20 minute read
A HUNTING JOURNEY
Genesee Valley Maple ’11 keeps digging long after the others have moved along.
A HUNTING JOURNEY A foot hunter’s transition breeds a great pack and friendships.
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BY SEAN CULLY, MFH, ROSE TREE-BLUE MOUNTAIN HUNT
IHAD BEEN STANDING IN THE SAME SPOT ON THE MOUNTAINSIDE FOR MORE THAN THREE AND A HALF HOURS, poised on the upper edge of a 200-acre area. Cut and cleared a few years prior, the hillside was now a thick covert surrounded by forest, a mile or so from the nearest access road.
A dozen of my Walker and July hounds had fallen silent after a solid four-hour chase that never left the covert. As I listened
24 | COVERTSIDE to the hounds, I felt excitement above and beyond, making the hair on the back of my neck raise up. It was extraordinary.
Eventually, the excitement was replaced by intensity — pure intensity — as a pack of hard-driving hounds pushed relentlessly and swiftly through the covert. The sounds reverberated as they closed in on their quarry. The moment intensified as the hounds went silent. On this day, the hounds ruled supreme.
FOOTING TO MOUNTED For ten years, I followed my hounds on foot, hunting for gray fox, red fox, and coyote. In 2009, I made the transi
FINDING THE PACK New to the world of mounted foxhunting, I didn’t know many people in the community. I did my homework and
tion to mounted hunting. After 10 years, the miles were sought out packs and individuals with similar philosophies
adding up and the days were long. A typical day’s foot hunt regarding the hounds to develop a pack with the same
would be around eight hours, covering 15 miles or more. It intensity and drive as my old Walker and July lines.
was a solitary sport and anyone that would join me usually The late Ben Hardaway’s book, “Never Outfoxed,”
only lasted part of the day, never to return again. Switchprovided some insight on a type of hound similar to what I
ing to a mounted hunt was looking for. After
made going to work speaking with Ben,
the next day a bit easier, and folks were interested in joining me, which made it more fun.
Sean Cully, MFH and Master and Huntsman Marion Thorne of Genesee Valley Hunt ride along a snowy road.
he pointed me to the Genesee Valley Hunt in Geneseo, New York. GVH was the closest hunt to my home for
Most of the hounds I his type of Crossbred
hunted were a strain of hound.
Walker hounds tracing Marion Thorne,
back to a line called Master and huntsman
Meggs. Tough hounds for the GVH, could
with endless energy,
not have been more
they would consistently helpful. After seeing
and endlessly follow a the pack in action, I
track but lacked the grit was ready for some
to finish the job. Upon of their hounds. They
catching up to a coyote, were biddable as can
they would walk along be, yet hard-driving
or come back. If a fox like my old hounds
was put to ground, they would come back. I sought out some July blood, and when mixed
ERIC SCHNEIDER
and with plenty of nose to do the job right. Marion was incredibly generous
with what I had been breeding, I found what I was looking for. Not only would they run a fox, but they would also mark the fox to ground until I arrived. Coyotes would be held at bay in the same manner. The timid Walkers learned from the July hounds and followed suit. They gave great sport, and I really could not have asked for more — until I asked them to do mounted hunting.
The Walker-July pack had too much hunt and would control the direction of the chase rather than following my lead. It quickly became apparent that the pack developed for hunting on foot would not be suitable for mounted hunting. Thus began my journey to establish a hound pack with the intensity of my Walker and July hounds, but also ideal as a mounted pack. with drafts of puppies and middle-aged hounds. One draft, in particular, stands out to me: a just-entered bitch named GVH Maple. She’s a bit shy, but an artist at the find and as honest as can be. Maple is harddriving, always at the front, and a wonderful marking hound.
To continue my search, a draft from Marion led me to another source. Deep Run Carson was bred by Huntsman Richard Roberts and not fitting well into kennel life at GVH. I was willing to give him a chance. After a few days with me, Carson was the first to speak only 25 yards from my horse. The pack honored him and chased for 40 minutes on a very cold day, with light snow on the ground. It was a tremendous run for the hounds, never leaving a few hundred acres. Ultimately, they accounted for a large THE SPORT IS A WORLD OF ITS OWN, FILLED WITH MANY SMALLER COMMUNITIES AND CLUBS THAT CREATE EVEN SMALLER CIRCLES OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
Sean Cully and Richard Roberts hunt with Middleburg Hunt in Virginia.
coyote not far from where the hunt began.
Impressed with Carson, I reached out to Deep Run. The Masters were very generous, as was Roberts. A few visits and some great days hunting together had me convinced that Deep Run also had the type of hound I liked. I was fortunate to come home from one Deep Run trip with four couple of puppies. Blue Mountain Bridle was in that lot — a genuinely great hound that has given me some of my best days.
Ten years into my journey of mounted foxhunting, and I love it just as much as the day I started. Friendships forged over our hounds gave me a sense of community in the mounted foxhunting world. The sport is a world of its own,
26 | COVERTSIDE filled with many smaller communities and clubs that create even smaller circles of friends and family. These friendships, for me, make the sport so enjoyable. I am privileged to share some great days in the field with huntsmen that I’ve grown to admire. These friendships are equally important when things get tough. While the sport of foxhunting has many different factions, beliefs, and preferences, when it comes to hounds, hunting, and horses — connecting to those with similar thoughts can prove to be unexpectedly rewarding.
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Terrybrooke Farm RANDY WOLCOTT 803.507.1142 . $875,000 Equestrian facility ready for your horses! Custom built home and 16 stall barn on 21 plus acres. Custom built 4 bedroom home with master suite down. Living room opens to the custom kitchen centered by a large island. Dining area overlooks the views of the covered patio and fields beyond. Barn features 16 stalls, 2 wash/grooming bays, 2 tack rooms, feed room, and 2-bay garage/workshop. Apartment for guests or groom. Fenced fields with waterers, 7 run-in sheds, arena with lights!
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Chino Farms in Queen Anne’s County, Md.
Where the River Runs and the Quail Thrive
Harry Sears’ Chino Farms seamlessly weaves land restoration, conservation, agriculture, and hunting. BY ED FRY, MFH
BEFORE DAWN, the mist lingers, shrouding the landscape of Chino Farms along the upper Eastern Shore of Maryland’s Queen Anne’s County. A bird’s eye view would reveal a tapestry of wild spaces, restored grasslands, hardwood forests, fields of organic and conventional crops, meandering creeks, and Delmarva bays. The sounds of migratory and grassland birds are slowly breaking through the mist, their voices reaching toward the rising sun.
Winding along the Chester River, a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, Dr. Henry F. “Harry” Sears’ Chino Farms comprises 4,700 acres of diversified habitat and 2.5 miles of waterfront. An important fixture for the Wicomico Hunt Club and home to the Chino Chase, the property is an experiment blending land conservation and restoration, agriculture, education, and hunting.
BIENNIAL SEMINAR 2020
HOSTED BY THE MFHA FOUNDATION & HILLSBORO HOUNDS
DATE THE SAVE JUNE 26 - 28 NASHVILLE TENNESSEE
Wicomico Hunt and Elkridge-Harford Hunt participate in a joint meet on the land.
Sears’ enduring dedication to the farm and region’s conservation efforts have earned him the 2020 Hunting Habitat Conservation Award from the Masters of Foxhounds Association.
RESTORATIVE EDUCATION Sears says that he believes we must take care of things if we are to enjoy them. He’s helping to inspire and educate new generations of scientists, environmentalists, and stewards of the land with what has become a remarkable living classroom.
“Harry loves that land,” says John Seidel, director of the Center for Environment & Society (CES) at Washington College, in Chestertown, Md. Seidel oversees the research and programming for the River and Field Campus at Chino. “He wants to see it preserved in agriculture and wild spaces. And, he sees it as a laboratory
for testing ideas and for education.”
The farm provides an invaluable wildlife habitat and research basin for countless organizations including the University of Maryland, University of Delaware, Washington College, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Stroud Water Research Center, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Wildlife Program, Ducks Unlimited, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the Audubon Society, and the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative.
Douglas E. Gill, professor emeritus in the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland, first began ground-breaking conservation work with Sears at Chino Farms in 1998. Together, they created the Chester River Field Research Station. The goal was to create large-scale wildlife habitats and reverse the declining populations of native species.
“We had no idea if this goal was even possible on Eastern Shore land that had been subject to 300 years of intense human activity and presumed soil exhaustion,” says Gill.
In April 1999, 228 acres of relatively unproductive sandy, acidic soils were placed under 15-year renewable contracts with the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) with the State of Maryland. Twelve replicated fields of 23 acres were planted in eight species of native warm-season grasses and two cold-season grasses in five seed-mixture treatments.
The effort was immediately successful, attracting grassland bird species — horned larks, killdeer, and grasshopper sparrows — to the property. Within the first two years, other declining grassland birds, including the vesper sparrow, dickcissel, and northern bobwhite, also colonized the grasslands. The success of the grassland restoration at Chino led to a larger-scale regional restoration effort, the Natural Lands Project. Initially, the project aimed to reestablish the iconic bobwhite quail gamebird habitat. Washington College field ecologists identified the habitat needed for the birds to thrive and found those same elements reduced polluted runoff into the Chesapeake Bay.
To say the project has been a success is an understatement. Chino now boasts the highest concentrations of bobwhite quail in Maryland. It is rapidly becoming one of the most significant wildlife restoration efforts on the Delmarva Peninsula, with $1.3 million dedicated to the project from grants and match funding.
FARMING AND LEGACY Amid this innovation in wildlife preservation and land conservation is the commercial farming operation that has remained at Chino,
Wicomico hunts the land along the Chester River.
The conservation efforts at Chino Farms have led to an increase in native bird populations, including osprey.
LOUISA EMERICK
Blue Stem Farms, LLC., owned and operated by Evan Miles. The farm is the heart of Sears’ grand experiment in finding the viable coexistence of agriculture and the environment.
Never once has Sears suggested that farming, hunting, and other traditional economic and cultural land uses should be usurped by or even subservient to conservation. Seeking a balance and a supportive co-existence is his goal. He says he loves to hear the iconic song of the bobwhite quail, thrills to know that their numbers are on the rebound, and equally rejoices in taking them on the wing. Likewise, the economic and cultural necessity of commercial farming is a critical element in the overall tapestry. Working with Sears, Miles uses precision farming to identify acreage best suited to wildlife or conservation, while identifying areas ripe for increasing crop yields. The operation uses sustainable farming practices with efforts in place to protect waterways, manage natural resources, and combat noxious non-native species.
The efforts of Sears have profoundly affected the wildlife, culture, and long-term health of one of the country’s estuarine masterpieces, the Chesapeake Bay. He has inspired other landowners to emulate his efforts to find a working, sustainable balance between traditional land uses like agriculture and hunting with land conservation, species diversity, and a cleaner Chesapeake Bay.
Editor’s note: This story is an edited version of Wicomico Hunt Club’s sumbission for the Hunting Habitat Conservation Award.
Saturday, April 18, 2020 (8:30 a.m. - Gates open for registration)
Historical Trail Ride at Cedar Mountain 23042 Cedar Mountain Road, Rapidan, VA 22733
Bull Run Hunt Club offers the history of Cedar Mountain on horseback. This is a unique opportunity to ride on battlefields that are not open to the public to ride.
ADULTS: $45 (includes lunch) YOUTH 18 & under: $35 (includes lunch) LUNCH ONLY: $20 Late fee after April 13, 2020: additional $15
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Cathette Plumer, P.O. Box 92, Doswell, VA 23047 804-370-8631 (no text, phone calls only), Cathette@aol.com
Sponsored by: Bull Run Hunt Club, Virginia Horse Council, Virginia Horse Industry Board, Virginia Quarter Horse Association
Leave Your Boots at the Door
Photographer Helen Houghton captured the evocative nature of a post-hunt gathering. Muddy boots at the door can only mean good times.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Do you have a photo, story, or essay to share with Covertside? Send high-resolution, 300 dpi photographs or essays to editor@covertside.net, or snail mail to Covertside, 2329 Lakeview Rd. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105.
Join today for just $35 and receive all the benefi ts of an MFHA membership.
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PENN-MARYDELS EXPLAINED • MOUNTAIN AND MUSE • SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: THE KIT
THE MAGAZINE OF MOUNTED FOXHUNTING
MFHA Subscribing Member Benefi ts Include:
• Covertside magazine - 4 issues per year • Monthly eCovertside subscription • Members only events, contests, seminars, and Ball • Bumper Sticker • Eligible to receive a variety of discounts from MFHA sponsors
To join, make check payable to the MFHA and mail to: Masters of Foxhounds Association of America, PO Box 207 Middleburg, VA 20118
To pay by credit card, call 540-883-0883.
Call 540-883-0883 or visit www.mfha.com to join today!
Your valuable support of the MFHA and its foundations helps to promote and preserve foxhunting and countryside values.
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