Covertside, Summer 2014

Hunting Arts • Eventing for Foxhunters • The Art of FoxCroft

The Magazine of Mounted Foxhunting

summer 2014 • $5.00

s J o h n C o l e s 2 0 14 s spriNg hiLL

cANTerbury

Comprised of 4 farms this magnificent 2426 acre horse property consist of 3 Main homes, 11 tenant houses, 8 horse barns with 174 stalls including a 32 stall foaling barn, 72 gently rolling fields & paddocks with miles of white board fencing, interior private roads, 11 Run-in Sheds, beautiful lake and bold stream. $18,940,000

Exquisite details throughout this incredible 12 bedroom Georgian Revival manor home built in 1936. Situated on over 191 acres. This lovely home boasts a Reception Hall and a white Carrara marble Flying Staircase accessing 3 levels. Over 1/2 mile of Rappahannock River frontage, spectacular views, $9,750,000 springs, ponds and rolling pasture

NorTh hiLL

AshLeigh

c. 1774, Sited high on a knoll, the 16 room Manor Home and “Garden Tea House” enjoy expansive views of mountains, rolling hills and the property’s wonderful Shenandoah River frontage. Once a thoroughbred breeding farm, it offers 20+ stalls and numerous paddocks. North Hill’s rich history provides potential for Historic Preservation Tax Credits. $3,300,000

c.1845 listed on National Register of Historic Places. Surrounded by beautiful gardens on 98 acres sGrand entrance s Pool with 2 Bedroom Pool Houses 2 Bedroom Guest Cottage s 10 stall, 4 stall, and 3 stall barn with appropriate tack rooms, several run in sheds and a large machine shed. Attached to the10 stall barn are two separate living quarters for farm managers.Magnificent views $2,900,000

gosLiNg

mArLeA

18+ acres of mostly open and rolling land with the home sited perfectly with vast views from both front and back overlooking the pond, gardens and front fields. Cathedral ceilings, Master on the main floor, huge library/living room, private guest rooms, apartment on lower level w/own kitchen/entrance, sprawling deck w/awning. In OCH territory; VOF conservation easement. $2,195,000

90 acres w/approx. 45 fenced acres and 45 acres in woods with trails. 3 bedroom manor home, Indoor and Outdoor Arenas ,2 barns open into the indoor arena, Main barn has 20 stalls, Show Barn- 5 oversized stalls, 3 tack rooms, office, 2 wash stalls, 2 bathrooms, laundry room, 14 paddocks. Manager’s cottage. 2 add’l DUR’s and is in land use. $1,900,000

LoNgwooD

Magnificent 32 stall, 12,000 sq. ft. Foaling Barn, built in 2001, has witnessed the birth of many stakes winners and was recognized as having one of the world’s finest thoroughbred breeding and racing programs. A stand alone farm of 588 acres or with the adjacent 607 acres of the Melrose Farm land. Meticulously maintained. $4,800,000

whiTe rock

Overlooking a serene pond, this magnificent European style manor home is on 115 acres surrounded by thousands of protected acres and the Bull Run Mountains.

Custom built in 2001 using Olde World craftsmanship and materials this stunning home offers five bedrooms, 6 baths, 10’ ceilings, wide plank flooring, pool and geo-thermal heating and cooling. $2,395,000

ALessio

18 acres in the heart of OCH Territory with a lovely 5.5 Bedroom Italianate Style home in a beautiful setting.

Formal and informal spaces, high ceilings, wonderful kitchen, expansive rec room, full basement, private pool, extensive landscaping and more. Property is in a VOF Open-Space easement. $1,695,000

LAND

pegAsus riDge fArm

TAkAro fArm

POTTS MILL - on 137+ acres with frontage on Little River, Open Space Easement, rolling fields with mature hardwood forest, Orange County Hunt Territory, great ride out, very private, within 5 miles of the village of Middleburg, views in all directions. $2,800,000

Located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the farm is beautifully sited so that the views are enjoyed from many of the spacious rooms and porches. Wonderful finishes, vaulted ceilings, stone fireplace, reclaimed flooring, first floor owner’s suite, finished lower level incl. second kitchen, pool. Fenced paddocks, 3 stall barn and, wonderful views! $1,650,000

OLD CARTERS MILL ROAD - Rare find. Just over 53 acres of prime Orange County Hunt country land with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains on one side and gently rolling, open hills on the other. All of the adjacent land is protected by conservation easements. The access to potential ride-out is exceptional. A potential home site has been studied including an engineers report verifying a certified 5 bedroom septic site and potential well site. $1,400,000

Expanded through the years, Takaro has wonderful entertaining areas both inside and out, many overlooking the pool.

2 separate suites are wonderful for guests or home office. A dramatic main level apt. is attached to the handsome 7 stall barn. This 14.73 acre property offers a carriage barn, air conditioned dog house, paddocks and pond. $1,550,000

Offers subject to errors, omissions, change of price or withdrawal without notice. Information contained herein is deemed reliable, but is not so warranted nor is it otherwise guaranteed.

(540) 270-0094 THOMAS AND TALBOT REAL ESTATE (540) 687-6500

Middleburg, Virginia 20118

www.Thomas-Talbot.com

Page 30

The fine art of Foxcroft women.

summer 2014 • Volume 6, Number 1

Features 16

ART AND CRAFT

by GLENYE AND CHRISTOPHER OAKFORD Great artisans provide finely crafted tools of the trade.

Collection of Penny Denègre; © John H. Pentecost

26

THE BOOK HUNT

by GLENYE OAKFORD A bibliophile’s guide to the best bookstores for collectors.

30

FOXCROFT WOMEN

By LAUREN GIANINNI

The famous Middleburg school nurtures a love of horses, hounds and the arts.

In Each Issue: From the President p.2 From the Publisher p.4 MFHA News p.6 Milestones p.8 Last Run of the Day p.48

12

Issues A new partnership for MFHA

41

LIBRARY “The Prophet of Paradise”

44

ASK THE HUNTSMAN Speed versus nose

14

YOUNG ENTRY Hunt staff of the future.

42

46

Fare & flask A reimagined classic

38

HOUNDS & HORSES Why eventers should foxhunt, and vice versa.

three QUESTIONS FOR WILLIAM SECORD AND GALINA The gallery talks about sporting art in the Big Apple.

On our cover: Going Well, 1987, Heather St. Clair Davis, artist. Private collection, image provided by the National Sporting Library and Museum.

summer 2014 | 1

from the president

Hounds and Happiness

MASTERS OF FOXHOUNDS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA www.mfha.com

OFFICERS

A

2 | Covertside

MFHA FOUNDATION Dr. John R. van Nagell, MFH • Chairman PO Box 363, Millwood, VA 22646 (540) 955-5680

HUNT STAFF BENEFIT FOUNDATION Nancy Stahl, MFH • Chairman PO Box 363, Millwood, VA 22646 (540) 955-5680

COVERTSIDE EDITORIAL BOARD Emily Esterson • Editor-in-Chief Dennis J. Foster • ex-MFH Dr. John R. van Nagell• MFH dave traxler

s summer is upon us, it is worthwhile to reflect on how much happiness our hounds give us. Breeding a pack of hounds can be a tremendous source of satisfaction, and on occasion, we may be lucky enough to observe the “golden thread” between a huntsman and his hounds while out hunting. Not every foxhunter breeds or hunts the hounds, but we all get tremendous happiness seeing them working in the field. In this regard, I believe that the more we know about our hounds, the more enjoyable foxhunting becomes.

Summer is a special time for foxhunters because it is during this season that puppies enter training, and get their first glimpse of nature in all its wonder. It is also our first chance to develop a relationship with our young hounds as they learn right from wrong and begin their journey to maturity. I hope that you will take this opportunity seriously, not only to learn the names of your hounds, but also to know who their parents are and as much about their personalities and background as possible.

Imagine the joy you will receive this fall when you see your favorite young hound picking up the line and speaking to others to join the chase. Perhaps you will remember that he hunts just like his mother or father. Seeing our hounds grow in confidence and ability throughout their careers is one of the many pleasures that make foxhunting the best sport in the world.

If there are any issues that you would like the MFHA to address, please let your MFHA district representative and Dennis Foster know. We are here to help if the need arises.

Dr. John R. van Nagell, MFH • President Patrick A. Leahy, MFH • First Vice-President Leslie Crosby, MFH • Second Vice-President Joseph C. Kent • Secretary-Treasurer Lt. Col. Dennis J. Foster, ex-MFH • Executive Director

“Seeing our hounds grow in confidence and ability throughout their careers is one of the many pleasures that make foxhunting the best sport in the world.”

I hope you have a great summer with your hounds and horses.

All the best,

Dr. Jack van Nagell President, MFHA

DIRECTORS Canada • Laurel Byrne, MFH Carolinas • Linda Knox McLean, MFH Central • Joseph C. Kent, MFH Great Plains • Dr. Luke Matranga, MFH Maryland-Delaware • Sheila Brown, MFH Midsouth • Orrin Ingram, MFH Midwest • Keith Gray, MFH New England • Dr. Terence Hook, MFH New York-New Jersey • Marion Thorne, MFH Northern Virginia-West Virginia • A.A. Zimmerman, MFH Pacific • Paul McEnroe, MFH Pennsylvania • Russell B. Jones, Jr., ex-MFH Rocky Mountain • Mary Ewing, MFH Southern • Mercer Fearington, MFH Virginia • Bob Ferrer, MFH Western • John P. Dorrier Jr., MFH At Large • Mason H. Lampton, MFH At Large • Dr. G. Marvin Beeman, MFH At Large • Ed Kelly, MFH At Large • Daphne Wood COVERTSIDE (ISSN 1547-4216) is published quarterly (February, June, August and November) by the Masters of Foxhounds Association 675 Lime Marl Lane, Berryville, VA 22611. Periodical Postage Paid at Winchester, VA 22601 and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MFHA, PO Box 363, Millwood, VA 22646. COVERTSIDE READERS: Direct all correspondence to the same address. Tel: (540)955-5680. Website: www.mfha.com

LIVING IN VIRGINIA’S HUNT COUNTRY

LOCUST HILL: Built in 1826, "Locust Hill" is a 3 bay Flemish bond brick house. Unique oversized tripartite windows, high ceilings, and gracious central hall with Federal style stairway with mahogany handrail all make for distinguished and light filled interiors. Tucked more than three-quarters of a mile from the road on 323 acres of improved pastureland studded with small woodlots. Spectacular Blue Ridge views. Less than 15 minutes from the VA Horse Center. $1,900,000

WOODLYNNE FARM: 110 Acre Orange County horse farm with an architecturally distinguished, renovated and expanded c. 1870 home.

The home features 4 zone HVAC, mahogany doors w/bespoke hardware, large open country kitchen with custom cabinets, commercial grade range, cedar closets, multiple porches and patios, salt water gunnite pool, 8 stall barn, with 1 foaling stall and sprinkler system. Multiple board fenced paddocks, 120' x 250' riding ring, large hay barn with large 800 +/- Ft2 office. Large pond. Completely private. $1,900,000

For more information please contact: Don Skelly (540) 406-1370

PIEDMONT OFFICE 132A East Main Street, Orange, VA 22960

(540) 672-3903

Fax: (540) 672-3906

www.farmandestate.net

from the publisher

summer 2014

Education for All

Art Director Glenna Stocks production@covertside.net Joann Delaney

O

ne of the perks of editing Covertside is that I have the opportunity to attend all the MFHA events, from the Biennial Staff Seminar to the Virginia Hound Show and beyond.

As a naturally curious person (some people would say I am too curious), nothing makes me happier than learning something new. At the Biennial Staff Seminar in April, I had the opportunity to both host and sit in on many interesting panels. Discussions ranged from marketing your hunt on Facebook — yes, you do need to do this — to reading a pack of hounds, to riding cross country. Even the panels in which I thought I had little interest allowed me to reap a nugget or two of prime information.

For many years, the “Staff Seminar” was, just as the title implies, for staff. These days, however, the staff seminar is for everyone who has an interest in hunting with hounds; and the more education we get, the more we can enjoy our sport. So next time an MFHA or foxhunting related educational opportunity comes around, I urge you to take advantage of it — you just might find yourself watching the hounds work with fresh eyes and enjoyment.

Covertside’s goal is to entertain and educate, and this issue we take the enterainment part to heart. Foxhunting is a

Editor-in-Chief/Publisher Emily Esterson publisher@covertside.net 505-553-2671

lifestyle, and part of that is enjoying and treasuring the art and craft of our sport.

Our annual art issue features the works of famous Foxcroft women. Even if you don’t live anywhere near Middleburg (and most of us don’t), you’ve heard of the school as one that feeds a passion for the chase from an early age. We also look at great bookstores to visit if you want to start a library of classic, used tomes on foxhunting, thanks to our resident bibliophile, Glenye Cain Oakford. Remember that art goes beyond painting and writing — it includes horn-making and whip-crafting and leatherwork. We take an in-depth look at the people who craft the tools of our passion.

As always, I urge you to send submissions to Covertside. Whether stories, photos, poems, cartoons, or a question for one of our columns, we are a better magazine for your contributions.

See you in the fall,

Emily Esterson

MFHA Seeks Entrants for Hunting Habitat Conservation Award Contest The Hunting Habitat Conservation Award is seeking entries for the upcoming award season. Clubs, individuals and organizations that have made significant and enduring contributions toward the preservation of land, flora and fauna are encouraged to apply. In addition to a conservation trophy presented at the Annual Membership Meeting in January, and a feature story in Covertside, the winner will receive a $5,000 cash award donated by Mr. and Mrs. C. Martin Wood, III (Live Oak Hounds).

Visit the MFHA website for information and to complete an entry form.

4 | Covertside

Editor-in-Chief/Publisher

Editorial

managing Editor Katy Carter katy@covertside.net

Contributing

Writers

Glenye Cain Oakford Christopher Oakford Susan hoffman

Advertising and Marketing Senior Account Executive/ South Cheryl Microutsicos sales@covertside.net 434-664-7057 Pennsylvania/Mid-Atlantic KATHY DRESS kdress@ptd.net Northeast Spencer Moore spencer@covertside.net Events Hope Lynne Graves events@covertside.net Covertside is the official publication of the Masters of Foxhounds Association Published by E-Squared Editorial Services LLC 2329 Lakeview Rd. SW Albuquerque, NM 87105 Telephone: 505-553-2671 Web Address: www.ecovertside.net www.mfha.com

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Shooting and Equestrian Paintings Including Works

by John Emms, Andre Pater, Olivier de Penne, Paul Brown, George Paice, Sir Alfred Mannings; Also Featuring Two Purdey Shotguns

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Asheville, North Carolina • 828-254-6846 • info@brunkauctions.com Andrew Brunk NCAL 8330, Firm NCAL 3095, Robert S. Brunk NCAL 3041, Robert Ruggiero NCAL 7707

summer 2014 | 5

MFHA news

The 2014/2015 class includes

in Morven Park on May 25. This

Mike Gottier, from Kimberton

was the first time the horn-blowing

Hounds (non-member hunt),

championships have been held at

Andrew Daly (Red Mountain Fox-

the hound show, and the turnout

hounds), Tommy Gesell (Wiggins

for the event was unprecedented.

Hounds-new hunt), and Daniel

The championships have tradition-

White (Annapolis Valley Hunt).

ally been held during Hunt Night

This small class will allow Barclay

at the Pennsylvania National Horse

and Leahy the time to work on the

Show, but flagging attendance

newly announced apprenticeship

encouraged organizers and the

program. This new educational

MFHA to move the championships

opportunity will accept two Pony

to Morven Park, where many more

Club C3 Traditional and above-

huntsmen can participate.

rated young people to apprentice

Each huntsman had to blow

for a season with a huntsman.

three calls: Doubling the Horn

4 Six Hunt Staff Graduate

Coombs (now with Essex Hunt -

The details of the program can

(also called Finding the Fox), Gone

from Development Program

formally with Live Oak - Whip);

be found on page 15 and on the

Away, and Gone to Ground. The

New graduates of the Professional

Kirstin Hickman (Moingona Hunt

MFHA website (www.mfha.com).

top five then did a blow-off using

Development Program received

-Whip); Ryan Johnsey (Tennessee

their plaques on Thursday, May 23,

Valley - Huntsman); Emily Melton

4 Horn-Blowing Champion-

mine the winner. A crowd of sev-

in Leesburg, Va. Program leaders

(Howard County-Iron Bridge Hunt

eral hundred watched and cheered

Andrew Barclay and Tony Leahy,

- Whip); Trae Burris (now with Live

ships a Huge Success Seventeen huntsman presented

along with MFHA President Jack

Oak - formerly with Hillsboro Hunt

their considerable horn-blowing

Beeman, MFH, Marty Wood, MFH,

van Nagell, presented the awards

-Whip); Ron Cromwell (Elkridge-

skills to an esteemed panel of

and Tony Leahy, MFH, chose the

to (left to right above): Maley

Harford Hunt - Whip).

judges at the Virginia Hound Show

winner. Green Spring Valley’s Sam

6 | Covertside

the call Coming Home to deter-

for their favorites. Judges Marvin

Jones earned top honors (and

Staff Horse of the Year:

$1000); the runner up was Ashley

Nominated by hunt’s MFH, the

Hubbard from Fox River Valley

Staff Horse of the Year exhibits

($500). See the video on MFHA’s

the best qualities of the TB and

Facebook page.

the hunt horse. Game, bold, fearless, fast and rideable, the

4 Larry Pitts Honored

staff hunt horse is truly a special

with Ian Milne Award Larry Pitts, huntsman for the

animal that everyone in the club

Potomac Hunt, was honored with

horse must be a tattooed OTTB.

the Ian Milne Trophy at the Bien-

The award is $100 to the hunt

nial Staff Seminar, in Lexington,

club and engraved or embroi-

Ky. held April 14-16. The award

dered prize (cooler, halter, etc).

is presented to any professional

admires for these qualities. The

Equestrian Style...

Field Member Horse of the

huntsman representing any MFHA

Year: Nominated by a Field

member hunt who has been

Master, this horse exhibits the

recognized by peers as an excep-

best qualities of the OTTB and

tional contributor to the sport of

field horse; a fine jumper, polite

foxhunting. A panel experienced

in the field, well-mannered at

huntsmen make the selection, and

the trailer. The horse must be

the recipient receives a trophy and

tattooed. The award is $100 to

a check for $1,000.

the member. Award nomination forms are available at mfha.org.

4 Penn-Marydel Hounds

to be included in Stud Book During its May meeting, the MFHA

4 New Masters The following new Masters were

Board of Directors approved the

elected to membership at the

request from 25 MFHA mem-

May 2014 meeting of the Board of

ber and non-member PM packs

Directors. Ian Angus, Palm Beach

to register non-member hunts,

Hounds (S); Kim Buczkowski,

hounds only, that wish to be in the

Brazos Valley Hounds (W); John

MFHA Stud Book. It will apply to

Greenall, North Country Hounds

any breed pack. They will have to

(NE); Cathy Leinert, Tanheath Hunt

adhere to the same rules, proof of

(NE); Joseph Manning, Glenmore

pedigrees and hunting that mem-

Hunt (VA); Dr. Melanie Martin,

ber hunts comply with for hound

Mission Valley Hunt (GP); Amanda

registration requirements. Details

McGee, Oak Grove Hunt (MS); Dr.

will be forthcoming.

Charles Mess, Goshen Hounds (MDDE); Jeffrey Murdock, Old Chatham

4 Jockey Club, MFHA Offer

Hunt (NY-NJ); Elizabeth Voss

Horse of the Year Awards Nominations are open for the

DE); Dr. David Schroepfer, Spring

Thoroughbred Field and Staff

Valley Hounds (NY-NJ); Edward

Horse of the Year award.

Twining, III, Wiggins Hounds (C).

Murray, Elkridge-Harford Hunt (MD-

from subway to saddle.

4 The MFHA presented the Virginia Hound Show with a check for $2000 on Sunday, May 25, 2014.

The association provides supportive funding for all MFHA-sanctioned hound shows.

summer 2014 | 7

milestones

Holloa Gone Away Mellon, Conservationist, was 103

Barbara Lane and Gliding in Clover won the TIP award for Open Field Hunter.

Wicomico Horses Receive Jockey Club Kudos The Wicomico Hunt presented two Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (TIP) awards at its 2014 hunt ball, held March 29, 2014, in Cambridge, Maryland. The first year offered, the TIP awards for the hunt’s Best Open Field Hunter went to Gliding in Clover, owned and ridden by Wicomico Hunt member Barbara Lane, and the Best Green Field Hunter (in first or second year of hunting) went to Lucky Buck, owned and ridden by Jane Rhoades.

Wicomico Hunt hunts the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware, and was founded in 1929. There are many OTTBs in the field; 12 riders submitted their horses for consideration.

The awards were determined by the Masters of the hunt based on performance in the hunt field, including manners, ability, and suitability as a hunt horse for Wicomico territory. Wicomico Hunt is the sole hunt club in the nation to be provided with TIP 8 | Covertside

awards this year for recognizing outstanding field hunters in their own hunt that are registered Thoroughbreds. (MFHA also gives TIP awards to two outstanding field hunters in a nationwide contest, see page 7.)

Gliding in Clover, also known as Kash, is a 1996 West Virginia-bred bay gelding (Glide x Clover Lady, Iron Constitution) and is a black-type placed winner. Bred by John D. McKee and Joe Gerish, Kash raced 20 times, hitting the board twelve times for earnings of $37,618.

He raced for his breeder from 1999-2001 at Charles Town (W.Va.), running third in the West Virginia Breeders “Onion Juice” Breeders Classic Stakes in 2000. Barbara Lane has hunted Kash four seasons with the Wicomico Hunt, and keeps him near her home in Easton, Maryland.

Kash has been a reliable and steady field horse and safely carried Barbara throughout the Wicomico Hunt territory in an

exemplary manner in both first and second fields.

Lucky Buck is a 2007 bay gelding, purchased in the summer of 2013 as a replacement hunt horse by Wicomico Master Jane Rhoades. Jane had planned on enjoying “Lucky” as a member of the field in the 2014 season, but due to injuries of some other staff riders early in the season, Lucky Buck was pressed into service as Jane’s field master horse, leading first field for the rest of the season. Lucky stepped up to the plate admirably and became a favorite of the members for his steady pace, care of his rider, bold but careful jumping, and ability to go wherever Master Jane guided him, all in his first year as a hunt horse.

Lucky Buck (Pico Central (BRZ) x Tri Toasted, Ecliptical) was bred in Florida by Diane Harrington. He had only three starts, earning $420 at Penn National and Delaware Park under trainer Randy Nunley.

The private and ever-gracious Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, widow of Paul Mellon, died March 17 at her home in Upperville, Virginia, at the age of 103.

A passionate gardener and conservationist, Mrs. Mellon redesigned the White House rose garden and, along with her husband, was a leader in maintaining green space in Fauquier County, Va. Mrs. Mellon had deep roots in northern Virginia and in the horse world. Born in New York in 1910 as an heiress to the Listerine fortune, Mrs. Mellon attended Foxcroft School in Middleburg as a girl. She was presented to society the same month as the Crash of ’29 and shortly thereafter married her first husband, horse breeder and foxhunter Stacy B. Lloyd.

The union would ultimately end in divorce. She married billionaire and breeder Paul Mellon in 1948, and together, they helped ensure that the rural Virginia countryside would stay rural for generations to come.

“Mr. and Mrs. Mellon had great admiration and respect for the Piedmont region, and this area in particular,” said Tony Willis, her librarian and assistant. “They were naturalists.

Their goal was to keep it open and green as much as possible.”

The Mellons placed easements on their 4,000-acre Continued on page 10

Holloa

Longreen’s Future 12 & Puppies 24” X 30”, SNLE Prints on canvas $375.

David H Marsh Equine Art • Canine Art

Signed, numbered, Limited edition PrintS, AvAiLAbLe

Byron Receives Pony Club Recognition Kate Byron, MFH, New Market-Middletown Valley Hounds, was awarded a US Pony Clubs Academy of Achievement Award during the 2014 USPC National Youth Congress. A graduate of the US Pony Clubs system, Byron was invited to participate in this year’s National Youth Congress.

“Receiving the award was really a bonus,” Byron said. “The real reward was working with the pony clubbers and meeting the other participants. Talk about high achievers!

“We spent two very intensive days working through leadership and management training sessions. Their energy was positively overwhelming,” she continued. “These kids are smart, articulate, driven visionaries.”

Several USPC alumni are inducted into the Alumni Academy of Achievement each year, and join the current USPC delegates during the annual three-day congress. The alumni honorees play a vital role in the National Youth Congress because they bring the voice of experience into the

Marsh Creative studios

110 Hillwood Lane, Collierville, Tennessee 38017 901.652.2284 marshcreativestudios.com

discussions. The National Youth Congress was established in order to recognize outstanding older pony club members that have achieved a National Certification and bring them together for a series of workshops and discussions intended to expand their selfawareness and understanding of the rapidly changing world into which they will soon graduate.

The Congress provides opportunities for youth to share ideas with their peers from around the country through group discussions, role simulations, and other interactive activities, which Byron felt provided the group with the connection to foxhunting.

“Pony club and hunting go hand in hand; the pony club tradition is steeped in foxhunting,” she said. “So many kids from all over are not exposed to foxhunting, or even hunting with hounds. Those participants who do hunt were able to share their knowledge and experience in a thoughtful and positive way. It was just a fantastic experience.” summer 2014 | 9

milestones

Mellon continued from page 8

Fauquier County estate to protect the land from development, a move Willis says sparked many of their neighbors to do the same. The estate remains open to the Piedmont Fox Hounds.

Mrs. Mellon was put to rest at the local Trinity Episcopal Church — a church that the Mellons gifted to the town of Upperville in 1960. Although flowers are typically not displayed during Lent, the church made an exception for Mrs. Mellon: There were two understated bouquets from her greenhouse.

The Piedmont Fox Hounds brought 13 couple to the church and, at the close of the service, Huntsman Spencer Allen blew Gone Away.

10 | Covertside

Rogers, ex-MFH, was Fierce Countryside Advocate Dr. Joseph Megeath Rogers, 90, ex-MFH of Loudoun Hunt, died on Saturday, March 8, 2014, at his Hillbrook Farm near Hamilton following a stroke. A physician, farmer, businessman, rural land conservationist, philanthropist and expert horseman, Dr. Rogers was a tireless advocate and practitioner of country living whose contributions in a broad

range of interests were made quietly and with little fanfare.

He had remarkable success as an owner, trainer and rider of some of Virginia’s most successful steeplechase horses. Dr. Rodgers was also founder of the Loudoun Hunt’s Oatlands Point-To-Point, as well as the Morven Park Steeplechase.

Most notably, Dr. Rogers had an unwavering commitment to protect Virginia’s rural countryside, a mission he often defined as a moral obligation. A long-time member of the board of directors of the Westmoreland Davis Foundation, Dr. Rogers was also a founder of the Morven Park Equestrian Institute, the Loudoun Pony Club, a founding director of the Museum of Hounds and Hunting and of the American Academy of Equine Artists.

Legislator Strang Brought Foxhunting to Aspen Michael Lathrop Strang, ex-MFH, Roaring Fork Hounds, died at home on his ranch outside Carbondale, Colo., on January 12, 2014. Born in Bucks County, Pa., on June 17, 1929, he and his family moved to the Colorado ranch

Integrity. Craftsmanship. in 1932. Mike developed his passion for horses early in life, caring for the string of ranch horses that were used to work the cattle as well as the Thoroughbreds raised by his father.

In 1967, inspired by George Beeman, legendary huntsman of the Arapahoe Hunt, Mike co-founded the Roaring Fork Hounds with John Wendt. Mike served as Joint MFH until 2006.

Many in the foxhunting community thought a pack of hounds near Aspen was crazy, but Wendt and Strang proved the skeptics wrong. Under Mike’s leadership, Roaring Fork Hounds provided great sport for nearly four decades and laid claim to being “the highest hunt in the world.”

Mike served in the Colorado State Legislature from 1970 to 1974, where he worked

with members of both parties to develop sensible land-use regulations to address the effects of the population growth occurring in the state. The legislation he introduced gave local governments more tools to manage the sprawl that was beginning to threaten the land and water resources essential for agriculture to thrive. In 1984, Mike was elected to the U.S. Congress, representing Western Colorado.

He served one term and then returned to Colorado.

Share your club’s milestones with Covertside: email katy@covertside.net and include a high-resolution photograph.

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tish ray

Issues

The AFWA and MFHA will work together to build educational and legal programs.

Partners in Action MFHA joins wildlife agency association in efforts to educate lawyers. By Dennis Foster

T

he Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) works extensively with other sporting and conservation groups to protect mounted hunting for future generations. We are a leader in identifying animal rights organizations and the strategies they use to ban hunting and other activities. We realize that there is strength in numbers, and that we must work together with other oganizations targeted by animal rights groups to ensure success.

One of these fellow organizations is the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA).

AFWA is made up of the nation’s 50 state fish and wildlife agencies, and is the national voice that represents the interests of those agencies. They are working tirelessly to promote animal welfare through state management of wildlife resources. The AFWA and MFHA share many common

12 | Covertside

ideals and visions and face many of the same challenges that affect our wildlife resources.

In November 2013, AFWA leadership shared the podium with me representing the MFHA at the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC).

The topic of this NASC meeting was the animal rights movement in this country and how we, as animal welfare advocates, must act collectively to stop the erosion of our nation’s hunting heritage.

During that meeting, I noted that we, “the welfare people,” have nothing in place, nor any specific training, for lawyers to counter the animal law/rights movement with sound animal welfare principles, animal science and animal husbandry. This was a “call to action” for the 100+ state legislators in the room.

Animal rights and extreme environmental groups are exploiting a loophole in the Equal Access to

AFWA suggested a partnership which, with MFHA’s involvement, should allow us to seriously work toward an outcome that protects the integrity of the states’ management authority over fish and wildlife.

Justice Act (EAJA). EAJA legislation was intended to protect small businesses and individuals with limited incomes who are suing the government by reimbursing their legal fees if they lose their case.

Unfortunately, the EAJA legislation was written to include 501(c) (3) organizations, regardless of income and assets. So organizations like HSUS, with upwards of $140 million a year in income and over $240 million in assets,

can sue government agencies such as USDA, Forest Service, Fish & Wildlife, or BLM if they oppose any rules or legislation contrary to their goals, and they will be reimbursed fully for the cost of their legal fees regardless of whether they win or lose. Not only does the government pay to defend itself, it also must pay the association that is suing it. This loophole encourages special interest non-profit groups to file lawsuits against the government. Between 2000 and 2009, just eight environmental/ animal rights groups filed nearly 1600 federal court cases.

AFWA is addressing these injustices by implementing a new legal strategy. The goal of this strategy is to enable the state fish and wildlife conservation agencies to act in concert to aggressively defend against the challenges to their authority to manage their fish and wildlife resources. These challenges take several forms, but the principal challenge curtailing state management ability is federal jurisdictional overreach coupled with the animal rights movement.

This strategy will include establishing a legal analysis team; creating a law school clinic in cooperation with one or more law schools; creating a research library that would include briefs that have been filed on our issues by the state attorneys general who represent state fish and wildlife agency members; enlisting pro bono support in efforts to file amicus curiae briefs in pending litigation; and presenting our body of law stressing the primacy of state wildlife management authority to the judiciary and to state bar associations.

Another major objective is to develop a suite of educational opportunities allowing lawyers and judges around the country to be properly trained in the role

the state fish and wildlife agencies play in managing wildlife, including wildlife on federal property.

For example, most states have annual continuing legal education training requirements with which lawyers must comply to maintain their law licenses. This is a good way to reach out to lawyers who are interested in conservation law, particularly lawyers who may be interested in doing pro bono work on our issues. AFWA plans to enhance its presence in law schools. AFWA’s general counsel currently teaches wildlife law at Michigan State University College of Law, and she has expanded the course to include other legal seminars on conservation ethics, policies, and practices. Several other law schools have asked for the wildlife law course materials and have committed to offering the

class in their law school program.

These educational opportunities for lawyers and law students will offer a counterpoint to the animal rights perspective, and will augment our legal strategy.

AFWA suggested a partnership which, with MFHA’s involvement, should allow us to seriously work toward an outcome that protects the integrity of the states’ management authority over fish and wildlife.

Both the MFHA and the MFHA Foundation agreed that this was an opportunity to be proactive and partner with AFWA. The MFHA Foundation voted to assist AFWA with seed money, and the MFHA agreed to provide expertise on animal rights tactics. The MFHA believes in the immense importance of offering alternative animal law instruction based on animal

welfare to law students in universities and expertise to law firms involved in animal law. Welfare is based on proven scientific research and management, contrary to rights based on politics, emotion and misinformation.

One half of AFWA’s general counsel’s time in 2014 will be focused on implementing the key components listed above. In addition, AFWA’s 501(c) (3) foundation, A.W.A.R.E., was awarded a grant under the 2014 Multistate Conservation Grant Program from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, available annually to states and nonprofit organizations under federal guidelines. This grant program is funded with excise taxes paid by hunters and anglers on equipment purchases.

All of the grant award will be dedicated to implementing the

key components listed above.

To date, the approximate monetary value of AFWA’s contributed employee time and the multistate grant award is over $265,000. The MFHA Foundation has committed $150,000 in funds that must be used for educational purposes to be allocated as certain goals and conditions are met. We have strong indications that other sporting organizations will join us as we make progress toward these goals. This is just the start, and while it is a long term project, we believe it to be one of the most important means of protecting not only hunting with hounds for future generations, but many other animal rights targets as well.

Dennis Foster is executive director of the MFHA.

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young entry

Thaddeaus Prince has been hunting since he was three years old. Now he’s a junior whipper-in for Misty River.

Deanna Bolek

Junior Whipper-in is Hunt Advocate, Fundraiser

Scholarship recipient is dedicated to hunt service. By Meg Mullery

T

hirteen-year-old Thaddeaus Prince was hunting one morning with Huntsville, Arkansas’ Misty River Hounds. MRH’s breathtaking terrain has rolling hills, bluffs, and the river hugging the land. Stopping at a check at his favorite spot — a huge bluff overlooking Misty River — Thaddeaus started thinking about foxhunting and his love of the sport.

Gazing around the field astride his beloved pony Jabbar, a phrase popped into Thaddeaus’ head: Misty River 14 | Covertside

Hounds: where horses, hounds, friends, and foxes are found.

If your definition of a well-rounded person includes involvement, exposure to a diversity of experiences, and knowing your true self, then that would be Thaddeaus. The focus required to hunt have a spillover effect into his schooling, making him a better student.

He has learned communication skills and admits to becoming a more accepting person.

Thaddeus’ perseverance and dedication resulted in his dream becoming a reality: opening hunt and every hunt since, he

has served as junior whip. He understands that Master Dina Del Guercio depends on him and considers it his duty to be there for the staff and hounds.

He recently received his Masters of Foxhounds Association of America membership card, sticker and pin, which he has proudly placed on his backpack. In official recognition of his contributions to the sport, Thaddeaus was awarded the MFHA Youth Scholarship to attend the 2014 Staff Seminar in Lexington, Ky. Thaddeaus first saddled up at age three. He experienced his first

hunt three years later. His mother, Deanna, is thrilled that Thaddeaus shares her love of the sport and has watched proudly as her son’s passion has turned into a working dream. Becoming a junior whip topped the list of his goals, and the required work, while daunting, only made Thaddeaus more committed. A typical summer Saturday begins before dawn and ends as the sun sets. The day includes arriving at the hunt and helping Masters walk the hounds. He has learned the names and personalities of every hound and never missed a day working with them.

Thaddeaus and his older brother designed tee shirts with the slogan, “Misty River Hounds: where horses, hounds, friends, and foxes are found” and sold them as a fundraiser for the hunt, nearly reaching their goal of $600.

Thaddeus likens foxhunting to poetry. He inherently understands that history influences and sets the context for the present. He embraces all of the richness of foxhunting’s history and traditions and shares his passion with riders and non-riders alike.

Always the advocate, Thaddeus plans outreach activities through social media, schools and horse shows to provide information and education on the world of foxhunting.

Thaddeaus’ absolute long-term goal is to become a professional staff member and to manage his own hunt. For now, his wildest dream is foxhunting in England.

Meg Mullery lives on a farm in Middleburg Hunt territory in Virginia.

MFHA Seeks Youth Apprentices A year-long training program aims to prepare Pony Club members for careers as hunt staff.

T

he Masters of Foxhounds Association of America (MFHA) seeks one or two individuals to apprentice with one of the nation’s top professional huntsmen. This is an opportunity for an individual to get a start in the career of mounted foxhunting.

Many horse enthusiasts in America may not realize that a career in foxhunting can be a fun and exciting way to earn a living. For the few young people who already recognize the possibilities, most are unsure of how to get started.

The MFHA feels that the education and riding credentials given by the USPC would be the ideal foundation needed to develop a high-quality hunt professional.

This is a serious effort to encourage young people with strong riding skills and Pony Club members who have achieved their C3 Traditional rating to pursue professional careers in mounted foxhunting. To be considered for an apprenticeship, the candidate must be 18 years old or older, and have the recommendation of the

local DC or Master of Foxhounds.

Candidates will be chosen by the Professional Development Committee. The candidates will have to complete riding tests and interviews conducted at a camp, the time and date of which will be announced soon. The first year-long apprenticeship will begin May 1, 2015. During that year, the hosting hunt will employ the apprentice who will receive on-the-job training by one of the top huntsmen in North America. The apprentice will also participate in a rigorous study program, supplemented by hunt and kennel visits and by attending hound shows. He or she will work extensively with a representative of the MFHA, who will mentor the apprentice and oversee the study program. The mentor will make periodic visits and will commu-

nicate with the huntsman and masters of the hosting hunt, as well as the apprentice.

At the successful completion of the year-long apprenticeship, the mentor and the MFHA will aid and assist the apprentice in finding a job in the business.

The mentor will continue to be available for as long as necessary to help the candidate make a smooth transition to the position of whipper-in.

For more information on this program, please contact Andrew Barclay at andrew@mfha.com.

There are 135 paid professionals in the US and Canada. Of those, 35 jobs are held by foreigners.

Job perks vary by hunt and range from salary-only to housing, horse allowance, and many other benefits.

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summer 2014 | 15

Artand Craft

Hugh Nutt

Not all art is meant to be hung on a wall, and, in the case of foxhunting, some of the greatest artistry goes into the sport’s everyday accoutrements. By Glenye and Christopher Oakford

16 | Covertside

The Keat’s horn business was nearly extinct until Calcutt rescued it. Now the company makes five different hunting horns, each named after a famous hunt.

summer 2014 | 17

The clarity of a horn’s sound depends on the huntsman’s ability, and the length and size of the bell.

Gretchen Pelham

HORN

One of the hunt field’s most iconic elements is, of course, the metal horn. Its silvery notes, along with the hounds in full cry, provide hunting’s signature sound. But you can’t find a genuine hunting horn through just any musical instrument company. Surprisingly, this indispensable article is made by comparatively few firms today, most notably perhaps Calcutt & Sons near Winchester, England, which produces about 300 horns a year under the famed Henry Keat name.

The Keat family began making brass and copper instruments, including coaching and hunting horns, in the 1790s when Samuel Keat was apprenticed to Richard Woodham, a 18 | Covertside

London-based watchmaker who was expanding his business.

In 1856, Samuel’s descendants started producing instruments under their own name, but by the 1980s the last member of the Keat dynasty had retired and the Henry Keat company was effectively defunct. Still, huntsmen needed horns, and, with suppliers dwindling, Calcutt’s owner Ian Compton acquired Henry Keat and resurrected the art.

The manufacturing process has hardly changed since Samuel Keat’s heirs polished their first hunting horn in the 1800s. Each handmade horn takes about half a day to produce and begins its life as a single sheet of metal (copper, nickel, or silver) that is marked to size and shape. The shape is then

cut out and wrapped around a conical, spinning tool known as a mandrel. This process molds the metal into the shape of a horn, with one wide end and one narrow end. The proto-horn is then removed from the mandrel and brazed (heated) along its whole length where the two edges of the metal meet, joining them. After hammering out any dents and filing the horn for smoothness, the horn-maker folds back the lip of the horn’s wide end and inserts a wire, all of which strengthens the horn’s flared end. For additional strength, a huntsman can also order a horn with bands of nickel or copper. The horn’s bell, now essentially complete, gets a good polish and the name “Henry Keat” stamped on it.

The horn-maker adds the mouthpiece last. These are the same as on trumpets and bugles, and are brazed at the joint between bell and mouthpiece. For those who can’t get the hang of blowing a regular horn, Keat offers a horn with a reed mouthpiece, too.

Compton says the horn sounds the same whether made of plain copper, solid nickel, or sterling silver, though the expensive silver ones are used most often as presentation copies rather than for hunting. But the style of the horn — the length and size of the bell and the width and depth of the mouthpiece — does affect the sound.

Among Keat’s five horn styles — each named for a famous huntsman — the Beaufort is the

John Burston

most popular. It’s generally 8 3/4 inches long with a bell diameter of 1 3/4 inches and a wide mouthpiece; combined, these give it a comparatively high sound. The Goodall — about 9 3/4 inches long with a 2-inch bell diameter and a large, deep mouthpiece — has the deepest tone of all.

Calcutt also does a steady trade in repairing and refurbishing damaged horns.

“We see some horns in a terrible state,” Compton says. “We had four in last week that dated from the early 19th century and were very battered and bent, but we fixed them without too much trouble. We even had one that came to us in two pieces, but still we got it working again.

“A lot of huntsmen have their own favorite horn. If they 20 | Covertside

keep dropping it or it gets trodden on, we keep repairing it, a bit like a favorite pair of shoes.”

HUNT WHIP

David Thorne’s whips are more than functional. They’re also decorative, sometimes featuring carvings of a fox or a hare. And they’re made to last a lifetime and beyond, because, as Thorne points out, hunt whips often are family heirlooms passed down to the next generation of hunters.

Thorne, who lives in Devon, England, taught himself the art of whip-making and has been putting his lessons to work since 1987, crafting new and repairing old whips. His works, like those of so many hunting craftsmen, must also answer to the god of practicality — a stern taskmaster

who requires strong, useful materials at the outset. Case in point: the whip handle.

“Generally, with the hunting whips, the antler handle is the most important thing,” Thorne says. “Making a hunting whip, you’ve got to be very particular of what sort of handle you use, because the handle has got to be able to open a gate. If it won’t open a gate, there’s no point making a whip with it. If the antler is over a 90-degree angle, if you put it on a wet gate, it will slide off it.”

For most of the 250 to 350 whips Thorne makes each year, he will use red deer antlers from Scotland (with the occasional Asian sitka antler) for handles and pigskin- or nylon-covered fiberglass for shafts. He prefers pigskin and nylon because they’re hardy and

offer a bit of grip on a rainy day.

If a buyer wants a wooden whip shaft, Thorne recommends the strong and beautiful blackthorn. “It’s a very dark, rich brown with the knots up the shaft, and I will fit that in some of the more rustic sort of whips,” he says.

Thorne also makes one-piece kennel whips from sturdy ash.

“The handle-piece is the root of the stick, and the grain runs all directions and is always very tough and strong,” he explains.

“It’s a hard-working whip for in kennels in everyday use.”

Thorne’s talent for woodcarving also extends to making hunting whips from walnut and yew. The oddest order he’s ever received? A hunting whip with two gold collars and a shaft covered in crocodile skin.

David Thorne handcrafted fox head whips are beautiful and durable—made to last a lifetime or more.

The handles are mostly made of antler and are strong enough to handle many duties.

“He rang and asked me if I could get croc hide,” Thorne says of the client. “I didn’t understand what he was talking about, and I said no. So he said, ‘Leave it with me.’” Some time later, the man called back to tell Thorne the hide was on its way.

“It arrived in a box, all rolled up, and I had everything bar its head, skinned out,” Thorne recalls. “But it was only about two feet long.”

Whip collars are not usually gold, of course. Nickel is most usual, though Thorne also does sterling silver collars, which are particularly popular for whips to be used as christening gifts or important birthday tributes. Collars can be personalized, too, which adds value as a family heirloom.

Whips can be as individual as

their owners, Thorne says, and that’s a good thing.

“Every one of my whips is different because every piece of antler is different,” he says.

“When I’m at shows, people will pick up quite a few before they decide which one they’re going to have. Every whip is different for every person.”

LEATHER

For Claire Painter of Clever With Leather in Lexington, Kentucky, there are two artistic challenges in creating leather goods for foxhunters: update traditional features for the modern rider, and make modern innovations look traditional.

Among Painter’s traditionallooking updates: flask holders with snaps that are easier to open and close, and elegant summer 2014 | 21

Mary Lay

Claire Painter makes sandwich cases, belts and other leather goods by hand.

cases — but for radios rather than sandwiches.

“No one ever used to have radio cases,” Painter says. “So you have to cover it in leather and make it look traditional. And as each new style of radio comes, you have to design a new case for it.”

Painter still makes the oldfashioned sandwich cases, too, but also offers to build a custom-sized case around whatever today’s rider keeps in it, from cell phones to horse treats.

“When they start hunting, usually the first thing people get is the drinks case,” she says. “Then they decide to keep hunting, and they realize they need a sandwich box or a radio case or wire-cutters.

So it’s nice if you make the drinks case so they can attach it to either side of the saddle, so they can 22 | Covertside

move it as they start adding things to the saddle. People carry more today on their saddles than they used to.”

For foxhunters, traditional style is always in fashion, Painter observes, and so is comfortable but hard-wearing leather.

“You’ve got to use very sturdy leather that will hold up,” she says, noting that hunting leather must survive rain, sleet, mud, and, let’s face it, poor tack-cleaning habits.

“And you’ve got to stick to some of the old rules of stitching. Hunt stuff isn’t throw-away stuff; people keep it forever and expect it to last. So when you stitch it, I still hand-stitch it, and I still wax the thread, which protects the thread and makes it last longer.”

Hunting orders keep Painter busy all year; in addition to

hunt field supplies, she also makes hound leashes for the summer season.

Whatever the season, foxhunters tend to go for understated and straightforward, rather than trendy, options.

“Keeping the design very simple and very user-friendly is the important thing,” Painter says, adding that hunts themselves often inspire new details to fit their particular needs. When one huntsman wanted to stop a radio from bouncing on her horse’s shoulder, she worked with Claire to design a twostrap case that attached to both saddle and breastplate.

Sometimes design changes are driven by economy. To accommodate riders with more than one horse, Painter has adapted an old

bridle style she remembered, the Irish dealing bridle. It has an unobtrusive buckle at the poll that allows one hunt bridle to easily fit multiple horses.

“It’s just like what the hunts do,” she says. “You want to encourage as many good, enthusiastic members as you can. You try to do something that is going to be lovely and within their means.”

SCENT

Brian Kiely’s art is perfumery, but of a very particular kind. As the huntsman for the Myopia Hunt’s drag pack in Massachusetts, Kiely must mix up a delicate blend that would be in fashion only among hounds.

A successful drag scent, Kiely says, is about both the hounds and the field.

“The hounds have to work for their scent, that’s the most important thing,” says Kiely. “It took me months to get the right mix. The main goal is to get the hounds to speak. I want them to look like a pack of hounds hunting a fox.”

When Kiely joined Myopia several years ago, he’d never even seen a drag hunt, let alone mixed up the scent.

“I got advice from different people, and if you ask 10 different people, you get 10 different answers,” he says, noting that his inquiries stretched from an English bloodhound pack to the Aiken Hounds in South Carolina. “Most people say that less is more with scent: the weaker it is, the better they hounds hunt it. That’s very true, I think.

I think the biggest challenge is to get the hounds working and hunting the line properly like it’s a fox. The scent and the way it’s laid are key.”

That’s Kiely’s main goal: to simulate a live fox’s intricate, tricky line rather than inspire a screaming race across the country.

“I use a mixture of fox urine, a small bit of anise, and glycerin,” Kiely says. “The scent is mixed up in water and is mostly water.”

Kiely mixes about five gallons of hot water for each cup of fox urine and glycerin, then adds half a cc of anise. Before a hunt, he dips a kitchen towel in the mixture, ties it to a six-foot rope on the back of his “fox,”

a four-wheel all-terrain vehicle that speeds across the countryside 10 or 15 minutes ahead of the hunt. There’s an art to the drag line, too. “The four-wheeler goes quick quick, and the lure bounces along the ground,” Kiely explains. “When a fox runs, he doesn’t drag his tail leaving scent all over the place.

And a lot depends on the terrain you’re crossing. If you’re going in high grass, I’d put a chain on the end of the rope and then the towel at the end of the chain.

But if it’s in flat, open country, I just put it on a rope.”

Kiely devises curves and checks in the line as a live fox would, and he doesn’t strengthen or weaken the scent to improve natural scenting conditions.

“I never change the mix,” he says. “Some people lay it stronger on hot days or cold days or snowy days or rainy days. I always lay it the same, and the reason for that is I’m trying to make it look as realistic as I can.

You can’t say, ‘Hey Mr. Fox, you have to smell better today.’ I mix it the same every single time.”

Unusually, at a drag hunt live fox and coyote — other hunts’ desired game — are considered riot, says Kiely. “That’s why I use a little bit of anise,” he explained.

“I’m sure there are millions of foxes in the world, but not one of them smells like anise.”

Leave out any element, Kiely believes, and the hunt changes dramatically.

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“Somebody suggested using just anise and glycerin,” he recalled. “They would run the anise and glycerin, but they wouldn’t speak on it.”

Substitute the glycerin with vegetable oil, and the scent mix becomes more of a suspension than an even solution, in Kiely’s experience. “The vegetable oil just sat on top of the mixture,” he says.

And the job of scent artist can be hazardous.

“To be honest, you do have to be careful,” Kiely acknowledges. “If you get it on you, it’ll stick, because the glycerin makes it stick. Obviously, you don’t mix it and get it on your rubber boots or gloves and then walk into kennels. You just have to be a little careful.”

Glenye and Christopher Oakford live in Lexington, Ky., and are frequent contributors to Covertside. summer 2014 | 23

Cathy Riccio

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Since the constituents of a feeding program tend to differ from various regions 24 | Covertside

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guide toand

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(the musty, dusty delightful world of )

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oxhunting people very rarely confine their passion for the sport to the hunt field. Enter a foxhunter’s house, and chances are you’ll find paintings, prints, and published works full of horses, hounds, foxes, coyotes, and hares. For me, the pursuit of sporting books, in particular, provides sport that almost (almost!) rivals hunting itself. My favorite book-hunting venues are

still the second-hand bookshops that smell like old libraries and whose morocco-bound volumes have a slight whiff of the tack room about them.

But thank heavens for the Internet, too: now I can look through my favorite shops from the comfort of my own chair, and it no longer takes a lifetime to track down some rare volumes. If you, too, enjoy the book chase, here are a few good coverts!

hunt

By Glenye Cain Oakford

summer 2014 | 27

R. E. and G. B. Way, Burrough Green, www.way-books.co.uk

This lovely shop’s location near the heart of Britain’s racing country in Newmarket attracts a lot of Thoroughbred lovers.

But the Way’s enormous and varied stock covers many canine and hunting subjects, too. Their inventory of hound books, in particular, was outstanding the last time we visited. They’ve got single copies of exceedingly rare or hard-to-find books, but they also have multiple copies of desirable volumes considered classic and essential for foxhunters and hound lovers, such as F. P. Delme Radcliffe’s “The Noble Science of Fox-Hunting” and Ikey Bell’s “Foxiana,” often beautifully aged and still carrying the faint whiff of the country house libraries or clubs from whence they traveled.

The shop occupies an old, ivy-covered house that is stuffed with tomes, from sets of heavy leather-bound volumes to slender card-bound private printings, including several handwritten hunting journals kept by individuals who hunted with some of England’s most famous packs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Way can be expensive, but its large inventory often means a shopper can compare prices among several copies and editions. Luckily, there are a few comfy chairs around, too, to encourage the avid collector to bury himself in — and fall in love with — the books.

On its website, this Warrenton, Va., shop boasts that 90 percent of its inventory consists of out-of-print and hard-to-find books — but, thanks to the website, not hard to find any more! If you’re in Virginia, the shop (located at Fox Den Antiques) is worth a visit: crowded bookcases are framed by everything from equestrian-patterned silk scarves to glassware to fox-themed jewelry. For avid readers, though, it’s the cases that hold the best treasures, and there’s something for every age. For the new entry, there are currently a couple of C. Gifford Ambler’s “Ten Little Foxhounds” for under $40. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, a copy of Thady Ryan’s 2002 “My Privileged Life with the Scarteen Black and Tans” will lighten your wallet by $750.

There is a good range of both classic and newer books, and the website usually features a photograph of the book in question, which is helpful.

Good to know: The ground-floor bathroom

Good to know: The Horse Books Plus website allows you to purchase not only books,

also serves as a half-price room!

Horse Books Plus, www.horsebooksplus.com

but also gift cards — a great idea for anyone with sporting friends or family.

John and Judith Head, Salisbury, www.wowmedesign.com/jjhead

Many people visit Salisbury to see the great cathedral there, but we make our annual pilgrimage to visit the Heads’ sporting bookshop. They specialize in highly-prized rare volumes and sporting prints, but don’t be afraid to peruse the handsome shelves if your budget is small.

We’ve found terrific books there for prices starting as low as about $15. They also carry a wide variety of hunting prints. Small ones, including some by Munnings that are difficult to find in print form in the United Sates, also start in that price range, in our experience. Also on offer: signed prints by Snaffles, Lionel Edwards, John King, and others.

But the real beauty of the Heads’ shop is in its variety of rare and high-end stock on a vast range of sporting and countryside subjects. My favorite purchase from there is a copy of the Hon. George Charles Grantley Fitzhardinge Berkeley’s “Reminiscences of a Huntsman” from the late 1800s, and there are equally wonderful — and often lusciously bound and illustrated — books on everything from the grayling to the grouse to the American gray fox.

Good to know: The shop is closed on Saturday, but if there is a game fair or major horse trials going on, they’ll probably be there!

28 | Covertside

AbeBooks.com, www.abebooks.com

AbeBooks is a great go-to source for anyone seeking books about hunting and hounds. Admittedly, searching for books on the Internet isn’t as charming as discovering them in a quiet antiquarian shop. But there’s a lot to be said for running a long-desired choice to ground as efficiently as possible, and this is where AbeBooks, with its global reach, proves its value. For potential buyers, the service is free, and its helpful search functions allow buyers to narrow their search by title, author, keyword, and “collectible attributes” such as binding type, etc., so they can close in more easily on their elusive quarry.

Once you’ve found that rare commodity, you can buy it online at the AbeBooks site; that requires setting up an account, which is free and painless. The site will even convert the book’s price into a list of currencies, in case you need to determine how many dollars you’ll be paying for a book listed in pounds, rupees, or dinars. And once you’ve found a bookseller whose inventory you like, you can find them again under the site’s alphabetical booksellers listing and browse their stock.

Good to know: Under each book listing, there’s a link called “Ask Bookseller a

Question.” We’ve found sellers very responsive. Strike up a conversation if you want to know more about a book.

courtesy Fair Chase

Callahan & Company Booksellers

This New Hampshire bookseller has only occasional foxhunting titles, but it remains on our list because when they do have a hunting item, it’s sometimes extraordinary. One current example: an 1845 linen-backed folding map of hunt countries in Wiltshire, England. More commonly, Callahan’s features a great number of natural history books, always handy when attempting to get to know your quarry, and hounds, too, for that matter. In its inventory at the moment are “Hounds in the Hills” by Edward Briggs, and “The American Trail Hound” by Fred Streever. For the untamed, there is “Wild Dogs of the World” by Lois E. Bueler.

Good to know: There doesn’t appear to be an actual Callahan’s book shop, but

they do list online at AbeBooks.com (see above), and they also send out regular catalogs once you get on their mailing list. (We suggest contacting them via their AbeBooks listing).

National Sporting Library’s Duplicate Book Sale, www.nsl.org

This annual event takes place around November and allows library members to bid by mail on an impressive list of books, some now out of print and others considered modern classics. To join the silent auction bidding you must become a National Sporting Library member, and membership options start at $50. Best of all, your membership fee and any proceeds from your winning bids go to support a fine institution that promotes sporting scholarship and makes sporting knowledge available to the public.

The auction catalog arrives in members’ mailboxes in plenty of time for the necessary hemming, hawing, and limit-setting.

The books on offer are duplicates of those found in the library’s collection, but there often are relatively rare books to be found, as well as some beautiful editions in pristine condition. In my experience, bargains are rare — after all, members are bidding to support a worthy sporting cause! But there is such a wide range of books that it’s possible for even the budget shopper to pick up a title or two, and there are also sometimes combined lots that, though often less expensive than scarce single volumes, contain some excellent books.

There’s a good selection at the market’s upper end, too. Last year’s catalog highlighted a privately printed edition of W.S. Vosburgh’s “Cherished Portraits of Thoroughbred Horses from the Collection of William Woodward” that had a minimum bid of $3,000. The foxhunter will find books on scent, field hunters, and hounds scattered liberally among books on every sporting topic imaginable.

Good to know: Unlike donations to the NSL, auction purchases are not tax-deductible. But here’s some better news: books unsold after the auction will remain up for sale at their minimum bid price.

Fair Chase, www.fchase.net Glenye Cain Oakford keeps an extensive library and

We discovered Fair Chase some years ago when they had a tent at the Virginia Foxis a sworn hunting bibliophile. She lives in Lexington hound Show, and the arrival of their catalog is always an occasion for joy at Beagle and is a writer for The Blood Horse.

House. Fair Chase also has a website, where the books are listed in a downloadable version of the catalog that is divided by category. Like Callahan & Company (see above), Fair Chase doesn’t limit itself to When Virginia foxhunter George Talbot Traherne horse and hound, and there are excellent books on wing-shooting, lost track of the Rowanton Hunt’s hounds, the last big-game hunting, beagling, and racing, among other topics. But the thing he expected was to find himself in the fae “Horse & Hound” and “This & That” sections frequently turn up otherworld, drafted to lead the Hounds of Hell. some foxhunting gems, such as Somerville and Ross’s “The Sweet Cry of Hounds” and John Pawle’s “Hints on Beagling,” with paintings by T. Ivestor Lloyd photographed in black and white. For those who hunt to ride, there’s an ample supply of horse books, too. courtesy Fair Chase

Good to know: Fair Chase’s inventory isn’t limited to books. They al-

ways have a tempting array of other hunting-themed items, frequently including jewelry and china (among the latter just now is a set of Royal Worcester dishes painted by the aforementioned Lloyd).

Perkunas Press

summer 2014 | 29

Foxcroft Women in Equestrian Art and Sport Foxcroft nurtures a fox and hound motif in academia and life.

C

harlotte Haxall Noland, an accomplished equestrian and enthusiast of the chase, knew exactly what she was doing when she founded Foxcroft School in 1914.

For students of Foxcroft, the all-girls school in Middleburg, Virginia, certain memories never fade. They remember whether they were a member of team Fox or team Hound and who won which intramural game each year; they exhibited sportsmanship and promoted community service and values. These memories are made stronger, because they stem from traditions that have endured since the school’s inception 100 years ago. Whether they rode to hounds for the first time as students, or hunting was a family tradition, many benefited from the integral riding program. They became aware of the importance of land conservation. They had fun and learned about team spirit and loyalty. They took the honor code to heart. Foxcroft encourages and nurtures creativity and individuality, as it prepares the girls for life.

30 | Covertside

Collection of Penny Denègre; © John H. Pentecost

By Lauren R. Giannini

Penny Denègre and Royal Affair at the Upperville Colt and Horse Show, 1978; Jean Bowman, artist

summer 2014 | 31

Famous Names

The roster of artists and sculptors in the NSLM exhibition include Foxcroft alumnae and contemporary sporting art32 | Covertside

ists, male and female, whose subjects were often Foxcroft women. Edward Leigh Chase’s painting of Miss Charlotte, Joint MFH (1932-1946) with Daniel Cox Sands at Middleburg Hunt, is a beautiful homage to Foxcroft’s intrepid founder who always rode to hounds aside.

Three works by the late Jean Bowman, founder of the American Academy of Equine Artists (AAEA), portray Jane Forbes Clark (’73) at the age of seven riding her pony, Gray Fox; Katrina (Hickox) Becker (’48) driving a pair hitched to a surrey, and Penny Denègre, Joint MFH Middleburg and Foxcroft School Trustee, showing aside at Upperville with Royal Affair.

Jamie Wyeth, J. Clayton Bright, and Heather St. Clair Davis are among the artists represented.

Katrina (Hickox) Becker grew up an avid foxhunter: her father, Charles V. Hickox, was Joint MFH of Meadow Brook on Long Island. “Jean Bowman was one of my great friends — I met her when she did a portrait of my father,” says Becker, who supports the Piedmont Environmental Council and the Civil War Trust. “I was very happy at Foxcroft. I thought Miss Charlotte was just wonderful. I hunted with Middleburg and was lucky enough to have some horses that my family let me have some of the time. I tried sidesaddle once — it was ridiculous! Miss Charlotte was fearless and hunted sidesaddle.

When I couldn’t ride any more and had to stop hunting, I took up driving in about 1980. That painting by Jean Bowman of my children and me driving Tom and Jerry in the surrey is one of my favorites.”

Christine M. Cancelli loaned her painting of the late Nancy Penn-Smith Hannum, class of 1937, to the Foxcroft exhibition. The artist drew her inspiration from Hannum, who followed the hunt in her Jeep

Leaping Fox and Quail, c. 2000, Eve Prime Fout, artist.

Collection of Joy Crompton, Class of 1978

The year-long observation of Foxcroft’s centennial reached a grand finale with the Celebration Weekend, April 25-27, and will continue, thanks to a very special exhibition, “Foxcroft School: The Art of Women and the Sporting Life,” at the National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg (until August 24). This unique collection of 30 paintings and sculptures from various private collections of alumnae or their descendents serves as a tribute to Miss Charlotte and to all of the young women of Foxcroft, who learned to throw their hearts over fences and gallop after their heart’s desire.

“I loved Foxcroft. I grew up with horses in Texas, but I didn’t hunt until I went to Foxcroft,” says Julia (Armstrong) Jitkoff, class of ’65. “It was my favorite sport at that point — I had never done anything like that. Foxcroft was wonderful, a special time in my life. Later, I ended up in New Jersey in the 1990s and hunted with Essex Foxhounds...”

Today, Jitkoff is a 3-D artist whose sculptures are full of action and energy. She remembered always drawing a lot, mostly pen and ink, and making things, but the magic in her hands didn’t manifest until 1980. The seeds were sown at Foxcroft, however, and Jitkoff says, “I was very pleased when the museum wanted one of my bronzes for the Foxcroft exhibition.” She continues to be very active in conservation and has put land into easement in Maryland and Texas. She serves on the board of the Maryland Agricultural Resource Council and recently joined the board of the Maryland Environmental Trust.

summer 2014 | 33

High Powered Equestrians

Joy Crompton (’78), Joint MFH, Farmington Hunt, loaned 34 | Covertside

Collection of Katrina Becker, Class of 1948

“Leaping Fox and Quail,” a bronze by the late Eve Prime Fout, to the Foxcroft exhibition. A founding member of the AAEA, Fout turned to sculpting when glaucoma interfered with her painting. An accomplished rider and trainer, she was also a force to be reckoned with in terms of land conservation and worked indefatigably for 20 years with the Piedmont Environmental Council to ensure that future generations of enthusiasts would have open land for foxhunting and pony club.

“Mom was a fierce protector of the countryside and a firm believer in young people and educating them to appreciate what we have in Middleburg and the surrounding areas,” says Virginia Fout. “Doug, Nina and I grew up on the back of a horse and foxhunting was something we did. It was part of our makeup. Now, being older and having a child of my own, I realize just how fortunate we were to have this in our lives.”

Fout’s daughter, Nina (’77), U.S. eventing team medalist at the 2000 Olympics, said, “I had a choice of going where I wanted, but my mother was pretty set on Foxcroft and really hoped that I would go there.

My mother always wanted to go to Foxcroft, but Miss Charlotte would not allow her. She said, because my mother was so horsey, that she was afraid my mother would graduate with a mane and a tail!”

Nina fulfilled her mother’s Foxcroft yearning and immersed herself in team sports — field hockey, basketball, lacrosse and tennis — as well as riding horses at home and at school.

“We had fantastic instructors, fantastic seasoned school horses, and wonderful working staff — really great horsemen.

The riding program was wellrounded, not just foxhunting, but also eventing and showing. We even did a volunteer

The National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg, Va., celebrates Foxcroft’s Centennial with the exhibition “The Art of Women and the Sporting Life” until August 24. For information: www.nsl.org For more information about Foxcroft, please visit: www.foxcroft.org

Private Collection

when she could no longer ride to hounds. Hannum served from 1945 until 2003 as Master of Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds and worked tirelessly for land conservation in southeast Pennsylvania.

“I was definitely a Fox, like my mother Nancy Hannum,” said Carol Hannum Davidson (’64).

“They keep the team in the family — you are very loyal to your Fox or Hound team in the intramural competition. Foxcroft was very competitive and we always wanted to do our personal best.

“Foxhunting was very much a part of my life and it still is,” says Davidson. “It’s the only non-competitive sport in the world — it’s all about the fox, hounds, horses and country — a neighborly and community endeavor. I care very much about foxhunting and land conservation. My life has been all about foxhunting, but I stepped back quite a bit at the end of my mother’s time as Master. Why it didn’t kill her to step down I don’t know, but she was quite a lady and had that Foxcroft spirit behind her.

“I grew up in my mother’s shadow — she was a very strong person,” she adds. “I remember one particular piece of property she was trying to save. She wrote a rather harsh letter to this man, and I said, ‘Mother, you catch more bees with honey than you do with vinegar.’ I went and talked to the man. Then, my mother wrote him another letter and said, ‘rather than be a heel, why don’t you be a hero and put this land under easement?’ — and he did. I don’t have any titles with the hunt, but I nudge a lot.

The hunt is a very strong factor in land conservation — that’s really important. We have to save the land or there ain’t going to be no more of it no more!”

Going Well, 1987, Heather St. Clair Davis, artist.

Leslie Shiels Dizygotic Hound Right

20”x30” serigraph hand pulled edition of 35

see this printed on You Tube, search: A limited edition serigraph, ‘Dizygotic Hound Right’

Katrina Becker Driving “Fulmer Black Prince” to a Gooch Wagon at Oakmeade, Aiken, SC, c. 2000, Booth Malone, artist.

therapeutic riding program. We were lucky to be there. It was a wonderful time.”

Nina was honored recently with induction into the Foxcroft Hall of Fame alongside Jane Forbes Clark (’73) and Juliet Graham (’72), with posthumous honors for Miss Charlotte and Teresa E. Shook (’39), who returned after college to pioneer Foxcroft’s athletic program.

“I am so honored — to be included in that circle of women is quite extraordinary and I’m very flattered,” says Nina.

Juliet Graham went to England for a few years after Foxcroft and competed internationally for ten years on the Canadian eventing team: Badminton, Burghley, one Olympics and three World Championships, including the 1978 Canadian

team gold medal. She moved to Upperville, Va., after the 1976 Olympics. Graham hunts with Piedmont Foxhounds and works at Piedmont Equine Practice. She teaches eventers and foxhunters, and trains and competes her young horse, which might hunt some day.

“I’m not going to Rolex this year because Foxcroft’s 100th anniversary is that weekend,” Graham said. “I usually go to Rolex because I’m a selector for the Canadian three-day team.

Rolex happens every year; this is only happening once.”

Graham started hunting her freshman year at Foxcroft. Her first impression: “Loved it!”

Miss Charlotte’s school made some big impressions on her.

“The honor code really meant something, students turned

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“Sportsmanship and the whole team spirit thing, Foxes versus Hounds — that was amazing. It was a serious friendly rivalry, a great thing.”

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Community Engagement

Penny Denègre did not attend Foxcroft, but she is intimately connected to the school. She is a Foxcroft School trustee and parent of alumna Aidan Denègre Moylan (2007). She became Joint MFH of Middleburg Hunt in 1991. She and fellow MFH Jeff Blue have made it their habit to promote foxhunting to juniors in the community.

The art exhibit at the NSLM came about when Denègre and Marcy Harris, the local co-chairs of the Community Relations Committee for Foxcroft’s centennial, suggested a show of local artists. Mia Martin Bickman (’78), one of the steering committee co-chairs, took the ball and ran

with it in true Foxcroft fashion — straight to Claudia Pfeiffer, the George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Curator of Sporting Art at the National Sporting Library & Museum.

“We had no idea that our suggestion would turn out to be as fantastic as the exhibition put on by the Sporting Library,” Denègre says. “Foxcroft is a terrific school. But even more, what I think its greatest contribution is that it builds character in the students. These girls learn about integrity, giving back to the community, caring for people in the community, and they learn about being involved with the land and with conservation.

Miss Charlotte was a visionary, no doubt about it. It has been proven that single-gender educational experiences for girls are wonderful — they can excel in all facets of life.”

Lauren Giannini is a freelance writer and photographer. She writes about horses and foxhunting from Northern Virginia.

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Hounds & Horses

ohlivia

A good foxhunter is a natural cross-country horse.

He boldly traverses many different types of obstacles.

The Eventing-Foxhunting Connection Why eventers should foxhunt, and vice versa.

38 | Covertside

eventing is what we have now, which is a specialty technical sport,” says Emerson. “As the

expertise of riders increased, the jumps didn’t get bigger, but they got more technical.” Since then,

Eventing great Denny Emerson is a true believer in foxhunting for eventers.

son

to The Chronicle of the Horse — recalls a conversation he had years ago with show jumping legend Bill Steinkraus about the evolution of eventing. “He told me there were three incarnations of eventing: First was the mounted cavalry. Then, when the mounted cavalries disbanded in 1948, the only thing that saved eventing was foxhunting.

Foxhunting is a sport, but not a competitive one. Eventing became a way for foxhunters to compete,” said Emerson.

That’s not necessarily the case today. “The third incarnation of

Emer courtesy Denny

O

nce upon a time, foxhunters were eventers, and eventers were foxhunters, and peace reigned throughout the kingdom.

Okay, maybe peace didn’t reign, but it’s true that, in the early days of eventing, the two sports were closely intertwined.

It was rare to find an eventer who didn’t also foxhunt and vice versa.

Denny Emerson — a champion eventer, endurance rider, former foxhunter and one of the 50 most influential horsemen of the twentieth century, according

By Laura Mullane

the connection between the two sports has faded considerably. It’s increasingly rare to find riders who do both sports, which is unfortunate, according to both Emerson and James Wofford, another international champion eventer and former foxhunter.

“There are two questions, really: Should eventers foxhunt?

with the hounds, you don’t have the chance to set them up for the ditch that’s coming. You just go.”

It also teaches riders to stop micromanaging and stay out of the horse’s way, says Nancy Ambrosiano, a former preliminary eventer who is now president of the Caza Ladron Hunt in New Mexico and the MFHA board’s US

Foxhunters should try eventing to learn how to ride with a more independent seat and softer hands.

And should foxhunters event?” says Wofford, whose father was MFH of the former Cavalry School Hunt in Fort Riley, Kansas, and whose wife, Gail, was MFH of the Piedmont Fox Hounds in Virginia. “The answer to both of those questions is: yes, absolutely.”

Why Should Eventers Foxhunt?

Eventers, according to Wofford, live a very disciplined and predictable life with a regimented training schedule. Foxhunting, on the other hand, is highly variable. “The ability to cross the country without having walked [the course] — to canter up to something, assess it quickly and get through it safely — that’s good for eventers,” he says. “It’s a different skill than walking a course three times and planning out ‘five strides from this bank to that ditch.’”

Meridith Hatterman, who is first whipper-in with the Bijou Springs Hunt in Colorado and has evented at the advanced level, agrees. “When you go to an event, it’s clear that a lot of people are learning to gallop in an arena.

People just aren’t comfortable galloping at speed at fences and jumping out of stride,” she says.

“When you’re galloping along

Pony Clubs liaison. “Eventers are so used to managing every footfall of the horse — particularly in the dressage and show jumping rings.

You can’t do that when you foxhunt. It teaches you to trust your horse and let go,” she says.

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Why Should Foxhunters Event?

When asked why foxhunters should go outside of their comfort zone and learn some of the eventing disciplines — particularly dressage — Wofford didn’t skip a beat. “Let’s be serious here, folks,” he says. “Foxhunt-

What is Eventing?

Eventing is the triathlon of equestrian sports. It comprises three phases: dressage, cross-country jumping and stadium jumping. Scores for the three phases are cumulative, with the horse with the lowest number of penalty points winning. For more information, go to the United States Eventing Association’s web site: www.useventing.com.

summer 2014 | 39

Encouraging Crossover Getting more crossover between the worlds of foxhunting and eventing is often just a matter of exposing each side to the other. The Caza Ladron Hunt in Santa Fe, New Mexico, makes a concerted effort to introduce eventers to the world of foxhunting by inviting pony club members to hunt any time for free, or to join the club for a $10 youth membership.

“Since pony club grew out of the interest of foxhunters in providing a safe, sensible training ground for future hunters, it’s a great combination,” says Nancy Ambrosiano, president of Caza Ladron and the MFHA Board’s liaison to the United States Pony Club. The hunt also has a long-standing tradition of helping at local events by volunteering as jump crew and jump judges — which helps hunt club members see eventing up close and familiarize themselves with the rules.

ers are terrible riders.” But, he added, that’s because foxhunters “ride to hunt,” which, he says, is

exactly what they should be doing. But sometimes, the results aren’t very pretty.

“You see a lot of people in the hunt field who are riding with their hands and not their bodies,” says Hatterman.

“They wonder why their horse is running off with them — it’s because they’re hanging on their horse’s mouth.” Dressage lessons can help fix this by teaching riders how to use their seat independently of their hands.

Ambrosiano asserts that hunt clubs would be doing their members a service to offer more pony club-like classes that teach not only how to ride better, but also better horse care and management. “Foxhunters would benefit from more understanding about how to keep their horses sound and recognizing signs of lameness,” she says.

Outside the Comfort Zone

The moral of the story is that all riders can benefit from getting outside of their comfort zones and trying something new. Eventers should try foxhunting to learn how to be bolder and trust their horses more. Foxhunters should try eventing to learn how to ride with a more independent seat and softer hands. In the end, more crossover between these two sports will foster better riders, happier horses and a growing base of support for both sports. Who can argue with that?

Laura Mullane is a writer based in New Mexico. She is an eventer who also foxhunts and sees the benefits on a daily basis.

Matthew eliott, a long time equine veterinarian and first time author presents this delightful book which lovers of horses and all animals will relish.

Dr. Eliott is a masterful storyteller who captures with humor and humility the magical world of horses. In his stories you will meet a cast of memorable characters and gain insight into the daily life and unusual adventures of a vet on the road.

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5/9/13 1:15 PM

library The author, J. Harris Anderson, is a foxhunter who writes from 40 years of experience.

The Prophet of Paradise

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by J. Harris Anderson, 2014, Blue Cardinal Press (February 19, 2014) available at amazon.com.

Going to Church review by Harry S. Kuniansky, MFH Misty River Hounds

J.

Harris Anderson (John) is the managing editor of In & Around Horse Country, and an avid rider and foxhunter with over forty years’ experience in the saddle. If pressed, however, he will also admit that his greatest accomplishment in foxhunting has been to successfully dodge the designation of MFH and remain a field master and whipper-in.

His years of experience have given him an encyclopedic knowledge of our sport. John has now graced us with a novel of great wit and insight, touching on a subject dear to the heart of Covertside readers — the people who inhabit the world of mounted foxhunting. His novel is to foxhunting what “Primary Colors” is to politics, except rather than having to guess who the author was we are left to

guess who the characters really are. Hopefully he has disguised them sufficiently that his lawyers may breathe a sigh of relief.

With an artist’s eye for the landscape and a musician’s ear for dialogue, John has painted a portrait of hunt society that we all secretly love but refuse to admit.

The book also contains a separate “cast of characters” as an appendix which I highly recommend you copy and keep at the ready to save the trouble of continuously going back and forth to keep track of, in the words of the old limerick, who is doing what, and with which, and to whom.

The entry of The Church of Foxhunting, an organized religion dedicated to the sport of chasing red and gray foxes, as well as the two-legged variety, creates havoc in the staid Virginia countryside with those who would admit publicly to hunting only the four-

legged species. The cast of characters divides into two camps, each of which follows the teachings of St. Hubert, but disagrees on whether to follow his principles before or after his conversion.

While I was highly entertained throughout, it was not until chapter fourteen, when, in a nod to Stephen King, John set the hook, that my reading went from a chapter or two before bed to the “I can’t put it down” phase.

The inhabitants of Paradise Gap include “Thumper” Billington, the aristocratic Master, with whom I could not help but bond after his agreement with a friend who confessed that if he caught his wife having an affair with his huntsman he would have no choice but to divorce the wife, since a good huntsman was far more difficult to replace than a wife. Thumper’s Joint Master, Ryman McKendrick, floats in and

out of reality keeping us on our toes awaiting his next vision. The remainder of the cast are neurotic enough to compel us onward to the next page. Through it all, John manages to weave together issues that confront hunting today as well as questions about faith, family ties and religion.

While I have enjoyed his humorous writings over the years, “The Prophet of Paradise” has promoted him from essayist to author. Do not, as Abbie Hoffman would advise, steal (or borrow) this book. Rush out and purchase it; you owe it not only to John, but more than that, to yourself.

Harry Kuniansky, MFH, is a lawyer and Covertside contributor. summer 2014 | 41

Q&A

Three Questions for …

The Red Fox in Art

–

A masterful, comprehensive tribute to one of the great iconic animals of art and literature – a must-have book for all readers, collectors, and lovers of wildlife.

Trade edition • hard cover with dust jacket • 650 copies Both opulent, full-color editions, authored and curated by John Orrelle, are 11 x 11 inches with 360 pages, featuring nearly 300 paintings and sculpture.

Deluxe edition in slip case • 100 copies signed and numbered

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Courtesy William Secord Gallery

Don’t miss this important book!

William Secord & Galina Zhitomirsky

W

illiam Secord completed a Masters degree in arts administration at NYU and the course work for a Ph.D before becoming the first director of what was then known as The Dog Museum of America. After the museum moved to St. Louis, Secord opened the William Secord Gallery (1989), specializing in the exhibition and sale of 19th century dog and animal paintings. Since that time, he has become the world’s acknowledged expert on 19th century dog painting, having written four reference books on the subject. He is currently working on a book on the history of horse painting.

Galina Zhitomirsky earned an MA in Business Administration from the University of Moscow in 1979. She moved to New York where she completed a certificate program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York. She became the director of William Secord Gallery in 2000.

Covertside: Sporting art and New York? Why not Middleburg?

WS: While New York City seems an unlikely place to find an impressive group of sporting and animal paintings, the upper east side gallery in Manhattan proved to be an ideal venue for the paintings of English nineteenth century artist John Emms. We always mount a dogrelated exhibition around the time of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Westminster attracts people from all over the world, and many of them have put the gallery on their “must do” list when they are in the city for the dog show.

This exhibition also attracted many from the sporting fraternity; we knew that Emms was a favorite with the foxhunters, so we put up the show early, in time for the annual meeting and Masters’ Ball.

GZ: We had waves of people coming by. One moment the gallery was empty, and the next, there was a group of twelve, all knowledgeable about Emms’ work.

Covertside: What made this exhibition special?

WS: The exhibition, which included fifty-three original oil paintings gathered from three prominent collections, and all for sale, was installed in Secord’s front gallery, and there were so many paintings that they were double and triple hung. It was the largest grouping of paintings

by John Emms ever assembled.

Included were works dating from an early still life of 1865 to a late painting of English setters dated 1909, only three years before the artist’s death.

One unexpected side effect for viewers was that they were able to piece together a chronological sequence of the artist’s work, seeing how the artist’s style evolved over time. Emms’ rich, painterly style was evident as early as the 1860s, becoming looser as his work evolved.

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Covertside: Did you have a lot of collectors show up?

GZ: The exhibition was a success from the point of view of sales, and from the record breaking number of people who viewed the show.

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Hounding Questions for Matthew Van Der Woude

M

atthew Van Der Woude just finished his eighth season carrying the horn for the Warrenton Hunt. Prior to becoming huntsman, Matt whipped-in to Huntsman Jim Atkins for thirteen years and ran his own contracting business, building stables and barns of multiple varieties. His wife and two girls all actively ride, hunt, and show. In his spare time, Matt enjoys road biking.

Warrenton Hunt’s territory comprises rolling grass hills in Fauquier and Culpeper Counties (Va.), approximately an hour’s drive south and west of Washington, D.C. www.warrentonhunt.com Warrenton Huntsman Matt Van Der Woude

Should you breed hounds for speed, at the expense of leaving your field behind, or do you breed for a great nose that can follow game at a distance so your field has some hope of staying near the hounds?

Matt: Breed for nose; if you don’t have any nose, you don’t have anything. Breed hounds for the country you hunt.

For example, really fast hounds in small country will not work well. They’ll leave everyone behind. Take a look at the demographics of the field as well.

If you breed hounds for speed, and only staff can keep up, you take the field, especially the hilltoppers, out of the game. If the field can’t keep up, they don’t enjoy themselves and might not come back.

You want the pace to be fast enough that field members

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enjoy the day, but not so fast that they can’t keep up.

At what age is a hound too old to hunt? Do you have a separate pack for slower days where you can semi-retire your older hounds? matt: To my mind, there is no golden rule regarding retirement age.

Having finished my eighth season as huntsman, I have been through what I consider a cycle of hounds. They will tell you when they

are ready to retire. I do have some seven- and eight-yearold hounds that are still hanging in there with the three- and four-year-olds! Our pack isn’t large enough to have one group for the slower day and another for the bigger days, so each hound hunts two days a week. Saturday and Wednesday are usually our bigger days for the more seasoned hounds, while Monday is good for bringing the puppies out.

Do you have a question about hunting?

Write katy@covertside.net

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Fare & Flask

Cucumber Sandwiches

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An addition of sprouts and watercress add pazazz to the well-loved and tradition cucumber sandwich.

Traditional and Delectable This hunt breakfast staple has a twist.

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C

ucumber sandwiches are a satisfying and simple addition to any hunt breakfast or tailgate, as they are easy to make, take, and eat. At the Potomac Hunt Races, we had an unexpected guest of the canine variety leap upon the table and devour the entire plate; and rightfully so, as they are delicious.

Did you know the cucumber has a tremendous place in world

food history? Evidence has suggested the cucumber was first cultivated over 3,000 years ago in what is now India. Reportedly, Roman Emperor Tiberius enjoyed cucumbers so much that Romans devised a greenhouse-type growing method to ensure that he had access to cucumbers year round.

Even Charlemagne enjoyed the green gourds from his gardens during the ninth century. Cucumbers were introduced to England

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in the 1300s, lost, and then reintroduced over the span of two centuries. Christopher Columbus was reportedly able to successfully bring the cucumber to the New World in 1494.

In light of these aforementioned bits of knowledge, it seemed particularly fitting that I found this cucumber sandwich recipe on a very entertaining international online recipe exchange. People from all over the world shared recipes and lots of funny dialect and slang from numerous locations around the globe were slung around, while others debated ingredients and preparation methods.

Cucumbers are classified three ways: slicing, pickling, and burp-less (some people find this type easier to digest). You may be more familiar with cucumbers meant for slicing, and they will work beautifully. More adventurous palates may wish to explore the varied tastes and textures available in the burp-less varieties, such as Lebanese, East Asian, and Persian cucumbers.

Any way you slice it, these sandwiches are a great addition to a tailgate or hunt breakfast.

INGREDIENTS: • 1/2 seedless cucumber, peeled and very thinly • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped watercress leaves • 1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts • 16 slices quality white or wheat bread • Salt to taste Preparation: Place cucumber slices between paper towels to remove excess moisture. In a small bowl, combine butter and watercress; spread on one side of each slice of bread. Lay cucumber slices onto buttered side of eight (8) slices of bread. Sprinkle the cucumbers with salt.

Cover each with 1 tablespoon alfalfa sprouts and top with remaining slices of bread, buttered side down.

Cut sandwiches as desired.

Garnish with watercress and shredded carrot, if desired.

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last run of the day Photograph by Jan Taylor

The Third Generation Jamie Green is the huntsman for Middleton Place Hounds. Jamie’s son Logan was a month old when this picture was taken. Jamie grew up on the Middleton Plantation, Charleston, S.C. His father, Bill Green, has been the drag man for Middleton Place Hounds since 1974 when the hunt was formed. When Jamie was a little boy, Bill used to ride out with Jamie strapped to his back. Jamie has been the huntsman since 2005.

Jamie plans on raising Logan in the same “Green” way.

—jan taylor

Editor’s Note: Do you have a photo, story or essay to share with Covertside? Send high-resolution, 300 dpi photographs or essays to editor@covertside.net, or snail mail to Covertside, 2329 Lakeview Rd. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105 48 | Covertside

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