture of the Week

We’ve all heard of certain ladies who collect more shoes than they could possibly wear, but foxes?

In a Berlin suburb in Germany recently, according to the BBC and Deutsche Welle, footwear was disappearing from homeowners’ yards—sometimes a single shoe, sometimes the pair. Residents were on alert to determine the culprit.

It was a fox, caught on camera with a pair of blue flip flops in its mouth, stealing quietly across the cobblestones. Christian Meyer, the photographer, discovered the stash of more than 100 shoes: slippers, sandals, running shoes.... But Meyer’s missing shoes were not among them. Which goes to prove that even animals won’t keep all their eggs in one basket.

Posted August 10, 2020

The story was brought to us by our Minneapolis correspondent, Karin Winegar.

The Hunt-Inspired Fine Art of Miniatures

Details

Art

By Norman Fine

Interchangeable cufflinks, dime size 17.91mm

When Beth de Loiselle—a painter and instructor of fine arts—met up with the work of Susan Smith Burnett and Paul Eaton—both designers and makers of fine bespoke jewelry—the result was art for wearing, not hanging.

Dog and Horse Fine Art Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina was representing these fine artists individually, but gallery owner Jaynie Spector also saw advantages to be derived by connecting the painter, de Loiselle, with the jewelers, Burnett and Eaton. She scheduled a sporting art event at the gallery and prompted Beth to furnish miniature horse portraits for cufflinks.

AI: A Boost to Foxhound Breeders

Details

Hounds

By Norman Fine

Julian Barnfield, MFH and huntsman, "at the end of a cracking Autumn hunting morning...the hounds had been amazing."Julian Barnfield, former huntsman of the Cotswold, Heythrop, and North Shropshire Foxhounds (UK), has retired from the field but plans to use his breeding experience to assist foxhound breeders worldwide. Barnfield has associated with a leading European equine reproduction company to form Elite Kennel Fertility. Barnfield is a director of Elite, as is Tullis Matson, whose multi-award winning Stallion AI Services Ltd is one of the leading equine reproduction services in Europe.

Barnfield and Matson were Joint-Masters at the North Shropshire. American foxhound breeders—whether hunting a Crossbred pack or simply seeking an outcross to revitalize close bloodlines, should benefit from the services, facilities, and knowhow of the new company.

Virtual Hound Show Delayed by Success

Details

Latest

In a press release dated July 10, 2020, the organizers of the international Virtual Hound Show (iVHS) announce that the start of the (iVHS) has been delayed until July 31, 2020 due to the “unprecedented support from the International Hunting community.” Entries have been received from more than 250 hunts from seven countries, and the uploading of images and entries—a vast amount of data—has been the cause of the two-week delay.

At Galway Races

Details

Literature

By W.B. Yeats

William Butler Yeats“At Galway Races” was written in Coole Park, Lady Gregory's house, in 1908 after the poet had spent a day at the Galway Race Meeting. That is over a century ago but the wish it expresses is the same as that expressed by the new Minister for the Arts in Ireland, Heather Humphries, in a recent radio interview. It is a wish that is shared by virtually all artists, literary and otherwise, however 'elitist' they're supposed to be: "Art for everybody." And it is one that Yeats expressed often in prose and poetry.

AT GALWAY RACES

How to Deer-Proof Hounds In a Wooded Country

Details

Ask the Experts

Are hounds right?  /  Douglas Lees photoWith a new season approaching, and huntsman and staff seriously exercising hounds with the young entry, we thought this article on deer-proofing would be worth republishing.

An experienced foxhunter, recently appointed Master of a pack of foxhounds, recognizes that he has a deer problem. His hunting country is thickly wooded and accessible via trails. His staff is composed of an experienced amateur huntsman and honorary whippers-in. He whips-in himself, and has experienced first-hand the problems posed by the very nature of the country.

Or are they wrong? / Douglas Lees photoThere are no discreet coverts to draw that can be surrounded by staff to stop hounds if a deer goes out. In the event of riot, staff is unable to gallop through the thick woods to get ahead of hounds and rate them. Or to even see which hound led the miscreants astray. He understands that he must first teach puppies what the proper quarry is, but he has no access to fox pens to even help him establish good habits from the start.

Thinking outside the box, he came up with the idea of using commercially available deer scent and fox scent as a tool to train hounds.