10/27/2015

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Hunters' Moon With this issue of FHL WEEK appearing the morning after the annual Hunters’ Moon,* we consider this poem especially appropriate!

Illustration by Gilbert Holliday

By Edric G. Roberts

The horizon, sapphire and amethyst, Pales in the East and soon, Like a copper shield through the evening mist, Rises the Hunters’ Moon.

On the turnpike road every hoof­beat sounds Clear in the frosty air, As the Whip jogs home with the straggler­hounds Jostling his weary mare.

They were bustling cubs in the woods until Late in the afternoon, When the pack divided and ran to kill, Advertise here Under the rising moon.

Now the shadows deepen as daylight dies; Brighter the moonbeams grow; And the branches gleam where the hoar­frost lies Whiter than winter snow.

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From the distant woods, looming soft and dark, There where the mists are strewn, Comes the high­pitched note of a fox’s bark Baying the Hunters’ Moon.

Posted October 25, 2015

* The hunters’ moon is the next full moon (usually in October or November) to follow the full moon known as the harvest moon, which occurs nearest to the fall equinox (September 22 or 23).

The Great Hound Match of 1905: Alexander Henry Higginson, Harry Worcester Smith, and the Rise of Virginia Hunt Country This book will be launched at the National Sporting Library, Middleburg, Virginia, on Sunday, November 8 at 2:00 pm. Author Martha Wolfe will speak and sign books.

Review by Martha A. Woodham

Before Virginia became the epicenter of foxhunting in the United States, two men staged a contest to determine which was hound was better suited for hunting in America —the heavy, biddable English hound or the ill­mannered American hound that ran like a screaming banshee.

In The Great Hound Match of 1905: Alexander Henry Higginson, Harry Worcester Smith, and the Rise of Virginia Hunt Country, author Martha Wolfe sets a fictionalized version of this competition against the history of foxhunting in Virginia. She has written a wonderful account of the battle between two wealthy men— Higginson and Smith—with egos to match their fortunes, each adamant that his hounds were the best.

Set in an optimistic America just recovering from the 1893 depression, the match was very much a stuffy Old World versus the brash New. Against this background, Wolfe The Great Hound Match of 1905: gives us a portrait of the vastly different men—Higginson, Alexander Henry Higginson, Harry the gentlemanly foxhunter, and Smith, who liked his Worcester Smith, and the Rise of hounds intuitive, impulsive, independent, and to show Virginia Hunt Country by Martha “initiative...like any full­blooded American.” According to Wolfe, Lyons Press, 2015, the author, “Smith and his [Grafton] hounds were Hardcover, 224 pages, $22.95 mongrels—bold, forward, and independent to a fault. Higginson and his [Middlesex] hounds were the refined, reserved elite—passively aggressive, methodical, accustomed to queuing, happy in a crowd of equals.”Nowhere were their differences more apparent than in their hunting styles. “The Great Hound Match was, if anything, a fight between two men who came down on opposites sides of a formula each had written in his own mind for the most successful method of hunting a fox,” writes Wolfe. Should the huntsman guide his hounds, as was the English method, or should the huntsman let his hounds guide him?

With the match as the setting, Wolfe uses every other chapter to explore the how and why of fox hunting. Twice a John H. Daniels Fellow at the National Sporting Library and a published author, she applied her research skills to uncover fascinating details about the Great Hound Match of 1905 and about our sport. She compares hound types and how they were bred to hunt their home territories efficiently. She delves into the intricacies of scent; of the fox in literature and the reasons for his many nicknames; and of how Northern industrialists discovered Virginia hunt country, arriving with boxcars full of horses, tack and hounds. The most important thing Smith ever did for the sport, she writes, was to found the Masters of Foxhounds Association, removing the governance of foxhunting from the auspices of the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association.

The famous match took place in the days when daring women rode sidesaddle as they negotiated fearsome fences. Wolfe quotes foxhunter Alice Hayes, who wrote in 1903 that the difference between men and women in the field wasn’t the horse or their nerve—it was the tack, what Hayes called the “tyranny of the sidesaddle.” While men rode the horse,

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women—labeled Amazones—rode the saddle, having to balance perfectly. “Think of it as the Ginger Rogers school of equitation,” writes Wolfe, reminding us that Rogers danced as well as Fred Astaire, only backwards and in high heels.

The hound match was big news in 1905, covered by all the newspapers of the day. Twenty­six hunts were represented on the first outing. The Richmond Times­Dispatch had a reporter on horseback, official Clerk of the Match Allen Potts, whose accounts give us an intimate view of the spectacle—the hard miles covered, the rider falls and injuries, the cleverness of the prey, the kills (only one, an illegally bagged fox). As Wolfe points out, this was war: “Seek, find, blood and death.”

Smith, wily like his hounds, graciously offered A. Henry Higginson, MFH Higginson the first day of hunting. Not only had he been roading his hounds as he scouted the Middleburg territory in the days before Higginson and his hounds arrived, he know the first day would be dry and windy. After about three hours of drawing blank coverts, Higginson gathered his hounds and called it a day. But the field had enjoyed a nice trail ride with lots of jumping.

Day Two was not much better. Smith’s hounds, which had to be coupled so they would not run off, ran off as soon as they were uncoupled. Smith had no sign of them for two hours, finally catching up with the rogues when he heard them howling as if they had taken a fox. But since no one had seen the hounds put a fox to ground, the judges could not award them the day. Another blank.

And so it went for two weeks of hunting, the frustrated hunters spending hours in the saddle, galloping many miles across the countryside. Both packs found and chased foxes, but there were no kills, the ultimate proof of the best pack. After twelve days of challenging hunting, the judges declared a winner (but you will have to read it for yourself. I’m not giving it away.).

In the end, the foxes were the true winners, outsmarting the hounds and the men who hunted them.

“If one [fox], just one had let himself be legitimately killed by either the Middlesex or the Grafton hounds, so much of history would have been changed,” writes Wolfe. “That martyred fox would have either crowned the English hound as the foxhound of the universe or would have made it clear once and for all, that there is an Harry Worcester Smith American foxhound and that it rules America. Since no civic­minded fox stepped forward and since the decision of the judges was somewhat subjective, the question—which is better for America, the American or the English foxhound?—has never really been answered.”

Indeed, the debate has continued among hound men to this day. In the years since the Great Hound Match, foxhunters have tried to settle the issue by reenacting the competition in Virginia. The first, in 1989, was snowed out. But in 1991, the match had a clear winner: the legendary Ben Hardaway and his pack of biddable American/English Crossbred hounds.

Posted October 25, 2015

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2006 Masters Seminar Featured Distinguished Panelists

The New Masters Seminar, organized by the MFHA and held in Chantilly, Virginia on April 8, 2006 was designed to provide guidance for new Masters. In testimony to the strength of the panel, however, the Seminar attracted over forty Masters, many of whom could hardly be considered ‘new.’ While five of the Masters who attended had less than ten years hunting experience, seven had been hunting for more than forty years, and fully half of the group had more than twenty years hunting experience each.

The panel was composed of five former MFHA presidents: Benjamin H. Hardaway, III; J.W.Y. ‘Duck’ Martin, Jr.; Dr. John W.D. McDonald; C. Martin Wood, III; and James L. Young. This august group came to the party offering a total of 270 years of foxhunting experience!

Among the topics discussed were: Managing the Breeding Program; Managing Professional Staff; Tony Leahy, MFH moderated a Private, Subscription, or Membership Packs; Land distinguished panel. Conservation; Breeding Hounds for Coyote or Fox; Sportsmanship; and Tradition. The Panel Moderator was Tony Leahy, MFH.

Managing the Breeding Program The first issue discussed stressed the importance of a Master being involved in the hunt’s breeding program and not leaving that most critical responsibility solely in the hands of professional staff. Jimmy Young pointed out that the Master and his or her successors have the constancy with the hunt and the relationship with the MFHA, while a huntsman may leave at any time.

However, said Marty Wood, “You, as Masters, must be committed to long terms in office before mucking about with the breeding. It takes seven to ten years to make a pack and a lot less than that to ruin it.” The consensus was to rely on one’s professional huntsman to help, and to cooperate with him, but a Master must take primary responsibility.

Panel members agreed that, despite the wonderful new computerized tools for generating hound pedigrees, all Masters in charge of hound breeding should take the time to hand­write the pedigrees of all their hounds. That is the best way to learn and remember the bloodlines. Duck Martin emphasized the point by displaying the Green Spring Valley Studbook, which has been hand­written since the nineteenth century. Wood keeps a separate sheet on every hound he has ever had, with that hound’s hand­written pedigree and notes on attributes and problems. He finds the notes invaluable when considering matings, because he can look back on the strengths and weaknesses of so many of the prospective ancestors. Jimmy Young, MFH / Douglas Lees photo

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Jack McDonald and others urged Masters to breed for what works best in their country—not necessarily what works for someone else, somewhere else. Tony Leahy gave a good example of the soundness of this advice.

“I can’t always keep up with hounds in my country,” said Leahy. “I need a pack to stay together and hunt on their own. That’s what I try to field, and I do it through breeding, conditioning, and a clean comfortable kennel.”

As a final note, Young recommended C. Martin Wood, MFH having a clear understanding at the outset that all hounds are the property of the hunt and that no hounds may be drafted in or out of the pack without the Master’s permission. Executive Director Dennis Foster raised the related problem that occurs when a huntsman or Master leaves and wants to take hounds with him. Again, all agreed that the hunt’s policy should be stated and agreed to up front at the time the huntsman is hired or the Master is appointed.

Managing Professional Staff Duck Martin, MFH Dr. McDonald discussed the importance of respect between Master and staff. When mutual respect breaks down, he said, it simply won’t work, and it’s time to make a change—the quicker, the better.

With respect to the hunt’s obligations to their huntsman, the London Hunt (ON) provides, in addition to salary: hunt livery, horses, a house (rent free), and the hunt truck. McDonald said that the hunt also provides insurance coverage, something all hunts should do.

On the subject of landowner relations, while some hunts allow the huntsman to be the principal day­to­ day contact, Wood said, and others on the panel agreed, that organization of the hunt country, which includes landowner relations, is an essential responsibility of the Master.

Private, Subscription, or Membership Packs No member of the panel represented a purely private Advertise here hunt, which today is very rare. Ben Hardaway’s Midland Dr. Jack McDonald, MFH / Norman Fine Fox Hounds (GA) and Marty and Daphne Wood’s Live photo Oak Hounds (FL) are examples of subscription packs in which hounds and kennels are owned by the Masters, but subscriptions are accepted from those who wish to hunt. In this type of hunt, subscriptions are often minimal, and subscribers have little or no input into hunt management.

In a membership hunt like Green Spring Valley, the hunt corporation owns the pack and the real estate, and Masters are elected annually by a hunt committee, the members of which rotate for fixed overlapping terms. Each Master has a different and defined responsibility. Such a hunt operates in accordance with bylaws established by the hunt committee.

Land Conservation Jimmy Young, who was responsible for inaugurating the annual Hunting Habitat Conservation Award during his term as Association president, described his hunt’s approach in preserving open space in terms of layers of protection: (1) hunting easements, (2) conservation easements, and (3) the Orange County Land Trust.

First, members and hunt supporters are urged to place hunting easements on their properties guaranteeing hunt access. The areas of hunt access may be restricted, but at least the hunt will be able to continue to cross the land should it be sold.

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Second, the hunt has a well­established program of encouraging members and supporters to place conservation easements on their properties to protect the open space in perpetuity.

Third, the Orange County Land Trust was established, separate from the hunt, to collect funds which are used to purchase properties in the hunt country that come onto the market. The Trust then places a conservation easement on the property and resells it, generally with restrictions on where buildings may be erected.

Breeding Hounds for Coyote or Fox When coyotes began to infiltrate the Midland country, Ben Hardaway treated them like deer—riot. He stopped his hounds from running them. During this period, he noted that some of his hounds were harder to break off coyote than others.

Eventually the day came when he had only coyote to run, so he let his hounds go. He discovered that those hounds that had been hard to stop on coyote ran them more readily than others in the pack. Hardaway reasoned that certain hounds seemed to have more of a penchant for running dog­like quarry than others. So he started breeding coyote hounds. Surprisingly, it wasn’t necessarily a faster or a meaner or a longer­ legged hound that was needed, but rather a tougher hound with more stamina and endurance.

“They’re different inside,” Hardaway explained.

In the final analysis, every Master must define for himself or herself what constitutes good sport. While Hardaway wants his hounds to produce a short, sharp, decisive hunt and account for the quarry with style, others want their hounds to produce long, sustained runs for the enjoyment of their field. Ben Hardaway, MFH / Elizabeth Sutton photo A question from the audience asking how often hounds may be hunted produced a range of answers from the panel. Marty Wood divides his kennel into two packs and hunts them alternately so that each hound hunts twice in a seven­day period. Tony Leahy, who keeps only twenty­seven couples in kennel and hunted 116 days this season, hunts each hound two to three days a week. It is important to note that, through proper conditioning and good care, the hounds in each of these celebrated packs are thriving.

Sportsmanship The MFHA published its booklet, Code of Hunting Practices, in 2000. All Masters should be familiar with its contents. Good sportsmen have always conducted themselves honorably, but it is even more vital to be scrupulous about our hunting today because of increased scrutiny.

“We must consider two things,” said Dr. McDonald, “legality and public opinion. If you break the law, you don’t have a leg to stand on. Don’t break the law.”

“Know your state law and federal law,” added Ben Hardaway.

Tradition The panel was divided on this subject, mainly with respect to attire. The first thing to understand is that the Master of a hunt has complete authority to determine the livery of his or her hunt and the degree to which adherence to traditional practices are observed. There are conflicting issues here—primarily having to do with the perception of elitism versus respect for age­old custom.

Jimmy Young’s position is that Masters are the “Keepers of the Flame,” and since most field members are new to the sport, someone has to maintain the Faith. If not the Master, who? Young also pointed out that proper turnout is a source of pride to landowners and farmers, that tradition and manners go hand in hand, and that it is disrespectful to landowners to present anything less than a traditional picture.

On the other side of the issue, Ben Hardaway and Tony Leahy argued that foxhunters will be more acceptable to North American farmers and landowners wearing less formal attire. Hardaway pointed out that the British, in their red coats, have lost foxhunting. Other panel members took the position that it wasn’t the scarlet coats that lost foxhunting in England, but rather the intense class resentment for past injuries, of which the scarlet coat was just a symbol. 6/13 10/27/2015

Dr. McDonald said that his London Hunt has been hunting in their territory for 120 years and that his landowners enjoy seeing the scarlet coats. Dr. Marvin Beeman, sitting in the audience as the first vice president of the MFHA, argued forcibly that we should maintain our traditions. He pointed out that where he comes from (Colorado) most horsemen are cowboys, yet he has won their respect by sticking to his guns. Mitch Jacobs, MFH of the West Hills Hunt (CA), also speaking from the audience, said that his hunt allows guests to come out wearing anything they like. He wants to hook them first. After they join, they ultimately gravitate to the traditional attire, which his hunt encourages.

In Conclusion Moderator Leahy had opened the seminar by saying that all Masters have four main issues or responsibilities: to protect the future of the sport, to protect the country, to manage staff properly, and to improve the foxhound.

Those topics were well covered in this seminar and were amplified by strong audience participation. Attendees agreed that the session was as interesting as it was instructional, and Tony Leahy was congratulated for providing this session for new Masters which Mason Lampton and he inaugurated to complement the MFHA’s new hunt staff apprentice training program.

Posted October 23, 2015

A similar article by Norman Fine was originally published in Covertside, July, 2006.

Martin Scott and the Modern English Foxhound We republish, with permission, James Barclay’s article about Martin Scott, former MFH and eminent foxhound breeder. Martin Scott has been an engaged member of Foxhunting Life’s, Panel of Experts since our beginnings and has cheerfully answered any and all questions posed to him by our readers, for which we are continually grateful.

by James Barclay

Martin Scott visits with a descendant of Glog Nimrod 1904 / James Barclay photo

Martin Scott is an extraordinary man. As well as being a true and dedicated foxhunter, he is probably the only person I know who has a completely encyclopaedic brain when it comes to the breeding of the Modern English Foxhound. There is no one quite like him when you need to tap into a vast depth of knowledge on this subject—not only their breeding but the attributes of each and every generation.

Foxhounds are interesting enough animals in themselves, but to see how they have evolved over the years is quite fascinating and there is no one who takes this more seriously than does Martin. In a way this is somewhat understandable as his own pedigree shows up a considerable commitment from his forebears to the breeding of top class hounds. His great uncle Charles Scott being Master of the North Cotswold and his father Bill hunted the United, Portman, North Cotswold, West Waterford, the Portman again, and lastly the Old Berks. It was in his father's day at the North Cotswold, that he bred the famous Stallion Hound, North Cotswold Landlord '44.

Martin, a former Master of the Tiverton and the VWH (Vale of the White Horse), has been responsible for breeding two exceptional packs of hounds, both of which have excelled over the years in their work and good looks. He would, I am sure, very much agree with the saying "You can have an ugly pack of hounds and they will hunt their heart out for you, and

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you can have a beautiful pack of hounds and they won't hunt a yard. However, is it not of great reward to be able to say that you have been able to achieve the combination of both?" Not many have deserved that recognition but he certainly has. It is in the getting there that is the challenge and a real challenge at that.

VWH hunting at Dudgrove on the River Thames, near Fairford / James Barclay photo

The VWH are the best example of Martin Scott's work, and this is demonstrated by the fact that the sixty couple of hounds in kennel all go back in their breeding, like the majority of kennels in England, to just three tail male lines: (1) Glog Nimrod 1904, which he describes as his Welsh line; (2) Mr Meynell's Quorn Stormer 1791, which Martin rates as probably the most popular; and (3) Brocklesby Bumper 1743.

So how is this all achieved and put into practice? It comes down to real attention to detail and it is where the term *Line Breeding* comes in. To quote Martin: "This is done to create and maintain a level pack of Hounds which can run up together, avoid dividing, and, on arriving at a check together, soon resolve the situation by putting themselves right. It is no good them being strung out like a washing line!" This will ensure as little time as possible is lost and the hunt will be able to continue to what is hoped would be a successful conclusion. Once one has established these lines in your mind, it is easy enough to get to know them, and is very rewarding to watch your pack develop.

To explain a little further about what Line Breeding actually is might help us understand what is also going through Martin's mind in the plans he makes for the VWH foxhounds. *It is a multiplication of the good names in the pedigree of the sire and dam in the fourth generation, and, therefore, is a form of inbreeding.* Beware though, never get any closer than that. Also remember it is best to avoid putting a dog hound to a female, both of which share the same tail and female line. There are of course many benefits to this form of breeding, uniformity being one. The other, which stands out, is when hounds are running on a cold winter’s evening and the frost is coming in. There is a rare scent, and it is more than likely the pack will be then be covered by the proverbial pocket handkerchief. This is what a true hunting man's dreams are well and truly made of and is the sort of sport produced by the best hounds. Line breeding will be a great a help in developing a first class pack. Those of us, who have been fortunate over the years to have received some of Martin's draft hounds, must remember with gratitude the help he generously gave us, not only in getting us going but with sound advice in creating a sensible breeding policy. There certainly was not much wrong with the hounds that we received, and they soon fitted in to our respective kennels.

So, whether we hunt to ride or ride to hunt, or like me are now just one of those humble car followers, it is important to remember what we owe Martin. We cannot go hunting without a pack of hounds in front of us, that is for certain. And for someone to have selflessly dedicated themselves over the years to the science of their breeding and their welfare is no mean feat. Without doubt, the foxhound as a breed is far the better for Martin Scott's contributions.

Posted October 22, 2015

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Opening Meet at Woodbrook Is a Weekend Affair by Tami Masters

(l­r) Field Master Patty Steimert, Eric Stiemert, and author Tami Masters / Andrew Towell photo

The Woodbrook Hunt Club in Washington State was established in 1925 and is the oldest hunt west of the Mississipi. The drag hunt was recognized by the MFHA in 1962 and has recently undergone a changing of the guard. Huntsman Jennifer Hansen has brought about much newfound energy and enthusiasm to the clubhouse and to the hunting field. We have a rather diverse pack of hounds that Andrew Barclay helped us to acquire from all around the country.

Opening Weekend was a spectacular affair, starting with our annual Hunter Trials and Hunter Pace on Saturday and ending on Sunday with a lively eight­mile drag hunt through the beautiful woods and prairie on military land just southeast of the kennels.

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Huntsman Jennifer Hansen with honorary whipper­in Mike Wager, MFH / Andrew Towell photo

Members began weeks prior, mapping out the Hunter Pace course and accumulating material for the newly designed Hunter Trials course. The necessary ingredients were brought in from homes and farms, such as fallen trees, wine barrels, standards, hay bales, as well as arena type gates and walls. The end result was stunning. A hunter derby course designer’s dream.

The weather, as luck would have it, was crisp and cool on Saturday morning, giving the early junior riders plenty of horse to hang on to, warming to a lovely seventy degrees, keeping the senior riders' mounts more civilized. The Hunter Pace, a less competitive way to share a ride with a friend while working on confidence and endurance for the upcoming hunt season, provided a lovely five­mile hack through the woods.

Meanwhile, the Hunter Trials offered an alternative event to test a rider's skills and precision for the hunt field. The day's events were judged by the legendary Pamela Arthur who has officiated at many famous horse shows, including Thunderbird Show Park and Spruce Meadows, but is best known for her sparkling personality and great knowledge of horsemanship and cross country riding.

Patty Stiemert and Tami Masters on their way The juniors were first out in the morning classes: to winning the Pairs Class in Saturday’s Junior Working Hunters, Junior Handy Hunter, Hunter Trials / Andrew Towell photo Junior Hunter Hack, and finally a Juniors Costume Class in the tradition of Halloween. All classes were well attended with stiff competition. Announcer Bo Masters did his usual bang­up job, keeping the crowd entertained and informed of the events taking place on the field. The morning events ended shortly after one o’clock with a short lunch break to allow senior riders plenty of time to prepare for the afternoon activities.

Preparations included, but were not limited to, finding one’s stock tie and pin, remembering how to tie it, locating a hunting martingale and flat tack, (where did I put my hunt whip? gloves?), polishing boots, dusting off the horse, applying boot polish to all areas of the horse that have no hair due to over aggressive pasture mates, and finding the flask. (I suggest not locating that final item too early as it’s possible the other items will then not be found.)

The afternoon classes started with a Family Class, a new addition to the lineup, which produced tough competition from six different families. The families rode two or more abreast and were asked to walk, trot, and canter as a group. Though quite exciting at times, there were no unscheduled dismounts or horrific incidents.

The Family Class was followed by the Pairs Over Fences, Hunt Teams, and Senior Hunters, which were open to all riders. The most prestigious class of the day was the Field Hunters, open to riders who are members of a recognized hunt and requires a participant to complete a course and either crack a whip, dismount and mount, or lower a jump from your horse's back—the basic hunt field requirements. At the conclusion of the final class all riders, family, and friends were invited to the clubhouse where the Masters awarded https://www.foxhuntinglife.com/pdf 10/13 10/27/2015

coolers to the High Point Junior and Senior riders and the winners of the Hunter Pace were awarded their medals.

After the prizes were presented, staff and friends were invited to the house of Jean Brooks, MFH Emeritus, for an amazing dinner of lamb shanks and lively conversation centered around the days events. It was an early evening for most as the next day was what we had all been gearing up for—Opening Hunt.

For kennel meets, numerous road whips help move hounds and riders down busy roads to the hunting country. / Andrew Towell photo

The early morning fog burned off to expose an absolutely cloudless day. Several member had been designated to move some of the Hunter Trials jumps to the fixture in the hopes of enhancing the riders' hunting experience. (This had been a dandy idea, which came about the previous evening after a few glasses of very good wine.)

Members and staff met at the clubhouse and we were off at 11:00 am. Huntsman Jennifer Hansen had quite a few hurdles to overcome in order to make a hunt from the kennel possible. The first being to procure numerous road whips to help move the riders and hounds safely down busy roads to the first check. For this duty we were glad to have several members who showed their love of the sport by putting themselves and their vehicles in the line of traffic to protect the riders.

Once safely to the designated hunting area we commenced with the first line. Tami Masters, a seasoned fox, and her trusty game­keepers, Kate Gormally and Linda Hagerman, DVM, had arrived early at the fixture and awaited the signal from huntsman Hansen to commence laying the first line. At the signal the fox was away, through thick wooded areas and sparse open fields, eventually finding a well used game trail to allow hounds to move at speed. Hounds were heard giving voice which signaled they had found the start of the line. The fox then picked up the lure which provided a loss and a chance for the hunt staff and field to catch up and safely negotiate two sets of decrepit railroad tracks. The fox once again lowered the lure into the brush and finished laying the quarter mile line to Hillhurst where the car caravan and honorary road whips were waiting with cool drinks for riders, horses, and hounds.

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Simon Chapman, the fox that runs on two feet! / Andrew Towell photo Time to change foxes. The fox became a game­keeper and Simon Chapman took the lure to become the running fox. It can take many clever foxes to challenge a pack of hounds. The next line started a half mile from the check at the huntsman’s signal. The fox made use of a newly established game trail then crossed a heavily used hunting trail into thick woods of hard going. The fox then ran the lure down the jump trail known as the Ditch course. As the hounds were heard opening on the line the fox continued on his merry way through more rough going to slow the pursuit of the hounds.

The game­keeper took the opportunity to hide­out and observe the hounds as they worked. Two­and­a­half couple were on the line in full cry, Jupiter, Kent, Cece, Gearhead, and Hobbit, while more hounds gave voice not far back. The game­keeper felt very fortunate and proud to have had this opportunity to watch hounds work. The lead hounds made it to the end of the line but the scent was evaporating quickly and the huntsman called a loss after hounds worked diligently.

Andrew Towell photo

The field and staff regrouped and prepared for the final run of the day. Hounds were counted, and it was noted that we had a hound out. With temperatures reaching seventy degrees the huntsman gave hounds a chance to catch their breath and have a swim in a plastic pool that had been provided by hunt members Cece Fitch and Lori Lenox while we waited for Homer, the errant hound, to catch up.

The final line of the day was the Selden course through open prairie with scattered trees, ditches, and the aforementioned Hunter Trials jumps. The field and staff got to watch some wonderful hound work as the fox laid a challenging line over the course. The hounds were spot­on, working together as a focused and united pack the entire run. Huntsman Hansen decided in the best interest of the hounds to provide them a ride back to the kennel, while members and staff hacked in. Homer was spotted before the trailer left for home and happily jumped in with his mates to share the ride to the kennel. This is how we do it at Woodbrook. What’s in your Hunt Journal? Posted October 20, 2015

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