In & Around Horse Country Summer 2022

VOLUME XXXIV / NUMBER 2 • THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE VIRGINIA STEEPLECHASE ASSOCIATION • SUMMER 2022

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

1

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

2

SPORTING LIFE HIGHLIGHTS

Large Pony Winner at Rappahannock

Junior North American Field Hunter Championships Announces Scheduling and Status Updates To better accommodate the variations in hunting conditions and season scheduling across the US and Canada, the next JNAFHC Finals will be held on March 4, 2023, hosted by Mells Fox Hounds in Tennessee. Qualifiers will be held throughout the season, starting in the fall. The organization has also received 501(c)(3) status from the IRS, which will provide a benefit to donors. Goals have been set for scholarships for juniors to attend hunt clinics as well as the finals, “Zooming with Rachel,” which was very popular in 2021, and gaining access and developing a passion for the sport of foxhunting.

Hunts are encouraged to host qualifiers and participate in the year-long road to the finals. For more information, check out the website at www.JNAFHC.com or visit the Facebook page “Junior North American Field Porter Pfister, Iroquois Hunt, 2021 JNAFHC Champion, Hilltopper 10 & Under.

Championships.”

David Traxler photo

Savitt, Friedenberg Equestrian Art Featured at Morven Park More than 60 works of art by famed equestrian illustrator Sam Savitt and bronze sculptures by the renowned sculptor Kathleen Friedenberg will be on display at the Westmoreland Davis Mansion at Morven Park, Leesburg, Va., from Sun. May 29 to June 25. The exhibition opening is 5 p.m. May 28; the $40 opening reception tickets can be purchased online at https://mhhna.org/.

Savitt (1917-2000), an accomplished and prolific American artist, illustrated more than 130 books during his 50-year career, wrote and illustrated 15 books, and co-authored two others. He held the position of official artist of the United States Equestrian Team and designed Sam Savitt, 1961. the official poster for the 1991 Kentucky Derby. In 1980 Savitt was one of 10 internationally-recognized equestrian artists who founded the American Academy of Equine Art in Lexington, Ky. The Chronicle of the Horse featured Sam Savitt’s artwork on its magazine cover 31 times.

Kathleen Friedenberg, who started her career as a veterinary surgeon in England, has a background in medical and veterinary illustration, including three books and twenty covers on the Chronicle of the Horse. For twenty years she conducted an annual workshop of equestrian sculpture at the Kentucky Horse PHOTOGRAPHERS: Lynn Brubaker Liz Callar lizcallar.com Richard Clay richardclayphotography.com Coady Photography coadyphotography.com Tiffany Evitts Mark Jump markjumpphotography.com Tiffany Dillon Keen dillonkeenphotography.com Douglas Lees douglaslees@comcast.net Camden Littleton camdensphotography.com Joanne Maisano joannemaisano.com David Monostori davidmonostori.com Christopher Smith eyeneyevisions.com David Traxler On the cover: The 125th Maryland Hunt Cup, Glyndon, VEA MD, April 30, 2022, Vintage Vinnie ILLUSTRATION: Claudia Coleman (Teddy Davies, up) – 1st, over the 3rd fence. Douglas Lees photo

Marion Maggiolo presents the Horse Country Saddlery trophy to Goose and Carly Kern for their win in the Large Pony division at the Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point. Douglas Lees photo Park; in 2003 she taught the first of the Academy’s workshops at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine at New Bolton Center. In 2018 Kathleen was elected “Dean of Sculpture,” winning the Academy’s “Award of Excellence” for three consecutive years.

The Museum of Hounds and Hunting (https://mhhna.org), founded in 1985, seeks to preserve the rich North American heritage of hunting with hounds. It acquires and displays important artifacts related to this activity, providing a repository for them. By developing educational exhibits through research projects, hunting with hounds is viewed through the lens of the sport’s historical, sociological, and cultural heritage.

Admission to the Savitt and Friedenberg exhibition May 29 to June 25 is free. The opening reception at 5 p.m. May 28 is $40. The artists’ works will be for sale with a share of the proceeds going to the sponsor, the Museum of Hounds & Hunting, North America (a 501 (C)(3) nonprofit).

Kathleen Friedenberg, “Opening Meet.”

is published 4 times a year.

Editorial and Advertising Address: 60 Alexandria Pike, Warrenton, VA 20186 For information and advertising rates, please call (540) 347-3141, fax (540) 347-7141 Space Deadline for Fall is Aug. 3, 2022. Payment in full due with copy.

Publisher: Marion Maggiolo Managing Editor: J. Harris Anderson Advertising: Debbie Cutler (540) 347-3141, (800) 882-4868, Email: hcdebbiebtc@aol.com Contributors: Lauren Giannini, Will O’Keefe, Osmun, Virginia Equine Alliance, Epp Wilson, Jenny Young LAYOUT & DESIGN: Kate Houchin Copyright © 2022 In & Around Horse Country®. All Rights Reserved. Volume XXXIV, No. 2 POSTMASTER: CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED Regular subscription 5 issues $25.00, U.S.A. First Class subscription $35.00, Europe, Canada, etc. $45.00

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

3

4

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

RACING

Spring Racing

By Will O’Keefe

Rappahannock Hunt Point-To-Point 3-5-2022 After a long hiatus, the Rappahannock Hunt held a point-to-point at Larry Levy’s The Hill, near Boston, Virginia, two years ago. The next year the pandemic wreaked havoc with the sport, and the Rappahannock races were a casualty. This year steeplechase racing was back.

When entries closed for this year’s races, they were extremely light. A big crowd was going to be on hand so something had to be done. Regina Welsh and a group of pony owners with junior jockeys came to the rescue.

Betty McCue (EHM Stables) brought a dozen ponies from Maryland. She also recruited other owners from Maryland to come with their ponies. Add Rosemary Thomas’ two local ponies and enough had signed up to have races for small, medium, and large ponies.

In the small pony race William Slater rode his Chewy to a front running victory. Chewy is a veteran on the Delaware Valley Point-to-Point circuit, and his win was very predictable. Yomar Ortiz, Jr. rode EHM Stables’ Sassy to take second place over Chris Kern’s Mallory (Cami Kern). Yomar Ortiz had better luck in the medium Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point Open Timber pony race. He sent EHM Stables’ Charleston to the front and never looked back winning by 7 lengths over EHM st Fletched (Elizabeth Scully, up) – 1 . Douglas Lees photo Stables’ Thumper (Kaeley Fowler) with Rosemary Thomas’ Duncan Hines (Joseph Ferguson) third. The large pony race went to Chris Kern’s Goose ridden by Carly Kern. Goose went to the front in the early stages and held EHM Stables’ Bailey safe through the stretch. EHM Stables’ Blueberry (Yomar Ortiz) was third.

The first race over fences was a match race between Black and Blue Stable’s Fletched (Elizabeth Scully) and PathFinder Racings’ Bet the Pot (Graham Watters). Bet the Pot set the pace until three fences from home.

At that stage Fletched joined the leader, and they raced as a team until the finish where Fletched was narrowly best by a head. Forrest Kelly was the winning trainer.

The foxhunter timber race was also a two-horse match up. This time the race was drastically different from the open race. Will Driskill’s Boyfriend Brian went to the lead at once and opened a huge lead. Sam Cockburn rated Carey Shefte’s What a Charmer and was content to let the leader run away. The last time around, What a Charmer started to rally as Boyfriend Brian was shortening strides. The race suddenly got interesting.

In the end, What a Charmer’s rally fell 7 lengths short.

William Russell’s Animal Kingston was the VSA’s leading hurdle horse a year ago, and his trainer, Neil Morris, entered him in the open flat race for conditioning purposes for his upcoming races over hurdles. His regular rider, Graham Watters, sent him to the front, and he led the rest of the race winning easily by 4 lengths over Upland Flats Racing LLC’s West Newton (Elizabeth Scully). Daniel Denefrio’s Fightinirish Habit (McLane Hendriks) was third.

Elizabeth Scully got her second win on the card riding Brookfield Stables’ Diva of Seville in the maiden flat race. The field was tightly bunched with NRQ Racing’s Criticize (Graham Watters) showing the way. When the field turned for home, Diva of Seville rallied in the stretch and got up to win by ½ length. Casey Pinkard was the winning trainer. Third place went to Ballybristol Farm LLC’s Mercoeur (James Slater).

Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point Foxhunter Timber Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point 3-19-2022 Boyfriend Brian (Will Driscoll, up) – 1st. Douglas Lees photo The Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point on Saturday, March 19, was perfectly positioned on the calendar to be a prep for upcoming sanctioned meets in the south. The Airlie Race Course is popular with the horsemen and as a result the hurdle races had an overflow of entries.

The first race on the card was the open hurdle race that had a solid field. In the race, trainer Mark Beecher had Holwood Stable and Port Lairge Stables’ Decisive Triumph (Jamie Bargary) sitting on go. He led all the way winning by 2 lengths. Neil Morris saddled PathFinder Racings’ entry of Knockholt (Parker Hendriks) and Bet the Pot (Gerard Galligan) to place second and third.

The maiden hurdle race was split into three divisions with trainer Keri Brion winning two divisions and Mark Beecher winning the other. Brion’s first win was with Molly & Paul Willis’ Parish Delight (Parker Hendriks). Parish Delight ran in the middle of the field, joined the leaders at the last fence, and held off Nancy J. Reed & Jay Griswold’s Bright Eyed Eagle (Gerard Galligan) by ½ length in a driving finish. Brion’s second win was with CFC Stables’ Undercover Rowdy (Barry Foley), who led all the way to win handily by 8 lengths.

Sycamore Run and Katherine Neilson’s Big City Dreams (Gerard Galligan) and Uplands Flats Racing’s King Bubble (Parker Hendriks) were second and third without posing any threat to the winner.

Mark Beecher’s winner was Happenstance & Achsah O’Donovan’s Hero’s Return (Brett Owings). Shamrock and Thistle’s Make a Stand set the pace with Hero’s Return within striking distance. Approaching the last fence, Hero’s Return went to the front and drew away in the stretch winning easily by 6 lengths over Make a Stand. Upland Flats Racing LLC’s Pleasecallmeback (Parker Hendriks) was third.

The timber races followed with two horses going Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point Open Flat in the open timber. Barry Animal Kingston (Graham Watters, up) – 1st.

Foley got his second win ridDouglas Lees photo ing Adlestrop Hill’s Paddy’s Rappahannock Hunt Crown, who shadowed Fat Chance Farm’s Flaming Point-to-Point Sword (McLane Hendriks) Horse Country for most of the race. When Saddlery they entered the stretch, the Maiden Flat (l-r) race was on and these two Diva of Seville battled to the finish. Paddy’s (Elizabeth Scully, Crown proved best by ½ up) – 1st; Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point length. Emily Hannum was Criticize (Graham Maiden Hurdle – 3rd Division Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point Airlee the winning trainer.

Watters, up) – 2nd.

Undercover Rowdy (Barry Foley, Steeplechase Open Hurdle. Decisive Triumph Douglas Lees photo

up) – 1st. Douglas Lees photo

(Jamie Bargary, up) – 1st. Douglas Lees photo

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

Five horses went to the start for the novice timber race. Irvin S. Naylor’s O Dionysus (Eric Poretz) led the field until a half mile out. At this stage, Beverly R. Steinman’s Be Somebody (Brian Cullinane) took control and beat Kinross Farm’s Sea Mast (Barry Foley) to the finish by 4 lengths. Doug Fout, Beverly Steinman’s long-time trainer, got the win. Daniel T. Doane’s Theda’s Boy (Brett Owings) came in third.

Todd McKenna saddled the first two finishers in the foxhunter timber race. Keystone Thoroughbreds’ So Sublime (Teddy Davies) won with a front running trip that left Upland Partners’ Rhythmia (Colin Smith) in his wake. The final margin was 7 lengths.

It took the placing judges a long time to determine the result of the sidesaddle race. Cherry Blossom Farm LLC’s Soul Approval (Devon Zebrovious) and Olivia Sitar’s Nova entered the stretch together and neither horse gave an inch in a driving finish. The placing judges declared a dead heat. Julie Nafe’s Gun Lobby was third. George Kuk trained Soul Approval and Nova was saddled by her owner.

Two flat races closed the day’s racing. The first was an open race that Blythe Miller Davies’ Brave Deacon won on the pace. This was Teddy Davies’ second win. Doug Fout trained Rolling Tide LLC’s Dothecantbedone (Barry Foley) and Vivian Warren’s Timeistheenemy (Brian Cullinane), who were second and third Keri Brion added another win saddling Atlantic Friends Racing’s Historic Heart (Parker Hendriks) to win the novice rider flat race. Historic Heart rallied from off the pace to take the lead in the last quarter mile and held Frank Bonsal, Jr.’s Cobalt Baron (Colin Smith) safe in the stretch by 1 length. Fearnaught Farm LLC’s Hooroo (Abby Murphy) was third.

Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point 3-26-2022 The Salem Course near Upperville, Virginia, where the Piedmont Fox Hounds hold their point-to-point races, is very popular with the horsemen. The combination of stone walls and post-and-rail fences is attractive to trainers, who have timber prospects that have hunted.

The biggest race on the card was the maiden timber race that had six starters. In the race Bon Nouvel Chasers II’s Ya Ya Boy (McLane Hendriks) was rated off the pace for most of the race. He launched a rally in the final quarter mile and held off The Hundred Acre Field’s Cracker Factory (Brett Owens) in the run in from the last fence to win by 1¼ lengths. Frank Bonsal, Jr.’s Profiteer (Eric Poretz) finished third. The winning trainer, Julie Gomena, hunts with Piedmont, which made this victory very popular.

Entries were sparse in the rest of the timber races. $30,000 in purse money at the Cheshire Point-to-Point on Sunday attracted many horses that might have run at Piedmont. The first race to experience this decline in entries was the amateur and novice rider timber race whose three entries were combined with the lone horse from the foxhunters’ race. This quartet was led by Carey Shefte’s What a Charmer (Sam Cockburn). When he relinquished the lead and ultimately pulled up, EHB Racing’s Huyana (Eric Poretz) took control. He never looked back and won by 3 lengths over Michael A. Smith’s Le Chevalier (McLane Hendriks). Kinross Farm’s Blackhall (Teddy Davies) came in third.

The next two races were combined to make a three-horse race. Upland Partners’ Mystic Strike (Teddy Davies) from the Rokeby Challenge Cup ran with Peter A. & Sarah M. Jay’s Be Counted (Elizabeth Scully) and Adlestrop Hill’s Cocodimama (Chloe Hannum) from the lady rider race. This three-horse race was the most exciting race of the day. Be Counted led for most of the race, but Cocodimama took command in the final quarter mile and seemed on his way to victory. Be Counted found another gear and came flying to pass Cocodimama and win the lady’s race by 2 lengths. Be Counted was trained by Todd Wyatt. In the Rokeby Challenge Cup, Mystic Strike sat behind the ladies waiting to pounce. He closed with a rush and beat Be Counted by a neck. The Rokeby Challenge Cup went to Pennsylvania with trainer Todd McKenna.

Six horses contested the open flat race that featured last year’s winner of the Maryland Hunt Cup, Vintage Vinnie (Teddy Davies), out for a tightener. Vintage Vinnie finished second a neck behind Keystone Thoroughbred’s Hard Strike, but he got a valuable race under his belt for his timber campaign. This result gave Todd McKenna and Elizabeth Scully their second win. S. Rebecca Shepherd’s Ahnaf (Colin Smith) was third.

The Virginia bred race was a match race between a winner, Pathfinder Racing’s Gas Money (McLane Hendriks), and a maiden, Valvo Racing LLC’s Lorinska (Eric Poretz). This race ran to form with Gas Money pulling away to win by 5 lengths. Neil Morris trained Gas Money.

5

Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point Foxhunter Timber So Sublime (Teddy Davies, up) – 1st. Douglas Lees photo

Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point George Robert Slater Memorial Maiden Timber (l-r) Profiteer (Eric Poretz, up) – 3rd; Cracker Factory (Brett Owings, up) – 2nd; Ya Boy Ya (McLane Hendriks, up) – 1st.

Douglas Lees photo

Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point Amateur and Novice Rider Timber Huyana (Eric Poretz, up) – 1st. Douglas Lees photo

Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point Col. Richard Henry Dulany Open Flat (l-r) Hard Strike (Elizabeth Scully, up) – 1st; Ahnaf (Colin Smith, up) – 3rd; Vintage Vinnie (Teddy Davies, up) – 2nd. Douglas Lees photo

Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point VHBPA Flat Gas Money (McLane Hendriks, up) – 1st.

Douglas Lees photo

Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point Thomas M. Beach & Virginia A. Beach Memorial Lady Rider Timber Be Counted (Elizabeth Scully, up) – 1st. Douglas Lees photo

6

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point 4-9-2022

Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point Big Cobbler Amateur/Novice Rider Hurdle Knockholt (Parker Hendriks, up) – 1st. Douglas Lees photo

Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point Volanee Maiden Hurdle – 1st Division: (l-r) Connagh’s Quay – 1st; Caughtmeoncamera (Parker Hendriks, up) – 2nd. Douglas Lees photo

Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point Meeting House Mountain Open Hurdle (l-r) Razoul (Bernie Dalton, up) – 1st; State of Affair (Thomas Garner, up) – 2nd. Douglas Lees photo

Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point Amateur Novice Rider Hurdle Bella Coola (Colin Smith, up) – 1st. Joanne Maisano photo

Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point Volanee Maiden Hurdle - 3rd Division (l-r) Agravain (Thomas Garner, up) - 1st, Potus (Graham Watters, up) - 3rd, Pacifist (Bernie Dalton, up) - 4th.

Joanne Maisano photo

The Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point at Ben Venue, Virginia, is always well attended with hillside viewing and a popular racecourse. Entries were heavy without competition from a sanctioned meet this weekend, and the steeplechase sport could not have been better.

The amateur/novice hurdle race was the first to be run, and it was exciting. Merriebelle Stable LLC’s Beat Le Bon (Connor Hankin) made the early pace, but he dropped back to settle for third as PathFinder Racing’s Knockholt (Parker Hendriks) and Irvin S. Naylor’s stakes winner Amschel (Dylan McDonagh) made this a two-horse race. They battled to the finish where Knockholt won by a head. Neil Morris trained the winner.

Twenty four horses arrived to run in the maiden hurdle race, which necessitated a three way split. In the first division, Woodslane Farm’s Lunaire (Graham Watters) raced with Buttonwood Farm’s Caughtmeoncamera (Parker Hendriks) on the front end. When Lunaire dropped back, Caughmeoncamera was joined by Mrs. George L. Ohrstrom’s Connagh’s Quay (Barry Foley). These two arrived at the finish together with Connagh’s Quay best by ¾ length. The International Venture’s L Jay (Mikey Hamill) was third. Richard Valentine was the winning trainer, and Keri Brian saddled the second and third place finishers.

Barry Foley also rode the winner of the second division, Irvin S. Naylor’s Turbo Drive, for trainer Cyril Murphy. Turbo Drive led from the drop of the starters’ flag with Hard Game (Skylar McKenna) close behind.

With a quarter mile to run, Hard Game jumped a beacon and lost his rider leaving Turbo Drive alone to win by 4½ lengths. Metahorse Racing’s Kicking Myself (Parker Hendrik) and Signal Hill Farm’s Peace Nickle rallied from far back to be second and third but were not threats to the winner.

The third division went to Bruton Street-US’ Agravain (Thomas Garner) by a short head over Bourke Racing’s Economic Policy (Gerard Galligan). Agravain was always within striking distance and vied for the lead with Economic Policy from the last fence to the wire. This was a driving finish with neither horse nor rider giving an inch. Riverdee Stable’s Potus (Graham Watters) was third. Todd Wyatt trained the winner as well as the winner of the open timber race.

In that race Four Virginia Gents’ First Friday (Barry Foley) set the pace with Adlestrop Hill’s Paddy’s Crown (Harrison Beswick) and Riverdee Stable’s Lonely Weekend (Thomas Garner) right behind the leaders in a tightly bunched five horse field. Lonely Weekend took the lead with three furlongs to run and held off Paddy’s Crown to win by 1½ lengths. First Friday was third.

Todd Wyatt just missed a third win when Mrs. S. K. Johnston, Jr.’s State of Affair finished second to Del Rio Chasers LLC’s Razoul who was ridden by Bernard Dalton, the husband of trainer, Kate Dalton. State of Affair (Thomas Garner) set the pace holding a comfortable lead. At the last hurdle he was still on top, but Razoul was closing fast. Razoul’s momentum carried him past State of Affair to win by ¾ length. Irvin S. Naylor’s How Ya Bud (Parker Hendriks) was third.

Five horses went to the start in the amateur/novice rider timber race. WD Racing’s Broken Force (Jamie Neild) raced to a commanding lead the first time around. That lead diminished the last time around leaving Broken Force helpless to hold off The Hundred Acre Field’s Cracker Factory (Brett Owings) when he rallied and won going away by 9 lengths. Adlestrop Hill’s Cocodimama (Chloe Hannum) finished third. Mark Beecher was the winning trainer.

Irvin S. Naylor’s French Light (Parker Hendriks) was always within striking distance in the novice rider flat race. He went to the front in the final furlong and won handily by 3 lengths. Charles C. Fenwick, Jr.’s Royal Ruse (Skylar McKenna) made a late charge for second and Bon Nouvel Chasers LLC’s Sudden Victory (Sam Cockburn) held on for third. The winning rider, Parker Hendriks, joined Barry Foley and Thomas Garner with two wins on the card. Keri Brion trained the winner.

The best horse doesn’t always win, and that was certainly the case when Bruce Collette’s Eryx (Forest Stone) romped home alone ahead of Over Creek Stables LLC’s Post War (Ross Geraghty) in the Virginia Bred, Sired or Certified flat race. Unfortunately, Eryz cut a beacon and had to be disqualified. This made Post War the winner over Valvo Racing LLC’s Lorinska (Barry Foley) by 9½ lengths. Post War was trained by Julie Gomena.

Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point 4-17-2022 A good crowd was on hand April 17 to celebrate Easter and to see a day of steeplechase and flat racing at Woodley Farm near Berryville, Virginia. Horses, beagles, foxhounds and a few Easter bunnies were on hand.

The day started with two hurdle races, one for maidens and the second for amateur and novice riders. In the maiden race Flying Pheasant Farm LLC’s Felix Leiter (Brett Owings) was well prepared by Mark Beecher to win at first asking. Felix Leiter raced near the pace and went to the front with a mile to run. White Oaks Stables LLC’s Shendam (Paul Cawley) responded to the challenge and regained the lead with a furlong remaining, but Felix Leiter came again and won going away by 2 lengths.

7

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

The amateur/novice hurdle race went to Mary P. Voss and Peter Webb’s Bella Coola (Colin Smith) by the slimmest of margins over Blythe Miller Davies’ Brave Deacon (Teddy Davies). Brave Deacon set the pace with the field close behind. At the head of the stretch, Bella Coola engaged Brave Deacon and nearly matched strides for the rest of the race. Bella Coola won on the nod for trainer Elizabeth Voss.

The three flat races attracted light fields. The first was a match race for young adults. There were only two starters, EHB Racing’s Huyana with Colin Smith riding for trainer Casey Pinkard, and Camille deStanley on Camille & Olivia deStanley’s Big Dave. Huyana went to the front immediately with Big Dave within striking distance. That didn’t last long as Huyana widened and won by at least 30 lengths. Casey Pinkard trained the winner.

Mark Beecher saddled his second winner when Merriebelle LLC and Jeffrey Amling’s Real Story (Brett Owings) won the novice rider flat race. Real Story sprinted to a comfortable lead and held on when Grey Giant (Teddy Davies) made a bold move in the stretch and just missed by ½ length. This was also Brett Owing’s second win.

Gordon C. Keys’ Keys Discount (Emme Fullilove) came from off the pace to win the Virginia Bred Sired or Certified flat race over Nicki Valvo’s Mountain Express (Bryan Cullinane). The other starter, Nicole Brown’s Mygrandmaisrachel (Barry Foley) went off course and was disqualified.

Casey Pinkard had her second win when Frank Bonsal, Jr.’s Profiteer (Paul Cawley) won the novice timber race.

Profiteer trailed the field but was always within striking distance. Larry Levy’s Easy Exit (Gerard Galligan) led in the early going but Crooked Run Racings’ Love of the Bay (Barry Foley) went to the front when Easy Exit tired. It was Mo’s in the House’s turn to lead next. Mo’s in the House (Gerard Galligan) replaced Love of the Bay in the last three quarters of a mile. Profiteer made his run when it was most important and won going away by 3 lengths.

Middleburg Spring Races 4-23-22 Glenwood Park near Middleburg, Virginia, is a great place to go to the races and you can count on a festive crowd to be there to enjoy a day in the country and great steeplechase racing. On Saturday, April 23 some of this country’s best hurdle and timber horses were there to contest the $75,000 Temple Gwathmey Hurdle Stakes, the $25,000 Middleburg Hunt Cup Timber Stakes, and five additional hurdle and flat races.

Bruton Street-US’s Snap Decision (Graham Watters) and his stablemate Moscato won the last two Temple Gwathmeys and that entry was going to be hard to beat. Moscato earned the Eclipse Award in 2020, and Snap Decision had been second to The Mean Queen in 2021. Hudson River Farm’s Iranistan (Parker Hendriks) won the Noell Laing Stakes at Montpelier last fall and couldn’t be ignored. When the starter dropped his flag, Iranistan took off while the others dwelt. Iranistan went to the front with Moscato (Jamie Bargary) stalking him. Snap Decision was farther back but within striking distance and mounted a rally that carried him to jump the last hurdle with the leader. Iranistan responded to the challenge and beat Snap Decision by 2¼ lengths. Moscato was third. The Temple Gwathmey is a handicap and the fact that Iranistan carried 14 fewer pounds than Snap Decision influenced the result. Keri Brion saddled Iranistan, and this was her third of four wins on the card with Parker Hendriks up for three of the four. They had won the training flat race with Buttonwood Farms LLC’s Sa’ad to start the day’s racing.

The Middleburg Hunt Cup Timber Stakes was won in front running fashion by Sheila Williams and Northwoods Stable’s Storm Team (Graham Watters). When last seen at Glenwood Park, Storm Team won the timber stakes at the Virginia Fall Races in 2021. Obviously, he is a horse for this course. Ballybristol Farm LLC’s Andi’amu (Thomas Garner) was making his first start since 2020, and he stalked Storm Team throughout the race finishing second 9 lengths back. Four Virginia Gents’ First Friday (Barry Foley) finished a distant third. Jack Fisher trained Storm Team.

Leslie Young is training Silverton Hill’s Bodes Well (Thomas Garner) to be a steeplethon specialist and the Alfred Hunt Course at Glenwood Park was very much to his liking. He led the entire race and widened to win handily by 27 lengths over Irvin S. Naylor’s A Silent Prayer (Parker Hendriks). Kiplin Hall’s Real Good Man (Jamie Neild) was even farther back in third.

The International Venture, Blue Streak Racing, LLC, and Metahorse Racing’s Going Country (Mikey Hamill) won the hurdle allowance race for horses that had never won two races. He was reserved off the pace but rallied to engage Irvin S. Naylor’s Scorpions Revenge at the last fence.

They matched strides in the stretch before Going Country eased away to win by 1 length. PathFinder Racings’ Bet the Pot (Gerard Galligan) rallied for third. Keri Brion saddled the winner. In fact, Brion trained four of the first five winners.

One of these was Metahorse Racing’s Kicking Myself (Parker Hendriks), who broke her maiden over hurdles in her first start on the flat or over fences. Reserved off the pace, she settled and when asked closed steadily and made up ground to snatch victory from Jennifer Pitts’ Lear Avia (Thomas Garner). Lear Avia had been in the lead from the start but Middleburg Spring Races Middleburg Hunt could not withstand Kicking Myself’s late rush. She lost by 4 lengths. Brion Cup Timber Stakes also saddled the third-place finisher, The International Venture’s Magical Storm Team (Graham Watters, up) – 1st.

Liz Callar photo Charm (Barry Foley).

Kiplin Hall’s Take Profit (Jamie Neild) won the maiden hurdle race in his first effort over hurdles. He stalked Buttonwood Farm’s Caughtmeoncamera (Parker Hendriks), who led until tiring two fences from the finish. Riverdee Stable and Ten Strike Racings’ Awakened (Jamie Bargary) led over the last fence and dueled Take Profit through the stretch. Take Profit proved best by 1 length. Silverton Hill LLC’s Kelmscott (Harrison Beswick) closed with a rush to finish third.

Rider Sean McDermott has launched a new training career and he’s off to a good start. He rode and trained South Branch Equine LLC’s Who’s Counting to win the maiden claiming hurdle race over Happenstance Stable and Achsah O’Donovan’s Hero’s Return (Parker Hendriks). Reserved off the pace, Who’s Counting rallied to win in the stretch over Hero’s Return, who had led over the last two fences. The final margin was 2 lengths with Middleburg Spring Races Maiden Hurdle 18 more lengths to the third place finisher, Sheila J. Williams and NorthTake Profit (Jamie Neild, up) – 1st. woods Stable’s Market Bubble (Jamie Bargary).

Liz Callar photo

Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point Novice Timber Profiteer (Paul Cawley, up) – 1st.

Joanne Maisano photo

Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point Maiden Hurdle Felix Leiter (Brett Owings, up) – 1st.

Joanne Maisano photo

Middleburg Spring Races Temple Gwathmey (Grade II) Sport of Kings Hurdle Stakes Iranistan (Parker Hendriks, up) – 1st.

Liz Callar photo

Middleburg Spring Races Steeplethon Bodes Well (Tom Garner, up) – 1st.

Liz Callar photo

8 Loudoun Hunt Point-to-Point 4-24-2022 The Loudoun Hunt Point-to-Point races were run for the second year at Morven Park near Leesburg on Sunday, April 24. A good crowd was treated to sidesaddle and pony races before the full card of hurdle and flat races.

In the sidesaddle race, Cherry Blossom Farm LLC’s Soul Approval (Devon Zebrovious) set the pace with Sarah Pemberton’s Bird’s the Word a close second.

With a quarter mile to run Bird’s the Word lost his rider and Julie Neff’s Sky Babe started to rally. He went to the front, but Soul Approval had something left and came again to win the race.

Pony races for junior riders were next. Trainer Betty McCue and ponies from her EHM Stables swept the three divisions. In the small race, Yomar Ortiz, Jr. rode Lickety Split to win by 2 lengths over Cami Kern on Chris Kern’s Mallory with Imogen Weaver’s Olney Yes Ma’am (Skye Gammon) third. Yomar Ortiz, Jr. also won the race for medium ponies with Blueberry who came home first by 2½ lengths over Nina McKenna’s Fiona (Ellet Sharp). EHM Stables’ Charleston (Tess Garadaghian) was third. Mini (Jaidyn Shore) took home the prize for finishing first in the large pony race by 3½ lengths over EHM Stables’ Bailey (James Wyatt) and Chris Kern’s Goose (Carly Kern) was third.

The maiden hurdle race had enough entries to be run in two divisions. In the first, Merriebelle Stable, LLC’s Beat Le Bon (Connor Hankin) went to the front at once and held a commanding lead that widened to a quarter mile at the finish. Kate Dalton’s Pull Rank (Bernard Dalton) beat Upland Flats Racing LLC’s Machenbach (Parker Hendriks) in the race for second.

Since the open race had only one entry after scratches, the stewards allowed Riverdee Stable’s City Dreamer (Graham Watters) to school around with the maidens.

When the flag dropped, City Dreamer went to the front with Madaket Stables, CFC Stables & Paul and Molly Willis’ Montmarte D’Ange (Parker Hendriks). Montmarte D’Ange took the lead the second time around and won going away by 1½ lengths. City Dreamer was second and Kate Dalton’s Kenya Road (Bernard Dalton) was third.

Four flat races completed the day’s racing action.

PathFinder Racing’s Gas Money (Graham Watters) had won the Virginia Bred, Sired or Certified Flat Race at Piedmont, and he would win the championship for that series by winning at Loudoun. Gordon C. Keys’ Keys Discount (Dylan McDonagh) was also in pursuit of a second win and it appeared that he was going to get it in the final furlong. Gas Money wasn’t ready to concede and was flying in the stretch to get up in the final yard to win by ½ length. Over Creek Stables LLC’s Post War (Parker Hendriks) was third.

Eight horses went to the start of the next race seeking to win their first race on the flat. Rolling Tide LLC’s Dothecantbedone (Sophie Henelius) led for most of the race, but when Buttonwood Farm’s Baltimore Kid (Parker Hendriks) started to rally in the final furlong, the race was over. He beat Dothecantbedone by 2 lengths going away and Atlanta Hall Racing LLC and E Squared Stables’ Sky Stylish (Paul Cawley) finished third. Red hot trainer Keri Brion got her second win.

Wendy W. Hendriks owns and her son Ricky trains Embrace the Grind (Mikey Hamill) who won the open flat race. Embrace the Grind opened a commanding lead and coasted home alone 7 lengths before Atlanta Friends Racing’s Historic Heart (Parker Hendriks), who rallied belatedly. Irvin S. Naylor’s Belfast Banter (Barry Foley) was third.

The finale was the restricted young adult flat race that scratched down to just two runners. Shannon Hill Farm’s Best Chance (Parker Hendriks) set the pace with Camille & Olivia deStanley’s Big Dave alongside. Best Chance went to the front the last time around and steadily pulled away to win by 20 lengths. This was Parker Hendriks’ third win and trainer Neil Morris’ second winner on the card.

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

Foxfield Spring Races 4-30-2022 The Foxfield Spring Races near Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, April 30 were a great success. The racing was exciting and the improvements to the facility and racecourse were a credit to the new management.

Foxfield hosted a $50,000 Hurdle Stakes honoring Daniel Van Clief, a legendary horseman from the area.

Four runners went to the post in the stakes race.

Irvin S. Naylor’s Chief Justice (Barry Foley) was rated off the pace set by Irvin S. Naylor’s Mighty Mark (Skyler McKenna), and went to the front the last time around when Mighty Mark (Skyler McKenna) was pulled up. He was followed by Mrs. S. K. Johnston, Jr.’s Brianbakescookies (Graham Watters) and Del Rio Racing LLC’s Razoul (Bernard Dalton). They ran in this order to the finish. Cyril Murphy trains Chief Justice, who won going away by 6 lengths. For Barry Foley this was his second win on the day.

The biggest crowd pleaser was the winning effort of Harold A. Via, Jr.’s Welshman (Graham Watters), who broke his maiden in the third race. Harold A. Via lives in nearby Free Union and has been a supporter of racing at Foxfield for many years. He had great success with Good Night Shirt, who won the Eclipse Award in 2007 and 2008. Good Night Shirt was also inducted in Racing’s Hall of Fame in Saratoga, New York. Welshman will have big shoes to fill, but he’s off to a good start. In this race he was reserved off Irvin S. Naylor’s Turbo Drive (Barry Foley), who made all of the running. Turbo Drive pulled up and Welshman took command on the turn for home and widened with every stride after the last fence. Ballybristol Farm LLC’s Cause for Pardon (Harrison Beswick) was well back in the field, and rallied to be second. William G. Wofford’s Catcher’s Mitt (Bernard Dalton) finished many lengths back in third place.

Jack Fisher, who trains Welshman, won a second race when Rather Be Racing’s Our Legend (Graham Watters) won the maiden timber race. Our Legend was right behind Del Rio Racing LLC’s Western Crusader (Harrison Beswick) for most of the race. These two jumped the last fence together and upon landing, Our Legend seized control and drew away to win by 2 lengths with Western Crusader second. Armata Stable’s Highway Prince (Skyler McKenna) never threatened the first two.

The most exciting finish goes to Layton Register’s Seb’s Welcome (Bernard Dalton) and Ballybristol Farm LLC’s Ondaluv (Harrison Beswick). There were three other starters but the race was between Seb’s Welcome and Ondaluv. No more than a length separated them during the race and most of the time they raced together as one. The duel ended up with Seb’s Welcome getting the win by a short nose. Kathryn Massie and Harvey Massie’s Hard Game (Skyler McKenna) came in third but never threatened.

The second race was a ratings hurdle handicap race that had seven starters. Clarke Ohrstrom’s Mr. Bridger (Barry Foley) was the highweight in the race, but this didn’t keep him from winning. Wendy Hendriks’ Embrace the Grind (Mikey Hamill) was the leader the first time around but faded and finished third.

Mr. Bridger was never far from the leaders and rallied to take command on the turn for home. He held off QR Stables’ Criticize’s (Harrison Beswick) mild bid and won by 2 ¾ lengths. This was trainer Laird George’s first winner over fences.

The last race was a ratings hurdle race for apprentice riders. Leipers Fork Steeplechasers’ Court Ruler (Freddie Proctor) raced on the front end with Straylight Racing LLC’s Sempre Medici (Alex Leventhal) close behind, and Crooked Run Racing’s Bullet Star (Erin Swope) in third place. Court Ruler was still on top at the last fence, but Sempre Medici landed running and got up in the final yards to win by a head. Bullet Star was third. Mark Beecher trained the winner.

Foxfield Races Maiden Claiming Hurdle Seb’s Welcome (Bernard Dalton, up) – 1st.

Tiffany Dillon Keen photo

Foxfield Races Ratings Handicap Hurdle Mr. Bridger (Barry Foley, up) – 1st.

Tiffany Dillon Keen photo

Foxfield Races Virginia Equine Alliance Maiden Hurdle Welshman (Graham Watters, up) – 1st.

Tiffany Dillon Keen photo

Foxfield Races Berta Garth Jones Memorial Maiden Timber Our Legend ( #2, Graham Watters, up) – 1st.

Camden Littleton photo

Foxfield Races Apprentice Rider Hurdle Sempre Medici (Alex Levanthal, up) – 1st.

Camden Littleton photo

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

9

Middleburg Hunt Point-to-Point 5-1-2022 On Sunday, May 1, the Middleburg Hunt held their annual point-to-point races over the very popular Glenwood Park Race Course near Middleburg, Virginia. As always, a festive crowd was in attendance to enjoy seven races.

Local trainer Neil Morris had another big day winning two races. He started out winning the novice rider flat race with La Hara Partners’ La Hara whose rider, Parker Hendriks, also doubled. La Hara went to the front with about a mile to run, and led the rest of the race. He won by 1¾ lengths over Irvin S. Naylor’s Family Tree (Sophie Henelius), who made a bid on the turn for home but could not sustain it. Jeremy Gillam’s The Monk (Felix Astudilla) finished well to be third.

Trainer Niall Saville and rider Thomas Garner won both divisions of the maiden flat race. Stormyvale Farm’s Bay Be won the first division with a front running trip to win easily by 5¼ lengths over Alexander Gordon-Watson’s Morning March (Felix Astudilla) with Camille deStanley’s Blue Mandate (Emme Fullilove) third. Freya Gerlach’s Boppin Road won the second division. He trailed the field down the backside, but found a different gear and went from last to first to beat Hickory Made Stable’s Made to be Lucky (Paul Cawley) by 1 length. Made to be Lucky was in a good spot racing into the stretch but couldn’t hold on when Boppin Road came by. Sam English’s owner-ridden Roman Rhythm finished third.

The maiden timber race was next, and this race was an adventure. Gary Fischer & Jay Meister’s Andale (Hunter Holm) set much of the pace but fell three fences from home. William Santoro and Sharon Sheppard’s Mr. Fine Threads (Erika Taylor) inherited a comfortable lead but misjudged the number of times to go around and went off course. Gordonsdale Farm’s Overdrawn (Dylan McDonagh) and Willie White’s Night Sounds briefly followed Mr. Fine Threads but righted Middleburg Hunt Point-to-Point their course and finished in that order. Overdrawn’s winning margin was 32 lengths.

Middleburg Bowl Open Timber The two maiden hurdle races were next with short fields in both. In the first, Upland Flats Racing LLC’s PleaseBe Counted (Colin Smith, up) – 1st. callmeback (Parker Hendriks) stalked Merriebelle Stable LLC and Jeffrey S. Amling’s Real Story (Brett Owings). With a Liz Callar photo mile to run, Real Story went off course. Pleasecallmeback took over and won handily by 2½ lengths over Gregory D. Hawkin’s Saigon (Gerard Galligan). In the other division, Hey Teacher Partners’ Hey Teacher (Parker Hendriks) refused the third fence leaving three runners. Mrs. J.W.Y. Martin’s Gundry (Brett Owings) fell three fences from the finish while leading. That left a twohorse race that was won by Stephanie W. S. Harper’s Golazo (Colin Smith) by 5 lengths over S. Rebecca Shepherd’s Ahnaf (Barry Foley). The winning trainer was Alicia Murphy.

It was fitting that the feature race, the Middleburg Bowl open timber, was the most exciting race of the day. Peter and Sarah Jay’s Be Counted (Colin Smith) led for most of the race with Riverdee Stable’s Lonely Weekend (Thomas Garner) in his shadow. These two jumped the last fence as a team and raced that way through the stretch. The placing judges reviewed the film and determined that Be Counted was the winner by a short nose.

Todd Wyatt trained both horses, and this was apprentice rider Colin Smith’s second consecutive winning race.

Neil Morris closed out the Virginia Point-to-Point season sending PathFinder Racing’s Middleburg Hunt Point-to-Point Virginia Gold Cup Virginia Equine Alliance In Effect (Gerard Galligan) out to win the open flat race. This race was another thriller. Louis Leith Memorial Maiden Maiden Hurdle After being rated off the pace that was set by Mrs. S. K. Johnston’s Eagerly (Paul Cawley) Timber (l-r) Westerland (Gerard Galligan, up) – 5th; and The Fields Stable’s Circus (Barry Foley), In Effect and Eagerly charged down the Overdrawn (Dylan McDonagh, Lunaire (Graham Watters, up) – 4th; Baltimore stretch with In Effect winning by a nose. Circus was third. up) – 1st. Liz Callar photo Kid (#6, Parker Hendriks, up) – 1st; Kelmscott Virginia Gold Cup Races 5-7-2022 (Harrison Beswick, up) – 3rd. Douglas Lees photo In spite of wet and cold conditions, a big crowd came to Great Meadow near The Plains, Virginia, on Saturday, May 7 to watch the races and to be seen. The going was soft for the spectators and the horses. Horses that like soft going loved it and those that don’t hated it. As a result, many of the races were not very competitive, but the horses trained by Keri Brion and Leslie Young thrived under these conditions. Keri Brion won four of the races and Leslie Young won the other three.

A star-studded field lined up to race in the $100,000 Virginia Gold Cup but there were only three that finished. The soft going took a toll on the others. Amateur rider Freddie Procter kept Ballybristol Farm LLC’s Andi’amu either close to the lead or on the lead throughout the race seeking the best going. It paid off as Andi’amu romped home alone beating Mrs. John R. S. Fisher’s Schoodic (Connor Hankin) to the finish by 23 lengths. Fat Chance Farm’s Flaming Sword (McLane Hendriks) trailed in third place. Andi’amu had won the Gold Cup in 2019, and Schoodic won the Virginia Gold Cup in 2021. Andi’amu was sidelined for part of 2020 and all of 2021 with a tendon injury.

The Steeplethon Stakes attracted three starters and Silverton Hill LLC’s Bodes Well was always in command winning by 26 lengths over Straylight Racing, LLC’s Worzel Gummidge (Alex Leventhal). PathFinder Racing’s Knockholdt (Gerard Galligan) tired and was pulled up. Bodes Well was trained by Leslie Young. Bodes Well is a steeplethon specialist and won over this course last fall. The betting public made him odds on.

Virginia Gold Cup Timber Stakes Leslie Young also won the co-featured David Semmes Memorial Hurdle Stakes with Sharon E. Sheppard’s Redician Early in the 97th Virginia Gold Cup Timber (Thomas Garner). This was a competitive race until Riverdee Stable’s City Dreamer (Graham Watters) and Blue Streak Stakes (l-r) Storm Team (Graham Watters, up); Racing, LLC, Metahorse Racing, CFC Stables and The International Venture’s Going Country (Parker Hendriks) went off Andi’amu (Freddie Procter, up) – 1st.

Douglas Lees photo course. At that point, Redician inherited the lead and won by 54 lengths over Irvin Naylor’s Belfast Banter (Barry Foley).

Keri Brion started her quartet of winners with the first race, a maiden hurdle race. Last year she debuted Buttonwood Farms’ Eclipse Award winner, The Mean Queen, at Great Meadow. This year Buttonwood Farm’s Baltimore Kid (Parker Hendriks) broke his maiden over hurdles at first asking. In the race, Baltimore Kid was always within striking distance, rallied and jumped the last hurdle with Michael A. Smith’s Project Two (Thomas Garner). Baltimore Kid pulled away in the stretch to win by 3 lengths. Leslie Young trained Project Two and Silverton Hill, LLC’s third place finisher Kelmscott (Harrison Beswick).

The allowance hurdle race for horses that had not won two races was an easy win for another Brion trained horse. In this race Irvin S. Naylor’s Howyabud (Parker Hendriks) was rated slightly off the early pace that was set by Mrs. S. K. Johnston Jr’s State of Affair (Thomas Garner). Howyabud took the lead approaching the last fence and drew away to win by 10 lengths. State of Affair was second and Riverdee Stable’s Senor Seville, who led with a quarter mile to go tired and finished a distant third.

Keri Brion met Belle Meade Jockey Club and the International Venture’s Ljay (Mikey Hamill) in the winners’ circle following the Sport of Kings Four-Year-Old Hurdle Stakes. Ljay raced in the middle of the field and rallied to the lead with South Branch Equine LLC’s Who’s Counting (Sean McDermott) close behind. Ljay proved best in a driving finish and won by 1 length over Who’s Counting. Kiplin Hall’s Take Profit (Jamie Neild) tired badly to finish third after threatening the leaders on the turn. Ljay had pulled up in his only sanctioned hurdle race and was the longest shot of the day to win a race.

The final race was a $50,000 Stakes on the flat that saw the Buttonwood Farm, Keri Brion and Parker Hendriks team Virginia Gold Cup Sport of Kings Hurdle Stakes (l-r) Circus (#3, Paul Cawley, up) – 6th ; where they started the day—in the winners’ circle. This time it was with Sa’ad, who belongs to Buttonwood Farm. He led st for most of the race and held off Irvin S. Naylor’s Fearsome (Barry Foley) in the stretch. The winning margin was 1 length Ljay (Mikey Hamill, up) – 1 ; Pacifist (Bernie Dalton, up) – 5th. Douglas Lees photo with South Branch Equine LLC’s Robert’s Luxury (Sean McDermott) taking home third place.

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

10

OSMUN’S OBSERVATIONS

Diplomacy at the Door It’s said that diplomacy is the art of compromise. My column in the Holiday 2021 issue described a pressing problem we were facing at the store, related to pressure on the bladders of visiting canines. Due to a pandemic of piddling pups, we found it necessary to impose a “No Pets Allowed” policy.

As might be expected, some growling ensued.

While being walked out one early spring day, I encountered a very unhappy Labrador whose human was encouraging him to “baptize” the shrubbery in front of the store.

“Oh,” he grumbled, with thick disdain, “look who still gets to be on the inside. I guess this is a case of ‘rules for thee but not for me.’ Or maybe ‘doo-doo as I say but not as I doo-doo.’”

That caught me off guard.

Mark Twain once quipped that a human is the only animal that blushes…or needs to. But I can tell you my cheeks felt hot under my rich black coat.

I’d seen this fellow in the store a few times before and he was always well behaved.

“Look,” I said, “I know you’d never do anything like that. It was just a few who couldn’t control themselves and ruined it for everyone.”

“Didn’t ruin it for you though,” he snapped. “I saw you sacked out on your cushy zebra chair when we arrived. My human saw that sign and now here I am, being told to pee on these bushes. Then I guess I’ll have to go wait in the car while she does her shopping.”

Before I could reply, a car pulled into a front parking spot, the door opened and a Corgi hopped out. “What are you guys doing out here?” she asked.

The Lab rolled his eyes. “Mister Big shot here has decided commoners like us are no longer allowed in the store. We might soil the fancy carpeting.”

“Commoners?” the Corgi shot back. “I’ll have you know my cousins are companions to the Queen herself. So they’re allowed in Buckingham Palace but I’m not welcome at Horse Country? Of all the…”

“Okay, okay!” I said. Visions began to form in my mind. I’ve seen images on TV of boisterous protests, people carrying signs declaring their objection to something, or support of the opposite, angrily shouting, hurling insults. I could imagine a pack of infuriated furballs assembled outside the store barking their displeasure. Let Us Puppies Pass! No Bowser Left Behind. All Labs Matter!

“I’ll see what I can do,” I said, and hurried back inside. I found Marion going through the new tweeds that had just arrived. “We have to do something!”

I pleaded. “A rebellion is brewing!”

“What are you talking about?” she asked. “Calm down and tell me what’s got you so worked up.”

“Protests! Signs! The store under siege! We have to drop the No Pets Allowed policy.”

“You were all for it,” she replied. “In fact, you made the final call to do it.”

“I know. But…but…I’ve evolved! Now I see it was a mistake.”

“So you’re suggesting we just dump the policy and let all dogs run free?

And who do you suppose will have to do the clean up work? When was the last time I saw you using a bottle of Nature’s Miracle?”

She had a point. I had to come up with a compromise, some way to appease both sides, allow other dogs back in the store, but keep those few who might

Claudia Coleman illustration

misbehave from soiling the carpeting or, worse yet, befouling pieces of merchandise.

I walked away, pondering possible alternatives. As my aimless wandering took me to the front of the store, just past the counter, my paws made a clattering sound as I hit a hard surface.

Linoleum! I looked around. No leather tack, no dangling materials, no carpeting. The temptations that likely prompted the piddling problems were minimal at most. But how could visiting dogs be confined to this area with their humans left free to browse at will? The iron bench!

There’s an ornate garden bench that can serve as the perfect anchor for a dog’s leash. The most muscular Mastiff would not be able to move it a millimeter. Add a bowl of fresh water and, even if some gets splashed on the floor, a smooth swipe with a paper towel will do the job. The same goes for any other “accidents” that might still occur.

“Eureka!” I barked to Marion.

“I have the perfect solution, a

diplomatic compromise.”

I explained my proposal and she wholeheartedly embraced it.

“Osmun,” she said, “the State Department could learn a thing or two from you.”

So the original policy has been modified. Dogs are once again welcome.

They’ll just need to wait in the special area at the front while their owners are free to browse at will. And just in time to peruse all the fresh merchandise that’s arrived: the technical summer shirts in rollicking fun patterns and bright colors; summer straw hats with lace feathers and, yes, barbed wire hat bands; socks designed in Germany that look like an Hermes scarf. Enough, back to the sticky situation at hand.

I hope this proves a workable arrangement for everyone. To the legion of dogs out there who routinely accompany their humans on errands and social visits, I say in the spirit of my newly adopted home state of Virginia, “Y’all come!”

(And please leave the protest signs at home.)

Notes of Equestrian Elegance For Your Entertaining Ensemble

BELMONT WOODEN CADDY Made from gorgeous acacia wood High quality solid, lead-free pewter 11" x 4.5" x 7.5" #4005-H264LB (HC1A) $102.00

EQUESTRIAN BIT CARAFE Pure pewter bit and halter rope Perfect for juice, water, tea or wine 3.5"Dia x 10"T, 28 Ounces #4005-H400B12 (HC1D) $65.00

WELLINGTON BIT 7 PIECE CHINA SET Fine Bone China, hand-drawn image Gold rimmed. Set includes: 1 Dinner Plate, 1 Salad Plate 1 Soup Plate, 1 Bread Plate 1 Cereal Bowl, 1 Cup, 1 Saucer #4005-WELL7PC 7 Piece Set (HC1B) $152.50 #4005-WELL008 Charger 12" (HC1C) $52.00 ***Charger sold separately*** ***Individual pieces can be special ordered***

EQUESTRIAN DOUBLE OLD FASHIONED Pewter bit holds the glass steady Set of four, 3.25"W x 4.25"T #4005-H407B12 (HC1E) $196.00

BELMONT CHEESE/CAKE PEDESTAL Hand Polished Aluminum Alloy Removable Acacia hardwood board 13" Diameter #4005-202E31 (HC1F) $145.00

BUCKINGHAM BITS NAPKIN RINGS Silver finish, eggbutt bit design Sold in a set of four #958-432341 Silver (HC1G) $79.95

Horse Country

HUNT VALLEY ICE BUCKETS Lucite, Custom fabric 8" Tall. (HC1H) $89.95 each #1661-CB2 Navy #1661-CB1 Green

®

(540) 347-3141 • 800-88-2-HUNT (4868) 60 Alexandria Pike, Warrenton, Virginia 20186

Store Hours: Monday–Friday 10AM - 5PM, Saturday 10AM - 5PM (ET)

Visit us online! www.HorseCountryCarrot.com www.HorseCountryCarrot.com

All prices subject to change without notice. All items subject to availability. IAHC 05-2022

www.Facebook.com/HorseCountryLife

Shop online! www.HorseCountryCarrot.com

A Trifecta of Comfort, Style, and Function

GALLOPING HORSE BALLCAP Black. 100% Cotton, Adjustable #3275-AC112A (HC2C) $26.95

LUMI 1/4 ZIP SHIRT Technical, breathable, light sports fabric UV Resistant, Black/Pink Available XS - XL #1956-LRS001 (HC2A) $108.00

KNIGHT COOL TOUCH SHIRT BY ROMFH Cooling comfort, Sun protection Antimicrobial, Sheer mesh under sleeve panels. Made with exclusive light and breezy Chill-factor™ fabric Available XS - XL. #2039-471116 (HC2B) $99.99

CELL PHONE HOLDER Water resistant nt neoprene. Can n be worn multiplee ways, on you or your ur saddle Small zipper pocket on the front holdss keys, cards or cash. Black. #707-CP1A (HC2D) $33.99

BASEL VEST Orange. Light weight, ht, highly insulated 88% polyester, 12% elastane. 2 front pockets with zips Available SM - XL #4333-LQV01B (HC2G) $55.95

AUBRION ELSTREE MESH PANEL TIGHT panels, Flat lock seams Mesh side panels High rise, Extended silicon patch Cell phone pocket, Black Available XS - XL #299-8311BK (HC2E) $65.99

ICE-FIL TECH TIGHT BY KERRITS® Cool and comfortable. Four-way stretch coverage. 2" comfort waistband with belt loops.

Two convenient low-profile side pockets.

UPF 50+ sun protection. Anti-slip Kerrit Sticks™ line inner leg and seat. Admiral Blue.

Available XS - 2XL. #1773-50163NY (HC2F) $ 99.00

ORSE COUNTRY® 800-882-HUNT HC2 H All prices subject to change without notice. All items subject to availability. IAHC 05-2022

ALLURE KNEE-HI SOCKS Stirrup and Bit Design, Thin and cool material.

(HC2H) $12.99 Pair #4333-SOX05B Orange #4333-SOX05C Olive #4333-SOX05A Brown

ALLURE GLOVES L Elastic adjustable wrist closure Stretch material.

(HC2J) $37.95 Pair #4333-RG001B Orange #4333-RG001C Olive #4333-RG001A Brown

Visit us online! www.horsecountrycarrot.com

Shop online! www.HorseCountryCarrot.com

CARLY PAISLEY SHOW SHIRT 44% Polyester, 12% Spandex 37.5® thermoregulation technology UPF 50, Unique mesh back and underarm panels Zipper placket with snap collar closure Available XS - XL #1149-LSS040 (HC3A) $ 99.00

HARMONY NAVY MESH SHOW JACKET Extremely lightweight and breathable mesh fabric Italian Jersey front panel, Modern back seams Vertical zipper pockets, Machine washable Available in Ladies' 4R - 16R #1149-H2012 $ 279.00 Ladies' Available in Girls' 8R - 16R #1149-G2012 (HC3B) $239.00

AUBRION NAVY SHOW SHIRT Perforated performance fabric Cotton collar, Quick drying fabric Decorative eye-catching buttons Available XS - XL #299-9130NY (HC3C) $49.99

NEW LEXINGTON FULL SEAT HIGH WAIST BREECH 33% Viscose, 62% Polyester, 5% Elastane Featuring a full silicone seat Double front enamel buttons with a zip fly Two front zip pockets Belt loops, Lycra sock bottom Available 26R - 36R #299-81010B (HC3D) $99.99

ALFORD 1 1/4" WIDE BELT Made in England Hand-stitched best bridle leather. Available 32" - 44" Choose from Chestnut, Newmarket or Black with Silver #3289-BLEN-10 (HC3F) $195.00

ONE K CCS HELMET WITH MIPS ASTM/SEI F1163-15 certified Black Matte with Rose Gold Trim Available XS - XL #2039-471045BR (HC3E) $335.00

LISBOA NAVY GLOVE Breathable, elasticated, and supple Touchscreen compatible Superior close contact grip Unisex sizing, Machine wash, Navy Available 7.5 - 8.5 #273-3301308NY (HC3G) $85.99

CHESTER WHITE GLOVES Very fine synthetic leather Breathable and durable Superior grip, Touchscreen compatible Machine washable, White Available 6.5 - 8.5 #273-508 (HC3H) $59.95

Visit us online! www.horsecountrycarrot.com

HORSE COUNTRY® 800-882-HUNT HC3 Not responsible for typographical errors. IAHC 05-2022

Shop online! www.HorseCountryCarrot.com arrot.com ATLANTA FLY SCRIM SHEET BY THERMATEX Helps to prevent coat from bleaching and protects from sunburn.

Sizes available from 69 - 87. #608-AFS (HC4B) $169.00

WELLINGTON BRIDLE Nut Brown Handcrafted from fine Italian leather. Round raised fancy stitching, Matching laced reins.

Available Cob, Horse, O/S #327-KLWB (HC4A) $340.00

SSECRET GARDEN GARMENT BAG G Waterproof-breathable W SSecret Garden designer llining. #2039-471058NB ((HC4C) $49.99

FIXED LEATHER SHOW HALTER 1" wide, Fixed nose & snap Available Cob, Horse, O/S #542-3007 (HC4D) $109.95

TECHQUILT SHOW PAD Classic Medallion fleece rolled edge. Machine washable. #26-3714-(17,18,19) (HC4F) $159.99

SCRUBBIE, SCRUBBIE, SCRUBBIE Nice and white, tidy and clipped.

Supplies from brushes and currys, fly repellants to shampoos, hoof treatments, to wound care. For seriously good advice, ask for Sue

GENESIS SADDLES Both saddles have: Adjustable tree that allows a single saddle to custom fit multiple horses.

Removable front and rear blocks can be positioned for custom rider fit. Full grain leather reinforcement at the bottom of flap helps protect against wear.

ANNICE GENESIS ADJUSTABLE SADDLE

CAMELOT LEATHER LEAD WITH CHAIN 60" plain lead, 30" brass plated chain. Havana. #2039464945 (HC4E) $36.99

Havana. Extremely comfortable and well crafted. Close contact saddle. Perfect for Hunting, Showing, Jumping or just everyday.

A slightly wider, medium deep seat. Double leather flaps provide excellent grip and support. Foam panels with Comfort Fit Technology. Call the store for available sizes. #1284-3803175 (HC4G) $2430.00

JENINNE GENESIS ADJUSTABLE SADDLE

Horse Country® www.HorseCountryCarrot.com

A classic double leather saddle.

Forward padded flap, deep seat medium/narrow twist. Complete with Wool Soft Touch panels.

Call the store for available sizes. #1284-6701185 (HC4H) $2470.00

To WINCHESTER, I-66 & I-81

(540) 347-3141 • 800-88-2-HUNT (4868)

29

BROADVIEW Ave.

To SPERRYVILLE & I-81 211

Visit us online! www.HorseCountryCarrot.com All prices subject to change without notice. Not responsible for typographical errors.

All items subject to availability. IAHC 05-2022

St.

MAIN St.

HORSE COUNTRY

®

WATERLOO St. ss RT. 29/17 Bypa

Store Hours: Monday–Friday 10AM - 5PM, Saturday 10AM - 5PM (ET)

W IN CH ES TE R

Pk. DRIA ALEXAN

www.Facebook.com/HorseCountryLife

Rt. 17 By pass

17

60 Alexandria Pike • Warrenton, Virginia 20186 CUSTOMER SERVICE AND INQUIRIES: (540) 347-3141 24 HOUR FAX: (540) 347-7141 For Orders Only: 800-88-2-HUNT (4868)

To WASHINGTON via I-66

To CULPEPER & CHARLOTTESVILLE

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

JENNY’S PICKS Some nice new books have come in for your entertainment this spring. First, however, some information about one that half my readership has been waiting for!

Brown, Rita Mae. Thrill of the Hunt. The next Sister Jane novel is due out May 17, and we are taking orders now. We’ll try to see if our favorite novelist will sign some for us as she often does. Though at this time I have only the book’s advertisements to go on, I can tell you that it begins with some of the Jefferson Hunt’s members getting copies of doctored videos purporting to show them in “compromising positions”—whatever that may mean to each one— should they not cooperate with the blackmailer.

Hardcover. $28.00

HORSE COUNTRY BOOKSELLERS Specialists in New, Old & Rare Books on Horses, Foxhunting, Eventing, Polo, Racing, Steeplechasing & Sporting Art

60 Alexandria Pike, Warrenton, VA 20186 800-882-HUNT • 540-347-3141 woods. And don’t worry—as of this writing Mr. Fox is still alive and well. Hardcover, 330pp. $24.95 Now is the season when those of us who don’t foxhunt and prefer to hibernate on those nasty winter days can dust off the saddles and get ready for show season—which, of course, will already be in progress when you read these lines.

Batton, Sally. The Athletic Equestrian. Newly out Foxhunting season may be over, but we have a new this spring, Batton’s book offers “over 40 exercises book about foxes with a different spin on it—not for Good Hands, Power Legs, and Superior Seat hunting but befriending.

Awareness.” But don’t drag out the exercise mat— Russell, Jack. Fox World. This delightful book is these are on-the-horse exercises, with lots of slower about a friendship that grows up between a Jack gait work as well as more sprightly action. What Russell and a fox. “What?” you say. “Jack Russells would be handy at times is a “spotter,” someone were bred to kill foxes, not befriend them!” Well, knowledgeable on the ground to observe and make not this one. Jack Russell, the author, is a charming suggestions. I was very impressed with the clarity older gentleman who likes to take walks for his of the instructions, which are supported by numerhealth in a nearby forest—walks that introduced him ous clear color photographs illustrating the text. to a gentleman fox. And yes, he does have a couple Good for both beginners and more advanced riders! of real JRTs of his own. Fox World is the basically Paperback, 171pp. $29.95

true story of his acquaintance with “Mr. Fox” as he strolls—what might be called “forest bathing” today.

When he comes upon Mr. Fox being attacked by a bigger, stronger male fox, he doesn’t hesitate to grab his camera monopod and plunge into the fray to save his little friend. The book is written in third person; “Old Man” is Mr. Russell himself, who suffers from cardiac problems. Indeed, while on the trail one day he suffers a cardiac arrest and nearly dies, awakening to find Mr. Fox licking the nape of his neck like a dog trying to awaken his master. To advance the story, Mr. Fox and several other “forest denizens” are occasionally given human thoughts and to a degree, behaviors. What emerges is a delightful series of short chapters, easy to pick up to read if time is short—but be wary, you’ll probably be tempted to read “just one more chapter,” like a child at bedtime.

Meet Buttons, Mr. Fox’s mate, and their three kits as you kick back and enjoy with them a walk in the

Emerson, Denny. Begin and Begin Again. This, the third book Emerson has written on riding, deals in part with the former rider who has been away from riding for a while, whether for medical or situational reasons—a time when many people are aging, have lost confidence, or just aren’t sure they’re still “up to it” yet still yearn to once again have a horse between their legs. If this is you, or you know someone in this position or even are just starting out, I recommend you read this. In the introduction, Denny writes, “This book is an attempt to talk about the many options and pursuits in the horse world. You can read it from start to finish, or you can dip in and read the parts that relate to your particular situation.”

The author has been heavily involved in eventing and distance riding, having completed the grueling 100-mile Tevis Cup and broken his neck eventing just before his 70th birthday. It might even inspire

Maryland Races Photos by Douglas Lees

My Lady’s Manor Timber Stakes The 111th running of the My Lady’s Manor, Monkton, MD, April 16, 2022, Tomgarrow (Freddie Procter, up) – 1st, over the 13th fence.

Grand National Timber Stakes The 119th running of the Grand National Steeplechase, Butler, MD, April 23, 2022, over the last fence (l-r): Awesome Adrian (Eric Poretz, up) – 2nd; Road To Oz (#5, Brett Owings, up) – 1st.

11 me to get back up on my 17-year-old OTTB! Hardcover, 211pp. $29.95 White-Mullins, Anna Jane. Judging Hunters and Hunter Seat Equitation. 4th and revised edition. Let me make one point clear: this is not just a book for judges. As the subtitle continues, “A Comprehensive Guide for Exhibitors and Judges”—“revised and updated for today’s competitor.” How better to know what judges are looking for than to read a guide for judges to judge by? Accompanied by occasional diagrams and lots of color photos, the text is well worth the purchase price for competitive riders. And if you are considering taking up judging, there are plenty of tips to help you, including a chapter devoted to marking the scorecards. Paperback, 162pp. $29.95 Winkel, Julie; and Tricia Booker. Judging Hunters and Equitation – WTF? (Want the Facts?). Coming from two of the best judges in the field, plus snippets of advice from over 20 top judges, this could well be “the definitive book on judging for riders, trainers, parents and other judges.” This is definitely angled toward helping you, the rider, improve your scores in these two categories that are so subjective in their placings. There may be no specific scoring by ticks, speed or knockdowns as in showjumping, for instance. On the other hand, showjumpers are judged only on such things and can behave abominably as long as they get the job done. Hunters have to have manners and steadiness, and equitation classes judge the riders’ abilities and position. So what brings down the scores? What raises them?

What catches the judges’ eyes? This book will tell you! Right from the judges’ mouths! Using color photos from actual shows, whose backgrounds you may recognize if you patronize them, the authors illustrate good riding position (tactfully excluding horrible examples for obvious reasons!). Included in the text are tidbits about some of the long-time show sites themselves, such as Devon and Upperville; proper appointments, especially for the sidesaddle classes with rigid requirements; the strategy of scoring and the strategy of riding to show yourself best; and much more. And of course, this is all information valuable to newbie, wannabe judges as well, with several chapters specifically to help you out.

Highly recommended! Hardcover, 206pp. $45.00

12

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

PERFORMANCE TRIALS

Goodwin Indigo and Bull Run Hunt Score National Wins

By Epp Wilson, MFH

Tot Goodwin, MFH and Huntsman, Goodwin Hounds, with his Indigo, the Grand Champion Hound for the 2021/2022 National Performance Trials. Mark Jump photo

After spending some time getting acquainted in the trailer, 53 eager hounds emerged, ready for action in the early morning light. David Monostori photo

A considerable amount of detail goes into the preparation for a hound trial. Mecklenburg Fly, who ultimately finished in the top ten overall rankings, stands patiently as Theresa Miller, MFH and Huntsman, Red Oak Hounds, makes sure the judges can read the number.

David Monostori photo

The National Championship Performance Trials were hosted by Sedgefield Hunt in Hoffman, NC, on March 25-27, 2022. It was an amazing event, full of challenges and great moments.

Sometimes in life, the build-up and anticipation of a major event are so big that the actual event doesn’t quite measure up. Not so in this case. The current series of performance trials began as part of the Masters of Foxhounds Centennial Celebration in 2006-2007. Visionary leaders such as Mason Lampton, Tony Leahy, and Dennis Foster were instrumental in the design and execution of those trials and have been involved ever since. The Centennial trials led to the Hark Forward series and now, five years later, another National Championship has reached its culmination. Plans call for future Performance Trials to be held annually with a National Championship Series every three years.

The current series began last September with local trials sponsored by several hunts in different locations including New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, California, and Maryland. All events were well run and successful and each resulted in the top ten hounds qualifying for the National Championship—nine Trials, 90 hounds qualified to compete at the finals.

The big weekend began with Friday’s gathering of people from all over the country, all with one shared passion—hunting. Whether fox hunting or coyote hunting, the passion is there. The atmosphere is akin to the Virginia Hound Show, one of the largest gatherings of foxhunters in America, a chance to see so many good friends in one place over a long weekend. Performance Trials, though, add another element—we’re actually hunting!

The two main missions of Performance Trials are: • Provide a better way to compare hounds—in the field—side by side—same conditions— weather, scenting, quarry, etc. This way, we can make better decisions about what hounds to breed.

• Have fun.

Both missions were accomplished to the fullest.

A scoring system has been developed to achieve the comparisons using a fair and methodical approach, adapted from the July Foxhound National Field Trial Rules. The current version of the computerized scoring system was developed by Jeb Blount and his team. Jeb is a long-time member of Belle Meade Hunt and a regular judge at these events. Bud Eichel, Jean Derrick, Fred Berry, Chris Moll, and I assisted him. For the final tallies, Theresa Miller, MFH and huntsman for Red Oak Foxhounds (VA), did a great job keeping track of the numbers.

In summary, hounds are scored in four main categories: Hunting, Trailing, Full Cry, and Marking.

There is also a category for “Exemplary Performance.” This allows the judging team the option of giving a hound extra points for something great that happened but did not fall into the usual categories. Points are used to sort the hounds into the top ten in each category. That determines HGA (Highest General Average) points. Those HGA points are totaled to determine the overall winners. If a hound becomes lame and can’t keep hunting, that hound keeps his points for his individual scoring and for his pack. The hound did not do anything wrong, so is not penalized. [Anyone interested in greater detail on the scoring is welcome to contact me at eppwilson1@gmail.com.]

The turnout for this event provided ample input for the scoring system. Of the 90 hounds qualified to compete, 53, representing 22 hunts from 13 states, made it to the finals. The field of riders on hand— judges, guides, field leaders, and followers—totaled 173. In all, the attendees were affiliated with 38 hunts from 18 states.

It took a team of enthusiastic, dedicated, hardworking, and knowledgeable volunteers to make this happen. This included: • Trial Huntsman: Tony Leahy, MFH and Huntsman, Fox River Valley Hunt and Massbach Hounds.

• Head Trial Judge: Steve Thomas, MFH, Fort Leavenworth Hunt.

• Mounted Trial Judges: Josh Bentley; Jeb Blount; Mitzi Cabeen; Joel Merle-Smith; Charles Montgomery, MFH; David Raley.

• Road Judge: Grosvenor Merle-Smith The competing hunts were: Belle Meade Hunt, GA; Big Sky Hounds, MT; Bridlespur Hunt, MO; Bull Run Hunt, VA; Camargo Hunt, Ohio; De La Brooke Foxhounds, MD; Goodwin Hounds, NC; Hillsboro Hounds, TN; Juan Thomas Hounds, NM; Marlboro Hunt, MD; Mecklenburg Hounds, NC; Mission Valley Hunt Club, KS; Moore County Hounds, NC; Red Mountain Hounds, NC; Red Oak Foxhounds, VA; Red Rock Hounds, NV; Santa Fe West Hills Hunt, CA; Shawnee Hounds, Illinois; Tennessee Valley Hunt, TN; Thornton Hill Hounds, VA; Whiskey Road Hounds, SC; Wicomico Hunt, MD. The resulting assemblage of hounds was the most diverse pack that had ever competed together.

They varied in breeding, training, handling, style of hunting, style of home huntsman, etc. Some hunt fast and range far in big, wide-open countries. Others work slowly and methodically in small hunt countries.

Each style was right for their home country. Tony Leahy, guest huntsman, was appropriately concerned about keeping the hounds together to hunt as one pack.

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

13

But successful people like Tony plan ahead. He brought his professional whipper-in, Mark Murphy, a fine horseman and a great whipper-in, who has been with him for three seasons and knows what Tony wants. Tony also brought in Ken George, professional huntsman, Midland Fox Hounds, one of the best in the business. It was their job to keep the pack together with minimum fuss. Any hounds drawing too fast should be slowed down or stopped. Any hounds dwelling should be softly pushed forward.

From the very first cast, Ken and Mark kept this diverse pack together beautifully. Of course, it didn’t hurt when they found a good coyote early in Day One and ran him well together. That helped meld all the individuals into one pack.

Folks often ask me how you get all the different hounds from the different packs to hunt together smoothly. Quality recognizes quality, in any field. Give them a little time and consistent handling and the hounds will figure it out pretty quickly.

Day One We did roll call as usual, 45 minutes before first cast, and put all the hounds in one enclosure, my Foxboro 6-horse trailer. Guest huntsman Tony spent much of those 45 minutes in the trailer with the hounds, connecting the “invisible thread.”

Welcome and announcements were made quickly. Tony blew his horn, and off we went. Judges spread out. Ken and Mark worked at gently keeping the hounds together. I had the distinct honor of serving as the Field Master for the Huntsman’s Field. Next came Cameron Sadler, MFH, Moore County Hounds, leading First Field. Lincoln Sadler, her husband and Moore County Huntsman, knows this territory better than anyone. He helped guide Tony and Cameron, often advising judges about where to go and how to get into a good position to record scores. With so many people following the action, riding in open country, there were two Second Flights, one led by Kit Lippert and the other by Kelly DeHart. Third Flight was led by Paula Nelson.

The team of field masters did such a fine job that everything ran smoothly, a remarkable feat with over 150 riders in the field each day.

Conditions were still a little damp from Thursday’s rain, which cut down on the dust and helped scenting. Hounds drew pretty well despite having just gotten to know each other in the hound trailer.

Around 8:35, Laura Lindamood viewed a coyote close by. Tony harked hounds to the view and they hit the line. He described the resulting action this way: “They started trailing—one group was going heel and the other group was going forward. It took about half a mile to figure out that the main group was working the line heel. I was hearing the other group getting stronger while this group was getting weaker. Mark and Ken helped me lift the heel group and we all harked the hounds to the forward group. It was a good line. They were just running it backwards. If it had gone on a minute or two longer, it really would have messed up the day.

Scent was weak and fading so quickly—it certainly would have messed up that run. Twenty minutes later they accounted for the coyote. This got the hounds really working as a pack and helped with good cooperation among the hounds for the rest of the event.”

Guy Cooper, an experienced hound man, huntsman and whipper-in who hunts with Sedgefield and Moore County, served very capably as a guide for judge Josh Bentley, the new profes- (l-r) Trials Judge Charles Montgomery, MFH, Professional huntsman at Old Do- sional Huntsman, Mells Fox Hounds; Ken George, Professional Huntsman, Midland Foxhounds. minion. He added his David Monostori photo account: “Josh and I galloped on ahead and as we stopped on the hill, we heard the hounds coming towards us in full cry. I caught sight of the pack and thought that hound out front is going pretty good. Then I realized it didn’t have a number and thought, ‘That ain’t a hound. That’s the coyote!’ Hounds were right on the mark. It was the best sight of the day so far. They swung and ran straight to us and that’s when we were able to intercept the action and get the scores right as the chase ended.”

“It was an adrenalin rush for sure,” Josh added.

After getting everyone back together, Tony drew on. Hounds began trailing on what was probably a grey fox but couldn’t get going strong on it. Hounds

Championship Trials Huntsman Tony Leahy, MFH Fox River Valley Hunt and Massbach Hounds, hacks hounds to the second cast following a brilliant run on the first day of the trials, March 26, 2022. Following Tony are (l-r) Ken George, Professional Huntsman, Midland Foxhounds; Josh Bentley, Professional Huntsman, Old Dominion Hounds; and Mark Murphy, Kennel Huntsman and Professional Whipper-in, Massbach Hounds. Tiffany Evitts photo

were still trying to figure out what exactly was going on. They had a strange huntsman in strange territory with a bunch of strange hounds. The good run on the coyote had helped, but they were still not working like a pack. No surprise, since most of these hounds had never seen the hounds from other hunts before.

A grey fox was viewed, but it was over a mile away. Lifting hounds and harking them that far quickly would be difficult. If not done quickly, the scent would have faded before we got there. Tony made the right judgment call and we drew on where we were.

Not long after that, hounds found another coyote. The pack settled on the line and we were rolling along just fine. On a typical Performance Trial, we usually stop after three hours and go in. We hit that point—11:00—about 20 minutes into this run. But we were having too much fun to stop and judges were steadily getting scores. Our hounds and our horses still had plenty of energy left, so the decision was made to keep going.

“The pack got split into front group and late group,” Tony explained, “about a half mile apart. Apparently, the field turned the coyote such that he made a figure eight. When the front group came back by, the late group was just getting there and joined back into the front group. They ran well together for the rest of the day. Road whips did a fantastic job keeping the coyote in the country when he wanted to run out of it. They could actually see him in the woods and they blew truck horns and hollered and turned the coyote back into the country.

Hounds ran him another 30 minutes. Well done, road whips! Well done, everyone.

This was the best day I have ever had in this hunt country.”

Sedgefield MFH’s Fred Berry, Jan Sorrells, Martin Schlaeppi, and Richard Weintraub agreed. This was not only the best Performance Trial day that they had ever had in their home territory; it was the single best day of hunting they had experienced there.

Of course, it helped that it was the best pack of hounds that had ever hunted Sedgefield’s country. All these Performance Trial hounds represent the cream of the crop of the many participating hunts.

Each hound had qualified to be there by being in the top ten of the regional Performance Trials.

It was great that so many people got to view a coyote. Several people from every field got to view at least one of them and that really helped the riders enjoy the day and feel a part of the action.

I asked Lincoln if he breathed a sigh of relief when the hounds accounted for the coyote, especially since he was one of Dr. Steven Thomas was focused on the the hosts. He laughed and said, “Heck, I first day’s action in the wooded territory breathed a sigh of relief when Laura Lin- of Sedgefield Hunt, Hoffman, NC, host for the Championship Trials. damood hollered ‘Tally Ho.’” Mark Jump photo

14

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

Day Two The late Ben Hardaway, MFH, Midland Fox Hounds, once said about a joint meet, “The best thing about that day was when we quit.” We had gone out in a cold rain that got worse and worse—and drawn blank. He was right. The best part of that day was when we quit.

Unfortunately, the second Performance Trial day was about like that—dry air, dry ground, little scent. We couldn’t find game for love nor money. Hounds and staff worked tirelessly and came up empty-handed.

Fittingly, the entire event weekend was dedicated to Ben Hardaway, who was a true pioneer in his hound breeding program. He developed a type of crossbred hound that would reproduce itself. He championed the concept of breeding for biddable hounds—hounds that want to do their master’s bidding.

Arguably, hunters have held hound competitions, at least informally, throughout much of hunting history. But Mr. Hardaway and Mason Lampton, his son-in-law and joint MFH, had the idea to do Performance Trials for mounted foxhunting in a structured manner. They took the initiative and hosted the first Performance Trials, held in Fitzpatrick, Alabama, in 1996 and again in 1997.

That was the beginning of MFHA Performance Trials. [For my full article on the History of Performance Trials, go to www.bellemeadehunt.org.]

The Winners On Sunday, it was time to put that detailed scoring system to work to determine the winners.

But first, to add an extra note of friendly competition, a hound show was held. Dennis Foster, ex-MFH and former Executive Director of the MFHA, served as judge and selected Bridlespur Portia ’19 as Champion and Goodwin Indigo ’20 Reserve Champion.

Indigo’s name would soon be called again.

MFHA President Leslie Rhett Crosby, MFH Mooreland Hunt, expressed her praise for the dedicated efforts of all those who helped make the series and championship trials such a resounding success. “The journey that it took to get here all year through the different competitions—it’s amazing. It is such a feat.

All of you made it happen and made us look good. I’m so delighted that we’re part of the same pack.”

Tony Leahy presented his Huntsman’s Choice award to Shawnee Dart ’18.

Steve Thomas, MFH, Fort Leavenworth Hunt, who travelled over 1,000 miles from his home base in Kansas to serve as president of the Performance Trials Championship, then took the microphone to announce that the Champion Hunt, with four hounds in the top ten rankings, was Virginia’s Bull Run Hunt. Their Rose Tree-Blue Mountain Wicket ’16 received the rosette for Reserve Champion.

And the award for the Champion Hound of the 2021/2022 National Performance Trials went to Goodwin Indigo ’20.

How appropriate that Jefferson “Tot” Goodwin, master and huntsman of Goodwin Hounds (NC) should win this National Championship, the one dedicated to Hardaway. Tot, a gifted hound man and horseman, worked for Mr. Hard-

An ecstatic group shows off their many ribbons and awards following the Trials’ conclusion on Sunday, March 27. (l-r) Leslie Long, Whipper-In, Marlborough Hunt; Marie Denny, Whipper-in, Wicomico Hunt; Adrianna Waddy, MFH Bull Run Hunt; Rosie Campbell, MFH, Bull Run Hunt; Tot Goodwin, MFH and Huntsman, Goodwin Hounds; Jay Thomas, MFH and Huntsman, Mecklenburg Hounds; Ryan Johnsey, MFH and Huntsman, Tennessee Valley Hunt; Casey Johnsey, Whipper-in, Tennessee Valley Hunt; Kallie Wallace, Honorary Huntsman, Shawnee Hounds. Mark Jump photo

away for many years as the Midland kennelman and professional whipper-in.

Most hunts have multiple whippers-in serving on a typical hunting day. Tot was often Mr. Hardaway’s only whip. Somehow, he covered every flank. He was everywhere he needed to be. Together they figured out the hunting and the deer breaking and new country and whatever challenge arose.

Tot is low key and capable. He has that quiet confidence in his hounds and his abilities with them. Tot doesn’t just have an “invisible thread.” He has an invisible fiber optic cable with each of his hounds. He also has the same quiet confidence with people. He doesn’t have anything to prove. He loves hounds and hunting. And he is very good at both. I am proud and honored to call him my friend.

If you had asked every huntsman there, “Who would you most like to win this National Championship, if your hound couldn’t win it?” I believe every huntsman there would have picked Tot. He has that much respect in this hunting community.

There was a hubbub from the peanut gallery when it was obvious that he was about to win. I looked over to see Ken George, Tony Leahy, Charles Montgomery, and Joseph Hardeman rushing into the ring—big smiles—and a purposeful look on their faces. Then they hoisted Tot up onto their shoulders and paraded him around the ring. The crowd went wild cheering and hollering and carrying on—celebrating our good friend. Tot said it was like winning the Super Bowl.

It was a joyfully fitting conclusion to the entire series and National Championship weekend.

And now we look forward to a continuation of the fun and fellowship as another round of Performance Trials will be held next season. Those scheduled thus far are listed here, with more to be announced as dates and locations are firmed up.

Carolinas/Moore County Performance Trials—October 8 & 9, 2022. Hoffman, NC. Contact Cameron Sadler, MFH - cameronsadler1@gmail.com Belle Meade Performance Trials—January 20 & 21, 2023. Thomson, GA. Epp Wilson, MFH - eppwilson1@gmail.com Sedgefield Performance Trials—March 25 & 26, 2023. Hoffman, NC. Fred Berry, MFH—fredberry654@gmail.com If you and your hunt are interested in hosting a Performance Trial, please contact: Dr. Steve Thomas, MFH at flhdoc@gmail.com or 913-636-3778.

Epp Wilson, MFH at eppwilson1@gmail.com or 706-449-1771.

We will answer questions and help you get it going.

(l-r) Fred Berry, MFH, Sedgefield Hunt, Chairman of the MFHA Performance Trials Series; Jefferson “Tot” Goodwin, MFH and Huntsman, Goodwin Hounds; and Dr. Steven Thomas, MFH, Fort Leavenworth Hunt, Chairman of the MFHA Hound Show and Performance Trials Committee. David Monostori photo

And to enjoy some of the action of a Performance Trial vicariously, watch the video “15 Minutes of Awesome!/BMH Performance Trial” on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=3kzkSFU5fDw.

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

SPRING RACES Kids & Ponies Steal the Show at Spring Races This spring, the Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point (March 5) and Loudoun Hunt Point-to-Point (April 24) featured pony races on the card. An eager bunch of youngsters showed off their skills, riding ponies small, medium, and large.

Horse Country Saddlery was pleased to sponsor the Large Pony race at the Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point. Regardless of who crossed the finish line first, all are winners in our estimation.

Ready for action in the Small Pony division at the Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point (l-r) Hazel Nash, Will Slater, Yomar Ortiz, Jr., Paige Wyatt, Cami Kern. (Missing: Emma Rodgers.) Douglas Lees photo

Savannah Hutchins showed good form on Thumper in the Loudoun Hunt Point-to-Point Medium Pony division.

Liz Callar photo

Skye Gammon and Olney Yes Ma’am put out an enthusiastic effort in the Small Pony division at the Loudoun Hunt Point-to-Point.

Liz Callar photo

Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point, Small Pony winner Chewy (Will Slater, up) in the stretch.

Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point, Medium Pony winner Charleston (Yomar Ortiz, Jr. up).

Douglas Lees photo

Douglas Lees photo

15

16

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

HUNTSMEN

Three Legendary Huntsmen

During his 55-year career as West Hills Huntsman, David Wendler also notched some film credits as a stunt rider and served as the huntsman in the classic Auntie Mame foxhunting scene.

Early morning at Eastern View: Casanova Hunt’s Tommy Lee Jones John J. "Jake" Carle, Blessing of the Hounds at Grace Church, Thanksgiving, 1995. and foxhounds. Richard Clay photo Lynn Brubaker photo

It was announced more than two years ago that the Museum of Hounds & Hunting NA had selected three new inductees into the Huntsmen’s Room, where notable contributors to the sport are honored. Unfortunately, restrictions on public gatherings forestalled the ceremony, originally planned for Memorial Weekend, 2020. As conditions have now improved, we’re happy to report that the formal induction will take place this year, at the Museum’s Morven Park location in Leesburg, Virginia, on Saturday, May 28.

The impressive history of the three new inductees—David Wendler (West Hills Hunt), Tommy Lee Jones (Casanova Hunt), and the late Jake Carle (Keswick Hunt)—is presented here.

David E. Wendler: Life Really Has Been a (Sporting) Banquet

By Lauren R. Giannini David Edward Wendler is much more than an engaging personality with youthful energy. His diverse talents include acting, stunt riding, horse training/sales, and steeplechase jockey. It’s impressive that he did all that during the fifty-five years he carried the horn at West Hills Hunt near Los Angeles.

Dan Dailey founded West Hills Hunt in 1947 with the kennels on his farm in Chatsworth, and early enthusiasts included John Huston, Forrest Tucker, and Ronald Reagan. In 1954, Dailey hired David as kennelman after he finished his Army service. David wasn’t quite out of his teens at the time, but he was an experienced, skilled horseman and was great with hounds.

“The boss—Dan Dailey—was a jumper man, and he had the best horses,” David recalled. “When he was busy acting or something, he would have me show them. I have been both hound man and horseman all my life.”

Dailey offered the opportunity of a lifetime, promotion to huntsman, but David held out on one condition: to convert the drag hunt to live quarry. Drag to live rarely happens, but Dailey really wanted David as huntsman and agreed. It took time, but David eventually bred a brilliant pack of hounds. Accomplishing this minor miracle harks back to David’s childhood in Collinsville, Illinois, where his lifelong passion for ars venatica got kick-started.

“I was raised on a farm all my life,” he said. “We had horses—me and my sister were equestrian enthusiasts—and I had a pack of black and tan hounds that hunted bear, mountain lion, and raccoon.”

Coonhounds with their lusty music and drive—think “The Voice of Bugle Ann”—were in his blood. Eventually they would be the key ingredient to hounds that could handle West Hills’ terrain and quarry. What’s surprising is that David as a kid never dreamed of a life kitted out in ratcatcher or scarlet, carrying the horn to hunt the pack of foxhounds he developed to suit the dry, hot climate and steep hills that comprised the territory assigned to West Hills.

“It just all sort of fell into place,” David admitted. “I guess I was good enough to do it and do it well.”

It’s ironic and also quite savvy that David, young and ambitious, insisted on the real thing—live quarry—in an area known for artifice and illusions. David was totally real in his endeavors and enthusiasms, especially when it came to hunting. In the 1970s, after Dailey retired as master, an incoming master decided

to import a whole new pack of white English Foxhounds from the College Valley Hunt. When David refused to hunt them because they were totally wrong for the unforgiving country hunted by West Hills, the new master fired him. David was right, of course: those imported hounds couldn’t handle the alien terrain, scenting conditions, weather and, worst of all, they couldn’t keep up with coyote. The membership sacked the master for ruining their sport and selected new masters, who reinstated David—no doubt with great sighs of relief.

David was determined from the get-go to breed hounds suitable for this challenging country. He found some July hounds he liked in the mid-west and eventually found that the best cross with his Julys were red ring-neck foxhounds. He had grown up with July and knew they could follow scent in dry conditions and were blessed with great stamina and cry.

“I had some red ring-neck hounds from Orange County in Virginia and they were great hounds running with their nose, but didn’t have enough grit to them,” David said. “I wanted hounds that would look a coyote in the eye and say: Better run, son! I had so many great hounds that were July red ring-necks, and people came from all over the world to hunt with me because of my hounds.”

West Hill hounds didn’t win any prizes the one time they showed at the Virginia Hound Show, but they caught the eye of Ben Hardaway who wanted to know how David broke his July-crossbreds from running deer. The elder crossbred houndman was envious when informed that deer are rare in California.

“Those hounds didn’t look like much but they could hunt our country, the roughest hunt country in the world outside of New Zealand,” recalled Scott Tepper, former West Hills Jt-MFH and honorary whipper-in. “I first met David in 1975 when my girlfriend at the time joined the West Hills Hunt and we went to hunt a new country in the Tehachapi Mountains.”

It was quite an introduction. Stallion Springs was a dude ranch, 175 winding miles over mountain roads, north of Los Angeles. The previous day the huntsman found the highest peak from which he studied the lay of the land. When the hunt met in their traditional attire, several cowboys were amused by the postage-stamp saddles and red coats but weren’t laughing after four of them, by permission of the master, went hunting and dropped out one by one.

By then, David had been showing sport to West Hills for 20 years, at speed whatever the terrain, hunting huge cattle ranches in Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura, Kern, and Orange Counties. This was before all that open land became the victim of urbanization.

17

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

“David was stirring up game that had never before heard the music of a pack of foxhounds,” recalled Tepper, By 1976 David had taken over the breeding program and was building his hard-hunting pack of July/red ring-neck foxhound crosses. In 1992, the West Hills Hunt Board of Directors honored their huntsman by making him a Master.

David, blond and athletic, was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and his film credits include two versions of Auntie Mame. Warner Brothers produced the first Auntie Mame, starring Rosalind Russell, in 1957. Russell’s co-star, Forrest David Wendler on his impressive Tucker, an active member of West Hills, insisted that David serve as huntsman in career: “It was 55 years of good, good fun for me!” the movie. David took seriously to heart Auntie Mame’s advice to her young, newly orphaned nephew Patrick: “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death.”

David certainly has an appetite for life in the fast lane: hunting, steeplechasing, stunt riding, conditioning hunters for West Hills’ enthusiasts, and training horses. He sold one of his best horses to Mexico’s Olympic Team before the 1984 L.A. Olympics where David served as 3-Day eventing steward. He is credited with influencing and inspiring many people. Tepper considers David a great teacher who turned out accomplished riders, including his own fearless daughter and whipper-in Carey Wendler. David was also very generous about helping other hunts in California as well as Red Rock Hounds in Reno, Nevada.

Finding a successor for David wasn’t easy. In 2010, the masters hired Scott Neill, a talented young huntsman from New Zealand, but West Hills would soon merge with Santa Fe Hunt. It was the end of an era.

Today, David has hounds and friends with hounds in Montana. Sometimes he visits his “chip off the block” daughter, Carey, who’s running the show as head trainer at Misty Hollow Ranch at Stoney Point Ranch in Chatsworth.

David relied on his own integrity to keep the sport he loved real by converting the West Hills drag pack to a formidable pack that chased live quarry where wildlife had never heard hounds in full cry—a monumental achievement anywhere, but even more amazing so close to Los Angeles. His fifty-five years carrying the horn earned serious accolades from visitors throughout the USA and around the world. He provided exciting, white-knuckled sport, accompanied by the glorious music of his July crossbreds.

Artist Lizi Ruch captured this image of David Wendler at 2008’s Opening Meet. It went on to tour as part of the MFHA’s Centennial Exhibit.

Photo courtesy of the artist

“My father is a wonderful person, a great huntsman, and we all miss hunting with him so much,” Carey said. “I get calls all the time from people, telling me they wish my dad and our hounds were still hunting.”

As for David, he wants to be remembered just for himself. “It was 55 years of good, good fun for me,” he said. “It’s been a lot of work and I really enjoyed it. I think that’s why people enjoyed riding with me. Not many people can say they stayed in one place for fifty years and enjoyed it. I really did.”

David’s advice to aspiring huntsmen reflects his own work ethic: “Have sincere passion for your job and do the best you can.”

•••••

Tommy Lee Jones: Sportsman with a Passion

By Lauren R. Giannini

Tommy Lee Jones moves off for Opening Meet c. 2006 from Casanova Green.

Douglas Lees photo

Huntsman, horseman, hound man, trainer, hunter-jumper show manager are just a few of the hats worn by Tommy Lee Jones. He stayed very busy throughout his 50 years carrying the horn for Casanova Hunt, which, when he took on that role in 1970, was situated ideally in the midst of extensive crop and livestock farms. It was a fun community effort that attracted everyone from wealthy to hard working.

A devotee of the red fox, he was never impressed by coyote. It wasn’t the speed of the hunt that fascinated Tommy Lee; it was the interplay between fox and hounds. The smarter the fox, the harder hounds must work, and vice versa.

“A lot of people say I’m impatient,” he admitted. “But I’ve learned patience from being a huntsman. If you’re not patient and you get discouraged because the hounds aren’t drawing and they’re not finding, the hounds read off of your emotions. Well, pretty soon hounds are following along behind you on the trail.”

“I always thought that each year cubbing season was like pre-season football—you put the new players in and you see which rookies join the pack and which ones don’t,” he said. “By the time you get to the regular season, you should have the hounds that are going to be your main unit. Hunting has taught me the value of teamwork—you have to be able to get whippers-in to be on the same page as you or all hell breaks loose.”

He added, “Hunting has taught me all the lessons of life that you should have. The forgiveness—a hound is the most forgiving animal in creation. When you correct them they look at you like Oh, my God! And the next minute they’re wanting to get in your lap. Everything I am today is what I learned from horses and hounds.”

“I was too busy to think about pressure,” he mused, reflecting back on his 50 years as huntsman plus his first season riding with Casanova, then two seasons as whipper-in, and several junior years with Bull Run Hunt. “I had a lot of support—from my parents and my wife.”

Tommy Lee grew up schooling, hunting, showing, and racing horses and his father (“Poppa Tommy”) sold them. One very good year he hunted hounds on 16 different horses; his father sold them all almost literally out of the hunt field. The Joneses explored the versatility and athleticism of the Thoroughbred and quite a few other breeds. If it could jump, it showed hunters or jumpers. If it was a Thoroughbred, it raced. They all got tried out in the hunt field.

His field degree in chasing foxes took wings in 1967 when Capt. Ian Benson, MFH-huntsman of his own pack in Ireland, arrived at Casanova. Benson needed whippers-in and chose Tommy Lee Jones, who had just enjoyed his first season hunting with Casanova, to serve as one of them. In 1970, when Benson returned to Ireland, he appointed Tommy Lee, not yet 25, to carry the horn.

Benson had a profound influence on Tommy Lee. At the time, Casanova consisted of one-third each American, Crossbred, and English hounds. Contrary to local speculations, Benson didn’t make the usual switch to the familiar English hounds. Instead, he decided to stick with American and Crossbred because they matched the country. In the long run, what mattered most to Tommy Lee was breeding the best possible hunting hounds. Handsome is as handsome does, and, in addition to their first rate performance in the hunt field, Casanova hounds earned their share of glory winning and pinning at the Virginia Hound Show.

18

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

A young Tommy Lee Jones in 1977, seven years into what would eventually become a 50 year career carrying the horn for Casanova Hunt. Liz Callar photo

In the years following Benson’s departure, Tommy Lee fine-tuned what became a mostly American pack. He hunted with other packs to watch them hunting and bred only to hounds that supported his vision. In the early years of his tenure, deer were a problem. While selling a hunt horse to a buyer in Pennsylvania, he observed that Rolling Rock Hunt’s kennels were surrounded by extensive shrubbery covered with wire to prevent them from being eaten by visiting herds of deer, which those hounds didn’t run. Tommy Lee bred a bitch named Thresher to Rolling Rock Toby and when hounds spoke on deer, Thresher’s offspring returned to Tommy Lee. Casanova’s gene pool was enriched by outside hounds such as Essex Triumph, who sired nine deer-proof puppies that all hunted. Tommy Lee limited his breeding program to a couple hounds annually.

“I really had no idea I would be a huntsman,” he admitted. “I hunted horses from [the age of] nine years on with Bull Run. I had a terrible time with ponies.

I just couldn’t ride the little bastards, so Dad let me hunt horses. Because I was often on a sales prospect, Mrs. Randolph [MFH Piedmont Fox Hounds] and most masters let me ride up front. I learned about hunting by osmosis because I was always up front, watching Melvin and Albert Poe, and Andrew Brannum at Fairfax. My family was always close to Andrew Brannum. I spent a lot of time at Fairfax and Old Dominion. My great-uncle Ray Pearson lived at ODH kennels.

At family dinners, my cousins and I, we’d all be out there. Blow Melvin’s horn.

Raid the tack room. Have whip fights. Normal kid stuff.”

Coyotes first appeared in his part of Virginia as far back as 1980, and the “nuisance species” continued to invade the area. Fox are smart and found safe haven building their dens in subdivisions where residents frightened off the people-shy coyotes. Unfortunately, you can’t hunt fox through developments. It was a sign that the times, they really were a-changing, and Tommy Lee Jones is a purist when it comes to fox hunting.

“You have to be honest with your hounds, for damn sure,” he said. “You really have to know your hounds’ limits and work around their limits.” That applies in the kennel, in the show ring, and especially in the field.

“If I could be guaranteed a red fox every time we go out, I would hunt for another fifty years,” Tommy added. “But that wasn’t going to happen. Retirement was difficult in some ways, but after 50 years, we were short on foxes and I got sick of the coyotes closing in—it’s a completely different sport. At my age, I wasn’t ready to go to another hunt and start over. It was time. Things came together and it was time to do it.”

In 2019, the year before the pack disbanded, the Virginia House of Delegates recognized Casanova Hunt and Tommy Lee Jones. The hunt was commended for its 110th anniversary, notably for its history and contributions to the community. Tommy Lee, then in his 49th year, was honored for his efforts and longtime involvement with hunting and showing in the Fauquier County Community.

He’s been an exceptional show manager since 1985 for the Upperville Colt and Horse Show, the oldest show in America and nine times Horse Show of the Year. He has nearly four decades with Warrenton Horse Show, and 20 years as President of the Senior Advisory Board for Warrenton Pony Show, the oldest

pony show in America. In 2013, he was the first professional huntsman to be honored with the Ian Milne Award for his dedication to the sport of foxhunting.

Tommy Lee and his wife Diane recently celebrated their 57th anniversary.

They have worked together through the years; Diane was executive director of the Virginia Gold Cup races until she recently retired, and now helps him with shows. Tommy is still a racing official. They met in 1964 as teenagers on a blind date, raised two children, Beth and Jason, and enjoy three grandkids. Their legacy includes good works and massive yearly fundraising for Fauquier County SPCA and the Fauquier Free Clinic.

Thinking back to the days when neighboring farms on less-traveled roads set the stage for a paradise of cross-country riding to hounds, when hacking to meets was part of the adventure, he says, “Enjoy it while you can, because the lifestyle that I grew up in is changing. I regret the demise of Casanova Hunt. We did a good job. We did the best we could do with it.”

Nowadays, Tommy Lee fills his need for the sound of hound music by truck following. “I still get excited, watching hounds from the truck,” he said. “I’m glad I don’t have to look for hounds at the end of the day. The stories those guys would tell me when they started hunting coyote—going out in their trucks for hours to find hounds. That’s how it was chasing deer. I didn’t want to end that way.”

When asked what he wanted to be remembered for, he quipped, “I’m not dead yet!” But he then said: “I’d like to be remembered for showing good sport and that people had a good time coming out to hunt with our hounds—that’s what it’s all about.”

Casanova Hunt may be gone, but it won’t be forgotten, thanks to the memories of hounds, horses, and Tommy Lee Jones, leader of the pack and passionate champion of foxhunting.

••••• Jake Carle: A Sporting Life

By Barclay Rives Douglas Lees Photos Editor’s Note: John J. (Jake) Carle II, born April 23, 1938, passed away at home on February 28, 2021. Jake was remembered by his good friend and fellow chronicler of foxhunting and country life, Barclay Rives, in the Spring 2021 issue of In & Around Horse Country. In recognition of Jake’s posthumous induction into the Huntsmen’s Room of the Museum of Hounds & Hunting NA, Barclay’s remembrance is republished here.

The Keswick pack was screaming after a gray fox.

KHC MFH and Huntsman Jake Carle galloped close behind.

As he shot through a hedgerow gap, a tree branch gashed his cheek and knocked off his iconic metal-framed spectacles. “Hold hard!” he shouted to those following. “Don’t step on my glasses.”

Jake’s vision was poor without those glasses. Hounds’ cry compelled him to leave them on the ground and gallop on. Staying with the pack was more precious than sight. He was going top speed on an ex-steeplechaser, blood trickling down his cheek, cheering his roaring pack. None have loved the sport more passionately.

Hounds marked that fox to ground with great commotion. Jake’s glasses survived un-trampled. The wild excitement lingered.

John J. (Jake) Carle II was born on Long Island, where his father Edward Hicks (Ned) Carle had been MFH and Huntsman of the Smithtown Hunt. Ned Carle schooled his son in the art of venery from birth. In the mid-1940s, the Carle family moved to Raynham Hall in Keswick. Ned Carle had hunted with Keswick, sometimes carrying the horn, in the early 1900s as a University of Virginia student. He employed the pseudonym George Savage in the hunting field to conceal his hunting from his parents.

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

Ned Carle favored English hounds, and befriended like-minded huntsman and author A. H. Higginson. At the end of his An Old Sportsman’s Memories 18761951, Higginson describes a visit to Raynham Hall, and praises the Carle family beagle pack, 12-year-old Jake serving as whipper-in.

Having hunted with Keswick since childhood, Jake served as MFH 19642000 and Huntsman 1973-2000. He drastically changed Keswick hunting by pack-breaking the KHC hounds, who had previously hit the ground running when the tailgate dropped. That hunting had been lively, though not always neatly organized. Some questioned, and others opposed the transformation. Jake explained the advantages in a club newsletter.

He wrote that training hounds to heed their huntsman as a pack would enable them to be carried forward to the line of a viewed fox, to be more easily dissuaded from running deer or livestock, and to be safely kept off highways or closed land.

Nowadays, as development shrinks the country and highway traffic increases, hunting without this training and control would be impossible. In the 1970s, a senior lifelong member remarked about the hunting that it was “wonderful how Jake has given more form to it.”

Jake designed and helped finance new masonry kennels to replace a dilapidated wooden structure. He paid the salary of a top-notch professional whipperin, for whom he supplied horses. He donated a tractor to the club for trail clearing.

He built panels, cleared trails, and helped render donated livestock into hound feed. Unsurprisingly, dues have risen since Jake’s day.

Fortunately, Keswick continues to benefit from the hound-breeding program Jake established. He favored the American Bywaters strain, bred for Virginia terrain and conditions. Breeders he admired and consulted include Piedmont and Middleburg Huntsman Albert Poe, Essex Huntsman Buster Chadwell, and Bull Run MFH Warren Harrover. Consequently Keswick hound pedigrees include influential sires Piedmont Render ’68, Essex Gaylord ’69, and Bull Run Dawson ’81. Hounds and horses often take on attributes of their masters. Powerfully built Warren Harrover bred hounds with plenty of bone and substance. Jake bred packs whose ecstatic musical cry could make a person forget his glasses.

He was never a “showman” huntsman. Jake preferred to focus the field’s attention on hounds, not on himself. He kept hounds on the line of a hunted fox, even if the pace slowed. At one joint meet with combined packs, the visiting Keswick hounds kept their heads down and persevered when heads of the host pack went up in expectation of being taken to a fresh fox.

One of Jake’s best, Posy ’74, did not possess an illustrious Masters of Foxhounds Association pedigree. Her mother Peanut ’69 came from a private pack, reputedly of Goodman Hound stock. Her father Keswick ’65 was a small black and tan hound with exquisite fox finding sense, which Posy inherited. She had a sweet disposition, a ringing mezzo-soprano voice, superior nose and drive.

When he was Warrenton Huntsman, Jim Atkins followed Jake’s advice to use his stallion hound Keswick Predator ’94, a beautiful moving, graceful athlete.

I recall Predator effortlessly springing over a wire fence from a standstill.

After decades of hunting with Jake, I retained a few of his precepts, including correct use of the terms draw and cast. A huntsman draws a covert with his pack.

If they find and run, then miss their fox, they will cast themselves, or the huntsman may cast them in a likely direction. At the meet, Jake hated hearing predictions about good scenting or guarantees of a good hunt. The hunting gods punish hubris. One of Jake’s fundamental rules is simple: button your coat. A rider with an unbuttoned coat looks vagrant. His dear English friend Michael Skinner, a Savile Row tailor, ensured Jake was always elegantly and correctly attired.

At the invitation of former Rapidan MFH Langborne Williams, Jake led Keswick’s territorial expansion into areas north of the town of Orange previously hunted by the Rapidan Hunt. The first Keswick meet in Rapidan country was in November 1980. Jake also initiated Keswick hunting in the Somerset area of Orange and Madison Counties and revived hunting in the Green Springs area of Louisa County.

Jake loaned me a few classics from his extensive library, and gave me a copy of Mason Houghland’s Gone Away, a tremendous source of wisdom, including its Foreword. One of his favorite works of fiction was the Gordon Grand story “Trying,” about a huntsman speaking to his best old hound after a day’s good run in spite of drought, a field of thrusters, and a brash whipper-in wanting the horn. The story has had many real life counterparts.

19

Names Jake bestowed on hunting landmarks have adhered, including Wombat’s Hollow in the Rapidan Country, in honor of a little red bitch who often found foxes there. Jake and I shared a catalogue of unforgettable hunting moments, indexed by phrases like “Raquel under the fence,” which Jake mentioned the last time we spoke. Raquel was a red bitch given to Jake by his friend Gilmour R. Flautt, ex-MFH, who was Newmarket MFH in the 1970s. When hounds checked one morning in a gravel road, Raquel, with a seeming grin, squeezed under a tight wire fence and spoke immediately and unselfishly in the next field.

All rushed to join her.

When Jake turned the mastership over to Hugh Motley in 2000, he received a silver horn from grateful Keswick officers and members. He blew a poignant “Going Home.” Jake was an ambassador of sport, hound and field trial judge, and writer familiar to readers of this publication. He offered valuable advice and support to Professional Huntsman Tony Gammell, who hunted the Keswick pack 2000-2017. When Tony described how hounds failed to run a certain fox during his first year, Jake asked, “What were you doing?” Tony then realized hounds did not settle because he had gotten their heads up with too much cheering and horn blowing. Sometimes bad scent is blamed for problems caused by human error.

A 1981 issue of Albemarle Magazine contained photos and brief quotes from 20 notable local figures, including Jake Carle. He quoted GJ Whyte-Melville’s line from the poem “The Good Grey Mare”: “I freely admit that the best of my fun I owe it to horse and hound.” Jake also said he could identify with the RS Surtees bumptious fictional character Mr. Jorrocks who declared, “All time is lost wot is not spent in ’unting.”

Your Trailer Cooling and Sealing Specialist Sealing and cooling your trailers one structure at a time. www.equinekool.com

• • • • • •

Horse Living Quarters Exotics Stock Cargo RVs/Motorhomes

Not only does our product reflect up to 90% UV rays, it stops leaking and in some cases stops rust.

By dropping the temperature up to 30+ degrees it’s like having your own personal shade tree. No need to drive all night to an event because it’s too hot for your animals.

We travel over most of the U.S. to install our product to the roof of your trailer for your convenience (additional fee may be charged) or it can be done at our location.

Up to 20ft $1,000 41ft to 45ft $2,000 21ft to 25ft $1,200 46ft to 50ft $2,200 26ft to 30ft $1,400 51ft to 55ft $2,400 31ft to 40ft $1,800 Additional costs: Hayrack $200 Slide outs $50 each Travel Trailers with over lip $200 Freddy (540) 325-0220 Tammy (540) 335-1782

20

RACING

IN & AROUND HORSE COUNTRY • SUMMER 2022

Horses and People to Watch Virginia Equine Alliance

Churchill Downs Enters Agreement to Purchase Colonial Downs; 27- Day Summer Season Features $3.5 Million in Stakes Purses Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) announced in February that it entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire the assets of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, which includes Colonial Downs Racetrack and its Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums, for total consideration of $2.4 billion.

Bill Carstanjen, CDI CEO, made a presentation and answered questions at the April 6 Virginia Racing Commission meeting at Colonial. “There are fantastic building blocks in place here and they have done an exceptional job developing and managing this collection of assets, which we are very excited to acquire and plan to strategically grow in the years ahead. There is so much opportunity here,” he added. “We want to bring Virginia racing to the forefront and make it a major racing destination on the eastern seaboard on par with even NYRA.” He wants to “turbo charge” the immediate future in four steps: Get more Historical Horse Racing (HHR) terminals deployed as quickly as possible, add more stakes races, add a Kentucky Derby prep race, and have 50 days of live racing in New Kent.

Colonial Downs operates six lucrative “Rosie’s Gaming Emporium” HHR facilities across Virginia. These facilities currently have approximately 2,700 gaming machines combined.

The Churchill deal won’t close until later in the year, so it’s business as usual in the meanwhile. Colonial Downs Racing presented by Woodford Reserve, Both Thoroughbred & Standardbred racing in kicks off a 27-day “More Racing, Virginia is family friendly. VEA photo More Money and More Fun” Thoroughbred racing season July 11. The track recently unveiled a $3.5 million stakes schedule highlighted by the 19th running of the Grade 3 Virginia Derby.

In all, 24 stakes will be contested over the 9-week campaign, 20 of which are scheduled for the Secretariat Turf Course, the widest grass racing surface in the country. Purses for the 2022 stakes program will increase by $850,000 over 2021.

Racing will take place every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 1:30 PM (EDT) through September 7. Daily average purse monies will rise to $600,000 for the summer and maiden special weight races will carry a $60,000 purse. The highly successful 2021 meet awarded a total of $10.4 million in purse monies and average field size was a healthy 8.36 starters per race.

“With increased purses, an expanded stakes schedule and more race days, we are looking forward to hosting horsemen and women, players and patrons from across the country again this season,” said Jill Byrne, Vice President Racing Operations. “Colonial Downs offers a fantastic facility for horses and staff and two of the best surfaces known for safety and sound returns to the barn.”

The $300,000 Virginia Derby headlines a showcase day on Tuesday, September 6 which also includes four undercard turf stakes—the Virginia Oaks, Rosie’s, Kitten’s Joy, and Da Hoss Stakes.

The Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series returns for a second straight year August 16 with a quartet of stakes worth a combined $600,000. A pair of dirt sprints—the Chesapeake and Seeking The Pearl—complement a pair of longer turf stakes—the Buckland and Old Nelson. Each will carry a $150,000 purse.

The July 11 kickoff card includes four VirginiaBred/Sired turf events.

The Punch Line and Camptown are 5½furlong sprints, the latter for fillies & mares, while the Edward P. Evans and Colonial’s 2022 season will run from July 11 - September 7. Brookmeade are 11/16 miles, the latter Coady Photography

for females.

A four-pack of $150,000 Virginia-restricted stakes will close out the meet September 7. Open to Virginia-Bred, -Sired and -Certified horses, offerings include the Meadow Stable, Tyson Gilpin, Bert Allen, and Nellie Mae Cox Stakes.

The $125,000 Jamestown Stakes for Virginia-bred/sired 2-year-olds is also on the card.

Colonial’s meet-long steeplechase program will be highlighted by the $100,000 Randolph Rouse Stakes on August 22. A pair of NSA sanctioned jump races will be held every Monday before the pari-mutuel flat card begins.

Premium tickets for the meet are now on sale while general admission and parking are free. The track offers a family friendly atmosphere, casual dining, private suites, outdoor clubhouse boxes, reserved grandstand seating, and a hospitality tent trackColonial will host a pair of steeplechase races every side open to everyone.

Monday this summer. Douglas Lees photo Five different promotional giveaway days are slated and feature items such as a Secretariat tee-shirt on opening day and a plush horse giveaway on Family Day August 23. And for the first time in 21 years, Colonial Downs will race on Labor Day afternoon, giving families a chance to enjoy summer’s last holiday in an affordable and fun atmosphere.

Colonial Downs is conveniently located off I-64 at Exit 214 halfway between Richmond and Williamsburg. Meet details are available at colonialdowns.com.

••••• Shenandoah Downs Harness Racing Season Expands

By Additional Three Weeks Virginia harness racing is poised to take another step forward this fall when Shenandoah Downs ushers in its 7th season of pari-mutuel harness racing beginning September 16 and continuing through November 6, an increase of three weeks from prior meets that have been held at the Woodstock oval from 20162021. The season dates are pending approval of the Virginia Racing Commission.

The track will host pacers and trotHarness racing takes place over the Shenandoah Downs’ ters every Friday at half mile oval in Woodstock. VEA photo 3:00 PM and Saturday at 1:00 PM thru October 15, then switch to a Saturday and Sunday schedule on October 22 for the final three weeks with a 1:00 PM post.

The 25th running of the Virginia Breeder’s Championships will be held closing day. A series of $80,000 pacing and trotting finals for 2- and 3-year-olds of both sexes will take place that afternoon in a “Day of Champions.” Like Colonial Downs, parking and admission are free to the fall races and the action is family friendly.

The Virginia Harness Horse Association (VHHA) has introduced two new breeding initiatives—a Sired Stakes program that rewards both the stallion owner and mare owner and creates eight $60,000 stakes races for program participants in their 2- and 3-year-old seasons, and a Virginia-Certified program that rewards owners of young horses that are raised in Virginia for a minimum of six months before they turn two years of age. Since the announcement of the Sired Stakes program, 16 stallions have committed to stand in Virginia, up from three last year. Details on the lucrative initiatives are at vhha.net. Season details are at shenandoahdowns.com

REMEMBRANCE Daniel M. “Speedy” Smithwick

Precision Riding Rings Laser Grading Pasture Management Polo Fields Land Consulting Stream & Wetlands Mitigation

October 27, 1959 – April 23, 2022

Speedy's wife Eva leads her husband, aboard Jack Kent Cooke's Lithograph, out of the paddock to compete for the Chronicle Cup at the 1989 Virginia Fall Races. The pair raced to victory and joined Cooke and others for the trophy presentation.

A Service of

G&H Cattle Company 434-531-0451

Horse Barn for Lease Six stall barn in great condition for rent on Merry Oak Farm in The Plains, Virginia.

250 acres of pristine "ride out" fields and groomed trails. Tack and feed rooms and wash stall.

Forty acres of green horse pastures with automatic watering and run in sheds. Adjacent to Morningside Farm.

Douglas Lees photos

Serious inquiries only: Peter Arundel peter@tabnva.com

Jerel Johnson, Honorary Whipper-in for Princess Anne Hunt (VA), at Historic Sherwood Forest, Opening Meet, 2021. Jerel works as a farrier and is participating in the MFHA Professional Development Program.

Christopher “Puma” Smith photo

Middleburg Hunt Puppy Show at Huntland May 15, 2022 Edith “Edie” Bono, handling Middleburg Thatcher, is the great-granddaughter of John White (Brandywine Hounds, a 2015 inductee into the Huntsmen’s Room of the Museum of Hounds & Hunting). Edie is already showing promise to continue the family’s houndcentric hunting tradition (even if she and Thatcher had a slight directional disagreement in the show ring). Joanne Maisano photo