COVERTSIDE STORIES
BLOOD HOUNDS: MIDDLEBURG HUNT HOUNDS SAVE LIVES
Middleburg Hunt huntsman Richard Roberts approaches hound health like he does hunting: “’Good enough’ isn’t good enough,” he says as he sits atop a fence post surrounded by his pack lying in the December sun after their daily walk. Roberts steps down from his…
A COMMUNITY’S GOOD WILL FILLS A KENNEL’S SHELVES
When budgets are tight and hounds have needs, club members and community creatively come together in the spirit of the season. A little creativity goes a long way when it comes to club fundraising. Last year, Amanda Siegner helped launch a “Hound Angel…
JUNIOR NORTH AMERICAN FIELD HUNTER CHAMPIONSHIP
After two years off, the Junior North American Field Hunter Championship (JNAFHC) Finals resumed Oct. 29-31, hosted by the Iroquois Hunt. Sixty-three juniors in attended representing 21 hunts and eight US Pony Clubs. The weekend of hunting and camaraderie…
BULL RUN HUNT/ BLUE RIDGE HUNT PERFORMANCE TRIALS
Are you familiar with the performance trial? Have you ever been to a performance trial? If you answered either of these questions in the negative, you need to make to remedy that void in your fox hunting life. I guarantee you that you will be glad you did.
MOORE COUNTY HOUNDS MEMBERS TAKE TOP HONORS AT THOROUGHBRED MAKEOVER
Everyone seems to be playing catch up in 2021. This year’s Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium was no exception. As the Retired Racehorse Project’s (RRP) premier event, organizers wove two years’ worth of competition into the October 12-17…
2021 THEODORA A. RANDOLPH FIELD HUNTER CHAMPIONSHIP
Masters and participants of the 2021 Theodora A. Randolph Field Hunter Championship week gathered at the MFHA headquarters for a “Meet the Masters” reception on Oct. 4. Founded in 1984, the 37th Annual Field Hunter Championship Finals was held Saturday,…
LIVE OAKS HOUNDS HOSTS ANNUAL USPC WEEKEND
Live Oak Hounds held their annual U.S. Pony Club Weekend, hosted by Daphne and Martin Wood III, Joint Masters of the Live Oak Hounds in Monticello, Florida, Oct. 8-10. The USPC members stayed at the Merrily Plantation Shooting Lodge, hunted with the Live…
BUILDING HOPE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUTH AND COMMUNITY
When Steve Lyons, a Master at Santa Ynez Valley Hounds, saw a group of black men wearing cowboy hats at an event honoring Michael B. Jordan, he knew exactly who they were. He’d just watched Brett Fallentine’s 2018 documentary, “Fire on the Hill,” the night before at…
FIRST-CLASS THRILLS FROM A FIRST-CLASS HUNT PONY
From his humble beginnings as a byproduct of nurse-mare farms, Kismet, the pony with a bottomless tank, has shown a junior the thrill of her life in the hunt field. For her eighth birthday, all Mia Valdez wanted was to jump something. She had just ridden for the…
MAKING CONNECTIONS FOR THE GREATER GOOD
For most hunts, late summer announces the highly anticipated arrival of cubbing season (or “cub hunting”), a time when fledgling hounds officially begin their careers. They’ve moved beyond basic hound walks and are now allowed to start hunting. This can be an…
PASSING ON A PIECE OF MIDDLEBURG
“With the imminent approach of my 90th birthday, I have decided it is time for me to retire from the Middleburg Tack Exchange,” Jo Motion wrote on the homepage of the store’s website. She opened the charming consignment tack shop in Middleburg, Virginia, 30 years ago.
FROM GOLF GREENS TO PASTORAL LANDSCAPES
The Montreal Hunt recently opened its 194th season with a meet at its kennels. As North America’s oldest operating fox hunt, the Montreal Hunt is no stranger to the challenges posed by urban expansion and suburban development. For almost 200 years, the Hunt has had…
THE PROMISE AND PRIDE OF AUTUMN HUNTING
For most hunts, late summer announces the highly anticipated arrival of cubbing season (or “cub hunting”), a time when fledgling hounds officially begin their careers. They’ve moved beyond basic hound walks and are now allowed to start hunting. This can be an…
US PONY CLUB CONNECTS YOUTH WITH THEIR FOXHUNTING ROOTS
The U.S. Pony Club’s (USPC) slogan is “where it all begins,” and at the 2021 USPC Festival, you could feel the youthful excitement in the air. Held every three years at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, USPC Festival hosts thousands of Pony Club members…
NO REST FOR HUNT STAFF DURING THE SUMMER
After the final hunt of the season, there is not much time to take a breath. For hunt staff, summer vacation is not in the cards. At hunts like Hillsboro Hounds and Midland Fox Hounds, summer is the time for getting hounds and horses fit in preparation for the next season.