Laughter in ‘Full Cry’

Antics abound at Hillsboro Hounds’ Hunt Ball

Usually held the evening before Steeplechase, this year’s Hillsboro Hounds’ Hunt Ball was a convivial celebration of the historic hunt club’s 90th season. Co-chairs Dana Burke and Nina Lindley enthusiastically welcomed over 100 of their fellow members and guests to Belle Meade Country Club. Despite the icy weather earlier in the week, enthusiasm for this night was not dampened: men donned their scarlet tails and ladies wore elegant black and white gowns, a long-standing tradition.

Four members received their colors during this year’s program. Kudos to Annie Feinberg, Clara Jean Thompson, Kristin Jackson and Anna Grace Rawls for this accolade. While there is a serious side to this group, more often than not, their playfulness shines through; it has been customary to present tongue-in-cheek awards to members. This year a roving selfie photographer caught the downright hysteria in the room during a Q&A with the Masters of the Hillsboro Hounds: Eleanor Warriner, Orrin Ingram, Michael Lindley and Hill McAlister. Queries were parried and answered with devilish, whimsical retorts. Hill McAlister fielded the questions, alongside a life-sized cardboard cutout of Orrin Ingram — who was out of town. Michael Lindley and Eleanor Warriner were lucky, avoiding satirical bullets with well-practiced dodges and maneuvers. Later on, Jim King and Michael Campbell took the stage to entertain their fellow members by singing renditions of country music. Loud guffaws followed this hilarious duo’s performance.

The ballroom looked exquisite with red and gold overlays on the tables and a beautiful arrangement of roses elevated in a large silver trophy cup that the Hillsboro Hounds won at the Virginia Hound Show. The dinner menu featured a strawberryfield salad and a duet of filet with crabcake in lemon-butter sauce; the Grand Marnier Truffle Cake was equally regal, dominating a table.

This spectacle is always a fun time, and — as expected — the dance floor was jam-packed with folks dancing to a soulful DJ and out-performing each other in karaoke. Irrefutably, this lively group is known to seize the opportunity whether hunting with their hounds or zealously dancing the night away.

BY GLORIA HOUGHLAND PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAYTON WRIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY

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