In & Around Horse Country

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY, 60 ALEXANDRIA PIKE, WARRENTON, VA 20186

VOLUME XXV / NUMBER 3 • THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE VIRGINIA STEEPLECHASE ASSOCIATION • APRIL/MAY 2013

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

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HUNT MEETS

Middleburg Hunt Staff (l-r): Carey Shefte, Honorary Whipper-In; Barry Magner, Huntsman; groom Mary Taylor Miller; Ben Brabazon, visiting Honorary Whipper-In from Westmeath Hunt, Ireland. Middleburg Photo Trevor Potter, hunting with Orange County Hounds near Marshall, Virginia, February 16, 2013.

John Coles, MFH, Orange County Hounds, hunting along Rectortown Road in late January, 2013.

Douglas Lees photo

Douglas Lees photo

Sometimes practicality trumps the finer points of turnout as Meredith Wade, accompanied by Chris Allen, demonstrated during a chilly day out with Bull Run Hunt, hunting from Locust Farm on January 26, 2013. Richard Clay photo.

Snickersville Hounds from Gregg Ryan’s Creekside Farm, March 24, 2013.

Gregg Ryan MFH, Milton Sender, Vas Devan. Janet Hitchen photo

Anniversary Joint Meet, Warrenton Hunt and Deep Run Hunt, from Warrenton Kennels, Elway Farm, February 24, 2013.

Matt Vanderwoude, Warrenton Huntsman, moving off from Elway with Warrenton hounds.

Deep Run Huntsman Richard Roberts, far right, assists. Douglas Lees photo

Anniversary Joint Meet, Warrenton Hunt and Deep Run Hunt, from the Warrenton Kennels, Elway Farm, February 24, 2013.

Left to right: Richard H. Laimbeer, MFH, Warrenton; Kimbrough K. Nash, MFH, Warrenton; Coleman Perrin, Ex-MFH Deep Run; Polly Bance, MFH, Deep Run; Celeste Vella, MFH, Warrenton.

Carey Shefte, Honorary Whipper-In.

Douglas Lees photo

Middleburg Photo

Middleburg Hunt Junior Andrew Looney and his horse both look eager to get started for the final hunt of the 2012-13 season. Middleburg Photo

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

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SPORTING LIFE HIGHLIGHTS Museum of Hounds & Hunting and the Virginia Hound Show Memorial Weekend Happenings at Morven Park Saturday, May 25, 2013 5:00 pm: Museum of Hounds & Hunting NA Reception Tickets available from the Museum: 703-777-2414, enquiries@mhhna.org.

Open to current members and members’ guests. $20.00 per person. All proceeds benefit the Museum of Hounds & Hunting NA. Memberships and reception tickets may be purchased at the door. (Does not include the Virginia Foxhound Club cocktail party and dinner).

If you are not currently a member of the Museum of Hounds & Hunting North America, we encourage you to support this worthwhile organization whose objective is to preserve the art and artifacts of mounted hunting in North America.

For membership information call 703-777-2414, email enquiries@mhhna.org, or visit the website at www.mhhna.org.

6:00 pm: Virginia Foxhound Club Cocktail Party and Dinner Under the tent in front of the Mansion. Reservations required through the Virginia Foxhound Club (www.virginiafoxhoundclub.org).

7:00 pm: Horn Blowing Contest During the Virginia Foxhound Club Dinner Sunday, May 26, 2013 8:00 am: Virginia Hound Show Morven Park, Leesburg, VA On Sunday, May 26, the Virginia Foxhound Club will host their annual hound show at Morven Park, considered to be one of the premier hound shows held in North America. The show begins at 8:00 am and continues throughout the day. Admission is free. For information, visit www.virginiafoxhoundclub.org.

11:00 am: Museum of Hounds & Hunting NA Opens Enjoy the Virginia Hound Show and stroll up to the Mansion to see the 2013 exhibits in the Museum.

••••

Natania Wins USPA Open National Interscholastic Championship

By Lauren R. Giannini

Natania advanced to the finals of the US Polo Association National Interscholastic Championship after winning the USPA Interscholastic southeast regional title at Natania Polo, Warrenton (VA), on February 24 in a hotly contested match against the defending national champions, Cowtown Work To Ride from Philadelphia. In March, Coach Amir Pirasteh and his team – Connor Deal, Wyatt Harlow, Drew Peterson (alternate), and Kamran Pirasteh – plus a number of Natania supporters flew to Empire Polo Club (Indie, CA) for the National finals tournament.

In the semi-finals Natania, seeded #1, earned a decisive victory, 22-6, over Poway (CA). Eldorado (CA) defeated Toronto, 13-12, in a penalty shootout. To claim the national open interscholastic championship, Natania triumphed 14-9 over Eldorado, composed of Jake Brumby, Scott Cunningham, and Jacob Deutsch.

Throughout the finals at Empire, Natania’s accomplishment takes on even greater significance in view of the fact that the team played unfamiliar ponies that were provided for them.

“The score doesn’t reflect how tight it was,” said Coach Pirasteh. “We were up by one or two points every chukker, even though people thought that the momentum had turned to Eldorado’s favor in the third. Then, in the fourth and final chukker our guys went crazy. It’s a huge achievement – the boys will remember this forever.”

Harlow was voted #1 All Star with teammates Deal in 3rd and Pirasteh in 4th while Eldorado’s Cunningham was voted #2 All Star.

For more information, www.us-polo.org.

•••• PHOTOGRAPHERS: Cassie Angeline Butler Liz Callar lizcallar.com Jake Carle Richard Clay richardclayphotography.com Coady Photography Eagle Point Photo Janet Hitchen 540-837-9846 janethitchenphotography.com Douglas Lees douglaslees@comcast.com Jim Meads, U.K. 011-44-1686-420436 Middleburg Photo middleburgphoto.com NYRA Betsy Burke Parker Nick Penton Trainer Grady Duncan and Tracking Bill Sigafoos wlsphoto.com Miss Daisy practice their cutting skills at Don West donwestphoto.com Duncan's farm in Millwood, Virginia.

See Lauren Giannini's article, page 16.

Janet Hitchen photo

Upperville Tack Room Contest Horse Country is pleased to judge the Tack Room Contest at Upperville Colt & Horse Show again this year. Show dates are June 3-9, 2013, so make your plans to spend a week in Virginia.

••••

Deep Run Hunt Club Celebrates 125 Years in Style

By Celia Rafalko

The Deep Run Hunt Club is certainly a good steward of great traditions, if its elegant celebration of its 125th anniversary Hunt Ball is any evidence. Held at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) on February 9th, this sold-out event radiated the epitome of a hunt ball with a gorgeous setting, an impressive formal dinner and a dance band to, well, beat the band.

As one of the oldest hunts in the country, this event celebrated not only Deep Run’s long history but also those who have enjoyed the hunting lifestyle. The fellow hunts in Virginia were invited to share in the party and members of Farmington, Caroline, and Oak Ridge Hunts came to join Deep Run in its largest Hunt Ball in recent history, with 268 attendees.

Twelve current and former Masters of Fox Hounds representing four Virginia hunts attended, as did all four of the Deep Run Hunt Club’s current Masters and four former Masters, a testament to the importance of the event.

Of special note is Mr. and Mrs. Coleman Perrin who are (Mr.) an exMFH and (Mrs.) a current MFH for Deep Run. Clearly, foxhunting is an Billy Hill, left, and Jack McElroy, Deep Run important part of the Perrin family.

Hunt "Heritage Members." Bill Sigafoos photo Deep Run Hunt Club’s Heritage Members, who are those with at least 40 years of membership and are at least 80 years old, came out in force. Billy Hill, now in his 90s, attended the event, wearing his Deep Run colors. The book commemorating the club’s history, For the Love of the Sport, includes a 1927 photograph of Billy Hill mounted for the club’s Junior Hunt, demonstrating the long-enduring appeal of the sport and the family it creates among its members.

The evening started with a glorious cocktail hour in the museum’s Evans Court, surrounded by galleries of art and filled with the enthusiastic attendees for the evening. Guests were received by the president of the club, and the event organizers Celia Rafalko and Whitney Blanchard.

The Ball was held in the VMFA’s Marble Hall to allow attendees direct access to the famous Mellon collection of sporting art. This lovely series of rooms features many scenes from hunts across the centuries as well as sculptures of famous horses associated with the sport. Those who needed a break from the alwayscrowded dance floor and lively venue had a perfect retreat, and a reminder of the great history of the sport.

The Marble Hall, draped with the Deep Run banner, could not have been a more wonderful venue for the formal dinner. Tom Mackell, ex-MFH of Deep Run and 125th Anniversary Chair, welcomed attendees, recognized the Masters of other hunts and thanked everyone for attending what was a memorable and incredibly fun event. Deep Run President Ron Payne also read a letter from Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell congratulating the club on its long and venerable position in Virginia’s history. No doubt, this was a night to remember.

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Publisher: Marion Maggiolo Managing Editor: J. Harris Anderson Advertising: Mary Cox (540) 636-7688 Email: hcmaryads@embarqmail.com Contributors: Aga, J. Harris Anderson, Jake Carle, Lauren R. Giannini, Karen Dennehy Godsey, Elizabeth Roessel Manierre, Jim Meads, Will O’Keefe, Betsy Burke Parker, Celia Rafalko, Virginia Thoroughbred Association, Jenny Young LAYOUT & DESIGN: Kate Houchin Copyright 2013 In & Around Horse Country®. All Rights Reserved. Volume XXV, No.3 POSTMASTER: CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

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FOXHUNTING

History & Future of Foxhunting in the Piedmont A Panel Discussion at the National Sporting Library

By J. Harris Anderson Sunday, February 10, 2013, Middleburg, Virginia “We can’t lose acres because of what we do.

– The Mosby Heritage Area Association, under We’re lucky to still have country to hunt today the leadership of Childs Burden, assembled a and need to do everything we can to protect it.” A panel of four eminent Virginia huntsmen to diskey element of that, he said, is helping local farmcuss “Foxhunting, The History and Future of the ers in any way possible.

Sport in the Piedmont.” A capacity audience gathBrother Melvin echoed his younger (by 11 ered at the National Sporting Library to hear the years) sibling. “Farm managers and laborers can speakers. The panelists were Tommy Lee Jones, make or break you,” he said. It’s not just about the Casanova Huntsman since 1970; Melvin Poe, forlandowners. Foxhunters need to be sensitive to mer Huntsman for Old Dominion and Orange other stakeholders who have influence over the County Hounds and, at 92, still hunting the Bath Huntsmen, active and former (l-r): Tommy Lee Jones, Melvin Poe, Albert Poe, use of the land.

County Hounds; Albert Poe, Melvin’s younger and Robert Ashcom, ex-MFH. Far right is Joe Dempsey, MHAA board member Tommy Lee Jones cited a specific example – and panel discussion moderator. Middleburg Photo. brother, former Huntsman for Piedmont Fox picking up downed livestock. Not only does that Hounds, Fairfax Hunt, and Middleburg Hunt; and Robert Ashcom, former jointprovide a service to the farmer but if the flesh can be fed to hounds, it saves on the Master and Huntsman to North Carolina’s Tryon Hounds. club’s feed bill and also provides the hounds with better nourishment than Leading off the discussion, Tommy Lee Jones explained why over the past processed kibble (and makes kennel clean-up easier as well).

100-plus years Virginia’s Piedmont region became Mecca for foxhunters. He Revisiting the coyote issue, Jones pointed out that they won’t necessarily noted that the terrain is well-suited to the sport and supports a healthy population drive out the foxes, particularly if there’s enough food available to support both of red foxes. The region also boasts an impressive history of hound breeding species. But their presence can influence the foxes’ behavior. The fox may be less including such now-famous names as the Walkers, Triggs, and Bywaters. likely to be found in open fields, preferring thickets to avoid encounters with their These factors became apparent to many foxhunting enthusiasts from the larger, more aggressive cousins. They may also go to ground more quickly when north, particularly around the New York area, who were seeking more temperate being chased by hounds, preferring the safely of the den if there’s a chance a band winter climates for their sport. The landmark Hound Match of 1905 was the spark of coyotes might be lurking over the next rise. that introduced the Virginia Piedmont to a national audience. Major newspapers It was an informative and entertaining evening, a chance to gather gems of carried daily reports on the week-long action. Some of those who traveled south, wisdom from some of the most knowledgeable practitioners of the sport. The initially for a bit of winter sport, chose to stay. They used their fortunes to build Mosby Heritage Area Association is to be congratulated for organizing this event. some of the great farms and Thoroughbred breeding operations famous throughFor more information, visit www.mosbyareaheritage.org. out the 20th century, many of which are still around today.

Thus, Jones points out, horse sports became the center of the community with foxhunting days, racing, horse shows, and hunt balls filling up the calendar.

More recently bad times for the national economy have actually been a blessing for foxhunting. Beginning with the oil embargo during the Carter years through the S&L crisis and then the housing bubble, such downturns have had an adverse effect on development. As Tommy Lee explains, these cycles have helped the large expanses needed for foxhunting remain open.

The make-up of the riders following Jones has ebbed and flowed over his 42season career. He has seen an influx of new people coming into the sport and the expansion of the second field and in some cases third field, a trend that allows more people to come out and give foxhunting a try.

He concluded his remarks by stressing the importance of conservation, not only to keep the land open but also to maintain that strong population of foxes for which the Piedmont is famous. Achieving this entails more than just slowing the growth of new construction. He recounted the time that Paul Mellon was having some repair work done on the stone walls along the edge of his property, Rokeby.

Mrs. Theo Randolph, legendary master of Piedmont Fox Hounds, was appalled to see that the crevices between the rocks were being filled in with mortar. She called Mr. Mellon and reminded him that stone walls are a favorite shelter for mice. And as mice are the primary diet of foxes, the more mice living in the stone walls, the more foxes to chase. So don’t seal up the walls!

Bob Ashcom spoke next. His comments focused specifically on land and space requirements. As foxhunting requires thousands of acres, conservation of the land requires vigilance and education. Building a feeling of community between foxhunters and landowners is essential – still as important today as it was over a 100 years ago.

Albert Poe offered hound training tips from his long career as huntsman and hound breeder. (The Poe brothers have over 100 years of combined experience.

Add in Jones and Ashcom, and the four-man panel represented something in the range of 150 years total experience hunting hounds.)

The incursion of coyote into the Piedmont territory continues to be a concern.

Albert stated that if hounds can be taught not to run deer, they can be taught not to run coyote. His hounds were even able to adjust to different game just by taking cues from him: If he was on a horse, they were to hunt fox; if he was on foot with a shotgun, the quarry was rabbit; if it was at night, whatever popped up was fair game.

He also added his voice to the importance of landowner relations. As he said,

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

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FOXHUNTING

Compare. Contrast.

Carolinas Packs Notable in Similarities, Differences

By Betsy Burke Parker They consider themselves a “valley of humility between two mountains of conceit.” Here’s a look at what makes the sport of foxhunting unique in North and South Carolina.

When you say you’re going to “the Carolinas,” you hardly have to specify which.

Though there are differences – North Carolina is bigger, 54,000 square miles to South’s 32,000; and more populous, 9.56 million to 4.64 million – they’re pretty similar. Average high and low temperatures vary just a couple degrees from coastal Charleston, S.C., to Piedmont Asheville, N.C. Both have favorable tax structures and sparkling Atlantic coastlines. North Carolina has three mountain ranges, big ones – Blue Ridge, Smokey, and Black Mountains of the greater Appalachian, and boasts the highest point in the entire eastern U.S. – 6,684-foot Mt. Mitchell. But South Carolina’s Sassafras Mountain, 3,560 ft., is no midget, and there’s plenty of pitch in the western part of the state.

The traditional sport of foxhunting took root here long ago, germinating on both sides of the dotted line. One of the nation’s oldest packs, North Carolina’s Moore County Hounds, turns 100 next year. One of the newest, South Carolina’s Lowcountry Hunt, formed in 2007.

I took a winter hunting vacation this year, respite from a particularly dreary mid-Atlantic winter, to the sunny, sandy south. I spent time in the field in both states, and was struck by the sameness, and differences, I found from one end of South Carolina to the opposite corner of North. On the tour I visited four hunt clubs in a fortnight, nine hunting days with four packs you could capture with a 200-mile net.

On the one hand, they’re strikingly similar.

Together, the Whiskey Road Foxhounds, Tryon Hounds, Green Creek Hounds, and Moore County Hounds represent over a million acres teeming with game, thousands of enthusiastic subscribing members supporting 250 cumulative years of sport behind some 300 hounds. Pile them up and divide them back out – it adds up to one thing: it’s a world-renowned winter playground.

Carolina climate is moderated by fortuitous longitude and lucky proximity to warming influences of the Gulf of Mexico and the powerful Jet Stream. When conditions cooperate, and they usually do, you bank on twice-a-week hunting September to April. Multiply it by 14 Masters of Foxhounds Association packs – seven in each state – and you’ve got wall-to-wall sport.

Kindred Carolina spirits, soul sisters if you will, I detected distinctive flavor at each, with sometimes surprising differences. Whiskey Road hunts the gamefilled piney woods just above sea level along the Edisto and Savannah River basins east of Aiken, S.C. Moore County has sandhills that make it “a beach without water,” their huntsman cracked wise, elevation just over 500 feet on its tiptoes in the vast protected public Walthour Moss Foundation near Southern Pines, N.C. Tryon and Green Creek nestle like spoons along the eastern marches of the Appalachian, hunting parallel territories up to 3,000 feet above sea-level in tangled upland hardwood forest and lower pastureland of the fertile North Carolina Piedmont.

Moore County hunts chiefly coyote, but Tryon and Green Creek still have a fair number of foxes – red and the elusive native gray. Toss in the odd bobcat at Whiskey Road, even feral hogs in certain of their outlying territories, and it’s game-on for all four packs.

Each huntsman has found a winning formula, particular affinity for one hound strain or another to create their own rules of engagement to draw notoriously dry, sandy soil as at Moore County, or to stay in touch with a pack running high and low through the steep farmland as at Green Creek.

All four huntsmen – Tryon’s Jordan Hicks, Green Creek’s Tot Goodwin, Whiskey Road’s Joseph Hardiman, and Moore County’s David Raley – bring barn-sized personalities to the mix. They may come from four corners of the globe, but sport knits them like blood-brothers. Hunting behind them was an eyeopener for this Virginia hunter seeking solace from gray winter doldrums.

In short, it was the trip of a lifetime.

Whiskey Road Foxhounds Established 1976. Recognized 1979.

Kennels: Montmorenci, S.C.

Huntsman: Joseph Hardiman.

Hounds: 15 couple English, 10 couple Crossbred Territory: Sandy-soiled pasture and pine woodlands in Aiken, Allendale, Lexington, and Bamberg counties, S.C. Good thing Joseph Hardiman doesn’t suffer stage fright.

The long-time Whiskey Road Foxhounds huntsman plays to the masses each winter to what’s easily the largest field of foxhunters in the Carolinas ever assembled. Every year, Hardiman puts on quite the show for the Whiskey Road Foxhounds’ annual hunt week. Multitudes – sometimes 150, even more – make the pilgrimage from all corners of the nation for a week-long hunting bacchanalia near Aiken.

The Irish veteran never turns a hair. “We had 165 at hunt week last year,” said the 55-year-old Hardiman, entering his sixth season with the South Carolina pack.

“You can’t let it affect you or … get into your head. It doesn’t matter how many people you’ve got behind you. I’m there to hunt.”

The biggest problem, as he sees it, is to deflect any perceived pressure “to produce a day’s hunting.”

Instead, he lets his hounds speak for themselves. And speak they do.

Hunting five of seven days in and around southeast Carolina’s sandy pine forests and in and among the new equestrian developments that dot the countryside near the tony winter colony, hunt week is a rite of the season for many, the perfect break for snow-weary hunters from other foxhunting regions.

Riders come for the season from Canada, for the month from New York, Joseph Hardiman, Huntsman for Whiskey Road Foxhounds, for the week from North Carolina. Betsy Burke Parker photo.

Maryland, and for the weekend from Florida. They even fly in for just a day’s sport all the way from the left coast.

Hardiman lets his keen pack take center stage.

“I don’t mind it,” he said of the teeming masses that press close behind field masters eager to stay with hounds. “That’s sort of the point, isn’t it? People come down expecting to have a good time, enjoy some good weather, see some sport. I can give them that.”

The native of County Galway grew up dead center of Blazers’ territory. He started hunting, on foot, at age 7. “I got the biggest kick out of viewing away the fox, runnin’ after it and seeing how long it’d take the hounds to overtake me,” Hardiman recalled with a chuckle. “Then I’d time it how long it’d take the huntsman to overtake me. Quite a game, ’twas.”

Hardiman, one of eight kids, soon found his way onto ponies, then horses, helping neighbor and Blazers’ field master Willie Leahy with hirelings and young stock. He rode with the Blazers and the North Galway, showed a little, hunted a lot, and trained jumpers. A cousin rode one of his horses to win two important year-end high jump classes, clearing 6’2” and 6’4”.

After graduating agricultural college, Hardiman came to the U.S. in 1984 for a short-term job with show trainer Judy Richter in New York. Never meaning to stay, he went to Pennsylvania to whip a season at Rolling Rock.

Two things collided to keep Hardiman stateside: One, he was offered the horn mid-season (which he took). And, two, he met a lovely nurse, Kim, also a skillful rider and avid foxhunter (he married her).

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

So he figures quite by accident he found himself sticking around, hunting the Rolling Rock’s English hounds – familiar in their ways and wiles to the Irishman – some 14 seasons before moving on to Ohio’s Chagrin Valley, also an English pack.

After seven seasons at Chagrin, Hardiman said he’d had quite enough of winter (the region had 113 inches of snow his last year there), so he jumped at the chance for gentle climes, going to Whiskey Road in 2006. He’d never been to the American South, but what he found, he liked. The weather suited, the territory was big and open, the people were nice and the hounds were good.

The pack, about half English and half Crossbred, features a good bit of Midland’s July blood, something Hardiman protects fiercely. “In my world, I think it’s criminal not to keep those lines going,” he said. “I don’t care if it’s an American line, or English, or a donkey. If that blood is there in your kennel, keep some bitches that go back to that bloodline.

“Huntsman’ll often come in and change everything around in a season or two.

I make it priority one to keep true to the hunt’s program, at least through some female lines.”

At Whiskey, Hardiman finds the 50-50 mix Crossbred to English a successful formula. “Down here, you really need that half of your Crossbred pack,” Hardiman said. “Any hound can hunt well when it’s raining, when scenting’s good. But here, in South Carolina, when it gets dry, it gets really dry. When you have dry sand, and dry pine needles, the English hound needs that cold nose of the Crossbred to carry. They’re most suitable to the territory. They stay working and try harder.”

Ben Hardaway at Midland “bred in that hard-headed toughness,” Hardiman explained. “They’re purpose-bred.”

Territory Varied Whiskey’s hounds get their chance at fixtures ranging from open pastureland and scrub pine forest, to planted pine between impenetrable swamps, to tarted-up horsey subdivisions with eventing-style fences dotting covenant-protected rightof-ways around manicured paddocks and stableyards.

Hardiman said they hunt chiefly coyote these days, though they still find the occasional fox, sometimes a bobcat, and, in lonely places, domestic pigs gone wild. “Haven’t seen them for a while, though,” he said. Still, one day during hunt week, hounds were briefly confused when crossing an active hog farm at the edge of one of their suburban fixtures. Hardiman, a farmer himself, understands precisely the needs of the working farmer. He promptly dismounted and went to the man to apologize for any upset he may have caused his stock. The farmer appreciated the empathy. “You have to put yourself in their shoes,” he said. “I completely understand how hard it is to make a living off the land. And we can’t come in and trample a man’s livelihood.”

To that end, Hardiman said he runs a tight ship with his field and field masters, even with the enormous crowds during hunt week. “Stay to the edge of the planted field. Really. Not one path off the edge. The edge.”

The empathy isn’t just a put-on for show. “I know that the landowner is the most important part of hunting.”

Green Creek Hounds Established 1988. Recognized 1994.

Kennels: Tryon, N.C. Huntsman: Jefferson “Tot” Goodwin.

Hounds: 30 couple, chiefly Crossbred, some American, some English.

Territory: Some 1,200 square miles of open farmland and woodlands in eastern Polk County, western Union County, and southern Cleveland County.

At 69, eligible for Social Security, Green Creek Hounds huntsman and joint-master Tot Goodwin hasn’t even considered retirement. Virginia’s Melvin Poe, still hunting hounds at age 93½, is a role model. “I want to be just like him when I grow up.”

Goodwin is too modest to trumpet that at Green Creek; he’s already built the sort of sterling reputation that sportsmen seek from all corners of the globe. In addition to the sport he offers season after season, Goodwin is one of Jefferson "Tot" Goodwin, MFH and Huntsman, Green Creek Hounds, South Carolina. Don West photo. the nation’s only black

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huntsmen, and – as far as he knows – the only active and only the second-ever black master of hounds; he’s nothing short of legend. He exudes that cool confidence that comes from knowing his sport, his hounds, his territory, and his quarry intimately. At the same time he exudes warmth encouraging beginners and newbies, a friend to all and ready with a joke and a hearty laugh.

“You’ll remember this, forever,” he said, solemnly awarding the brush to a first-season guest earlier this year. It was a sober, ceremonious moment. The guest, enthralled, nervously wiped a tear from the corner of her eye as she clutched her trophy. Goodwin broke out his trademark championship smile, his unlined dark face warm and green eyes dancing (“they came from a native American grandma,” he said with pride). “You’ll always think of this day.”

Goodwin’s perfected that enigmatic cool/warm persona since coming on as huntsman for the then just-formed North Carolina pack in 1989. He brought a few of his favorite hounds from the Midland near his native Columbus, Ga., where he started, working with another hunt titan Ben Hardaway. It was there Goodwin became acquainted with the superior drive of the Crossbred Foxhound, lines and qualities he’s embraced since.

A fan of the outcross, Goodwin sometimes introduces American and English lines to the Green Creek kennels with drafts from other packs. He’s especially fond of Exmoor bloodlines he’s procured from Live Oak. He breeds for speed.

“I just love a fast pack of hounds,” Goodwin said. “The Crossbreds have a great nose, one that seems to work on our country. Adding a drop of American blood adds voice.”

And, boy, is Goodwin ever a fan of voice. He “does things a little different than most,” he said, taking out 30 couple, or more, every time he goes out – dozens more hounds than huntsmen traditionally handle at once. Green Creek’s rolling country – with steep creek bottoms and high pastureland, thick woods, and open fields – practically swallows noise when conditions aren’t right for following by sound.

“I need that cry, that number of hounds, so we can hear ’em,” Goodwin explained, saying if “you make one wrong move in this country, they’re gone.

“The music is incredible. Sixty hounds in full cry makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Sounds like a freight train comin’ down the track.”

Back to His Roots Goodwin loves the July hounds he got to know at Midland. They suit Green Creek’s tight valleys and open hills, he said. “They hunt really wide. Sometimes you need that here, when scenting’s bad.” Having so many hounds, some of which range far, means Goodwin relies heavily on his whips, and, sometimes at the end of the day, on tracking devices affixed to each hound’s collar.

“I know I’m more than a little prejudiced, but anyone who gives 40 of their 69 years to a sport should get a little recognition now and then,” said Goodwin’s wife Colleen, his longtime sweetheart who married Goodwin in 2008. “He’s a living legend.”

Goodwin gently scoffs at any mention of retirement. “I’ll continue to hunt hounds as long as my health will let me,” he said. “Hounds are in my blood – I started with beagles at age 8. I’ll just pick that back up when they won’t let me ride anymore. But that’s no time soon.”

Tryon Hounds Established 1926. Recognized 1935.

Kennels: Columbus, N.C. Huntsman: Jordan Hicks.

Hounds: 25 couple, chiefly American, from Bywaters lines Territory: 6 by 10 miles around Tryon, N.C., woodland interspersed with big open pasturelands.

“We’re the last American pack in the deep South,” Tryon huntsman Jordan Hicks said with irony. He finds it stunning that the very hound designed for drive and cry and cold-nosed ability in the varied, often challenging countries of the American south has somehow lost favor with 21st century hound men.

Hicks was weaned on hunting with hounds, raised just a few miles from Tryon in the area. He’s become something of a champion of the vigor and cry of the custom-created American Foxhound.

Hicks, 27, grew up in nearby Pickens, S.C. His aunt whipped-in to the old Greenville County Hounds, and his father hunted as well. “My family had hounds for a long time,” Hicks said. “I grew up on the farm with [night] hounds and beagles. I was around 8 or 9 when I first hunted with Greenville.”

The Hicks remain a hunting family – Jordan’s wife Jennifer whips in to him and takes care of the hunt’s horses. They have a 4-year-old daughter, Mackenzie.

Continued

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IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

Hicks whipped in to huntsman Gerald Pack at Greenville through his teenage years, and served as kennel huntsman before going to Moore County in Southern Pines to whip for huntsman Duncan Stewart. He hunted the Windy Hollow Hunt hounds in New York for two seasons before returning to Tryon in 2007.

“I’d always wanted to come home to hunt,” Hicks said. “This is where I always wanted to be, doing what I always wanted to do.”

Tryon once hunted English hounds, but since huntsman Bobby Ashcom came from Virginia in the ’80s, they went mostly American, strong influence coming from the old Bywaters lines through Virginia blood. Tryon drafts from Old Dominion and Keswick, Hicks striving for outcross vigor to improve his handsome, Jordan Hicks, Huntsman for North Carolina's Tryon Hounds.

Don West Photo. chiefly tri-color pack Game Changers Though he loved hunting catty, sly red and gray foxes in his younger days, Hicks said the relatively recent infiltration of coyote actually allows for more hunting, important this day and age when land open to foxhunters is at a premium. “The farmers [who own the open land we hunt over] don’t like the coyote” because of the damage they do to newborn stock, he explained. “They want you to hunt them, put pressure on them. It opens windows, opens a lot of territory to us.”

Hicks figures his quarry is about 70 percent coyote, with a few red fox and some grays in the lowlands. “If we didn’t have coyote to hunt, it’d make for some danged slow days,” he said.

Before coyote, Hicks said neither radios nor tracking collars were needed to stay in touch with the pack. “You’d just stand in your stirrups and listen to the hounds runnin’,” he said. “The biggest difference with hunting coyote is how much I rely on my road whips. The distance hounds cover on a coyote is vast. In the blink of an eye you gallop as hard as your horse can go, hours on end, miles and miles. It’s the nature of the beast.”

Packing ability, Hicks said, is key with the big, bold, sometimes aggressive quarry. “Everybody is breeding for cry, and drive, and steadiness,” Hicks said.

“That’s no surprise. But more than that, I want my hounds to hunt together. It’s hard to catch a coyote with only one hound ‘on.’

“I want them all-on when they’re rolling.”

One of Hicks’ current favorites, Tryon Merlin, has the hallmark qualities he’s breeding for. “When he finds, he screams it. You can hear it for miles, and he’s looking for every one of the pack to honor him. That’s hunting.”

Though riders initially find hunting coyote different than the typical circleroute of a red fox, Hicks said his hounds settled quickly into hunting the straightnecked and strongly scented coyote. “I still remember the first coyote the Greenville County Hounds ran, oh, about 10 years ago,” Hicks recalled. “They struck, and opened, and before you knew it, they’d run clear across the mountain and away. We spent days gathering hounds.”

It wasn’t too hard to run out of country, since Tryon has been squeezed somewhat by development. Even though the sleepy mountain town is horse-centric, with equine outnumbering human residents two to one, the old model of big crop and cattle farms has yielded to smaller farmettes and fencelines at every turn.

Tryon’s territory is some 60 square miles centered just east of the village. Much is planted pine, Hicks said, with some open hayfields and pastureland left, connected by small but thick wooded coverts. The territory is well-paneled. Game is abundant.

“Not many hunts in the Carolinas have this traditional Piedmont openness,” Hicks said of the rolling fixtures. “It’s a neat thing to be able to see a lot of hound work.”

Tryon boasts a healthy membership, Hicks added, with juniors encouraged to ride up front, even assist staff members if they have ability and desire. Honorary whip Kasey Minnick, 20, has ambitions to be a huntsman someday, Hicks said.

“I’ll help any young person, any way I can. That’s what it’ll take.”

Moore County Hounds Established 1914. Recognized 1920.

Kennels: Southern Pines, N.C. Huntsman: David Raley.

Hounds: 28 couple Penn-Marydel Territory: 5,000 acres of rolling longleaf pine forest in and around the Walthour Moss Foundation near Southern Pines, N.C., plus some 20,000 acres of state gamelands in Hoffman, N.C.

Huntsman David Raley figures himself a missionary of sorts, preaching the word about his beloved Penn-Marydel foxhounds. Though he came into hounds and hunting relatively late in life, Raley was an early convert to a strain he was introduced to at the De La Brooke in his native Maryland.

Raley, 47, grew up on the Patuxent River, Maryland’s western shore between the Potomac River and Chesapeake. He was a competitive sailor – racing Lasers and J-boats on the rough open waters of the Bay. Though his uncle whipped-in to the De La Brooke Foxhounds, Raley never rode or hunted, but he was fond of hunting dogs since his very first pet was Jiggs, a night hound. “I loved that dog,” he said.

After college – he studied architecture at the University of Maryland – Raley discovered an irresistible passion and soon abandoned sailing for the new, he said, higher calling. “A few riding lessons coupled with brash naïveté and I was a member of De La Brooke,” Raley recalled. “It was about the coolest thing I had ever done, until I discovered whipping-in was the coolest thing I had ever done. The hook was set and fish was all but in the boat.”

Five years later, Raley was appointed De La Brooke joint-master, the season after, becoming huntsman as well. Slightly overwhelmed, Raley sought counsel from legendary hound expert and horseman Dr. Todd Addis and his son Todd Jr., then-huntsman at the Marlborough, both vociferous fans of the steady PennMarydel hound. “They guided me through my first seasons, and established what I really like most about foxhunting: breeding and hunting your own pack.”

After six seasons, Raley gave up the mastership and huntsman position to concentrate on his architecture career and work with the National Association of Homebuilders.

But soon, he “started missing foxhunting in a short period of time,” he said. “I soon tired of a David Raley, Huntsman for North Carolina's Moore County life indoors at a drawing Hounds. Cassie Angeline Butler photo. table [and] decided to seek a position as professional hunt staff. I needed to be foxhunting again.”

In 2001, Raley went to the Red Mountain Foxhounds near Durham, N.C. Raley brought hounds with him, swapping them from an English pack to his favored Penn-Marydel.

Why Penn-Marydel? “Here’s the deal with me and those hounds,” Raley explained. “I’m a firm believer it’s not your country, but it’s your hounds. At the smaller clubs, with amateur staff, I got hooked on them because, frankly, the PennMarydels are just easier to deal with. They don’t fight, they’re not hard-headed, they’re very biddable and they have the great cry.”

Always looking for the perfect cross, Raley is now totally “hooked on breeding.” With a nod to his school and work experience in architecture, he’s “a little bit scientist, a little bit artist,” the perfect combination for breeding hounds for territory.

Winter Colony Moore County fixtures span three distinct properties. Centerpiece of the Southern Pines horse community, the Walthour Moss Foundation has wide sand rides through the longleaf pine forest, and open fields. On the other side of Youngs Road is what they call the “north country.” Raley said this smallest piece of the territory is chock full of coyotes. An hour distant, the vast Hoffman fixture, 20,000 acres of state gamelands, is so big Raley said “you can actually get lost in there. It’s a system of big firebreaks, wiregrass, pine trees and not much else.

“Hunting our territory is sort of like hunting in a tent. The healthy longleaf pine canopy means the land underneath is wide open, with very little undergrowth.”

It may be pretty, it may be open, it may be inviting, lightly rolling with perfect sandy soil underfoot, but one thing Raley said is notably lacking at Moore County, the most important ingredient of foxhunting anywhere: Scent.

“Scenting is hard on the sand,” he said. He’s found that his tenacious PennMarydel hounds “have the best chance of trailing a line.”

Moore County turns 100 next year, with a whole season’s worth of celebration planned. Like Aiken, Southern Pines as a horse mecca was an “invention” of rich northern industrialists looking for extended foxhunting into winter months once transportation became widely available at the turn of the last century. Both have dug in, held on, even expanded. “In the old days, people would box their horses up on trains and come down for the season,” Raley said. “The sport is great and the weather’s perfect down here. But, s-h-h-h-h – don’t tell anyone. We’ll be overrun.”

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

7

FOXHUNTING

Hunting Kicks On in the UK

By Elizabeth Roessel Manierre “Foxhunting in England? Isn’t that against seem to be ever-fewer in number. The the law there now?”

Countryside Alliance reported in its most Friends and acquaintances unfamiliar recent quarterly that the League Against with the sport posed this question to me Cruel Sports (LACS) membership has more than once this winter as they learned dropped from 17,000 to 4,000 over the past of plans to resume my annual hunting pildecade and a half, and anecdotal evidence grimage to the United Kingdom. points to far less “anti” harassment in the Before the British Parliament enacted hunt field. “As far as the general public regulation that banned the sport as we know goes,” one man told me, “I think they are it, eight years ago, I’d travel across the bored by all this and realize that there are Atlantic Ocean to experience some of the more important things for government to best foxhunting in the world. Fighting the do.” post-Christmas blues, I’d haul my kit British foxhunters and hunt supporters aboard an airliner, sweltering in a heavy remain on guard, however, and all the packs frock coat and black boots and cramming I followed were careful to electronically my helmet and saddle into the overhead document the changes they’d incorporated bin. At the invitation of friends or through into their sporting practices. Before riding fund-raising activities of the Countryside off from their meet, the half-dozen hunts I Alliance, I’d been fortunate to hunt behind visited* offered a short announcement that many wonderful packs – the Meynell and stated the day’s location and date for the South Staffordshire, the Vale of White video record and often mentioned by name The author takes a hedge on her hireling Tiger while hunting with the Duke of Beaufort's from Horse, the Duke of Beaufort’s hounds as a the person who had laid the trail. Hunting Lordsworth House, December 8, 2012. Nick Penton photo. guest of Captain Ian Farquhar, the Exmoor was to be clearly “within the limits of the Hunt with Captain Ronnie Wallace, the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, and others. law.” The field was to avoid any possible confrontation with the public and refer anyIt was a joy to meet other hunting people of all stripes, to ride through open counone who approached us to the secretary or another official representative of the hunt. tryside and picturesque little villages, to watch hounds work – Orange County blood As we hunted, I noticed healthy groups of enthusiastic followers on foot or bicycles, is still visible here and there – to jump walls and timber and hedges, sometimes with in cars or other vehicles, but not everyone we passed seemed universally friendly, and my heart in my throat, bolstering my courage by occasionally tasting the homemade some followers went so far as to document individual antis, so as to better recognize contents of graciously offered flasks. At the end of the day, I’d hack back to lorries in them on the roads. Considering the availability of increasingly sensitive audio the dark (“And how was that mare over the stone walls? Wonderful! She’d never seen recorders and long-range photographic lenses, we were reminded to keep our voices one before, but we figured you being from Virginia, you’d do all right with her…”). down (an admonition roundly ignored by those prone to coffee-housing, I noticed).

After reviving in a hot bath, I spent many pleasant evenings at the dinner tables of genSome hunts now eschew scarlet for tweed coats, and all are consciously trying to bring erous hosts, reviewing the day’s sport as (yet more) alcohol freely flowed. new enthusiasts into the mounted sport, as well as think of additional ways to involve Conversation did as well, frequently revolving around the similarities and differences those who may not care to ride a horse. The Council of Hunting Associations (CHA) in the cultures of our two nations and the impending abolition in Britain of hunting and the Countryside Alliance’s Hunting Action pack outlines a number of strategies to with hounds. “explain, promote and defend hunting to the wider public,” as Barney White-Spunner, This dark cloud eventually broke over the heads of the hunting world in February the Alliance’s executive chairman put it, and all the hunts had received one.

2005 with Parliament’s passage of the so-called Hunting Act. I had read its text in its Tradition-minded rural Britons can scarcely imagine their communities without entirety a few months before (it isn’t long) and was surprised that lawmakers would their local hunt club (85 percent of which offer fox-control service to area farmers), even debate such a poorly drafted bill: it neglected to define the term “hunting,” for but remain dismayed by politics of animal rights the RSPCA plays to the detriment of instance, and included no provisions for alternative, ostensibly more humane, methods actual animal welfare. They are enraged by the courts’ regular waiving of “prosecutor of quarry-population control. pays” principles when the RSPCA loses its cases, thus diminishing their risk while How could a fairly elected governing body pass such a law in the name of animal sticking the British taxpayer with the successful defendants’ legal bills. In addition, welfare? I’d found it incredible at the time – the recent dysfunction of the United States one person noted the difficulty in encouraging young professional hunt staff: why Congress has since stopped my tossing stones from my own glass house, politics being devote one’s life to a career burdened by legal problems and an uncertain future? politics everywhere – but now, almost a decade later, I was curious: how had hunting Another life-long follower of foxhounds and beagles noted that the majority of changed since the ban took effect? I’d heard that “legal foxhunting” continued, but hunting people would like to see the Act repealed as soon as possible, but thought that what made the sport legal under the Act? How did the High Court Judgment upholdthe current Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition governing the country makes this ing the acquittal of the Exmoor huntsman Tony Wright from a Hunting Act conviction possibility very remote in the near future; the government has a host of other concerns influence hunt staffs across the country? More troubling was the Royal Society for the on its plate. He further expressed this very thoughtful opinion: while a repeal might Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (RSPCA) prosecution of the Heythrop Hunt. Tim allow the sport to return to its traditional practices for a while, it would present the real Bonner, the Campaigns Director of the Countryside Alliance, called the action “a huge danger of a more effective, revised law eventually replacing the present Act in all its and blatantly political private prosecution against the [hunt] which just happens to poorly written and confusing grandeur. Antis now face difficulties bringing prosecuoperate in the Prime Minister [David Cameron]’s constituency.” Initiated to the tune of tions in some cases; should the current Parliament deep-six the Act and if Labour were nearly a third of a million pounds, such lawsuits must surely affect the sport. Would I to subsequently win the 2015 election (a real possibility), the anti-hunting lobby might notice a difference once I was on my horse? be able to influence the passage of a much stronger law. Perhaps it’s better to let sleepI did indeed, but not as much as one might imagine. ing hounds lie.

It’s my pleasure to report that announcements of hunting’s demise are, as the sayDespite the widely held view that the Hunting Act is in fact a weapon of class waring goes, greatly exaggerated. Over the past eight years, foxhunting has continued fare against the perceived fox-torturing toffs of merry old England and a virtual attack unabated, albeit in a somewhat modified form, with great, perhaps even growing, on the nation’s entire rural population, enthusiasts of the sport remain largely in good enthusiasm across the United Kingdom. In 2012 the Countryside Alliance reported that heart. In many ways it is thriving and enjoys more local support than ever. And I can fully 87 percent of 123 hunts polled had the same number or more subscribers than personally attest that a day out in the countryside of England and Wales, listening to before the ban, and 93 percent engaged in the same amount of, or more, hunting; only hounds’ music and huntsman’s horn, is just as thrilling as ever.

7 percent hunted less. Almost two-thirds of these polled British packs feel better supported by their local community than before; more than half again as many believe that *I hunted in December, 2012, with the Cheshire Hunt, Sir Watkin William-Wynn’s cooperation has remained steady, with 37 percent of hunts’ supporters’ clubs memberhounds (known as the Wynnstay, where they’re kenneled), the Avon Vale, the South ship growing since 2005, at a time when adherents of the anti-hunting point of view Dorset, the Duke of Beaufort’s hounds, and the Cattistock

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

8

BEAGLING

Bluetails and Pitch Kilns

By John J. Carle, II, ex-MFH

Lincoln Sadler collars up his Entwhistle Village Beagles.

Lincoln Sadler and Ramsay Barrett.

Orlean “Stella.”

“Incidentally,” drawled Lincoln Sadler, gazing across the dinner table, “we’ll probably be runnin’ Bluetails tomorrow.”

Ramsay Barrett, engrossed in his delicious dinner, looked up. “What? Bluetails?”

“Marsh rabbits,” Lincoln replied. “Tough little devils to hunt.”

“Oh, right,” said Ramsay. “My friend Dave O’Keefe in Florida calls them ‘bluebellies’ or ‘sliders,’ and they are tough to hunt.”

How tough I was soon to discover. Ramsay Barrett and I were guests of Lincoln and Cameron Sadler at their farm on Sheldon Road in Southern Pines, NC. Cameron serves as Joint Master of the Moore County Hounds, only one of the many hats this busy lady wears. Lincoln kennels his Entwhistle Village Beagles at the game lands in nearby Hoffman, NC, the original site of the Carolinas’ Hound Show, and had invited Ramsay to bring his Orlean Foot Beagles for a fun joint meet en route back to Virginia from the Southern Classic Beagle Trials in Fort Valley, GA. I’d helped judge the trials, and tagged along to enjoy the sport. Lucky me, as it turned out!

When we arrived in Southern Pines we were surprised to find much of the ground still covered in ice and sleet from a recent storm, and an Arctic wind whistling ’round the stable. But Lincoln’s welcome was as warm for the beagles as it was for us, and seven couple of travel-weary hounds were soon well fed and deeply bedded in a snug stall. Ramsay and I were ensconced in the opulent Blue Room, from whose warm embrace we were loathe to tear ourselves on the morrow. Following cocktails in front of a crackling fire, Cameron donned yet another of her hats – the gourmet chef’s variety – and, with grace and effortless ease, served up by far the best meal of our long sojourn. My dinner companion was the lovely Shellie Sommerson, Moore County whipper-in and a familiar face from many hound shows. We sat up late, solving the hunting world’s myriad problems, and depleting the reserves of the Sadler’s wine cellar. Incidentally, Shellie’s picture can be found in Jim Meads’s latest book, Goodnight, Masters, available from Horse Country.

Somehow, sunrise seemed to appear mighty suddenly, but we were soon packed and tucking into a real rib-stickin’ country breakfast that Cameron had whipped up before dashing off to the airport to embark on a week-long business trip. Where does this lady get the energy? Well-fortified and with bags and beagles loaded, we followed Lincoln to Hoffman, where he unkenneled four couple from their two-story lodgings and loaded them into his trailer for a short jaunt deeper into the game lands, where we were to hunt. Among his pack were several drafts from Ramsay, including OFB “Callie,” a star in this pack, who had quite a spectacular day.

With the mercury barely tickling 40˚ degrees under leaden skies, the combined pack drew eagerly through open woods, mostly long-leaf and short-leaf pine, with a scattering of “turkey oaks,” toward a long drainage, whose water-nurtured greenery glowed like an oasis against the sere background of broomstraw. Dashing into the dense apron of giant cane (a cousin to bamboo, and similarly leafed), hounds got seriously to work. Marsh rabbits love these cane coverts for shelter and also cut the smaller canes to get at the tender leaves. “Horse sugar” or sweet bay (a magnolia) and fetter bush added more color to the verdant stronghold, where hounds began to speak eagerly on the faintest hints of scent left by a creeping marsh rabbit as it slid along. “Slider” is, indeed, a fitting sobriquet. “Just nibblin’ at it,” Lincoln observed, as hounds struggled up and down. As a trickster, hard to hunt, a marsh rabbit makes a cottontail look like a rank amateur; and hounds were unable to get any sort of sustained line established, as their quarry kept doubling in maddening, crisscrossing loops. Then, when even Lincoln’s patience was wearing thin, hounds’ meanderings nudged up a cottontail, and a good, short run ensued that described a large righthanded circle through the open woods to a sudden loss back in the giant cane.

“Let’s go try that swamp,” Lincoln said, indicating more greenery over the next hill. Nearby was a 30-acre lake, shining like dull pewter through the dense cover. “I’ve never jumped a rabbit around that lake,” Lincoln mused. “Sure would be fun…”

No sooner had his words taken wing than, from the shoreline thicket of inkberry, red bay and marsh rabbit vine rang Orlean “Stella’s” hoarse battle-cry, immediately seconded by kennelmate “Tulip’s” choppy challenge. Lincoln’s “Callie” took the lead, her triumphant scream galvanizing the pack into full cry as they flew upstream. A half-mile up the drainage they flew at such a rate that their pilot had no time for tricks until he reached a particularly dense “head,” and here he left them at a loss. Trying back downstream, hounds put up another marsh rabbit – a small, short-eared, dark brown fellow with barely any tail – that careened away in high gear. Running by view, the pack was away with beautiful cry, settling immediately on the line so accurately that little Mr. Bluetail had to abandon the drainage and head back to the swamp. Across the open he fled, nearly trampling one of Lincoln’s Host Lincoln Sadler. nine-month-old puppies, with “Callie” breathing fire in his wake.

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

“Every hound’s getting a taste now!” shouted Ramsay. However, resourceful adversary that he was, the rabbit soon passed the pack off onto a very large cottontail, which took to the more open hillsides and was viewed by a first-year Entwhistle hound, whose euphoric shriek rallied the pack. We were off on a good long run through the remnants of a 19th century “turpentine orchard.” In the mid1800s large pine trees were “boxed” to collect the “rosin,” as they call it here.

One to four notches, similar to felling notches but shallower, were cut near the bottom of the trees and, above, cross-hatch cuts on the trunk let the rosin drain down to the notches, where it was collected to make turpentine. Although laborintensive, it was a thriving industry. Unimpressed by Lincoln’s history lesson, hounds pushed their pilot hard to the head of another drainage, where they were brought to their noses for quite a long spell. Finally, Lincoln’s “Maple” refound, but scent soon played out, and we decided to hunt homeward. As hounds worked in our original drainage, we all searched for Ramsay’s lost hunting horn, forgotten when he’d readjusted a collar. Miraculously, as hope faded, Lincoln found it!

So off truckward we marched; but as we crossed an ingeniously designed bridge made of an old conveyor belt over two-by-sixes, another large cottontail leapt up, literally under a hound’s nose (the hound did a jack-in-the-box jump!), and away went the pack.

“Guess we’re not done yet,” yelled Lincoln.

“I’m no quitter!” sang out Ramsay in reply.

So another run unfolded up and down the outer edges of the drainage, veering briefly into the open occasionally only to duck back in again. Really great teamwork kept the pressure on until Brer Rabbit abandoned the giant cane and raced across the open hillside where, in the now sun-warmed broomstraw, scent finally died. As we trudged back to the trucks, Lincoln pointed out another phenomenon from the days when turpentine was king, “pitch kilns.” Many of the small hummocks dotting the landscape were hollowed out like doughnuts. About 10 feet across, they had an entrance on one side and, downhill, an exit, like a dam’s overflow. Pine knots were gathered to fill the kiln, then set alight. Atop these long-burning fires was piled green pine from which leached the rosin, to be collected when the fire had cooled. Fairly numerous to this day are “rosin rocks,” sand-encrusted lumps of old rosin, quite similar to the “stones” found on beaches consisting of sand over a tar core, only soft and crumbly.

After sorting and loading hounds, Lincoln insisted upon treating us to lunch at a tiny Mexican restaurant located at the edge of Fort Bragg, and a soldiers’ favorite. No wonder: the food is fabulous. Over lunch, Lincoln regaled us with tales of hunting during training missions the Army conducts in the game lands.

One group of Rangers will sneak deeply into the woods and set up an ambush for another group in stealthy pursuit. On several occasions Lincoln and his hounds, hunting hard, have been caught in the ensuing crossfire when the two patrols met.

Cannons and machine guns, as well as small-arms fire, erupted in a deafening roar (luckily they shoot blanks!), and explosives detonated, all of which played havoc with a good hunt. Recovering the pack can be a lengthy process, with shell-shocked hounds scattered everywhere. No one has recorded the Rangers’ reaction to a pack of hounds charging through their carefully laid ambush; however, during a firefight, a couple of soldiers were overheard cheering hounds on!

So ended our little hunting odyssey. And how we hated bidding adieu to our charming and gracious host – naturalist, historian, fascinating raconteur, and one helluva huntsman. A warmer welcome and better sport would be impossible to find. Rehashing every aspect of the morning made time fly, and suddenly we were back in Rappahannock County. It is our fervent hope to see the Entwhistle Village Beagles opening eyes at next year’s Southern Classic.

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IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

10

POINT-TO-POINTS

Spring Races

By Will O’Keefe • Douglas Lees photos

Thornton Hill Fort Valley Hounds William Nobel & Ann Phelps Lane Memorial Amateur Highweight Timber A close finish: Dr. Alex – 2nd, Teddy Zimmerman up; Whodoyoucallit – 1st, Woods Winants up.

Thornton Hill Fort Valley Hounds Junior Field Masters Chase Missy – 1st in Small Pony Div., Kellie Witte up; Sparta – 1st in Large Pony Div., Emme Fullilove up.

Thornton Hill Fort Valley Hounds Homer C. LeHew Memorial Lady Rider Timber Skunked – 1st, Abigail Walker up.

Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point 1st Division Maiden Hurdle Albany Road – 1st, Robbie Walsh up; Lady Greeley.

Thornton Hill Fort Valley Hounds Point-to-Point 3-2-13 The 2013 Virginia steeplechase season got off to a good start at the Thornton Hill Fort Valley Hounds Point-to-Point races on Saturday, March 2, near Sperryville, Virginia. The going was great, but unfortunately the fields were small.

This wasn’t a reflection on the race meet, but is a continuation of the trend in recent years of owners and trainers bringing their horses out later than in the past.

For trainer Eva Dahlgren Smithwick coming back to Rappahannock County was a homecoming, and it was a great success. She saddled five horses, won four races and had one second place finish that happened to be in one of the races she won. Eva grew up here hunting with Rappahannock, riding lady rider timber races and winning that series championship in 1987. Two of her wins were for Indian Run Farm that belongs to David Semmes from nearby Flint Hill. His Fogcutter won the amateur/novice rider hurdle race, and his Whodoyoucallit broke his maiden over timber at first asking in the amateur highweight timber race. Rider Woods Winants won both of these races and added a third win when he won the foxhunters race on Sunny Bank Farm LLC’s Rutledge Classic, who is also trained by Smithwick.

Fogcutter went to the lead at the drop of the flag and when the only other starter, Foolish Surprise (Ben Swope), refused the first fence, he was left to school around the course alone. This win marked the third year that Fogcutter has won a race in this series with Winants in the irons. The second and third wins for Woods were not that easy. In the amateur highweight race Whodoyoucallit assumed command shortly after the start and came into the stretch with what seemed to be a comfortable lead. While Woods was sitting chilly, Teddy Zimmerman had other thoughts and rallied his Dr. Alex. They came flying and just missed by a nose. The margin of victory for Rutledge Classic in the foxhunters race was also narrow, and once again Winants used front running tactics. Rod Cameron made several runs at the leader with his Personal Brew, but they were to no avail as Rutledge Classic won handily by a neck.

In the first division of the maiden hurdle race, Smithwick had Roddy Mackenzie up on Morgan’s Ford Farm’s Getaway, who was making his first start over hurdles. When Kinross Farm’s Brace lost rider Darren Nagle approaching the fourth fence, Getaway and Magalen O. Bryant’s Adios Diablo (Jeff Murphy) proceeded to have a match race, which was not decided until the stretch where Getaway proved best by 1½ lengths.

Trainer Jimmy Day shared the spotlight saddling two winners over hurdles on the card. He won a division of the maiden hurdle with Bruce Smart’s Trappe d’Or and won the open hurdle race with Magalen O. Bryant’s Sulwaan.

Paddy Young sent Trappe d’Or to the lead at the start and held that position throughout the race. Mrs. Bryant’s Personal Flight (Darren Nagle) gained ground in the stretch but could only get to Trappe d’Or’s hindquarter at the finish. In the open race Sulwaan (Paddy Young) won a match race against Farm d’Allie’s Pleasant Woodman (Jeff Murphy). They took turns setting the early pace, but the second time around Sulwaan took the lead and never looked back, winning by an easy 7 lengths.

Larry Levy from Boston, Virginia, won a race close to home at the Thornton Hill race course for the second consecutive year. His Skunked and rider Abby Walker had a triumphant debut in the lady rider timber race. Skunked went

to the lead immediately and was much the best winning by at least a quarter of a mile over Chris Harting on her Two Is a Crowd.

Magalen O. Bryant’s Classic Bridges gave her a second victory on the card by taking the open flat race. Darren Nagle put him on the front end and repulsed a challenge from Clorevia Farm’s Extraextarordinary (Jeff Murphy) at the head of the stretch. He won by 2¼ lengths for trainer Neil Morris.

Roddy Mackenzie added a second win when Randy Rouse’s Admiral Ralph won the two horse maiden flat race.

Dominick Falini’s Fancy Shamrock (Paddy Young) stayed close to Admiral Ralph until the final quarter mile where the winner drew away and won in hand by 9 lengths.

Brett Jackson, Joint-MFH of the host hunt, led the junior field masters chases and Emme Fullilove scored a daily double. Her Sparta won the large pony division and she won the horse division on Bay Cockburn’s G R’s Prize.

Kelly Witte’s Missy won the small pony race for the second time at Thornton Hill.

Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point 3-16-13 Trainer Jimmy Day swept the two feature races at the Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point at Airlie near Warrenton on Saturday, March 16. He saddled Magalen O. Bryant’s Irish bred Sulwaan to win his second open hurdle race in two starts this year, and he saddled Daybreak Stables’ Triple Dip, who won the open timber race.

Sulwaan was imported from England and is finding American hurdle racing to his liking. Rider Paddy Young rated Sulwaan just off the pace. With a half mile to run Rock Ford Stables LLC’s Sporty, who was leading, and Sulwaan separated from what had been a tightly bunched field. These two raced to the last fence as a team, but upon landing Sulwaan drew away and won in hand by 2 lengths.

Jimmy Day and Paddy Young also accounted for the open timber race, which attracted a six horse field half of which had won under NSA rules in 2012. Young placed Daybreak Stables’ Triple Dip near the pace in a tightly bunched field that was led in the early going by Sportsmans Hall’s Nondo (Jeff Murphy) and Mrs. George Ohrstrom, Jr.’s Four Schools (Robbie Walsh). With about a half mile to run the early leaders faded, and Mark Beecher sent Celtic Venture Stables’ Zulla Road to the front. Zulla Road continued to lead and jumped the last fence on top, but Young had Triple Dip on the move. His last fence was not the best; but when he landed, he launched what would become the winning rally. Triple Dip got to Zulla Road at the wire, and the placing judges required the video of the finish to determine the winner. The final margin was a nose.

Maryland trainer Alicia Murphy took home the winners’ trophies in the second division of the maiden hurdle race with Move Up Stable’s West Is Best (Mark Beecher) and in the novice timber race with Ivy Hill Stable LLC’s On The Corner (Mark Beecher). In the hurdle race West Is Best took the lead between the third and fourth fences and led the rest of the way winning by two lengths over Hickory Tree Stable’s Dubai Echo (Paddy Young). Over timber Beecher held On The Corner off the pace, which was set by Magalen O. Bryant’s Rippin and Runnin with Krissy Miller’s Dr. Bloomer in his shadow. Dr. Bloomer took the lead the final time around and still had the lead over the last fence but could not hold off On The Corner, who found another gear in the stretch and won by 2¾ lengths.

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point Amateur/Novice Rider Hurdle Foolish Surprise – 1st, Ben Swope up.

The first division of the maiden hurdle race went to The Elkstone Group LLC’s Albany Road (Robbie Walsh). Walsh rated Albany Road off the pace, moved into contention with a half mile to run and proved best by ½ length over Celtic Venture Stable’s Acela, who had raced on the pace but could not hold off the winner.

Foolish Surprise (Ben Swope) had refused at the first fence at Thornton Hill, but he righted that wrong at Warrenton. He took the lead after the first fence and negotiated the course in fine fashion, beating Indian Run Farm’s Fogcutter (Woods Winants) by 3 lengths.

The three runners in the foxhunter timber race ran with the lone starter (Matt Hatcher’s Let’s Presume) in the amateur highweight timber race. Snickersville Stable’s Rutledge Classic (Woods Winants) set the pace the first time around, but the second time around Morning Star Stables’ Thermostat (McLane Hendriks) moved to the front with Rutledge Classic close behind. Thermostat had the advantage over the fences and won easily by 4 lengths. Let’s Presume ran forwardly while getting a good school. He finished fourth overall but won his division.

Brianne Slater swept the two divisions of the novice rider flat races with horses owned by Irvin S. Naylor. In the first division All That Rules (Carol-Ann Sloan) won handily by 2½ lengths over fellow Naylor horses Zafeen’s Pearl (Keri Brion) and Dilizan (Eric Poretz). The Naylor/Slater team also finished first and second in the second division.

Sacred Soul (Martin Rohan) was an easy 5 lengths winner over Pullyourfingerout (Carol-Ann Sloan).

Casanova’s Sara Collette took home the trophy after her Wahoo (Jacob Roberts) won the Virginia bred flat race.

Wahoo finished 1 length before Kinross Farm’s More Tea Vicar (Darren Nagle), who had led into the final quarter mile but couldn’t deny his stablemate the win. Neil Morris saddled both horses.

Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point 3-23-13 Rider Mark Beecher has become a very hot commodity in the Mid-Atlantic, and he proved once again at the Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point on Saturday, March 23, why he is so much in demand. He won two races in two mounts over timber, including the prestigious Rokeby Challenge Bowl.

In the Rokeby Bowl he had the mount on Magalen O. Bryant’s Dakota Slew, who was made the favorite based on a win in the allowance timber race at the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup Races last November.

Merriefield Farm’s Foyle (Chris Read) had broken his maiden at the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup and was the second choice. Holston Hall’s Hot Rize, a winner over timber under rules in the fall of 2011, completed the field. Beecher was content to let Foyle and Hot Rize take turns setting the pace.

With three fences to go he let out a notch on Dakota Slew,

and he quickly assumed command. He was never threatened and went on to an easy 3½ length win over Foyle with Hot Rize third. Richard Valentine trained the winner, giving him a second win in this race. He had saddled Augustin Stables’ Radio Flyer, who won in 2010. This was also Mrs. Bryant’s second having taken the Rokeby Bowl home in 1992 with Russian Begum.

Beecher also won the maiden timber race earlier on the card with Frank Bonsal, Jr.’s Terko Service. Kinross Farm’s Ed’s Big Bet (Chris Read) set the pace with Terko Service close behind. When the field came back into view on the east end of the course, Terko Service went to the front and was not hard pressed to maintain the lead to the finish, where the final margin was 6½ lengths over Ed’s Big Bet. Trainer Ann Stewart added to her training success at Piedmont in recent years. She is the trainer of Robert Kinsley’s Incomplete, who won his third Rokeby Bowl two years ago. Beecher won the award as the meet’s leading rider over fences.

Eva Smithwick added two more wins to her four wins from Thornton Hill and moved to the top of the trainers’ standings. She saddled Teddy Zimmerman’s Dr. Alex to a very popular victory in the amateur highweight timber race.

Dr. Alex took the lead from Justpourit (George Hundt, Jr.) in the final mile. Justpourit stayed very much in contention, and these two jumped as a team over the last fence. In the run in from the last fence, Dr. Alex proved best by 1½ lengths.

Teddy Zimmerman is the son of Piedmont Joint-Master Arthur A. Zimmerman. Dr. Alex moved to the lead in the series with this win and a second place finish at Thornton Hill.

Smithwick also saddled Snickersville Stables’ Rutledge Classic (Woods Winants) to win the foxhunter timber race.

Bart Poole set the pace with Baylor Dude but dropped back when the field came back into view. Matt Hatcher took the lead with Let’s Presume and held that position until the last fence, where he was joined by Rutledge Classic, who drew away to win by 5 lengths over Let’s Presume. Rutledge Classic also is a series leader with a record of two wins and a second in three starts.

The lady rider timber race was a match race between Don Yovanovich’s seasoned timber veteran Cat Walkin (Annie Yeager) and Ken Furlong’s timber maiden Gerrymander (Diana Gillam). Cat Walkin set the pace until the final quarter mile where the pace quickened. Cat Walkin to no one’s surprise out jumped the green Gerrymander, but Gerrymander was able to stay within striking distance. They jumped the last as a team, but Cat Walkin could not match strides in the stretch, and Gerrymander won going away by 2½ lengths.

Jimmy Day continued to saddle winners taking the maiden flat race with Daybreak Stables’ Irish bred Casual Creeper (Keri Brion). Casual Creeper led at every call and won handily by 3 lengths over Teresa L. Major’s Attention (George Wood).

Brianne Slater saddled her third winner for Irvin S. Naylor in the past two weeks when Irish bred Jack Cool won the open flat race by a whisker over Steve Yeager’s Mischief (Annie Yeager). Naylor’s multiple hurdle stakes winner Decoy Daddy set the pace under James Slater with Jack Cool and Mischief racing well within striking distance. When the field turned for home Jack Cool and Mischief moved to the front and battled to the finish where Jack Cool was narrowly best. Decoy Daddy finished third.

For the second time this year Sara E. Collette greeted the winner after the Virginia bred flat race. Her Wahoo won at Warrenton, and this week her first time starter Vladykov (James Slater) duplicated that result. Vladykov was reserved off the pace set by Colleen’s Charm (Bruce Daley). He rallied to take the lead in the final furlong and held off John Baffa’s Prized Pupil (Mark Beecher) by a neck. Prized Pupil found his best stride too late.

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Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point Novice Timber On The Corner – 1st, Mark Beecher up; Lead Us Not – 3rd.

Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point Amateur Highweight Timber Dr. Alex – 1st, Teddy Zimmerman up.

Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point Lady Rider Timber Gerrymander – 1st, Diana Gillam up.

Piedmont Stretch Duel: Mischief – 2nd, Annie Yeager up; Jack Cool – 1st, Kieran Norris up.

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

12

HUNT BALLS

Casanova Hunt Ball Relives the Roaring Twenties

The 2013 Casanova Hunt Ball was held on Saturday, March 9, 2013 at the Fauquier Springs Country Club just a few miles from Warrenton, Virginia. The theme this year was “The Great Gatsby,” so the 1920s were revisited by all. Guests were greeted outside the main entry by ’20s style mobsters complete with beautifully restored cars and their “Tommy Guns” while a four piece jazz band played to welcome all.

During cocktails everyone had a chance to see all the items at the silent auc-

Robert Johnson, whipper-in and Pat Johnson.

tion, perhaps get a cigarette from the “cigarette girl” or chat with one of the many characters present. During dinner a talented group of singers and dancers put on a three-act show of just the sort you would expect in that era.

Dinner and the show were followed by dancing to Charlottesville’s own “Big Ray and the Kool Kats.” Dancing went on until 1 am. There ended another terrific, fun-filled evening at the Casanova Hunt Ball.

Kay Blassic, ex-MFH; Bill Fendley, MFH; Trinka Thomas, whipper-in.

Oakfield Upperville, Virginia • $4,900,000 Stone manor house in spectacular setting • 86.81 acres • Highly protected area in prime Piedmont Hunt • Gourmet kitchen • Wonderful detail throughout • 5 BR • 4 BA • 2 half BA • 3 fireplaces, classic pine paneled library • Tenant house • Stable • Riding ring • Heated saltwater pool • Pergola • Full house generator Paul MacMahon (703) 609-1905

The Players.

Trough Hill Farm

Sycamore Bend Farm

Middleburg, Virginia • $3,900,000

Lincoln, Virginia • $1,400,000

Near Foxcroft School • 5 BR c. 1830 Virginia farmhouse • Grand stone pavilion • Built of native field stone & antique mahogany floors • Extraordinary structure serves as a banquet room, pool house, green house & guest quarters • Large spring fed pond • Beautiful setting • 103 acres Ann MacMahon (540) 687-5588 Paul MacMahon (703) 609-1905

20 acre horse farm, more land available • Hunt fixture • 30 minutes to Dulles Airport • 15 minutes to Greenway • 1770 home restored to high standards • Character maintained • Large stone bank barn with 12 stalls, wash area, tack, feed room, laundry & storage • Regulation sand arena • Turn outs, paddocks, fenced, water to fields • Beautiful gardens & views • Mature trees Ann MacMahon (540) 687-5588 Margaret Carroll (540) 454-0650

Fox Valley Farm

Hidden Brook Farm

Maresfield

Marshall, Virginia • $1,895,000

Unison, Virginia • $1,490,000

Marshall, Virginia • $1,200,000

Historic property on 32 acres in Orange County Hunt • 1st floor master, den, grand salon, English kitchen with large DR & billiard room • 2nd kitchen/bar leads to patio, pool & guest cottage • 7 stall barn adjoins 3 BR, 2 BA farm manager’s house Ann MacMahon (540) 687-5588 Walter Woodson (703) 499-4961

25 acres • Bright open floor plan • 1st floor bedroom • Pool • Income producing horse farm • 16 stall stable with apartment • Lighted stone dust arena • Great ride out Helen MacMahon (540) 454-1930

Protected location in Orange County Hunt • 5 BR with master suite on first floor • 3 1/2 BA • 2 fireplaces • Mountain views • Pool • 10 useable acres • 150 x 220 riding arena • 3 barns totaling 8-9 stalls • Run-in shed • Stone walls Helen MacMahon (540) 454-1930

P.O. Box 1380, Middleburg, Virginia 20118 • (540) 687-5588 • info@sheridanmacmahon.com • www.sheridanmacmahon.com

13

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

Kelly’s Ford Equestrian Center Located on the historical site of the Kelly’s Ford Civil War Battlefield as a part of a 500 acre estate, the Kelly’s Ford facility has all the amenities to train you and your horse!

Upcoming Events: April 3 - 1/2 Price Facility Use April 6 - Piedmont Horse Expo April 20 - Kelly’s Ford Open Horse Show (VHSA/BHSA) April 27 - Kim Carnes live in Concert 5 - 11 p.m. $75.00 Reserved Seating $50.00 General Seating May 4 - 1/2 Price Facility Use

Kelly’s Ford Open Horse Shows: All VHSA/BHSA April 20, May 4, June 1, Aug. 24, Sept. 14, Oct. 5 (DC Area HSA 5/4, 8/24, 9/14, 10/5 Short Circuit HSA 5/4, 8/24)

• A 80’x140’ heated and lighted indoor arena, a 90’x150’ sand outdoor arena, two 150’x300’ grass competition arenas, Jumper Derby Field, and two round training pens.

• Five levels of cross-country jumps introductory through Training Level (Preliminary Level under construction).

• 500 acres extensive, picturesque, & groomed scenic trails Kelly’s Ford is accepting applications for a NEW 12 stall Boarder North Barn. Full care board is $500/month. Move in today and get 1/2 off first month’s board!

Kelly’s Ford Horse Trials May 18th, 2013 Register online at useventing.com X-entry

16589 Edwards Shop Rd., Remington, VA 22734 • (540) 399-1800 Kellysfordequest@aol.com • www.innatkellysford.com

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

14

First time offered

HUNT MEETS

CHAPULTEPEC

$2,995,000

127+/- acres on the Rappahannock River in Orlean, this timeless farm/estate property has been naturally farmed throughout its history with heritage breed livestock present today. The main residence is truly a spectacular melding of form and natural beauty of its surrounding countryside. Designed by Albert Hinckley, Jr., the main house and the studio capture all the pastoral views and showcase the extensive gardens perched by the spring-fed pond. A manager’s/guest log home, along with charming structures and purposeful outbuildings including a center-aisle barn complete this rare find. Extensive trails and long river frontage provide ample space to roam and enjoy this diverse property. Vineyards or more equestrian facilities could easily be established in the fenced pastures. This lovely property has been featured on numerous garden tours and in architectural publications.

Blue Ridge Huntsman Guy Allman hunting from Fox Spring Woods, January 12, 2013.

Janet Hitchen photo.

A couple of Orange County Hounds enjoy a quick roll before moving off to hunt from Salem, February 13, 2013.

Richard Clay photo.

APPLETON FARM ESTATES Middleburg, VA $250,000 - $350,000 Enclave of finished lots ready for your dream home in the country to be built. Four lots available from 2+/- acres to 8+/- acres. Spectacular rolling pasture with protected view shed of Blue Ridge Mountains and surrounding countryside. Paved roads, convenient to Middleburg and Upperville. Potential build-to-suit by established local builder or bring your own plans and builder.

Malcolm Matheson, MFH, Orange County Hounds, February 16, 2013, Chilly Bleak. Middleburg Photo

HIGGINS MANOR Linden, VA

$600,000

Historic circa 1890 stone manor on 40+/- acres overlooking the village of Linden.

Incredible stone construction with solid walls; original staircase, moulding and windows.

Several outbuildings need rehab and 2-car detached garage. A great opportunity to restore and use for a private retreat, country inn or potential winery.

Completely private with quick access to interstate along state roads.

CIDER SPRING PLACE Middleburg, VA Ideally sited to encompass splendid views of the rolling countryside and Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance, this sprawling 4BR, 4BA farmhouse enchants the heart and captivates the mind. Simple elegance and quality details in the spacious rooms provide connected yet private spaces to relax and enjoy the pace of a more gracious era. Great home awaits updates and personal touches to restore and surpass its former splendor.

SOLD

Licensed in Virginia and Maryland EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

J.W. McMahon Broker

703-307-1677 Mobile

Local 540-635-0400 Metro 703-350-4330 jw@mannarealestate.com Search listings at JWREALTOR.INFO

CHAT LIVE with a REALTOR® at MANNAREALESTATE.COM

Bay Cockburn, ex-MFH and former huntsman, Loudoun Hunt West, gets a smooch from a Piedmont Fox Hound.

February 16, 2013, Buttonwood Farm, home of Cathy and Tad Zimmerman, MFH, Piedmont Fox Hounds.

Middleburg Photo

Caroline Brown and Lollipop ready for a day of sport out with the Piedmont Fox Hounds from Welbourne.

Middleburg Photo

Muddied and perhaps a bit tired, Middleburg Hunt’s hounds look happy and still ready to go as the sport winds to a close on the last day of the season.

Middleburg Photo

There’s Something For Everyone…

under the

HORSE COUNTRY BIG TOP

Stirrup napkin rings set/4 (HC1A) $36.00

The Belmont Collection A flash of silver can elevate any meal into something extraordinary. Whether you serve your roast on the platter, adorn your napkins with ornate bit rings or understated silver stirrups, put your seasonings in our polo boots, or chill your Moët in our champagne bucket, everyone will know they’re in for an excellent meal and memorable occasion. Our Belmont Collection makes the perfect gift for any special occasion. Brides, call us to register your wish list. New items in this collection will arrive in April.

Ice Bucket with pewter horse heads.

(HC1B) $325.00

Platter, suitable for engraving. Solid pewter.

(HC1C) $675.00

Porcelain and pewter platter (HC1D) $260.00

New. Belmont B Cockta Cocktail Picks Set of six pewter horsehead picks with horseh wooden holder. woode (HC1E) $30.00 (HC1E

Available in Two Sizes, Small and Large

New. Belmont Carafe.10" tall and holds 28oz.

(HC1H) $65.00

New. Belmont B l t Julep J l Cup C (HC1F) $115.00

Perth salt and pepper shakers (HC1G) $69.00

New. Belmont Double Old Fashioned. Set of four. (HC1J) $189.00

Horse Country® (540) 347-3141 • 800-882-HUNT (4868)

60 Alexandria Pike, Warrenton, Virginia 20186

Store Hours: Monday–Friday 9 AM - 6 PM, Saturday 9 AM - 5 PM (ET) www.HorseCountryCarrot.com

Visit us online! www.HorseCountryLife.com All prices subject to change without notice. All items subject to availability. IAHC 04-2013

www.Facebook.com/HorseCountryLife

Shop online! www.HorseCountryCarrot.com

Our Barbour quilted jackets now come in the whole range of the sporting rainbow. Match your barn colors, your sports car, your racing colors, there’s no limit. Their style and weight make them your go-to jacket for the unpredictable spring weather. Jackets in mustard, hot pink, lavender, purple, plum, green, moss, lime, black and more.

LADIES' REVERSIBLE DERBY MAC

By Barbour®. A 100% polyester outer shell and lining.

This jacket is waterproof and breathable. Versatile reversible mac, using Barbour's signature tartan, ideal for everyday use. Machine washable. Sizes US4-US16.

(HC2A) $329.00

LIDDESDALE QUILTED VEST

By Barbour®.

Liddesdale lightweight vest is ideal for spring.

Adjustable waist tabs, two front pockets.

Machine washable.

Sizes US4-US14 (HC2B) $99.95

LADIES' CRUISE QUILT

By Barbour®.

The Cruise is a lightweight, 100% polyamide jacket.

Two-inch diamond stitching.Corduroy collar, with two front snap pockets and one zipper chest pocket. Sizes US4-US12.

(HC2D) $299.00

LADIES' NAVY FLORAL LIDDESDALE

By Barbour®. The Liddesdale is lightweight. A 100% polyamide jacket. Diamond quilted. Two jetted patch pockets, corduroy collar and snap front. Printed floral lining.

Machine washable. Sizes US4-US12. (HC2C) $189.00

LADIES' UTILITY HAT

By Barbour®. 100% Navy cotton outer with a floral print lining. Floral hatband scarf. Sizes Medium and Large. (HC2E) $69.00

www.HorseCountryCarrot.com

HC2 H ORSE C OUNTRY ® 800 882 HUNT Visit us online! www.horsecountrylife.com All prices subject to change without notice. All items subject to availability. IAHC 04-2013

www.Facebook.com/HorseCountryLife

A woman’s hair is her crowning glory. If it must be covered then surely she deserves to wear a hat fit for royalty! Every spring women flock into Horse Country to see our selection of fine hats from our English milliner. For some it’s an annual tradition!

Weddings and tailgates, churches and Rose Garden luncheons, our hats are seen in all the best places. Come in early for the best selection.

Each hat is unique...only one of each style and color is available. Hat boxes available for all sizes.

Shop online! www.HorseCountryCarrot.com

CLASSIC COOL RAINBOW ARGYLE Sizes 32-38 (HC3A) $74.00

ESSEX BLUE HILL Sizes XS-XL (HC3F) $124.00

CLASSIC COOL PINK PLAID Sizes 32-42 (HC3B) $74.00

CLASSIC COOL STRETCH SHOW SHIRT COLLECTION. ESSEX ANNABELL MULTI STRIPE Sizes SM-XL (HC3E) $124.00

CLASSIC COOL NAVY BITS Sizes 32-46 (HC3D) $110.00

ESSEX WILLOW SHORT SLEEVE Sizes SM-XL (HC3G) $110.00

CLASSIC COOL AQUA PAISLEY Sizes 32-42 (HC3C) $74.00

HER VIERZON BOOTS From Le Chameau France.

Handmade with 100% natural rubber. A woman's boot with a multi-use design.

Leak-tight gusset and tightening loop top. Sturdy and substantial foot bed.

Choose Dark Green or Platinum.

Sizes US6, 7, 7.5, 8 and 9.

(HC3J) $165.00

The perfect white show shirt will never go out of style. This long sleeve shirt in a breathable stretch fabric will always keep you cool and comfortable in the warmest of weather.

Angled snap collar for a modern, yet timeless look. Placket front.

Machine washable.

ESSEX ANNABELL BLUE STRIPE Sizes SM-XL (HC3H) $124.00

We’re glad to see that hats for men have been making a welcome comeback over the last few years.

Whatever your preference, Horse Country has your pate covered! Panamas for spring and summer, English tweed flat caps perfect for the races, felt fedoras for timeless style, waxed caps for dismal days, even elegant top hats if you’ve been invited to the Royal Enclosure this June. Come g a hat. Be dashing! in, get

H ORS E C OUNTRY ® 800 80 0 0 88 882 2 H HUNT UNT HC3 Shop online! www.horsecountrycarrot.com www.HorseCountryCarrot.com

All prices subject to change without notice. All items subject to availability. IAHC 04-2013

Shop online! www.HorseCountryCarrot.com

EQUESTRIAN TWEED Triple-ply soft-tissue napkins printed in Germany. 20 napkins per package Luncheon 13"x13" Folded (HC4A) $6.95 Cocktail 10"x10" Folded (HC4B) $5.25

Nimrod Children's Camp Package $89.95 includes

1

2

3

Jodhpurs that slip up over the hip HORSE RIDING LUNCHEON NAPKIN Foxhunters jumping on one side, standing hunter on the reverse.

3-ply, 6.5" x 6.5" folded. 20 napkins per package. (HC4C) $ 6.25

HORSE RIDING COCKTAIL NAPKIN Race horse and jockey on one side, horses grazing on the reverse.

3-ply, 5" x 5" folded. 20 napkins per package (HC4D) $5.25

EFFOL MANE & TAIL LIQUID Unique blend of ingredients that strengthens hair growth, prevents knots and tangles.

(HC4F) $19.95

EFFOL WHITE-STAR SPRAY SHAMPOO Designed for grey and lightcolored horses. Removes stubborn stains and dirt and helps neutralize the yellow tint, leaving a vibrant and gleaming coat. Simply spray onto damp coat, rub in, rinse off. (HC4E) $18.95

www.HorseCountryCarrot.com w HorseCountryCarrot c w.HorseCountryCarrot.co

Riding gloves that give e extra grip

Boots that go ZIP!

EFFOL SILK & CARE SPRAY The Silk & Care Spray contains silk proteins to maintain healthy strong hair and coat. (HC4G) $19.95

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4

And a Free Horse Country T-shirt as Count little our special sp gift!

A helmet that dials and flips for the e perfect fit

Our Nimrod Camp Package includes the essentials for riding at camp, lesson beginners and everyday casual riding! Package includes adjustable drawstring waist pull-on beige jodhpurs, all-weather brown leather zip-up style paddock shoes, pebbled cotton riding gloves and an ASTM/SEI approved schooling helmet. As a special gift, Horse Country is also providing an exclusively designed T-shirt in our package.

Complete package is only $89.95 (HC4H) Jodhpur Sizes: 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18; Paddock Shoe Sizes: 10, 11, 12, 1, 2, 3, and 4 Pebbled Riding Gloves: XXS–MD; ASTM/SEI Spirit Helmet: SM-LG; Horse Country T-shirt: SM–XL

(540) 347-3141 • 800-882-HUNT (4868)

To WINCHESTER, I-66 & I-81

60 Alexandria Pike • Warrenton, Virginia 20186

www.Facebook.com/HorseCountryLife

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND INQUIRIES: (540) 347-3141

BROADVIEW Ave.

W IN CH ES TE R

St.

MAIN St.

HORSE COUNTRY

®

WATERLOO St.

Store Hours: Monday–Friday 9 AM - 6 PM, Saturday 9 AM - 5 PM (ET)

Visit us online! www.HorseCountryLife.com

29

17

IAHC 04-2013

ss RT. 29/17 Bypa

24 HOUR FAX: (540) 347-7141 For Orders Only: 800-882-HUNT(4868)

To SPERRYVILLE & I-81 211

To WASHINGTON via I-66 Rt. 17 By pass

Pk. DRIA ALEXAN

Horse Country®

To CULPEPER & CHARLOTTESVILLE

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

15

HUNT MEETS Anniversary Joint Meet, Warrenton Hunt and Deep Run Hunt, from the Warrenton Kennels, Elway Farm, February 24, 2013 Liz Callar photos

Warrenton Hunt professional whipper-in Clydetta Poe Talbot has a light touch on her whip and focused concentration.

It’s good to be the huntsman’s daughter. Lexi Vanderwoude had a magnificent day at the anniversary joint meet.

Jack Eichler, Deep Run Hunt honorary whipper-in and board member.

Liz Callar photo

Piedmont Fox Hounds, Gap Run, February 14, 2013 Piedmont Huntsman Spencer Allen takes a stone wall with gritty determination.

Liz Callar photo

Warrenton Hunt’s Gerard Hogan, left, and Chet Moore discuss the day’s sport as the field heads in.

Piedmont Fox Hounds, Gap Run, February 14, 2013 Cathy Zimmerman, wife of Piedmont Joint-Master Tad Zimmerman, is muddied but undaunted on a chilly day when hounds were on the same fox for an hour and 15 minutes. Liz Callar photo

New Market-Middletown Valley Hounds and Marlborough Hunt Joint Meet, March 10, 2013.

Chris Rocca, wife of NM-MV ex-MFH Leo Rocca, and Jennifer Sponseller Webster, JointMaster, interrupted their hunting day to render aid to a fallen rider. Liz Callar photo

Keswick Hunt - Bull Run Hunt Joint Meet from Keswick’s Glenwood fixture, Feb. 9, 2013 Lee Louria, Keswick Hunt professional rider, bundles up against the chill. Liz Callar photo

Keswick Hunt - Bull Run Hunt Joint Meet from Keswick’s Glenwood fixture, February 9, 2013. Jt.-MFH Andy Lynn.

Rachel Paradise, Warrenton Hunt Junior.

Blue Ridge Hunt, Fox Spring Woods, February 18, 2013.

Hounds of the Blue Ridge Hunt, sterns aloft and ready to hunt from Fox Spring Woods, February 18, 2013. Liz Callar photo

Liz Callar photo

New Market-Middletown Valley Hounds and Marlborough Hunt Joint Meet, March 10, 2013 NM-NV Huntsman Robert Taylor shares a moment with one of his charges before moving off. Liz Callar photo

Blue Ridge Hunt, Fox Spring Woods, February 18, 2013.

“We can do this.” Drew Schwentker, riding Iona Pillion’s famous pony Landmark Cracker Jack, considers his options. Blue Ridge Hunt, Fox Spring Woods, February 18, 2013. Liz Callar photo

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

16

TRAINING

Grady Duncan – It’s All About the Horse

By Lauren R. Giannini • Janet Hitchen photos

This is a story about a Quarter Horse bred to cut cattle and the horseman who helped the colt to fulfill his potential and become a champion. It’s about training and learning. It’s about one man’s quest to do the best he can for every horse, the veritable ‘clean slates’ and the ones with problems. Because it’s all about the horses…

“I think that Grady Duncan is one of God’s gifts to horses and to people,” stated Carol Sullivan. “My work at Dobson & Associates in Washington, D.C. with the late Dan Dobson and his wife Deryl Ann got me involved coowning Quarter Horses with them. Grady has been training horses for us for more than 20 years. Deryl Ann and I still have three horses with him. Grady knows breeding, he knows people, and he knows horses. He takes the time to find exactly the right horse for you. If a horse isn’t going to make it as a cutting horse or isn’t worth the money to invest in its training, he tells you. He’s as honest as the day is long. He gets on a horse and he transforms it. He finds out what makes each horse tick. He makes people feel good. Grady and Judy Duncan are wonderful people.”

Grady and Judy, his wife and business partner of 45 years, own and operate Back 40 Cutting Horses in Millwood, Virginia. In addition to being a complete cutting and cow horse training facility, they offer lessons and clinics. They also stand the champion cutting horse stallion, Peppys Preppy (Max).

Cutting horses are designed and trained to separate one cow from the herd as quietly as possible and to keep that cow from returning to the herd with as little aggravation as possible. If the cow is slow, the horse goes slow; however, if that cow speeds up, the horse has to anticipate and be there to stop the cow and control it. Essentially, cutting is a battle of wills between cow and horse, lasting 2 ½ minutes. There is absolutely no chasing and no roping.

Horseman Born & Raised in Virginia Grady grew up on a beef cattle farm in Nelson County. “I always loved horses and the cowboy aspect of it, but I didn’t grow up cutting,” he said. “I grew up riding western – every kind of horse I could get on. For the first two years Judy and I were married, we both rode nothing but outlaws. That’s how we made our living.”

The Duncans worked with the tough horses that nobody else wanted: the ones that bucked you off or fell down on you or rubbed you off against a fence. It was rough and tumble, riding them out until the horses gave up and submitted. “Had I known how much easier my life back in those days would have been with these natural horsemanship methods… I’m sure there were many that could have been good horses by using these methods,” admitted Grady. “I’ve had a lot of success and I attribute a lot of it to the good customers and people who believed

Grady and his wife Judy and Tracking Miss Daisy.

Tracking Miss Daisy shows off her cutting skills under Grady Duncan.

in us and sent us good bred horses that were capable of doing it. But in the same token I’d like to have a do-over on some of the horses that came to me in those early years.”

Grady’s approach to training horses experienced a life-changing makeover in the early 1980s when he spent one week living under the same roof as Ray Hunt. Hunt had been engaged by Helen Kleberg Groves, known as “the first lady of cutting” and whose family owned the King Ranch, to teach a private clinic for Groves at her Silverbook Farm in Middlebrook, Virginia. Hunt (19292009) was one of the first pioneers, and certainly the most influential, in what came to be known as natural horsemanship.

“I learned so much from Ray that week and it changed my whole outlook on horse training,” recalled Grady. “I came home with a 180-degree change in what I did with horses. One night during that clinic Ray and I were sitting talking and I said ‘I don’t think I can ever do what you do with a horse.’ Ray said ‘It’s not that you do what I do – you do what you do with the frame of mind that it helps the horse. You make the right things easy and the wrong things hard.’ Horses are all different. Some might take longer than others to get where you want them, but it’s all about the horse.”

When it came to training Peppys Preppy, Grady had been utilizing and refining what he learned from Hunt for more than 15 years. The Duncans gave the young horse the best start possible, laying the foundation for his success as a cutting horse and as a sire, but they do that with every horse, whatever its age and breeding. Some horses, however, are more enthusiastic about cutting than others.

By training in increments Grady can track the horse’s development and progress and keep it real for the owners.

“We’re in the business to train horses to cut cattle and we’ve been breeding cutting horses off and on forever,” said Grady. “We’ve never really been into the breeding business per se. We have tried to use it as a sidebar, you might say – we happen to have some nice stallions that people might want to breed to. We were never in a tizzy to breed a lot of mares, but…”

Judy picked up the narrative, “We had several good mares of our own, and we bought a bunch of good mares for the people who had shares in Max. We just really bred for the syndicate owners. We’re going to stand him to the public again this year. Let people come and look at him. I think he would cross well on anything. The first time Graham Boyd, a friend from New Zealand who is a chiropractor, adjusted him, he said, ‘Man, that is the most

anatomically correct horse I’ve ever seen in my life!’ He always asks about Max.” “Max rides like a pleasure horse and he’s smart enough to be anything and do any discipline,” added Grady. “We didn’t think that we would get him, because he was from the very last foal crop of his sire’s line.”

The Duncans still feel they got lucky about Max. “We’re the only ones winning on these colts, because nobody else has them,” said Grady. “Most people aren’t going to breed to a horse here in the East. They’re going to go west to the horses with a lot of promotion behind them, what with shipped semen and all. But we sure would like people to see what this horse has to offer their mares.”

A Champion In Yearling Disguise About 16 years ago the Duncans went to Fort Worth, Texas on a mission to buy one specific cutting horse stallion, but they didn’t have a clue about the yearling that would capture their hearts. Judy walked in the back door of the barn and immediately feasted her eyes on a yearling standing in the aisle. “I said Whoa! but I kept on going,” recalled Judy. “Grady came in behind me and said, ‘You’ve got to come see this stud colt.’ So I went back over there and said I had already seen him. Grady said, ‘This is the one!’ He fell in love with Max then and there.”

Grady knew horses from that athletic bloodline could be a little broncy when you first started them, but he also knew that they got over it quickly and that broncy phase didn’t last long at all. With Max it was smooth sailing, literally, from start to finish.

“This horse never once acted broncy. I spent more time with him than any other horse I ever broke,” declared Grady. “We started taking Max around with us to shows when he was a two-year-old. We went to Florida every year and we took him with us. We led him and rode him and he was really broke by the time we took him to his first show as a three-year-old.”

When Max was two, Grady was working cattle with him. Many shows had practice cattle and the horsemen could go to a separate pen. “That’s almost unheard of – working cattle that young,” said Grady. “But he was smart and talented and very athletic. I was determined to make him into as much as he could be. Fortunately, back in those days, I had the time.”

Grady also had the knowledge and the expertise to bring along young talent. His methods work equally well with many older horses that owners bring to him for a refresher course in cutting or to correct a problem far removed from cutting. Bad behavior is not acceptable, and yet for all his success stories Grady tends to be very modest about his ability and promises nothing – except, of course, total honesty and humane treatment to the nth degree.

Peppys Preppy (Max).

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

Training Techniques “When I got interested in the cutting sport, two wonderful friends, Buster Welch, horseman, and Helen Groves, well-known supporter of equestrian competitions, recommended Grady to me,” recalled Landon Butler, an investment banker in Washington, D.C. who owns a farm in Middleburg, VA. “I’ve known Grady since 1990 or ‘91.

He found me a good horse. I took lessons with him and started competing locally. I could usually go home with some prize money. Once you get the knack, you just sit there in the saddle while the horse does all the work. It’s a very exciting ride, a very cool ride and a lot of fun. As a trainer and teacher, Grady is wonderful, very thoughtful, and he’s a really good clinician.”

There isn’t enough space to go into all the details, but several elements are key to Grady’s approach to training any horse. One, they have to know how to tie and stand quietly. “When we get ready to start saddling the yearlings, we train our horses to tie,” said Grady. “We tie them near another quiet horse, but if they want to dig and squirm around, we hobble them. Learning to stand tied really mellows a horse’s mind. Any horse on this place you can tie anywhere, outside in the shade of a tree, and leave them. Learning to tie really helps young horses.”

Two, the horses have to be relaxed and attentive as well as very athletic and correct in how they use themselves. “If a horse is up on its toes, in any way, nervous or out of sorts, they can’t absorb what I’m trying to teach them, because the horse has to think about that cow and that cow only,” explained Grady. “Every signal you give that horse is directed by the cow. When you get to that point, a horse has to use its body correctly. Cutting is controlling the cow. It’s simple, but athleticism of the horse determines the degree that the horse can go to do that.”

When cutting horses use their bodies correctly, their heads are low, their hind legs are under them. They have to get low in their engine end, pick up their front end, stop straight and stop big. They have to move left and right off their rear ends without their front ends getting in their way. Cutting takes a lot of core strength on the part of the horse. Balance and suppleness are essential to the cutting horse, who must learn to respond to the lightest pressure or aids. The release of pressure is a valuable part of their training: it’s the reward.

“We spend a lot of time bending these horses, softening these horses up, getting control of their ribcage,” said Grady. “We spend time getting the horse to the point where you pick up the rein but don’t use it – you press with your leg and they stop big, they back up. They learn to respond to the lightest pressure and the release of pressure is their reward. We have a machine where we start all of the young horses and to re-train older ones: a remotecontrolled rope pulley. We put a flag on it and run it back and forth, control the speed with a remote in your hand.”

Three, the flag on the rope pulley represents the cow.

Grady and his assistant trainer, Jamie Wywadis start all the young stock. It gets them in a pattern where they follow the flag left and right, stop when it stops, learning to pay attention to the flag at slower speeds first and when they are ready, picking up the pace. They also use the pulley for older horses with a problem spot in how they cut.

“When an older horse comes up with a particular problem cutting, it might take 15 cows to get done what you need to do on that problem spot,” explained Grady.

“You can do it on this flag on the pulley in 15 minutes.”

Which leads nicely into four: the cattle are as vital an asset to training as the horses themselves. Cattle with pep can have an effect similar to motivational speakers on a good cutting horse. “We try to keep fresh cattle. They are not overworked and we take pains to keep them like that,” said Grady. “That is our biggest business expense, especially with the price of cattle today.”

Five, all the horses get tacked up and spend some time on the hot walker. The power is off, the gear is not engaged, and the young horses and horses in for training get to walk and trot and exercise themselves. They have

17

Grady Duncan and Jamie Wywadis with the cattle used for training at Back 40 Acres Cutting Horses.

been taught to tie. They do not fight the hot walker because it spins freely in the breeze. If one resists, it’s against the pressure and movement of the other horses on the walker.

There’s more. You’ll just have to attend a clinic or book a lesson or watch their first cutting horse competition, sponsored by the East Coast Cutting Horse Association on April 27-28 at Walker Arena in Berryville, Virginia. The first horses cut at 9 a.m.

Remedial Training Depending on the circumstances, Grady will take in horses with problems from other sports and disciplines. There are many examples. One success story involved a hunt horse with a major fear of cows who had hurt its rider pretty badly. Grady never got on the horse: he ponied it from a quiet, reliable older horse. He worked with the horse and its owner for a month and when he was done, there wasn’t a trace left of the psychoneurotic ballistic ticking equine time bomb. Instead the foxhunting enthusiast found the horse would walk right into the cattle, no fuss, no fireworks.

A warmblood couldn’t be saddled. Grady had the horse standing quietly and fully saddled without a fight or force during the first session. A Thoroughbred from Middleburg Training Center had developed some bad habits and they couldn’t get the horse to the track to exercise. That’s a good story, albeit long, but the short version is that the horse was very well bred, sired by Storm Cat, and he ended up staying at Back 40 Cutting Horses for 45 days. Each day Grady ponied the colt, with an exercise rider who could mount unassisted from the ground. When the young horse went back, he was deemed perfect and they didn’t have any more problems with him.

“We have one horse here that was trained by someone else on a flag instead of working cattle,” said Grady.

“Whenever anything happened that the horse had to think for himself, he could react to the cow but he couldn’t think with the cow. Whenever anything got fast, he got lost and would just pull up. We’ve had this horse for two months now. Our assistant, Jamie, is working him. She works most of our show horses. She’s a natural. She started out exercising horses for Judy and me. About five years ago, I broke four ribs. Jamie and Judy worked all the horses. I started helping Jamie and it just progressed from there. Now she’s got some horses she trained herself all the way and they are some of the best, if not the best horses we have here.”

Wywadis has become like another daughter to the Duncans. Their only child, Tabatha Duncan, went to Florida with them years ago and ended up staying there to work for an exporter. She returned and has a career as a courtroom clerk in the Loudoun County (Virginia) court system. “Tabatha was a very talented showman back in her teens,” said Grady. “Now that she’s back, she helps us out some, working horses. Tabatha says it’s easier to find the right horse than the right husband. At the moment we have a grand-dog.”

Cutting To The Chase: The Bottom Line One special horse in Carol Sullivan’s life was Pearl. “Sis was our first show horse and her daughter Pearl was born at the ranch in Millwood – all our babies were sired by Max,” said Sullivan. “We saw Pearl develop into a beau-

tiful show horse who went on to win several times. We retired her to become a broodmare and she had six foals. Then we decided to retire Pearl from breeding and she is back in training with Grady and will start back this show season. One of the things I really like about Quarter Horses is their calm demeanor and intelligence.”

Ask anyone involved with the Duncans and they will tell you that the cutting horses they train adapt very easily to other jobs. “They make great pleasure horses when they are done competing,” affirmed Butler. “They’re safe and smart. You can put your friends on them and not worry. I just ride for pleasure now. I stopped competing a few years ago although I still have some horses in training with Grady. He found and bought my first horse, Hotrodder’s Gal. She’s the momma of several good foals.

She lives a life of leisure at Clay Brittle’s farm.”

The Duncans keep it real. They tell it like it is: even the best bred cutting horses don’t always want to work cattle, but there’s so much they can do in the horse world.

They know several horses that are doing well as hunter/jumpers and event horses. Grady tells owners as soon as it becomes apparent that the horse isn’t suited to cutting that they should find another place to let the equine shine. “We decided a long time ago when you tell somebody the truth about their horse – keep it honest from the gitgo – you get repeat customers.”

“When all is said and done, I’ll never be remembered as a great cutting horse trainer, but I would like to be remembered as a true horseman,” said Grady. “I’d like to be remembered for taking good care of them, for getting the horses to their full potential.”

Grady Duncan is quiet and humble. He has a passion for horses. He trains without force. He does not suffer fools gladly. He walks the walk (and talks as little as possible about himself). You find yourself not just willing, but eager to entrust him with your equine. Grady may have been one of Virginia’s best-kept secrets, but not any more.

Bloodlines & Show Records Peppys Preppy is owned by the syndicate aptly named Last of the Line, because Max, as he is called, happens to be from the very last foal crop sired by Peppy San Badger (1974-2005), National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Hall of Famer whose progeny have won over $20 million.

In 1999 Max, shown exclusively by his trainer Grady Duncan, won the All American Quarter Horse Congress Cutting Futurity Championship. Peppys Preppy has the extra distinction of certain letters after his name. He is on record as AQHA ROM (Register of Merit) in Cutting and Ranch Horse Versatility. He also earned his NCHA COA (Certificate of Ability) for money earned.

Peppys Preppy (Max) stamps his get, and many have gone on to be successful cutting and ranch horses. For the last three or four years Max has sired the winners of the East Coast Cutting Horse Association’s Open Championship. LL Jackson won for the second time in 2012, LL Crocket Rocket won in 2011: both champions were trained and shown by Grady who partnered with their sire Max during his competitive career.

Pearl's dam Sis was bought for Dobson and Sullivan

by Grady, and Pearl's offspring are sound, sane, athletic cutting horses - sired, of course, by Max. Peppys Preppy stands at the Back 40 in Millwood, Virginia: his 2013 book is open to outside mares, and shipped semen is also available.

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

18

BEAGLING

Southern Classic Beagle Trials Beaux Eden Plantation, Fort Valley, Georgia, January 25-26, 2013

By John J. Carle, II, ex-MFH

Bill Buthane and Marvin McCallum.

T. J. Taylor.

“Shine” leads T. J. Taylor’s Beagles.

Two of Bill Buthane’s beagles in the 3 Couple class.

With Shania Twain’s “Let’s Go, Girls” blasting from the speakers of his new Ford truck, Ramsay Barrett dropped the tailgate, and seven couple of highly energized Orlean Foot Beagles hit the briars on Mr. Steve Hancock’s grain-and-tree farm in Fort Valley, Georgia, just up the road from Beaux Eden Plantation, site of the fourth annual Southern Classic Beagle Trials, which was to begin the next day.

Ramsay’s co-chairman for the trials, Ft. Valley’s Joe Hester, had taken us on a tune-up hunt; and what a rehearsal it turned out to be: four hours of the best, with good-running rabbits galore, in cover ideal for rabbits and quail alike. Indeed, we jumped two large coveys of wild birds during the morning.

Unfortunately, some forestry “expert” recommended extensive bushhogging – which was in progress – that will destroy the habitat for both species. With the wire-edge taken off, Ramsay’s pack retired to their lodgings; and in the afternoon Joe’s beagles got a good workout in the briar-studded open woods at Beaux Eden, just northwest of the kennels. After such success, both huntsmen fervently hoped they hadn’t left all their luck afield.

The Octorara Beagles from Floyd, Virginia, the first of 10 three-couple packs, opened the trials at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, January 25th, under damp, leaden skies, with the mercury stuck on 30 degrees. A wicked northwest wind blew persistently, and rabbits seemed reluctant to face its bite for long. Hounds had three up, but two ran quickly to stump-piles and one down an armadillo burrow. To make things worse, scent was spotty at best. Marvin McCallum’s Rumar pack, overwhelming winners of the three-couple last year, got off to a slow start when convulsions took one older bitch out of contention immediately.

Luckily, Marvin’s hunting partner, Bill Buthane, had his pack in a nearby truck and put his best doghound into the Rumar pack. Odd scenting conditions stymied what might have been a spectacular run, for each time this pack got to really “settin’ the woods on fire,” they’d hit a scentless spot and have to puzzle out the bother for long minutes. In dense woods and jungle-like briars, over ridges and through deep gullies, hounds had to do it without any help – and they proved they didn’t need any. Oddly, when hounds were far behind their quarry, they winded it well; but up close, scent was non-existent. Perhaps it just had to “thaw out.”

Taking to the field in the 10:30 a.m. slot, just as the sun peeped out, a new pack to the trials, T. J. Taylor’s Beagles from Washington County, Georgia, did to the competition what Rumar did last year: “put it to ’em!” Consistency rather than flamboyance is the trademark of this pack, and they defied the conditions that had just stymied the usually unstoppable Orlean pack. Settling immediately to work, they were soon feathering a faint line. “Yay he go!” yelled T. J. Taylor with youthful enthusiasm. “HaygoHaygo-Haygo!” And go they did, but with a far different style than most packhounds. More like hounds in a brace or SPO [small pack option] trial, they run in a line, not overly fast, but undeniable, each hound seeming to “make good” the ground. And they were kept going by the awesome nose of their matriarch,

the bitch “Shine,” who unerringly put them right at every bother. This year’s third judge (along with Dave O’Keefe and yours truly), Tom de Priest, editor of Hounds and Hunting magazine, and a very knowledgeable brace, SPO and AKC two-couple-pack trial judge, was of the opinion that “Shine” picked her head up too much (verboten in his world!). Yet whenever she did, scent had risen enough to produce a check, and she snatched the line as it rose, inevitably keeping “the tambourine a’rollin’.” With T. J. exhorting his hounds with, “Keep ’im up, babies, keep ’im up,” and Carhart-clad cohorts Kenneth Wallace and Brandon Eubanks occasionally adding an exuberant cheer, “Shine” and company emphatically outshone the competition. As time was called, a passing flock of sandhill cranes yodeled their approval.

For the rest of the day, with conditions ranging from bad to abysmal, only Bill Buthane’s beauties, down at 2:00 p.m., could salvage any success; and Bill’s run was very nearly the equal of Taylor’s, although the terrain was different. Whereas Taylor’s hounds battled in sun-warmed broomstraw, Bill’s ran in pine woods, a deep, dry hollow and on hardwood ridges. It seemed that each bit of terrain held scent differently, and many checks occurred. But when they could run, these beagles flew, packed tightly and rending the air with what Horse & Hound correspondent Rebecca Jordan calls “melodious yet urgent music.”

The most improved pack from years past, Jan Weiher’s Hare-Raisers, had a chaotic yet exciting go, with several rabbits afoot and lots of hoorah from the Field. Having replaced Carol McEvoy’s show-andagility hounds with gundog-bred beagles to go with her handsome but unseasoned showstoppers, the young veterinarian is on the right track. What her pack needs now is hunting – and lots of it. Rumor has it that she might relocate from Gainesville, Florida, to Virginia.

Joe Hester’s Briarmount was the last three-couple pack to hunt, hitting a huge briarpatch at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Most of Joe’s hounds are new, for he is rebuilding the pack from old lines that he’d had in years past but lost. They don’t know Joe or each other well yet, and their start was a little ragged, with heel-line a constant bother. But once they settled on a rabbit, they jelled into a cohesive and cooperative pack, honoring each other unerringly and driving forward with wild, harsh cry.

As they looped through the briars and open hardwoods, their confidence increased, their cry rose in volume, and their performance edged toward spectacular. Then, suddenly, scent vanished, and they slammed to a halt.

For the rest of their allotted time they struggled to recover the line, but found only the bedevilment of Joe Hester, trials co-chairman. nightlines.

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IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

However, after that day, they were strangers no longer, and will only improve as a pack. In retrospect, their improvement from Thursday’s tune-up hunt was amazing.

The Orlean Foot Beagles opened the bidding in the five-couple competition at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning, and chose – wisely as it turned out – to hunt the huge bowl below the paddocks near the stable.

Mother Nature cracked a small smile, and Ramsay’s bunny-chasers enjoyed a brief period of decent scenting and a plethora of rabbits. Early on, hounds picked at nightlines, their excitement reducing hunting to a chaotic scramble. Then two rabbits exploded from their beds, and hounds were away, Ramsay’s scream of pure primal passion putting all on the one that rocketed downhill. How hounds flew – often a bit too fast, for when Professor Leporidae reached deeply into his bag of tricks, he left hounds dumbfounded. At such moments, they either cast widely and recovered the line or simply jumped a fresh rabbit; but sometimes their patience wore as thin as that of their Huntsman, and they threw up their heads, wanting help – which they inevitably received. The result, thanks to the availability of fresh rabbits, was a thrilling hour of practically nonstop hound-music, a happy chorus that rang ’round the bowl like church bells. It was not a purist’s hunt: too many overruns, hounds strung out a bit, occasional outbreaks of overly-excited babble, and a lot of switching of rabbits; but for pure, hair-raising excitement, it was galvanizing. Just near the end of Orlean’s hour, the wind suddenly changed, an ominous sign that Mother Nature’s mood had turned dour.

Octorara was the first to feel the mood swing, as hounds could not own the several lines they found Fran Jacobs, MB, along the hardwood ridges.

Ardrossan Beagles.

Finally, in a bone-dry bottom that last year was a swamp, hounds unkenneled a rabbit from beneath a fortress of fallen trees, and flew back toward the bowl. Into a dense patch of thornytangled cutover, they drove their pilot, the trademark determination of this pack on proud display.

Huntsman Larry Bright rarely touches his hounds, and they repay his trust handsomely, working all bothers quickly, with every hound contributing; and driving ever-forward, well-packed, but carrying sufficient head to counteract quick turns. And the Octorara have been bred for nose, some of the best in Beagledom.

Yet even they were eventually denied, as scent simply and suddenly vanished. Casting themselves, they spent most of the rest of their time picking at elusive snatches of scent as they gradually worked back to the fallen trees, where they fresh-jumped their quarry.

Their battle cry ringing down the hollow, they disappeared westward, with the judges’ frantic yell of “Time, Octorara!” left hanging in their wake.

From then on until very late in the afternoon, for the rest of the packs the day was a total disaster.

Rabbits were there, but hounds could NOT hunt them.

Typical was Glenbarr’s go. These lovely, gifted hounds thrashed the bushes in another “dry swamp” relentlessly, and eventually put up rabbits. One hound screamed on a large cottontail by view for 100 feet, but none of the pack could own its line, although they

were on it immediately. With two minutes to go another huge rabbit hopped nonchalantly up to the judges, took our measure, and dismissed us – and hounds – as unworthy. Then, abruptly just downhill, pandemonium erupted: a well-perfumed fellow went away at warp speed, with ten screaming demons tight on his heels! Too late for Billy Bobbitt’s pack, conditions changed just as “time” was shouted. It took Billy a good half-hour to stop his hounds; so, meanwhile, the Ardrossan, last pack down, were moved a half-mile west to begin their hunt.

With Fran Jacobs, MBH, carrying the horn, the Malvern, Pennsylvania, pack drew a dense woodlot adjacent to food plots and overgrown pine allees, where they found in minutes. As they belabored a faint line, several deer got up, so Fran judiciously lifted uphill, and soon had two rabbits afoot. Settling on one, they had a quick, melodious burst to a check, where they raced around in disarray, more like the Keystone Kops than a pack of beagles. But Fran never lost his cool, and his patience settled the pack, which began hunting in earnest again. Led by a high, choppymouthed bitch, they kept at the line, hit and miss back to the woods and out again, until Whipper-In Bob Majke viewed in the broomstrawed allee. Working westward into the setting sun, they slowly pushed their pilot across a field of closely-grazed winter wheat to a briary tangle. Here they rejumped and had a series of sharp runs, accompanied by frantic, highpitched cry until time ran out, ending an interesting and most enjoyable field trial.

After a hot shower and chilled beverage, a ravenous horde of beaglers descended like locusts on Beaux Eden Lodge, where Joe Hester, J. B. Broadnax, Chad Sullivan, and the lovely ladies of Fort Valley had a sizeable pig well-roasted. By the time most of us arrived, “the pickin’s” had done been picked; but in the kitchen, several platters were overflowing with the best eatin’ you can wrap your lips around. It’s amazing how fast 150 pounds of pig can be reduced to bare bones; even the squeal got et! On hand was our gracious host, that affable sportsman Steve Wemple, making everyone welcome and infusing the gathering with his own special brand of enthusiasm. Steve has really embraced the trials, and eagerly offered new and welcome ideas to improve them.

After eating, and before the celebration got out of hand, Master of Ceremonies Joe Hester got up to announce the winners. But first he awarded a special duplicate trophy to a smiling “Mr. Steve.” Then he announced the three-couple results: T. J. Taylor’s pack not only won the class but the High Score Trophy for the entire trials as well. Bill Buthane’s second place was High Score Reserve. Rumar and Briarmount rounded out the scoring. The Orlean Foot Beagles were runaway winners of the fives, clearly outdistancing Ardrossan, Octorara, and Glenbarr respectively. Then the celebration hit high gear, with a flurry of photo ops and toasts and more toasts that soon emptied the well-stocked bar.

Then someone cranked up the mellow music of Martina McBride, and one lucky fellow Judge Tom DePriest.

Ramsay Barrett and the Orlean Foot Beagles.

Orlean Foot Beagles in full cry.

was observed dancing with two beautiful young women – Christie and Sarah – at the same time. I can personally attest to the fact that his goofy grin was still plastered in place next morning! It was quite a night, and a fitting way to end these unique trials.

From all of us, many thanks are in order: to “Mr. Steve” Wemple for his warm welcome and support; to Joe Hester for his meticulous preparations over many months that make everything flow smoothly; to Courtney Hester and her cadre of gourmet helpers who so bountifully fed us; and to plantation managers, J. B. Broadnax and Chad Sullivan, who keep Beaux Eden pristine, while keeping a bountiful rabbit population healthy and happy. Thanks, guys – we can’t wait ’til next January!

One last thought: since “Mr. Steve” so clearly relishes a challenge, we hereby elect him our emissary in charge of placating Mother Nature!

Larry Bright, MB, Octorara Beagles.

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

20

ACROSS THE POND

Hunting in Wales, England, and Florida

By Jim Meads

Misty Morning Hounds, March 8, 2013 Host for the day Nancy Hardt (right) with Whipper-in Stella Jarina.

Misty Morning Hounds Meet at Alma del Zorro, March 8, 2013.

Misty Morning Hounds, March 9, 2013 Whipper-in Tanya Nelson in the “jungle.”

Misty Morning Hounds, March 9, 2013 Enjoying the sun are Kim Munoz, kennelman; Mac Macaulay, MFH; Alexis Macaulay, MFH and Huntsman; Mallory Robertson, Deputy Huntsman.

Misty Morning Hounds, March 9, 2013 Deputy Huntsman Mallory Robertson with hounds in water jump.

Over the past years, those packs that breed and hunt pure Welsh Foxhounds have been headed by the Llanwrthwl, whose country is in the Elan Valley of Mid-Wales. Not only do they regularly win championships at the major shows, but they hunt like real “Welsh dragons” for their breeder, Huntsman Mark Jones, and people travel miles to see them in action.

So in mid-February when they traveled north for their annual visit to the David Davies country, crowds arrived at the kennels for a splendid hunt breakfast. All visitors were welcomed by Lord Davies, Master since 1963 and the longest serving MFH in the country. Also on parade were 16 quad bikes under the control of Field Master Peter “Tonka” Thomas. Soon it was time to move off, with Huntsman Mark Jones and his David Davies counterpart, Steve Bradley, leading the way into the Llandinam Hills. The morning was dry and it was a pleasure to be out in the beautiful wild country above the valley of the River Severn. The enjoyment increased as soon as the 20 couple of hounds broke into song, with their Welsh voices echoing in unison.

For the next 3½ hours the pack ran well, but my legs cried “enough!” and I walked slowly down hill to my car.

My next appointment was three days later, when I drove 44 miles into Shropshire for a day with the United Pack, whose history goes back to 1837, with Mr. Gittoes the founding Master. In 2000, Oliver Hill was appointed Huntsman, and one year later he joined the Mastership, latterly with Robert George and Pat Blackband, but they are all retiring at the season’s end. The meet was held at Wotherton Hall, a most popular meet which is only held once the pheasant shooting has finished. Our host and Field Master Neil Gittens laid on food and drinks for everyone. Among the mounted field was Diana Thomas, better known in the USA as “Dido” Rowson, when she whipped in to Ben Hardaway’s Midland Foxhounds in Georgia and Alabama. Oliver Hill produced 17½ couple of very fit hounds, and soon they were drawing for the first trail. Initially scent seemed poor as the pack ran through woodland and over undulating grasslands. Then, at around 1:00 p.m., scent improved and the trail left the high ground, crossing a creek and a main road into heavily cultivated farmland, where it was decided to stop hounds. A long hack back followed into the draw, where they hunted until 4:15 p.m. when “Home” was blown, after much fun!

For my final outing of the 2012-13 season, I

crossed “the pond” to Gainesville, Florida, for the two closing meets of the Misty Morning Hounds.

This pack was formed in 1995 by Alexis and Mac Macaulay as a drag hunt, with Alexis carrying the horn. Initially hounds were of the American “Orange County” type, but now they have been joined by some Penn-Marydels, which complement each other in their work. For the past six years, hounds have lived in fantastic modern kennels close to the Joint Masters’ grand mansion, completed in 2010 on their Perry Plantation. This has become an equestrian center, with rings for show jumping and dressage, a range of comfortable stables for boarding horses, and miles of trails extending through unspoiled Florida countryside. Sadly, this season has been a difficult one, as on Christmas Day Alexis, while working in the kennels, slipped and badly tore a hamstring, which meant a serious operation and weeks on crutches. Luckily, they had an able deputy in Mallory Robertson, who worked wonders with the pack despite her novice status as huntsman, and she was aided by the team of scarlet-clad lady whippers-in.

The Friday meet was held on Nancy Hardt’s Alma del Zorro Ranch, where 30 horses and riders gathered at 8:00 a.m. on this lovely quiet property. After a meet picture had been taken, ranch foreman Alan Andrews, wearing a cowboy hat, set off to lay the trails, and soon hounds were loosed, with four trails being run and much hound music being enjoyed. At the end the temperature had risen to 73 degrees F and we all sat down to a “beast feast,” comprising wild pig, wild deer, alligator, and various other goodies to eat and drink.

Next morning the meet was on Perry Plantation, when 45 horses turned out, as well as many more spectators to ride on the tally-ho wagon.

With everyone assembled in the stable area, Rev. Father Ritchie blessed hounds, horses, and riders, before we all moved to the kennels, where hounds were let out, to prepare for the four trails to be laid by the home “fox,” Kim Munoz. With a toot on the horn, deputy huntsman Mallory Robertson led the pack to where the trail began, and the action was under way. The country was more open than yesterday, and we had excellent views of hounds in full cry, with Field Master Cindy Thyberg leading riders over an assortment of jumps (I only saw one faller). By the time hounds had their final “kill,” the temperature was again 73 degrees F and all riders’ faces were wreathed in smiles after an excellent closing meet, and all looked forward to the hunt’s 19th season.

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

AGA’S SAGAS

21

A Matter of Time

Happy Spring! Well, even though we just had four inches of off is just not a good use of the day, in my opinion. snow, it must be spring because we’ve already had a few pointBunsen, you miss the point of DST. There’s more daylight at to-point races. There are other signs of spring here at Horse the end of the day; you wake in the sunshine and then go home Country, but more about them in a moment. I must tell you from work in the sunshine. what happened recently.

A man in a bowler hat came into Horse Country the other Well, my dear, if you got up when I did, there would be sunshine day and bellowed, “I’m visiting you because I understand you AND you’d have the sunlight at day’s end. You’d actually have sell riding clothes for men!”

MORE sunlight if you got up when I did. You’d also have a I said to Bunsen: OMG! He must be from another centucrack at discovering all the new merchandise that’s arriving ry. He’s not wearing jeans. daily. I know because I’m there to greet the UPS man.

His appearance so startled the girls that Marion was sumBunsen, don’t look so smug. We all know you’re just waiting moned from her office. She ran her practiced eye over him and for a biscuit. Besides if I got there early with you, you couldn’t said she was sure we could help. An hour later, the gentleman eat my biscuit as well as yours! was decked out from bowler to boots and left the store with two carefully edited riding outfits. He explained he was off to Don’t you want to be the first to see the new spring jackets for Aga England and would be riding with his hosts at their country men and women from Barbour? What about the new quilted house near Tetbury. We know he will do his hosts proud. vests for ladies in brilliant new colors? All the newest supplies for racing? New I have never seen a man in a bowler who wasn’t showing hounds in the leather bridle parts for our new parts department?

English ring at the Virginia Hound Show.

Well, I’ll admit to the latter because our newly set-up parts department is doing really well. Just the other day, a client called and we made up a completely cusAch, lassie, you’ve ne’er been to a proper English country house. Gentlemen still tom sized bridle out our fine English leather parts. Sometimes a saddlery is more dress there and wear bowlers. It’s quite respectable to see men who care about than the sum of its parts! their casual weekend attire.

I do like to pop down the stairs first thing when I get in to say hello to our new I’m glad to know that admirable tradition continues, Bunsen. After the gentleman Sue. Who’s Sue, you ask? Well she is our very knowledgeable new head of our left, the girls couldn’t help but remark how nice it was to see a man wear a hat that saddlery department. She is always smiling and has a good morning scritch for me. wasn’t gangstah. In the old days, Marion explained, before computers, several Sue is ready to show you around and help you select the ideal bridle, saddle, or men around town regularly wore bowlers. One man in particular, very sportingly, halter for your horse. Sue can help you decide which of our myriad number of sadwore a bowler with a hat cord on a daily walk down Main Street. With his Moss dle pads will be best for your ride. And, yes, of course we have new ones to choose Bros. bowler, he’d wear a paisley ascot and carry a walking stick. from! She’s also dying to show you the new micro brushes from the UK that kill The women, she recalled, after hunting with the Warrenton, Casanova or Old bacteria. I’m told they drastically reduce the chance of spreading fungus. I think Dominion, would lunch at the Depot or the Huntsman restaurants in riding breechI’d like one in pink! es and boots, then drive home to Washington, Chevy Chase or McLean if they didAlthough, as I put paws to keyboard, it is almost April; the store is already n’t live in Fauquier County. The men’s fashion blogs say bow ties are back. Bow making plans for packing up and heading off to the Virginia Hound Show on the ties have always been favored in Warrenton, mostly by attorneys. The late Meade Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. As last year, we will remain open at the store Palmer, eminent landscape architect, told Marion his wife made his bow ties on Monday for those out-of-towners who want time to shop with us. throughout their many years together. She cut vintage cloth and created a thin bow As the horse show season starts, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention all the new tie, similar to the width of Col. Sanders’ famous tie. show shirts and jackets that are arriving almost daily. Marion’s ordered tons of shirts in technical fabrics with both snap wrap fronts and magnet wrap fronts. She There’s nothing quite so dashing as a man in a bow tie. bought technical shirts with princess seams in short and long sleeves. We’re stockOurs are the traditional width, of course, and our clients know they can always ing FITS, Essex, RJ Classics, and O’Shaunessy. All are beautifully made and were count on Marion to find ties in appropriate equestrian and hunting patterns. You especially chosen to go with our show coats. You’ll find sizes from 30 to 48 for look very smart in your seasonal bow ties, Bunsen. ladies and children’s sizes, too, from 2 to 16.

Marion said that the other thing that went out with the bowler was men openY’know, lassie, I don’t understand this “short vs. long” sleeve thing. When we get ly wearing their six-shooters around town. I asked if the bowler bedecked men groomed, our jackets are clipped short, but they leave the fur on our legs long. would walk on the same side of the street as the men who were packing. Marion Does short sleeves mean the fur on rider’s arms are trimmed shorter? laughed, and said, “What?? Oh Aga! That was in the 1970s, not the 1870s!

Although men did walk around town with six shooters… but that was before perWhat? Goodness no, you silly dog! It’s the length of the sleeves of the shirt or mits and coyotes!” jacket they’re wearing. Oh, you’re just pulling my fur!

I didna think the 1970s were considered part of the Wild West era? Did she really mean that men carried guns openly as they walked about our friendly streets? Do you mean to say we’re living in Wild Wild Warrenton?

Haven’t you heard of Wild West Fauquier? The Free State? Well, I haven’t seen any six-shooters. Now, I guess, they carry concealed weapons.

Ach! What would Mr. Bond think? Now I won’t know who’s licensed to kill! And you wonder why I don’t like to leave the store!

Well, you are a larger target than moi! Arf, arf, arf!

But neither of us hardly has had time to leave the store with all the spring arrivals. Of course, one of the harbingers of spring is our fabulous fashion hats from England. As always, there are no duplicates so you can be sure you won’t run into yourself wherever you roam or whatever venue you’re invited to. Come in early for the best selection. Maybe you’ll see Bunsen since he gets to the store earlier than I do, because he refuses to conform to Daylight Savings Time.

I dinna like wasting daylight, lassie. I feel the morning sun on my whiskers and I’m ready for my breakfast and walk and then I want to get to the store to see what new things have arrived. The way you and Marion lie abed until the alarm goes

Arrrff, arrrff, arrrff. April Fools! Let’s run! <Pause while a narrowed eyed Aga chases a scampering, snickering Bunsen around the store.> Pant, pant, pant, pant. To wrap up my report, our camp package last year was so popular we’re going to offer it again. For only $89, your child will receive pull-on jodhpurs, paddock shoes, gloves, a helmet, and a special Horse Country tee shirt.

The youngsters will learn better and enjoy their time in the saddle more if they are safe and comfortable and that means well-fitted clothing and a properly fitted helmet. Getting it at such a great price is just icing on the cake!

Well, looking at the list Marion gave me, I think I’ve checked off every item.

It’s time for me to go enjoy the sunshine now that I’m on Daylight Savings Time.

Ah, lassie, you just don’t understand. Eventually, though, everyone comes round to my way of thinking and sets the clock back.

Just because it’s spring, I’ll put up with Bunsen Time. Happy Easter and carob bunnies for every dog!

22

JENNY’S PICKS We have some lovely new books to tell you about! Photographer Janet Hitchen has produced two new photos-only albums to grace your coffee tables. These are limited edition, top-quality printings that should be highly sought after, not available in every bookstore.

Jim Meads’ final (he says) book is now out for sale at a very reasonable price. And Knighton Meade’s fourth Simon Rush mystery is here.

Hitchen, Janet. Foxhounds. Hounds in the kennel, in the field, in the show ring – even in the house! – romp through the slick pages of this 9 x 11½ volume. From sentimental “good ol’ hound dawg” shots to action-packed fieldwork photos, these red-and-white, tricolor, and white foxhounds evoke all the emotion you expect from a pack. Most are in color, a few in b&w, all are high quality pictures taken by Janet Hitchen, whose photos regularly grace the cover of Horse Country’s bimonthly newspaper. Hardcover, unpaginated, marbled endpapers and absolutely no text. $165.00.

Hitchen, Janet. A Life with Horse and Hound.

The grandeur of the hunt unfolds within these pages of familiar faces and places. Hounds spill over chicken coops and splash through creeks, huntsmen “road” hounds even on a bicycle, gallop across fields, see Reynard put to ground. A nice pair with Foxhounds, above, this is also in the 9 x 11½ size with marbled endpapers for $165.00 or available as a larger 11½ x 15, which would pair well with her previous book, It’s a Wonderful Life, for $195.00.

Meads, Jim. Goodnight Masters. Jim says this will be his last book. We hope he changes his mind, but in case it is, better get yours now!

It’s a limited printing that features a number of American hunts and benefits the MFHA. Printed on cream paper, it has a totally different look from his previous books and is very

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

HORSE COUNTRY BOOKSELLERS Specialists in New, Old & Rare Books on Horses, Foxhunting, Eventing, Polo, Racing, Steeplechasing & Sporting Art 60 Alexandria Pike, Warrenton, VA 20186 • 800-882-HUNT • 540-347-3141 affordable. Hardcover with no dust jacket, 154pp, $25.00 Meade, K. T. The Duchess of Dubai. In the fourth of the Simon Rush mystery series, P.J. and Simon are finishing up in Ireland when the owner of the Kilkenny Stud, Sheikh Ahmed bin Surmann Ratoum, requests their services in finding out who is killing his horses. While talking with him at his stable, another horse is killed, and P.J. insists they take the job. She accompanies the Sheikh to Dubai in the guise of being one of his concubines, while Simon stays in Ireland with the Sheikh’s daughter to see what he can turn up. They are promised a hefty fee and a part interest in a mare named Duchess of Dubai. The action heats up rapidly for both partners. Paperback, 246pp. $19.96 We now have a supply of autographed copies of Rita Mae Brown’s Fox Tracks for those who haven’t purchased a copy yet. She was kind enough to come up from Charlottesville to sign more books for us. Anyone wonder why she’s our favorite author? She also signed a few lightly-used copies of other books should you want to have signed hardback copies of these earlier novels. They are all in very good or like-new condition with dust jackets.

Riding Shotgun. Not part of a series, this is a favorite of many of our customers, involving a lady who follows a fox back in time to

Colonial Virginia, where she is mistaken for a long-lost relative. 2 copies available @$20.00. (#6140 & #6141) Full Cry. Third in the Sister Jane series, in which Crawford continues to be an irritant and brash Dragon learns what “Leave it!” means.

Plenty of hunting action in this one, and you’ll even find photographer Jim Meads at one of the meets! 2 copies available @ $20.00. (#5896 & #6145) The Hounds and the Fury. Having split with the Jefferson Hunt Club, a vengeful Crawford becomes even more of a problem, but the main action centers around bookkeeping discrepancies at a local aluminum plant that eventually involve murder. The girls from Custis Hall also continue as occasional characters. $20.00 (#6144) Hounded to Death. The action starts at a hound show in Kentucky with the murder of one of the participants…but it doesn’t stop there, continuing back in Virginia with the apparent suicide of a veterinarian friend of Sister Jane. $20.00 (#6146) Cat of the Century. In this Sneaky Pie mystery, Aunt Tally is turning 100 and her alma mater wants to honor her and use it as a school fundraiser. But there’s a suspicious entry in the school’s books, and the board member responsible goes missing. Of course Harry Haristeen and her pets get involved in the mystery.

219pp. $15.00 (#6131) The Purrfect Murder. Harry Haristeen, recently remarried to Fair and no longer the postmistress of Crozet since she can’t take her pets to the new building, has turned farmer, growing wine grapes and sunflowers. When a new arrival in the area is found murdered, Harry naturally gets involved, as an architect friend of hers who was working with the lady is found in incriminating circumstances beside the body. 247pp. $15.00 (#6132) There are always new horse books coming out.

One author whose gentle and effective methods have always impressed me is Linda Tellington-Jones, who has written several books in hopes of making the lives of horses and their riders easier.

Tellington-Jones, Linda. Dressage with Mind Body & Soul. The lady who brought us the “TTouch” has now produced a book for dressage riders to help you get the best out of your horse by helping him feel better with this blend of ground exercises, T-Touch, and ridden exercises. Dressage, being an exacting discipline, can create kinks in the muscles that these procedures can ease and make for freer forward motion. The author has treated horses around the world with amazing results! Color photos abound to illustrate her techniques. Softcover, 288pp. $29.95 If jumping is more your forte or interest, try this one: Leone, Peter. Peter Leone’s Show Jumping Clinic. Take a few tips from an Olympic silver medalist! Color photos combine with artwork to illustrate Leone’s many suggestions on how to improve your riding. It’s not just the jumping, either; he emphasizes that serious flatwork is just as important to improving your ride as is schooling over jumps. Loads of good ideas here! Hardcover, 209pp. $39.95

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

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HORSE RACING

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2013

Horses and People to Watch Virginia Thoroughbred Association

2012 Virginia-Bred Champions Named The Virginia Thoroughbred Association’s Awards Committee recently named the Virginia-bred champions for 2012 with Audley Farm leading the way.

Audley was named Virginia Breeder of the Year after knocking the late Edward P. Evans off the top of the Virginia-bred progeny earnings list. In 2012, Audley-breds earned $2,358,873 in racing purses while posting 42 winners.

Included in those winners was Bodemeister who earned $1,304,800 while winning the Arkansas Derby Gr.1 and finishing second in both the Kentucky Derby Gr.1 and Preakness Gr.1 before an injury forced him into retirement.

Based on his stunning win in the Arkansas Derby and his two narrow losses to I’ll Have Another in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, Bodemeister was named Bodemeister. Coady Photography 2012 Virginia-bred Three-Year-Old Colt for his Berryville, Virginia breeder.

Bodemeister’s dam, Untouched Talent, will receive the Virginia Broodmare of the Year Award based on her son’s accomplishments on the racetrack and her Smart Strike yearling filly selling at last year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $1.3 million. Untouched Talent (by Storm Cat) is also a graded stakes winner in her own right.

Virginia breeder Larry Johnson produced two 2012 champions as his homebreds A Lover’s Question is the 2012 Virginia-bred Two-Year-Old Filly and Heaven Knows What is the 2012 Virginia-bred Three-Year-Old Filly. A Lover’s Question (Spring At Last) broke her maiden in her first start at Colonial and then went on to win the $50,000 Jamestown Stakes. Heaven Knows What (Holy Bull) won $80,650 last year including the $50,000 Oakley Stakes at Colonial Downs.

Wayne and Susie Chatfield-Taylor’s Morgan’s Ford Farm also bred two champions in 2012, Older Male Redeemed and 2012 Virginia-bred Older Mare Co-Champion North Freeway. Redeemed, by Include, out of Early Mass by Virginia-bred Pleasant Tap, followed up a brilliant 2011, winning $348,000 last year. His season included two graded stakes wins in the $200,000 Brooklyn Handicap Gr.2 at Belmont Park and the $200,000 Greenwood Cup Stakes Gr.3 at Parx.

North Freeway, by Jump Start, out of Shawnee Country by Chief’s Crown won $150,590 in her four-year-old campaign including the $50,000 Winter Melody Stakes at Delaware Park back in May. In 2012, the four-year-old Embarr won four races from eight starts including the $50,000 Brookmeade Stakes at Colonial Downs for the second straight year earning her a share of the 2012 Virginia-bred Older Mare championship. By Royal Academy, out of In Too Deep, Embarr followed up that win with a close second in the $150,000 Athenia Handicap Gr.3 on the grass at Belmont Park. Embarr earned $134,670 for the year for her owner, breeder, and trainer Susan Cooney.

The late Edward P. Evans continues to be a major part of the Virginia scene as horses he bred before his death continue to run at a high level. Evans bred the 2012 Turf Champion Dominus who won $206,388 last year. The then four-yearold son of Smart Strike topped the $250,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap Gr.2 at Saratoga.

Virginia-bred Camp Victory only won one race in 2012, but he made it the right one as he captured the $250,000 Triple Bend Handicap Gr.1 at Hollywood Park. That victory and $210,000 in earnings was enough to secure the 2012 Virginia-bred Turf Champion honors for the Forest Camp gelding. Camp Victory was bred by Atkins Homes Inc. •••• Thoroughbred Celebration Success Story

By Karen Dennehy Godsey Recently, I attended the Thoroughbred Celebration Horse Show at The Horse Center in Lexington.

What a wonderful event it was, and it was so great to see so many OTTBs excelling in a new career. I took a 2007 gelding named Stonewall Kitchen, by Hook and Ladder, out of Authentic Lady by Atticus to the show.

I purchased him from the yearling sale at Timonium and raced him at Colonial Downs in 2011. When his best finish was a 3rd in a weak field going 5.5 for

$5,000, I decided he needed a change of career.

I had shown all my life but hadn’t been able to since graduating college in 2005. I worked with “Stonewall” on and off since his last start, and we finally were able to get to two shows before getting to my goal of attending this show. I am very proactive about finding my horses great homes after racing, and many have ended up at this show. As I had heard nothing Thoroughbred Celebration. Eagle Point photo but great things, I was looking forward to being a part of this show series.

Happily, we were third in the Colonial Downs Hack (fitting since his best finish there was a third at CLN), second in two Suffolk over fences classes and a hack class, and also received a ribbon in 8 of the 10 classes we entered. The classes had from 20 to 40 horses a piece.

We even qualified for the $1,500 Hunter Stakes and ended up 7th overall. Not bad for just his third show and my rusty boots!

•••• Virginia-Bred Maleeh Wins Aqueduct Stakes NYRA: Lightly raced Maleeh ran like a seasoned professional in his second start, saving ground on the turn and angling off the rail to launch his stretch run en route to a 2¾-length win in the $100,000 Fred “Cappy” Capossela, a six-furlong sprint for three-year-olds recently at Aqueduct.

Breaking from the rail, Maleeh raced behind a wall of opponents in fifth through an opening quarter-mile in 22.92 seconds as Whiskey Romeo and odds-on Clawback battled for early supremacy. Eddie Castro put Maleeh to a drive at the quarter pole, then took him outside Whiskey Romeo and Clawback with three-sixteenths to travel.

With clear running room, Maleeh shot past the leaders and ran away to a decisive score.

Maleeh. NYRA photo Tenango, a 57-1 long shot, overcame a tardy start to nab second by a head from Clawback.

Maleeh employed a similar running style in his only other start, stalking the pace and running down the pacesetter late to take a maiden special weight by a half-length on January 6 at Aqueduct.

Owned by Shadwell Stable, Maleeh is by Indian Charlie and out of top sprinter Gold Mover. The bay colt was bred in Virginia by Edward P. Evans.

•••• Virginia-Bred Code West 2nd in Risen Star Gr.2 Virginia-bred Code West, making his sixth career start, was second, beaten a nose

by Ive Struck A Nerve, in the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes Gr.2 recently at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

The winner struck a few nerves, paying $272.40 to win the Kentucky Derby prep race.

Code West is by Lemon Drop Kid, out of Charitabledonation by Saint Ballado. He is a full-brother to $475,800 graded stakes winner Charitable Man who won the Gr.2 Peter Pan at Belmont Park. He was sold as a yearling by his breeder, the late Edward P. Evans, at the Keeneland September 2011 yearling sale for $340,000 to Gary and Mary West.

Racing for the Wests under the direction of trainer Bob Baffert, Code West made his debut at Del Mar last year running third in consecutive Maiden Special Weights. He moved that up to second at Santa Anita before breaking his maiden at the Arcadia, CA, racetrack in October of last year. This year, he ran second in a $58,000 allowance race at Santa Anita before running impressively in the Risen Star.

Virginia-bred Proud Strike set the pace early on in the Risen Star but faded to eighth.