746 breathtaking acres located in Madison County with long frontage on the Rapidan River, and numerous ponds and streams. This rare large tract offers excellent Blue Ridge views, with numerous stunning building sites, abundant fenced pastures for grazing livestock, with automatic waterers, fertile bottom land for crops, extensive road, and trail system, and well maintained barns, and a recently updated brick home for a farm manager. The property is in six tax map parcels, and is an ideal candidate for a conservation easement. This unique property combines beautiful land with amazing topography, complete privacy, long river frontage, no conservation easement, and within 2 hours of Washington.
JUSTIN H. WILEY | 434 981 5528
GREENVILLE
$6,995,000 | MLS 650903
One of the State’s finest examples of Classical Revival architecture, sited on 716-acres of rolling, highly productive cropland with long frontage on the Rapidan River. The home is instantly recognizable with its 4 massive Doric columns and “M” shaped copper roof. Built in 1854, the residence was meticulously restored by Alexander Nicholson to its present condition. The river and its lowlands offer endless recreation including some of the area’s best duck hunting. Additional improvements include a restored, period summer kitchen, conservatory, pool and pool house, stables, numerous cottages, and farm infrastructure.
JUSTIN H. WILEY | 434 981 5528
PETER A. WILEY | 434 422 2090
CHERRY SPRINGS
$2,700,000 | MLS 658045
448 private acres centrally located between Orange and Gordonsville, with great views of the South West Mountains, and ample frontage on Madison Run Rd. The land is a mixture of open pasture, hay fields, and mature hard wood forest, with approx 6 mi of ATV trails.. The land is further improved with four wells, pond, under ground electric, roads, trails, long frontage Madison Run stream, and a small multistory home w/ fireplace, full kitchen, laundry, bath, and roof top office, that is being sold in "as is" condition. The property is currently being used as a cattle farm, and is currently in land use. The property is not in a conservation easement and can be subdivided
JUSTIN H. WILEY | 434 981 5528
New Offering
REAS FORD
$1,950,000 | MLS 663888
A breathtakingly beautiful 92 acres with long dramatic views of both the Blue Ridge and SW Mountains in a rural protected area, minutes from town. No houses can be seen in the 180 degree main viewshed. The rolling parcel is a good mix of productive pasture and hardwoods with a spring-fed pond. A thoroughly renovated three bedroom cottage and new, oversized garage are ready for occupancy or build your dream home on a level, elevated building site that both takes in the dramatic views and offers privacy. The property is on a quiet, country lane, across the road from protected Panorama Farm. Protected by a conservation easement. An additional 5-acre parcel with incredible views, not under easement, can also be purchased with a larger parcel.
PETER A. WILEY | 434 422 2090
ORANGE VA | 540 672 3903
IRONWOOD
$3,750,000 | MLS 6 57943
Private estate minutes from Charlottesville and the University with wonderful Blue Ridge views. The 1888 traditional farm house has been completely renovated and decorated by a well known interior decorator, yet retains the charm and woodwork of the original house. The main house includes 3 bedrooms with private baths, large kitchen with high end appliances, family room, large living room with fireplace. Other improvements include a new guest / pool house, pool, and 2 car detached heated garage with charming office and a half bath. Also included is a tenant / manager cottage, chicken coop, and bee hives. All the improvements are beautifully situated on the 21 acres with complete privacy.
JUSTIN H. WILEY | 434 981 5528
BUNDORAN FARM RESIDENCE
$2,200,000 | MLS 663560
A sought-after Bundoran Farm residence sited to take advantage of one of the most dramatic, protected viewsheds in Albemarle County. The EarthCraft certified, 3-bed home was built in 2010 to exacting standards by Abrahamse and Co. A first floor primary allows one-level living with two additional bedrooms upstairs. An additional 800+ sq ft on the lower level could be easily finished. Equally impressive is the owner’s extensive native garden, offering bursts of color and a canvas for pollinators and wildlife. An easy 15-minute drive to Charlottesville in a completely tranquil setting. 90% of the 2,300 acre Bundoran farm is protected from future development. The beautiful landscape is traversed by 14+ miles of exceptional trails.
PETER A. WILEY | 434 422 2090
FOXHUNTING
Mark Jump Photos
(l-r) Dr. Phoebe Fisher, MFH; Jennifer Steinberg; and Lydia Fisher easily managed the post-and-rail fences when Mister Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds hosted their annual Vixen Hunt from Mrs. Lydia Willits Bartholomew’s Plumsted Farm, Kennett Square, PA on March 21, 2025.
Southern Hound Show
Eight packs competed at the Southern Hound Show hosted by Live Oak Hounds (FL) at the home of joint masters Marty and Daphne Wood, April 12, 2025. Shown here with the Grand Champion Live Oak Warrior ’23 are (l-r) Judge Andrew Osborne (UK); Daphne Wood, MFH, Live Oak Hounds; C. Martin Wood III, MFH, Live Oak Hounds; Judge Penny Denegre, MFH, Middleburg Hunt; Apprentice Judge Knox van Nagell Pfister, MFH, Iroquois Hunt. Kari Fulford photo
A large helmet and a small pony made for a fun day hunting with Georgia’s Shakerag Hounds on March 1, 2025. M
A creative twist on proper turnout for the Vixen Hunt hosted by Mister Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds on March 21, 2025 from Mrs. Lydia Willits Bartholomew’s Plumsted Farm, Kennett Square, PA.
(l-r) Charlotte Prompol and Quinn Prompol, junior members of Snickersville Hounds, had a fun time at Closing Meet when the hunt met at Sunnybank Farm, just outside Middleburg, VA, March 23, 2025.
SPORTING LIFE HIGHLIGHTS
Jeff Woodall opts to retire from Loudoun Fairfax Hunt/Loudoun Hunt (VA). Connor Poe, who grew up hunting with Old Dominion Hounds (VA), begins his professional huntsman’s career at the age of 25.
Guy Allman has opted to return to the UK, leaving an opening at Live Oak Hounds (FL) that will be filled by Sam Clifton.
Tony Gammell moves on from Lowcountry Hunt (SC) to fill the vacancy Sam Clifton leaves at Wateree Hounds (SC).
Huntsmen Play “Musical Saddles” As Horns Are Passed Around the Country
off to retirement. Jeff previously served as huntsman for Old Dominion Hounds and Rappahannock Hunt. Mark Jump photo
David Raley says goodbye to Shakerag Hounds (GA) and hello to Lowcountry Hunt (SC).
Tiffany Evitts steps up from her role as whipper-in at Blue Ridge Hunt (VA) to fill the huntsman vacancy at Shakerag Hounds (GA) created by David Raley’s departure.
Sean Cully, MFH, has passed Rose Tree-Blue Mountain Hunt (PA) to the capable hands of Brian Kiely and now settles in to carry the horn for Genesee Valley Hunt (NY). Marion Thorne isn’t leaving GSV, just retiring from her role as huntsman.
COVER PHOTOGRAPHER:
Middleburg Photo
PHOTOGRAPHERS:
Coady Media
www.coadyphotography.com
Kari Fulford
Allison Howell
allisonhowellimages.smugmug.com
Mark Jump markjumpphotography.com
Karen Kandra
Austin Kaseman austinkaseman.com
Dillon Keen dillonkeenphotography.com
Douglas Lees douglaslees@comcast.net
Joanne Maisano joannemaisano.com
Pat Michaels
Middleburg Photo middleburgphoto.com
Cindy White
John Roth moves to Green Creek Hounds (NC) as huntsman.
Mackenzie Wertman leaves Bridlespur
Barrett DuPree, Mission Valley Hunt (KS) whipper-in, goes to Bridlespur Hunt (MO) as huntsman.
REMEMBRANCE
Irmgard Hill, MFH, Red Mountain Hounds
January 4, 1928 – April 10, 2025
A native of Germany, Irmgard came to the US shortly after World War II where she met her husband John Sprunt Hill. They lived at Quail Roost Farm in Rougemont, NC, where she founded the Red Mountain Hounds in 1969. She continued to hunt as the Senior MFH well into her 80s. She was President of the North American Foxhound Association and helped merge it into the Masters of Fox Hounds Association.
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 issue is August 4, 2025. Payment in full due with copy.
Publisher: Marion Maggiolo Managing Editor: J. Harris Anderson
Virginia Gold Cup Arthur W. Arundel Memorial Steeplethon, Great Meadow, The Plains, May 3, 2025, Kelmscott, Freddie Procter up.
Hunt (MO) to carry the horn at Rolling Rock Hunt (PA).
Jeff Woodall bids adieu to Loudoun Fairfax/Loudoun Hunt as he drives
Connor Poe begins his career as a professional huntsman at Loudoun Fairfax/Loudoun Hunt. Cindy White photo
Sam Clifton heads south to carry the horn in Florida for Live Oak Hounds. Karen Kandra photo
David Raley, ex-MFH, moves one state north from Shakerag Hounds (GA) to Lowcountry Hunt (SC). Mark Jump photo
Tony Gammell remains in South Carolina but moves from Lowcountry Hunt to Wateree Hounds. Mark Jump photo
FOXHUNTING
Three Huntsmen Tapped for Hall of Fame Induction
By John Head
One of the highlights of the Memorial Day activities for foxhunting enthusiasts is scheduled for 3pm on Saturday, May 24th, when the latest inductees into the Huntsman’s Hall of Fame at the Museum of Hounds and Hunting are celebrated with their families and hunt club members in attendance. Plan to join us for the commemorative speeches and the reception following at the Museum’s Morven Park headquarters in Leesburg, Virginia.
Thomas H. Jackson 1945-2015
As a young man in the countryside around Sewickley, Pennsylvania, Tom Jackson worked on Fitzgerald’s Dairy Farm to help his family make ends meet. He later served in Vietnam, where he was awarded two Bronze Stars by the Army.
After discharge from the Army in 1967, Tom worked in the horse stable at the Allegheny Country Club, which was affiliated with Sewickley Hunt Club. Eager, personable and kind, Tom began working his way through the hunt club ranks, ultimately serving as huntsman from 1973-75.
Tom then furthered his skills serving as huntsman for the Ottawa Valley Hunt, Ashton, Ontario, Canada from 1976-1984. After eight years, America beckoned, in the form of the Mission Valley Hunt Club in Louisburg, KS, where Tom served with distinction as huntsman for the next twenty-five years. This quarter century mark was eclipsed when Tom was selected Master and huntsman at the Coal Valley Hounds in McCune, Kansas, in 2002. He ended his career as Master and huntsman of Mr. Jackson’s Oxford Hounds, later called Mr. Jackson’s Flat Creek Hounds, in Bucyrus, KS. Tom Jackson’s career as huntsman spanned over 40 years.
Tom Jackson was passionate about hound breeding and strove to breed the best hunting hounds for his country. He traded hounds with good friend Jim Atkins, 2017 Hall of Fame Inductee, both aiming to create “the best of best” hounds, which they then shared with other hunts. Kennels benefiting from Tom’s and Jim’s generosity through the gifting of quality hounds were Fort Leavenworth Hunt Club, Bridlespur, Moingona, North Hills, Gamble Hills, and Harvard Hounds.
Proudly bearing an Irish heritage, Tom knew how to make and win friends. Talented with the hunt horn, he won the Horn Blowing Contest one year at the Pennsylvania Horse Show, among strong competition, we are told. Years of practice clinched it.
Donald Philhower 1953-present
man at Golden’s Bridge Hounds and invited Don along to North Salem, New York, as his first whipper-in. Three years later senior MFH Reggie Fox promoted Don to huntsman, a position he held for 30 years. Penn-Marydel hounds were Don’s choice for the success in Golden’s Bridge country, where nose and drive were combined with deep voice for following in the woods and gullies.
In 2004 the Millbrook Hunt became the capstone to Don’s hunting career. Upon succeeding huntsman Betsy Park, Don earned accolades over the next fifteen years for himself and the hounds he bred. Chief among them were Best Pack in 2013 and again in 2014 at the Bryn Mawr Hound Show in Pennsylvania. In 2018 the MFHA selected Don, as a “huntsman of sound character who has made outstanding contribution to the sport of fox hunting” for their Ian Milne Award.
Nancy Stahl, ex-MFH Millbrook Hunt, remembers their early years working together: “When Donald came to us it was right on the heels of our dealings with leishmaniasis and our pack was fragile at best. Donald is responsible for rebuilding our pack and brought in some of his Penn-Marydel breeding, which invigorated our hounds and added incredible cry, perseverance, nose and what I like to call deliberateness.”
Drawing on the skills he developed as a boy learning from the Chadwell family, Don developed his pack for the Millbrook territory. Summarizing what it’s all about in the kennel, in the December 2018 issue of Millbrook’s Main Street Magazine Don said, “Breeding fox hounds is a combination of science, art and luck.” Don’s Millbrook pack was always a favorite part of the Millbrook Community Day parade.
Larry Pitts, MFH 1949-present
Larry Pitts hunted hounds at the Potomac Hunt in Boyd, Maryland, for 35 years, retiring in 2015. Growing up on a family farm near Reidsville, North Carolina, bordering southern Virginia near Danville, Larry began his career as kennelman and whipper-in for Ian Milne at the Sedgefield Hunt.
“Ian saw something special in Larry and recommended him to William Brainard, MFH Old Dominion Hounds,” recalled Vicki Crawford, ex-MFH Potomac Hunt, in Equiery in 2014. Larry served as whipper-in to huntsman Ray Pearson. Mr. Brainard kept an American and an English pack in his kennel at Glenara, allowing Larry to “learn the traits of different breeds.”
Donald Philhower was nine years old, living in the countryside around Peapack, New Jersey, when he first heard the thrilling sound of foxhounds hunting as a pack. As he recalls, when asked, it was a moonlit night and the voices, as he says, “stuck in his blood ever since.” A few years later, he became immersed in hounds and kennel life when his father began working for William (“Buster”) Chadwell at the Essex Fox Hounds, established in 1912. Buster Chadwell hunted 43 years with Essex. In 1997 he was inducted into the Huntsman’s Hall of Fame.
These beginnings at Essex, observing Buster’s quiet manner and insight into hound breeding, served Don well. He advanced from kennel work and hound exercise routines in his summer vacation time from school to the position of second whipper-in at Essex after high school graduation.
In 1973, Don’s first riding teacher at Essex, Harvey Styer, was selected hunts-
Canada came next when in 1976 Mr. Brainard recommended Larry for the huntsman’s position with Major Charles Kindersley, MFH Eglinton and Caledon Hounds, in Ontario. For the next four years Larry observed Kindersley’s high standards in the kennels and in the field. The Major, as exMFH Crawford further notes, “always put hounds first, a tradition Larry continues.”
Four years later, Larry’s career with Potomac Hunt began when Tommy Dowd, MFH, acted on Major Kindersley’s sound recommendation. The story goes that Larry inherited a deer running pack and “spent hours and hours,” and ultimately the next three years of breeding, to achieve a level and honest pack.
Skip Crawford, ex-MFH Potomac Hunt, has observed, “Larry continued the established Potomac Hunt tradition of breeding the Virginia type straight American foxhound,” adding, “this breeding program continued with quality found in hounds such as Potomac Jubilee, a five times American Foxhound Champion.”
To further his breeding program, Larry selected Old Dominion Apollo. Mr. Crawford notes the hound’s importance: “From this line came Applejack and then Apple who was the first American foxhound to be overall champion at the Virginia Hound Show. Other strong American hounds Larry bred were Preacher, Topsy, Tansy and Krypton and the most well-known, Potomac Jefferson, the Centennial Hound in 2007.”
Retiring from the Potomac Hunt in 2015 after 35 years, Larry moved to the western side of the Blue Ridge Mountains where he continues his life’s interest as he shares his talents as MFH of the Bedford County Hunt.
Pat Michaels photo.
Photo courtesy of the Jackson family.
Photo courtesy of Don Philhower.
some
entertain-
FOXHUNTING
Fun With Fundraising
By J. Harris Anderson, Managing Editor
The general public’s image of foxhunting is likely to conjure up images of aristocratic “toffs” based on scenes from Upstairs Downstairs or Downton Abbey (depending on one’s age cohort). Many would be surprised to learn that the sport is still practiced, particularly here in North America.
We, of course, know the reality is, yes, it’s still practiced here and, no, the participants are neither aristocrats nor “toffs.” A tiny minority of today’s hunt clubs are blessed with deep-pocketed patrons willing to provide the lion’s share of financial support. For most, though, meeting the financial obligations to keep the enterprise afloat is an ongoing challenge. If there’s a club anywhere that, absent an extremely generous benefactor, is able to cover all expenses with only the members’ dues, it would be a revelation. And, while modest increases in dues from season to season are not uncommon, there’s a balance to be struck between assuring the operating costs can be met while not risking the loss of members who might find the increased dues burdensome.
When the Masters of Foxhounds Association celebrated its Centennial Anniversary in 2007, there were 165 recognized hunt clubs in the US and Canada. The current MFHA roster lists 127. Many factors account for that, but financial difficulties have played a part to at least some extent.
Thus, alternative means to keep coffers from running dry—and hounds from going hungry—is an ongoing issue for the great majority of clubs.
To suss out examples of how hunts can raise additional funds, we asked for suggestions from the broader foxhunting community. The responses—of which there were many—ranged from the tried-and-true to the truly creative. Perhaps something here will prove helpful for assuring your club’s bottom line does not match the bright red hue of a huntsman’s coat.
The suggestions have been arranged into three categories:
• Something Borrowed: Practiced by some hunts, but perhaps not familiar to all.
• Something New: Innovative, employed on a limited scale thus far (and one novel idea yet to be put into practice).
Each activity has been assigned a “Level of Difficulty/Reward” (LoD/R) rating on a 1-3 scale. LoD addresses the amount of time, effort, and upfront costs likely required to organize and conduct an event. Reward (R) is a rough guess at the level of profit potentially realized. For example, an event that requires a considerable amount of effort, particularly by a team of volunteers, with hefty upfront costs, but with a reasonable chance of significant profit would be rated at 3 on the LoD/R scale. A simple task—something one person could handle—likely to show a low return would be a 1. The rating is noted parenthetically for each activity.
The majority of these suggestions could be performed by most any hunt club. Some, however, might require specific elements not available to all (e.g., large membership, proximity of other hunts, type of territory, etc.).
Herewith is a listing of more than two dozen fundraising ideas with a brief description and LoD/R rating. Tried-And-True
Hunt Ball (3)
The annual hunt ball has been a mainstay of foxhunting culture for centuries. If this is a regular fixture on your club’s calendar, you already know what it takes to organize and host such an event. For others, the logistics might not work out (e.g., a smaller hunt without enough members or local supporters to make it a viable moneymaker). For those who do hold a ball, there are still some ideas that might be worth considering to enliven the event and perhaps increase the profits.
• Auctions: Silent or Live
This can be the ball’s primary money-maker…or not. Two factors most commonly account for the former: big ticket items with broad appeal and attendees with deep pockets. A popular example of the former is a getaway trip donated by a member or supporter who has access to an appealing vacation spot. The latter is mostly a matter of luck—you either have some members or supporters willing to bid in the four- to even five-digit range, or you don’t. Big ticket items can be included among the full selection of silent auction donations. But as an entertaining, and potentially more profitable, feature of the evening, a live auction, with spirited participants bidding against each other, can be a real hoot.
• Auctions Online
An increasing number of hunts are improving the return on their auction efforts by posting the items online prior to the night of the ball. One source for this is 32auctions.com.
• Specialty Themes
When is a ball not merely a ball? When the evening features a special theme. Examples we’ve seen over the years include Pirate Night, Greek Mythology, Masquerade, Vegas Night, Denim & Diamonds, Academy Awards, etc. Use your imagination, be creative, and the festivity just might result in some memorable images for the club’s photo gallery.
(For more information on hunt balls, see our feature article in the Summer 2018 issue of In & Around Horse Country, pages 6-8. You can access it online at issuu.com/horsecountrypost.)
Support the Hounds (2)
Who doesn’t love a snuggly, adorable hound puppy? Or a noble working hound that’s providing members with exhilarating sport? Or feel a soft spot for the one who’s hunting days are over and needs retirement care? Those sentiments can be translated into financial support using a few different options.
A live auction can spark
spirited
ment…and help boost the evening’s income. Austin Kaseman photo
“An Evening With…” can appeal to the local hunting community as well as a broader audience, depending on the topic. Middleburg Photo
Inspired by the movie’s release, Virginia’s Bull Run Hunt hosted a twist on the Vixen’s theme: a “Barbie Hunt”. Mark Jump photo
Turning to foot-bound ideas, we have:
• Skeet, Trap, or Sporting Clays Shoot (2)
As most foxhunts are based in largely rural areas, there’s likely to be a fair number of shooting enthusiasts in the neighborhood. Hunt clubs are tapping into this audience by hosting a form of shotgun competition. (Each of the three types of shoots functions in a slightly different way, but the essential challenge is the same: to hit an airborne target with a load of shot.) Ideally, there’s a local facility already in place where the event can be held. If not, some additional effort may be required to secure a suitable location and set up the necessary elements. (Be sure to check the local ordinances to comply with all laws and regulations. And don’t forget your eye and ear protection!)
Golf Days (2)
For a different type of “shots,” a hunt-sponsored day on the links is another option. A co-op arrangement with a local country club or golf course could prove beneficial to all. And the potential audience of duffers is likely to be broader than the cohort of shotgunners.
• Kennel Garage Sale (1)
Find yourself stepping around boxes filled with unsold clothing emblazoned with the hunt’s logo? Tack that doesn’t fit any of the horses in your barn? Maybe some unclaimed auction prizes, books, or other donated items? Print off some flyers and await the flood of bargain hunters pulling up to check out your kennel garage sale. The appeal could be heightened by including a kennel tour, meet-ourhounds, bring-the-kids, etc. Some attendees might not find anything to buy, but could opt to make a donation for the hounds while visiting. Doesn’t take much to pull it together, and could put a few dollars in the club’s till. (And also clear out some space to make room for the next batch of garage-sale-bound items.)
• Wild Game Dinner (2)
Many of us share our territory with hunters of a different stripe—those who hunt live game (deer, turkey, bear, etc.). Some may be fellow hunt members, or spouses thereof. A community dinner featuring dishes prepared from the bounty of the season’s successes can be a popular event. It can also help strengthen the relationship across different hunting categories.
• Art Show (2)
The horse world holds a strong attraction for artists of many disciplines, particularly painters, sculptors, and photographers. That could be expanded to include other artistic categories such as leather craftsmen, jewelers, perhaps even authors. For those seeking an audience for their creations, your hunt could offer a joint arrangement, whether as a standalone event or combined with another activity where a suitable audience is likely to attend. Profits could be split in an equitable fashion.
• Stable Tour (3)
If your area is home to some high end stable operations, organizing a public tour can be a profitable venture. It’s also likely to entail a good bit of effort, hence the 3 rating on the LoD/R scale. The critical first step, of course, is to secure the cooperation of the stable owners. Then come the challenges of marketing the event, ticket sales, lining up tour guides, etc. But if the stars align, a handsome profit can result.
“An Evening With…” can lure fellow foxhunters as well as those from other equestrian disciplines and, depending on the topic, non-horse people to plunk
down some bucks for a nice meal and an informative, entertaining presentation. A few examples might include a discussion of local land conservation or legal/legislative issues, a primer on foxhunting history and current practices for a non-hunting audience, or a panel discussion with noted experts on a relevant subject. It’s a Level 3 project but one most any hunt might consider doing. As long as there’s a suitable location and at least one person willing to be the “Evening With…” draw, the rest should fall together in order.
• Informative Booklet (3)
A few hunts produce a full color, magazine-style booklet at the end of each season that recaps the hunting action, social activities, and other interesting and informative topics. The key to making this a profitable venture is to cover the production costs with paid ads from sponsors, members, and local businesses. And the key to that is to have at least one highly motivated and talented person to spearhead the project. Better still to have a team of such folks.
• Calendars & Cookbooks (2)
Considerably less labor-intensive than a multi-page magazine is the calendar option. A dozen photos can suffice (collages can allow for more) and the production is fairly straightforward. The effort required rates a low 2, but the likely return is closer to a 1. Given the increasing use of calendars on phones and computers, the use of printed calendars is steadily declining. And to the extent that they are still used, some of that is fueled by businesses handing them for promotional purposes. Cookbooks, featuring recipes collected from the members, whether for tailgates or dining room tables, might appeal to a somewhat broader audience.
Something New
Here are some ideas that have either just recently emerged or, at least from our perspective, are unfamiliar to the wider hunting community.
• Store Discount Co-Op Deal (3)
If there’s a shop in your area that caters to the riding community, or an online source that does the same, it might be possible to strike a cooperative arrangement. We received one such suggestion where the shop ran a Hunt Week special. Hunt members were given a code to use that entitled them to special deals and at the week’s end the hunt received a modest percentage of the total sales.
• Vixen/Stag/Special Theme Hunts (3)
The basic concept isn’t particularly new, but some creative twists have been added in recent years. Among the first was the Vixen Hunt—ladies only. The gentlemen then said, “Oh yeah? Hold my flask!” And thus the Stag Hunt was launched. In the creative category, the popularity of a recent movie inspired one club to host a “Barbie Hunt,” replete with pink attire and some lavish blond wigs flowing beneath helmets. (We assume hairnets were excused.) The critical element for this concept is the likelihood of drawing enough guests to make it a profitable event. Themed hunts are, of course, fairly common for individual hunt members and perhaps a few cappers. But to qualify as a fundraiser, a wider audience is required. As such, the examples cited here were held where multiple hunts are in reasonably close proximity.
• Faux Fox Chase (2)
The concept is that riders from other disciplines would be invited to give foxhunting a try with all the “pomp and circumstance” of a formal hunt but under more controlled conditions. The day begins with a classic stirrup cup, a master then leads a trail ride (no hounds) with members all in High Holy Day kit. Afterward there’s a presentation of the history of
foxhunting in America along with demonstrations of horn and whip cracking and a visit with some of the club’s hounds. The day wraps up with a classic hunt breakfast.
• 5k/10k Race (3)
Hunt season’s over and all those trails you worked so hard to maintain will now go unused. Or will they? Why not host your area’s running enthusiasts for a 5k or 10k race? This would require partnering with an organization that has access to that segment of your community. We’d be willing to bet, though, that most runner groups would be open to the chance to try out a different type of terrain. And enjoy some lovely scenery in the process. (A variation on this would entail replacing running shoes with mountain bikes.)
• Murder Mystery Ride (2)
Think Clue meets Poker Ride. All riders welcome— singles, pairs, teams (special prizes for the most creative team names); costumes encouraged. Hunt members are stationed along the route to give clues. Not a race, no reward for being first to solve. Those who do solve the mystery get a free cap. Guidelines for how to host a murder mystery party are available online, easily adapted to suit a mounted trail ride.
• Truck/Trailer Rodeo (3)
Our final suggestion falls under the “wouldn’t it be a hoot if…” category—a truck and trailer driving competition (akin to rodeos for professional truckers). Contestants would face such challenges as backing up (likely to rule out a substantial portion of wouldbe contestants right from the start), sharp turns, passing through narrow gates, hitching the trailer to the truck, etc. Points could also be scored for such skills as changing a flat tire, troubleshooting engine failures, etc. Requirements would include a large level area, volunteers to set up the course/obstacles, some knowledgeable judges, and several foxhunters with enough chutzpah to accept the challenge. Spectators would likely pay handsomely to watch.
We hope you’ve found something here worth considering as new fundraising ideas for your hunt. We would like to extend our deep appreciation to all those who took the time to submit the suggestions that made this list possible. Many thanks!
The rules have changed a bit since the 1930s, but gymkhanas can still be a fun and profitable event.
EDITORIAL
In the overall timeline of mounted hunting, spanning multiple centuries, “approved” safety helmets, complete with chin harnesses, are a relatively new addition to proper turnout. They have, though, become by far the predominant standard—the mandated standard now for some clubs —rendering “old school” headwear such as hunt caps, top hats, and bowlers quaint relics suitable for little more than home décor.
Where Have All the Hunt Caps Gone?
By J. Harris Anderson, Managing Editor
When the question of hunt caps versus harnessed helmets was posed to the foxhunting community, responses were skewed toward two extremes. In one camp were those who feel wearing a hunt cap is tantamount to riding bareheaded and those who do so are, as one commentor put it, “clowns with no concern for their brain.” The few remaining hunt cap devotees cite the superior construction of their custom-made headwear, typically made in the UK by old school craftsmen, and which can run as much as a thousand US dollars (more than twice as much as the typical topline harnessed helmet). This group, slim though it is, also tends to be more charitable toward those who prefer the “approved” style. Their position is, “You wear what you want, we’ll wear what we want.”
However, that laissez-faire attitude becomes difficult to maintain, and in some cases impossible, when faced with a club’s policy that all riders must wear a harnessed helmet. Insurance pressures are cited as a motivating factor. The counterargument points to the waivers everyone signs, supposedly absolving the club of liability. At least one hunt has added a further disclaimer to the waiver that states, in part, “Rider has been advised to wear protective headgear… and expressly assumes the risk of injury resulting from failure to do so and/or from selecting headgear which does not adequately protect against injury.”
This debate sparks a question: If hunt caps, top hats, and bowlers have always been an invitation to head trauma, why wasn’t the hunting community decimated by such injuries when those were what everyone wore? Moreover—even allowing for some romanticization of those times—the pace was faster, the horses quicker, the jumps stiffer (with no non-jumping option), and the ground was no softer. This is not to suggest that injuries, head or otherwise, didn’t happen. But there appears to be no record indicating they occurred at the devasting levels the absence of “approved” safety helmets would suggest.
In 1988, Derrydale Press published A Field of Horses, a compilation of photographer Marshall Hawkins’ work, curated by James L. Young, legendary master of Orange County Hunt (this was before “Hunt” was revised to “Hounds”). The foxhunting chapter contains 61 images of mounted hunters; single riders, groups of two or three, and some large fields. There is not one harnessed helmet seen, only hunt caps, top hats, and bowlers. Among the images is the world famous 1962 shot of then-First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Wearing a hunt cap while out with Piedmont Fox Hounds, she is seen tumbling head first over a rail fence when her horse refused the jump. In the next shot, she’s remounted, smiling, hunt cap still in place. (Mrs. Onassis wrote the book’s foreword.)
The historical contrast is even more striking in the Show Jumping chapter. There are 44 photos of riders, including a few young children, sailing over some incredibly stiff fences. Not only are no “safety” helmets seen, in shots of riders wearing casual attire while schooling their mounts, four are wearing a soft hat or cap and five are completely bareheaded. The latter includes a young girl who appears to have been around ten at the time—Eve Prime (Mrs. Paul Faut).
Hawkins’ work is not an outlier. Other sporting photographers of that era, such as Jim Meads, also caught an ample number of “come-a-cropper” shots. What should we draw from this? Was there a conspiracy to conceal reports of mass injuries? Highly unlikely. Were riders of an earlier time better able to protect themselves in a fall? Did they possess a level of athleticism that allowed
them to tuck-and-roll rather than plummet-and-splat? (There are now programs, such as Landsafe, designed to rekindle that atrophied skill.) Or did those old fashioned hunt caps, top hats, and bowlers provide more protection than their critics assume? Even if those were not the high-priced, custom-made variety worn by today’s few remaining devotees of the classic hunt cap. Were all those who rode to hounds prior to the advent of “approved” safety helmets just “clowns with no concern for their brain”?
If the percentage of foxhunters susceptible to potential head trauma has risen, if the great majority feel safer wearing a harnessed helmet, or if a hunt’s leadership believes it’s in the best interest of the club to mandate such headgear, so be it. The expense and effort required to craft a custom-made hunt cap may be an impractical option for many—easier and less costly to purchase an off-theshelf helmet. (We would, though, refer the reader to pages 10-11 where we review Virginia Tech Helmet Lab’s most recent study of ASTM-approved equestrian helmets, several of which received a zero score on the safety rating scale. Another takeaway is the absence of any correlation between a helmet’s price and its safety rating.)
Is it insane for anyone today to eschew an approved harnessed helmet in favor of the traditional hunt cap? Many in the general public might feel that those of us who engage in the sport of foxhunting and accept the risks that entails suffer some form of mental imbalance regardless of what safety gear is worn. And yet we still feel compelled to do it. Some may find solace in fitting themselves with as much protection as possible. Others may choose to opt for the basics and ride at their own risk.
However, given the growing trend to outlaw those old fashioned pate toppings, it’s likely that the once common hunt cap—along with its top hat and bowler cousins—will indeed soon serve as nothing more than quaint home décor. And some of the remaining few who feel their custom-made caps provide just as much protection, and perhaps more, than the typical modern harnessed helmet will be faced with a choice: hang up their caps, or hang up the sport.
Dr. Steven Thomas, MFH/Huntsman, Fort Leavenworth Hunt. Mark Jump photo
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JENNY’S PICKS
Winter’s over, spring has sprung, and it’s a great time to get out and ride. Time to prep for shows, enjoy soothing trail rides, and apply elbow grease to those last straggling winter hairs your horse just won’t release on his own. Some days will be too hot to go out midday, and that’s when you can turn to books—books on riding and horse care, novels, local history, gardening, lovely old homes, and more. Horse Country carries more than just horse books, and many are not online, so come on in and check out our great selection!
Buchanan, Anne. How to Ride the Horse You Thought You Bought. When I ordered this, I thought it might deal with problem horses whose problems are caused by misunderstanding of his new owner’s cues. Actually, it is simply a well-organized rider’s manual for horse handling and riding. You’ll want your multi-task cell phone beside you when reading; periodically there are scanning squares to get short videos for those who learn better from seeing the action. Fantastic idea! A good two-minute video is worth a hundred diagrams. Illustrations and occasional photos assist the text as well.
Don’t expect piaffe and passage here, though if followed properly, the book will put you in a position to better understand more upper-level movements if that is your goal. This deals with basic training, what any horse should know to advance his career and make him a pleasure to ride. Covered are ground rules (the all-important “space bubble,” longeing, proper movement of body parts), and “non-negotiables” (learning the aids, connecting and staying connected, flexion, and half-halt). At the back is a glossary of terms to refer to should you forget an earlier reference. Paperback, 299pp. $32.95
Hayes, Tim. Horses, Humans and Love. Surprise—this is not a book about loving horses. It’s more about expressing—or not expressing—emotions, with examples of how horses express themselves to others with clear physical actions (such as laid-back ears or a gentle nuzzle). It’s about how parents may unconsciously and unintentionally pass on their feelings to their offspring, and how the offspring react, sometimes not realizing until many years later how a particular reaction affected them in return. A good example is parental criticism that makes children feel diminished, with the author using an anonymous quotation: “When you keep criticizing your kids…they don’t stop loving you…they stop loving themselves.” You may find that by reading this book you have a “so maybe that’s why…” moment regarding friends, family and/or yourself that might improve your relationships.
Tim talks about many of the eye-opening experiences he has had, including having a clinic with Mark Rashid, a trainer well known for his compassion with the horse in a training situation. (If you haven’t yet read Rashid, find one of his books and read it! “Softness” must be his mantra.) Rashid “showed me how little it can take and how light I could be to get a horse to willingly respond to my touch.” I’ll end with another quotation from Tim: “It is only by giving love that we are loved. No other animal demonstrates this more powerfully than the horse.” Paperback, 194pp. $24.95
HORSE COUNTRY BOOKSELLERS
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Jaffe, Jody. Commander Speaks. Several decades ago, Jody Jaffe produced three mysteries involving horses that you may have read: Horse of a Different Killer; Chestnut Mare, Beware; and In Colt Blood. Now she has produced another, combining a horse communicator, a mystery writer, and a Hanoverian with a very high opinion of himself. I couldn’t resist buying this one and reading it thoroughly for our readers instead of skimming it for review. I’m glad I did, because in spite of the overuse of the currently popular “F-word” I found it very enjoyable. Talking horses are rare in equestrian novels, and Commander is a stitch! This is reviewed in depth elsewhere in this issue, but I want to put in a good word for it as well. Paperback, 339pp. $11.95
Severn, Fran. Riders of a Certain Age. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a horse in youth or early adulthood; either your location, your schedule, or your finances may preclude the joys of owning a horse, whether on your own property or boarding. Fran Severn has created a book slanted toward the midlife person who would like to try riding, either for the first time or for picking up where you left off several decades ago. It contains basic information good for anyone, how to select the right horse, the right stable (if you have to board out), and the right trainer. Yes, especially if you are new to horses, you should take lessons. Horses aren’t bicycles. You must take into consideration your physical condition, address fears, purchase appropriate attire (including safety helmets and vests), and know what to expect as your body changes with age. Should you purchase a horse, you must learn how to take care of it and what to do when it is injured or ill. This is a good beginner’s manual; read before you take the leap! Paperback, 244pp. $24.95
Shrager, Mark. The First Kentucky Derby. Subtitled “Thirteen Black Jockeys, One Shady Owner, and the Little Red Horse That Wasn’t Supposed to Win,” Shrager’s book brings to life the horse racing of the late 1800s in which “anything goes” to win, and most jockeys, at least Southern ones, were still of African descent. (There were only two white jockeys in the first Derby.) The narrative centers around the horse—Aristides—and his owner, Henry Price McGrath. But throughout the account the author seeks to introduce the background force —Black jockeys and trainers who never received the accolades they deserved for their winning races. This includes the rider of the first Kentucky Derby winner who had the intelligence and courage to disobey his employer’s instructions to hold Aristides back and let his stablemate Chesapeake win. The
plan was supposedly for Aristides to set the pace, then ease up when Chesapeake passed him. But Chesapeake did not appear at the desired point, and as other horses were closing, jockey Oliver Lewis decided to go for it, released his hold on Aristides, and won by two lengths in the fastest time ever recorded for a three-year-old at that time.
The main contenders in the first Derby continue to be followed briefly through the end of their careers. Aristides, probably still suffering from a splint that popped sometime after his winning race, was unwisely raced on a muddy track when he wasn’t physically ready and broke down for good, retiring to stud but produced nothing praiseworthy.
The author is to be commended for producing a vivid picture of horse racing in the late nineteenth century and bringing tribute to those talented men who were ignored because of their ancestry, without whom their employers could have accomplished nothing. He includes short biographies of and tracked down photographs of some of the more well-known Black jockeys: Isaac Murphy, Willie Simms, James Winkfield, and Oliver Lewis, who retired shortly after winning the first Kentucky Derby. It’s well worth reading! Hardcover, 252pp. $35.50
Brown, Rita Mae. Sealed with a Hiss. In several earlier books, “Harry” Haristeen and her friends have been working hard to restore the old Crozet schools for “colored” students (which included native American students, as the Monacan tribe still has a number of its members residing in the area) during the age of segregation. Now the restoration is approaching the grand opening, the committee nailing down last-minute preparations. While walking the property (a total of about 20 acres, mostly wooded), Harry and Lucas Harkness discover a 2001 Subaru sunken in a stream deep in the woods and notify police. When police arrive with a tow truck to remove the vehicle, they find it occupied—by the remains of the driver. Once the bones are examined, it is obvious the “driver” did not drive it there himself; the bullet holes in his chest turn the situation into a murder case.
That, however, is not as concerning to Harry and her friends as is the offer from a real estate developer to purchase the part of the school property that is not built upon for a high-class residential development. Why does he feel the need to offer to pay the committee members a sizeable sum in exchange for their agreeing not to object to the project?
As usual, the ugly criminality is offset by the warmth of the main characters toward each other and the community; the cats and dogs continue to bicker and tease each other; and the author slips in a little more local history by involving the plight of the original residents of mid-Virginia as their homeland and hunting grounds were taken over by newcomers.
Note: Rita Mae lives outside Crozet, so if you live not too far away, you can drive down and roam around the site of both the Sister Jane novels and the Sneaky Pie series, both set around Crozet. I haven’t tried pinning down any specific site, but it is lovely countryside. Hardcover, 219pp. $35.00
Orange County Hounds hot on a line, February 2, 2025 from the meet at Little River. Douglas Lees photo
A lovely red sprinted toward Landmark Road when Orange County Hounds met at Little River, February 2, 2025. Douglas Lees photo
Virginia Tech Updates Helmet Ratings
By J. Harris Anderson, Managing Editor
In our Winter/Spring 2023 issue, we covered the results of the Virginia Tech helmet lab’s initial study on equestrian helmets. The lab recently ran another series of tests on helmets studied previously and others being tested for the first time.
Here’s a brief recap of how the tests are conducted. A device called a “pendulum impactor” serves as the key component. Each helmet is fitted to a “headform” mounted on a spring-loaded sliding track. A weighted cylinder connected to a swinging arm is activated to strike the helmet. This triggers sensors inside the headform that record the effects of the impact. The pendulum is adjustable to strike at three different locations and two speeds designed to replicate real world falls. Twelve impact tests were conducted on each helmet.
Not only was the force and locus of impact factored in, consideration was also given to the type of surface a helmet was likely to strike. Field data were collected on sand, hard clay, grass, and artificial footing. (However, this suggests the results may not apply as reliably to falls in the hunt field where surfaces may include paved roads, rocky terrain, and similar surfaces familiar to foxhunters but less likely to be traveled by the general population of riders.)
Of the 49 helmets tested, 46 met the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard for approval. (The other three met the European testing equivalent.) ASTM certification is based primarily on a helmet’s ability to protect the wearer against a catastrophic, skull-fracturing impact. The helmet is fitted to a sensorequipped headform and dropped at a vertical angle onto a flat steel anvil. In a second test, the anvil is replaced by a sharp metal point to test the helmet’s resistance to penetration. A pass/fail grade is then applied based on the helmet’s performance.
Depending on the specific standard, a crush test might also be performed. Other tests could include the helmet’s ability to stay in place during a fall, whether or not the visor will break away or bend, ability to withstand high/low temperature extremes and immersion in water.
The Virginia Tech helmet lab’s test focused exclusively on the degree to which a helmet is likely to protect the wearer from the risk of concussion. The data collected were assessed according to a graph where the x-axis measures linear acceleration and the y-axis tracks rotational acceleration. The greater the acceleration of one or both, the higher the likelihood that the rider wearing the helmet will suffer a concussion. This, then, translates to a quantifiable measurement, the Summation of Tests for Analysis of Risk (aka STAR rating). A low STAR score indicates a lower average number of concussions likely to result when wearing that helmet. The inverse is then applied to the more familiar five point ( ) rating scale. The lower the STAR rating, the higher that helmet ranks on the five point scale (six points when the helmets that received no stars are included).
For example, the top-rated helmet scored a 1.44 STAR rating, which qualified for five stars. The rankings then progress upward by STAR ratings (e.g., 1.46, 1.78, 1.85, etc.). The higher the STAR score, the lower the ranking. Cutoff points were assigned to divide the helmets into six groups based on their STAR scores. Those at
the very bottom, with no stars, scored in the 8.0 range, which suggests a higher level of concussion risk. (The helmet at the very bottom had the distinction of scoring 12.38 on the STAR scale. Granted, its $46 price tag is in line with its low ranking. But, when you can snag a five star rated helmet (STAR score 2.83) for just twelve bucks more, that illustrates a significant disparity between price and safety rating.
This one example is not an anomaly. As we saw in the results of the previous study, the retail price of a helmet bears no relation to its ranking in the test results. Of the five helmets that received a five-star rating, the most expensive was $460. Another that earned a five-star nod can be had for a mere $58. The priciest helmet in the original study went for $669 and received four stars. The new batch features several where the disparity between star rank and price is especially striking. The one-star group’s pricing starts at $75. Several others in that cohort, however, fall in the $300 to $400plus range. It’s a tough call as to which would be the worst choice: the most expensive one star helmet at $649 or the same amount for one that received zero stars.
For the most glaring gap between price and rating, the engineers at the testing lab added a helmet new to this year’s batch that retails for an astounding $1390—more than twice the price of the second most expensive entry. You’d think this new one would be a five-star shoe-in, even five-stars plus, gold plated, a super category unto itself. Nope—it received a respectable, but not top of the heap, four stars. And it didn’t even place at the top of the four star group. When the STAR rating is factored in, out of 13 helmets with four stars, this one landed in eighth place.
These test results also suggest that while two helmets may have both passed ASTM testing standards, that does not necessarily mean they provide an equivalent degree of protection from the risk of concussion. The lowest ranked helmet’s score was more than eight times below that of the highest, yet both bare the ASTM/SEI certification tag.
Of the 49 helmets studied, 16 of them feature MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) technology. Developed in Sweden in 1996, the objective of MIPS is to reduce the rotational motion of the brain in the event of impact, thus reducing the risk of a brain injury. This is achieved using a low-friction layer that allows the helmet to slide relative to the wearer’s head. The top three helmets include this feature. The other two in the five-star group do not. As for the remaining 13, six of them received a four-star rating, two were rated at three stars, one at two stars, and, in the case of the final four, the addition of MIPS did not save them from a one star rating.
This would suggest that, while MIPS may provide an additional level of protection for the wearer’s gray matter under certain conditions, other factors in the helmet’s construction could lessen its overall merits. Prices for the 16 helmets with this additional feature ranged from $152 (four stars) to $549 (three stars). A MIPSequipped helmet that earned just one star carries a $400 price tag, further indication of the disparity between price and safety rating.
The selection of a helmet for use in the hunt field presents another complicating factor—style. That aspect can vary widely depending on a given club’s turnout policy. As an increasing number of hunts are opting to mandate harnessed safety helmets—no hunt caps, bowlers, or top hats permitted—more latitude is being allowed for helmets that bare little resemblance to “traditional” headgear. The Virginia Tech study did not take into account the type of equestrian sport in which a helmet would be worn. The top-ranked helmet would most likely be accepted in the majority of hunt fields. The other four in the five-star class? Not so much—although that may change over time as hunt leadership becomes more concerned with liability risks and less with honoring “traditional” turnout.
The statistics on riding-related injuries bear out the importance of providing at least some degree of protection for one’s head. Highlights (or, perhaps more appropriately, lowlights) of the most recent (2023) data show that over 100,000 horse-riding related accidents occur every year in the US. (On the day you are reading this, an estimated 275 fellow Americans will have experienced a riding-related accident.) The leading cause of sports-related traumatic brain injuries is—you guessed it—horseback riding (more than skiing or motorcycling). However, these statistics must be tempered with a view to foxhunting-specific injuries. A 2020 study noted that, when considering the full range of equestrian activities, as few as 9% of adult riders wear helmets on a regular basis. Regardless of the specific type of headgear—including old school hunt caps, bowlers, and top hats, where still permitted—no one in any hunt field is riding bareheaded. As such, while our sport may pose a higher level of risk than some other riding disciplines, at least part of that is offset by the universal recognition that some form of head protection is essential.
For our Western riding friends, many of whom still eschew harnessed safety helmets in favor of their traditional cowboy hats, the VA Tech study included one entry that appears to be an awkward combination of a conventional straw cowboy hat fitted with a chin harness and a thick rigid band around the crown. It ranked second to last on the safety scale.
The 2020 study cited above noted that ASTM-approved helmets have reduced riding-related head injuries by 30% and severe head injuries by 50%. However, some portion of those calculations are based on the difference between wearing an approved helmet and not wearing any type of helmet at all. Thus, as some form of cranial protection is universal in the hunt field, you might say foxhunters have a “head start” on reducing their risk of concussion
compared to the general riding population.
Of course, “traditional” foxhunting headwear such as the aforementioned hunt caps, bowlers, and top hats—absent the ASTM pass/fail blessing and now considered unwelcome by an increasing number of hunts—understandably had no place in the study. A small but passionate segment of the hunting community objects to the characterization of their hunt caps as equivalent to riding bareheaded. For most, their defense rests on the craftsmanship required to create a custom-fitted cap that will remain firmly in place without need of a harness and, should a fall occur, is capable of providing protection at least as well as some of the ASTM-approved helmets. (Given the low ratings of several “approved” helmets in the VA Tech study, that claim may have more merit than some might think.)
Even where still permitted, old school headwear is an increasing rarity in the hunt field. Whether mandated by hunt policy or a matter of personal preference, approved safety helmets have become the near-universal standard throughout the foxhunting community. Much of this stems from the hunt leadership’s genuine desire to lower the risk of injury for their members and guests. Some portion of the decision process, though, could be attributed to concerns over liability issues.
Another factor to consider is the maintenance of one’s helmet. The 2020 study noted that “many [riders] may fail to maintain this vital piece of equipment carefully.” Most manufacturers recommend replacing one’s helmet on a regular basis, typically every five years, even if it had not been subjected to any impacts during that time. If there had been a fall, then the counsel is to replace it immediately. Some manufacturers offer a replace policy if this happens.
The critical point is to recognize that the purpose of a helmet is to reduce the risk of injury, particularly concussion. The helmet rated number one in the VA Tech study may reduce that risk by some degree better than those lower in the rankings, especially those down in the one or zero star range. But some element of risk will still be present.
A common phrase uttered by non-riders as foxhunters move off to follow hounds is, “Have fun! Be safe!” The key is to strike a balance between those often conflicting objections. If you’re worried about being safe, you may not be having fun. If you’re having too much fun, it may come at the expensive of being safe. A properly selected head covering may be the quintessential element to help strike that balance.
The 49 helmets tested in the most recent study were ranked according to their score on the STAR scale (the lower the better) which then related to the number of stars assigned on the five-point scale.
Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point Small Pony Race Sassy (Pauly Aquilera, up) – 1st Douglas Lees photo
Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point Maiden Timber (l-r) #11 Bet The Pot (Parker Hendriks, up) – 1st; #10 Golden Answer (Gerard Galligan, up) – 4th Douglas Lees photo
Virginia Spring Steeplechase Season Boasts More Racing Than Ever, Say Officials
Eclipse Champ Snap Decision Headlines The Commonwealth Circuit At Middleburg Spring Mid-Season
By Betsy Burke Parker
Virginia Point-to-Point Foundation officials call the 2025 spring circuit a season of unprecedented growth, adding three sanctioned meets to the calendar and expanding race opportunities across the board.
“Everybody benefits,” said VPPF director Don Yovanovich. “From spectators, to point-to-point division amateurs to professional horsemen—owners, trainers, riders—using the early season meets as a sort of equestrian grapefruit league, the increase served the region well.”
Yovanovich explained the new fusion model adds National Steeplechase Association sanctioned races to existing point-to-point cards. Three Virginia meets were selected for the program this spring—Old Dominion Hounds, Blue Ridge Hunt, and Loudoun Hunt. They were chosen, he said, because their racecourses support NSA horses racing at the usually faster sanctioned speeds; for accessibility—for patrons as well as for horsemen; and for their dates.
Pennsylvania’s Cheshire Hunt was the first to include NSA races on their point-to-point card in 2021.
NSA president Al Griffin called the fusion model “a natural extension (that) makes sense to offer races with purses to attract owners and trainers to support the point-to-points, which are, after all, the grassroots circuit. Everybody wins—the horsemen, the race meets and, especially, the spectators. Now they get the (nation’s) best horses and riders at their local races.”
Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point, March 1
The Rappahannock Hunt kicked off the Virginia spring circuit, running March 1 at Larry Levy’s picturesque farm, The Hill, near Culpeper.
A dozen National Steeplechase Association trainers took advantage of the point-to-point conditions and early date to step out with young horses making their jumps debuts.
Pennsylvania shippers from the barn of Ricky Hendriks won three races, including the headliner open timber. Irish-born Chosen Mate was imported in October, 2021, to run in the grade 1 Grand National hurdle stake at Far Hills in New Jersey. He was a winner over ’chase fences at England’s prestigious Cheltenham Festival in 2020 after a winning hurdle career in his native Ireland.
Middleburg-based Neil Morris saddled a pair of winners: John Bonanni’s Bet The Pot to win his first try over timber. Champion NSA jockey in 2022, Parker Hendriks was up. And Morris teamed with Graham Watters, NSA titlist in 2021, for the maiden hurdle victory for John Carrington’s Lord Donegal.
Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point, March 15
With winning careers on the flat, over hurdles and over timber, Will Russell’s Animal Kingston is a rockstar, according to trainer Neil Morris.
At the 84th annual Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point at the historic Airlie estate, the horse put on a show for a big crowd packing the viewing hill at the course north of Warrenton. Animal Kingston won the headline open timber feature in a jumping-clinic display under defending champion rider Graham Watters.
It was one of three winners on the day for Morris.
Morris said Animal Kingston “always shows up with his ‘A’ game” no matter where the horse van takes him, whether it’s to a racetrack to run on the turf, a summer meet to race over hurdles, a spring steeplechase to run over timber, a fall jump meet to tackle all three at once in a cross-country steeplethon, or to an Orange County Hounds hunt meet where joint-master Morris often uses the big chestnut as his field master mount.
“This horse is just pure class,” Morris said. “I love taking this horse to the races. You know he’ll come out and do his best.”
“He’s an all-around hero,” Watters echoed Morris’ admiration for the 10-year-old veteran. “He’s very intelligent.”
A Kentucky-bred son of 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, Animal Kingston won three races on the turf at age 2, 3 and 4 before winning his hurdle debut at Foxfield in October, 2020.
He added five more over hurdles in three seasons and, counting Warrenton, three more since he converted to timber last spring.
Morris said the horse combines the raw speed from the flat track with a naturally athletic—and quick— jumping style that adapts to both hurdles, flat and fast, and timber, athletic and fast.
Morris also sent out Russell’s Hashtag No Wonder to win a division of the maiden hurdle, and Shannon Hill Farm’s Sliabh Aughty to win the other division.
Pennsylvania shipper Leslie Young won a pair of flat races with Irish amateur rider Jordan Canavan, who captured his first career double. Canavan, who relocated to the U.S. steeplechase circuit a month ago, said he’s “trying to start the American dream.”
Piedmont Foxhounds Point-to-Point, March 23
The first of the timber route tests on the American steeplechase schedule, the 3½ mile Rokeby Bowl headlined the March 23 84th annual Piedmont Fox Hounds card at Salem Farm near Upperville.
Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point Maiden Hurdle (1st Division)
In the stretch, (l-r) Sliabh Aughty (Graham Watters, white helmet, up) – 1st; Winning Spirit (Gerard Galligan, up) – 2nd Douglas Lees photo
Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point Amateur and Novice Rider Timber (l-r) Greylover (Dan Nevin, up) – 1st; Fit For A King (Conor Tierney, up) – 2nd Douglas Lees photo
Winning trainer Mark Beecher agreed that “Yes, it’s an advantage to have won here before”—Beecher was winning rider in 2012, 2013, and 2016—“since the rolling terrain and open, galloping course suits a particular style of running,” he said.
The Maryland trainer said Irish-bred Goodoldtimes was a perfect fit for the Rokeby Bowl, that capable combo of tactical but rateable speed and jumping ability.
Rider Dan Nevin kept Goodoldtimes in hand, slightly off the fast pace set by Animal Kingston for the first three miles, jumping to the lead at the 18th. Nevin let out a notch in the uphill homestretch, extending for the feature score by 5 lengths.
Nevin and Beecher also teamed with Runnymoore Racing’s Eternal Story to win the amateur timber. Nevin won the card-closing Virginia-bred turf with Zane Carruth’s Thatsmyboxer for trainer Neil Morris.
Maryland young rider Pauly Aguilera swept the pony race openers—winning small with Sassy, medium on Rose, and large on Mini.
Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point, April 5
The 50th annual ODH event ran for a capacity crowd swelling the hillside at historic Ben Venue between Washington and Flint Hill April 5. Two NSA maiden hurdles and allowance timber joined nine Virginia Steeplechase sanctioned races on the busy card.
Star attractions on course were four of the last five NSA champion jockeys, including the current leader, and three NSA champion trainers, a Hall of Famer, and seven of the top 10 four weeks into the 2025 calendar.
Middleburg-based Gerard Galligan continued his banner season, adding a pair of winners on the ODH program. Galligan struck first with Bonnie Rye Stables’ Winning Spirit, trained by Middleburg’s Julie Gomena, in the $30,000 NSA maiden hurdle. The German-bred 5-year-old was second in his hurdle debut two weeks earlier at the Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point. The winning time—4:00—was the fastest of the day at the distance.
“You definitely ride a little different when you know money’s on the line,” said the Irish-born Galligan, citing the NSA sanctioned races versus the point-to-point races. “As a professional jockey, you know, no matter what, you’re always trying to get the best performance out of your horse, for the owners and the trainer and their whole team that’s put their time and energy into getting him to the races.”
Galligan piloted Upland Partners’ Hard Strike to win the $20,000 timber allowance for trainer Todd McKenna. The same winning combo connected for last year’s timber championship with dual Gold Cup winner Mystic Strike.
Hard Strike—grandsire Smart Strike is Mystic Strike’s father—rated well off the pace set by Corky Lemon (Graham Watters up.) Galligan set sail two fences from home, drawing even with Corky Lemon at the last to edge his rival by two lengths.
It was Hard Strike’s fourth win in his last five starts, the only blemish a narrow second to stablemate Mystic Strike at Middleburg in October.
Current leading NSA trainer Keri Brion saddled Going Country to win the point-to-point program headline open hurdle. Declan Carroll was aboard for his first hurdle victory after switching to jumps following a standout career on the flat with 207 wins for more than $8.8 million.
Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point, April 12
Blue Ridge Hunt joined the hybrid parade this year for the second time, offering three NSA races at their Woodley Farm course south of Berryville for the April 12 meet.
It was Blue Ridge’s 75th annual point-to-point.
A capacity crowd was on hand for the full program, which race chair and joint-master Jeff LeHew called “best ever.” LeHew credited months of hard work by the race committee and hunt volunteers on the racecourse to improve footing, drainage and rebuild some of the permanent timber fences for the great day of racing.
In the featured NSA apprentice hurdle, Luke Carberry notched his first win on the card, scoring wire-to-wire with Irish-bred Foxy Walk for owner Mike Smith and trainer Leslie Young. A $180,000 purchase out of the Cheltenham, England, horses of racing age sale two years ago, Foxy Walk won in hand in the day’s fastest time for the two miles—3:56 1/5.
Young also sent out two point-to-point winners on the combined program, winning the novice rider turf with Sharon Sheppard’s Chosen Judge (Carberry) in his first race off an 18-month layoff, and the maiden turf with Wellbourne Thoroughbreds’ Le Bilboquet (Jamie Bargary up.)
Hall of Fame trainer Jack Fisher saddled two of the card’s other NSA sanctioned winners, Riverdee Stable’s Penicillin Success (Stephen Mulqueen up) easily taking the $15,000 maiden timber over stablemate Presence of Mind (Graham Watters up), and Riverdee’s Roja Redemption (Watters) winning the $20,000 maiden hurdle.
Middleburg Spring Races, April 19
Last year’s Eclipse Award winning ’chaser, Bruton Street’s Snap Decision, grabbed yet another headline documenting his lengthy career by winning an unprecedented fourth Temple Gwathmey hurdle handicap stakes at the 105th annual Middleburg Spring Races at the historic Glenwood Park racecourse north of town.
It was the 11-year-old’s first 2025 start.
With two-time champion rider Graham Watters at the helm for trainer Jack Fisher and Bruton Street majority owner Mike Hankin, Snap Decision was conserved midpack in the star-studded field that included four other stakes winners. Watters made his move after the second loop, taking command heading to the final fence.
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Daigneault Thoroughbreds’Abaan, Bernie Dalton up, pressured the champ with a quarter-mile rally from the back of the pack. Snap Decision found more in the late stretch, holding on by a neck over Abaan, who’d gotten an 18-pound break in the weights from NSA handicapper Bill Gallo.
South Branch Equine’s Who’s Counting (trained and ridden by Sean McDermott) was third.
Fisher and Watters also partnered with Dolly Fisher’s Keys Discount with a bold rally to win the 3¼-mile Middleburg Hunt Cup timber stake. The Potter Group’s Uco Valley (Jamie Bargary up) was two lengths back in second.
Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point Maiden Timber Penicillin Success (Stephen Mulqueen, up) – 1st Joanne Maisano photo
Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point VEA Maiden Hurdle Sa’ad (Evan Dwan, up) – 1st. Joanne Maisano photo
Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point
Thomas M. Beach & Virginia A. Beach Lady Rider Timber Pocket Talk (Chelsea Secor, up) – 1st Douglas Lees photo
Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point
Meeting House Mountain Open Hurdle Going Country (Declan Carroll, up) – 1st Douglas Lees photo
Virginia Gold Cup, May 3
It was the race of the century at Great Meadow near The Plains as the 100th running of the Virginia Gold Cup lived up to its billing as headliner on Virginia’s spring ’chase circuit.
Though he’s Maryland-based now, winner Keys Discount, owned by Dolly Fisher and trained in Monkton, Maryland, by son Jack Fisher, is Virginia-certified and deeply connected to the Virginia foxhunt scene. Keys Discount, defending champion rider Graham Watters aboard, moved to the lead midway in the 4-mile, $100,000 timber classic before drawing off for the 1¾ length score over Family Tree (James O’Sullivan.)
It was Jack Fisher’s record 15th victory in the nation’s richest timber race.
The same Fisher-Fisher-Watters team had won the 2024 race with Dolly Fisher’s veteran Schoodic.
“Keys Discount was stepping into some big shoes (after) good old Schoodic,” Watters said. “But, boy did he fill them.”
Keys Discount’s road to Gold Cup began five years ago when the late Gordon Keys, longtime Piedmont Foxhounds landowner and subscriber, bought Keys Discount for $1,200 as a yearling at Timonium in October.
Grandson Sam Cockburn, a steeplechase owner-trainer-rider, ran the horse, first on the flat, then over hurdles before transitioning to timber. To transition, he hunted Keys Discount with Piedmont.
When Cockburn won with the horse over timber at Old Dominion last spring, it caught the eye of Maryland-based Hall of Fame trainer Jack Fisher, who bought the horse for his mother, Dolly. Keys Discount won at Shawan last fall, then April 19 at Middleburg Spring, with Watters aboard.
Watters nearly missed Gold Cup, having taken a hard fall in the race after Keys Discount’s April 19 win. He was briefly unconscious and airlifted to Inova Fairfax. “By the time I got there, I was awake and could remember everything that had happened,” Watters said, but a broken nose, cheekbone, index finger and arm put Gold Cup in doubt.
“The surgeon said I needed 6-8 weeks off.
“I said, ‘How about two?’ ”
A metal plate repaired Watters’ arm and compressed the healing timeline; he was back in the saddle days later.
The win gave Jack Fisher a record 229th NSA sanctioned timber win from almost 1,000 timber starters since his training career began in 1989 with his first Gold Cup winner, Call Louis.
Fisher also connected with Riverdee Stable’s Cool Jet (Bernie Dalton up) for wire-to-wire victory in the grade 1 $150,000 Commonwealth Cup handicap hurdle. Fisher and Watters teamed with 4year-old hurdle stakes winner Mission North, homebred for owner Northwoods Stable.
Fashion Line (Gerard Galligan) won the cross-country ’chase for trainer Kathy Neilson, a followup to their April 19 cross-country ’chase win at Glenwood.
Unusual for horse racing, the last was canceled when a severe weather alert posted just as the 4-year-old hurdlers crossed the wire. Race co-chair and National Steeplechase Association president Al Griffin said the Great Meadow head of security and race stewards made an abrupt, “but correct decision, for the safety of the spectators, horses and jockeys,” abandoning the seventh race minutes before high winds, heavy rain and hail pummeled the course.
Even without the last race, the pari-mutuel pool was strong, estimated at $114,000.
Virginia Gold Cup
Timber Stakes
Keys Discount (Graham Watters, up) – 1st.
Douglas Lees photo
Virginia Gold Cup
Speedy Smithwick Memorial Hurdle Stakes
Mission North (#2, Graham Watters, up) – 1st; Holiday Charm (#5, gray, Gerard Galligan, up) – 2nd.
Douglas Lees photo
Virginia Gold Cup
VEA Maiden Hurdle (l-r) Made To Be Lucky (#2, Evan Dwan, up); Silly Lilly (Luke Carberry, up); The Wizard’s Well (#3, Harrison Beswick, up) – 1st
Joanne Maisano photo
Middleburg Hunt Point-to-Point
Matthew Leslie Memorial Maiden Hurdle (l-r) #6 Starlifter (Stephen Mulqueen, up) – 1st; #5 Thistimetomorrow (James O’Sullivan, up) – 4th. Middleburg Photo
Middleburg Hunt Point-to-Point Middleburg Bowl Open Timber Be Counted (on the rail, James Wyatt, up) prevailed by a head over Racavan (Mell Bocher, up) in the final stretch run. Middleburg Photo Saddle
BOOK REVIEWS
Horse Lovers
Unpacking the Female Fascination
By Karin Winegar
Reviewed by J. Harris Anderson
It’s no secret that the great majority—perhaps the totality—of women in the horse world relate to these animals in a markedly different way than the typical horseman does. Why is that? Karin Winegar sets out to answer that question. An award-winning journalist and self-confessed horse gal, Winegar’s approach combines a no-nonsense investigative style with a recognition of the undeniable emotional connection between women and horses.
The personal reflections of one woman’s lifelong love of horses is artfully blended with insights from a legion of others—sisters all in the Equus Caballus sorority—to whom Karin posed that question: “Why?” From psychologists and psychiatrists to cowgirls and eventers, veterinarians and horse rescuers to cultural anthropologists and scientists, authors and librarians to saddlery owners and horse trainers—these and many others gave their knowledgeable and heartfelt responses. The result is a cavalcade of punchy and candid thoughts, some earnestly serious, the overall mix balanced with ample humorous asides.
Written with passion, intelligence, wit, beauty, wisdom, and a deep, lifelong love of horses, Horse Lovers: Unpacking the Female Fascination will take you on a trail of exaltations, adventures, and inquiries. Softcover, 180pp, $27.95.
Horse Country Saddlery will host a book night with Karin on June 12, 2025. Watch for announcements once the time and other details are finalized. We’re sure it will be an evening every horse lover—woman or man—within proximity of the Warrenton area will want to attend!
MARYLAND RACES
Douglas Lees Photos
122nd Grand National Steeplechase, near Butler, Maryland, April 19, 2025
Wrestlingwithmae (Jordan Canavan, up) – 1st
Commander Speaks
By Jody Jaffe From the Publisher
Jody Jaffe, author of the Nattie Gold horse-show mystery series, is back with another funny and biting commentary about the rarified world of show horses. While Commander Speaks celebrates the deep bond between horse and human, it also exposes the sometimes dark underbelly of the Hunter/Jumper world.
Commander, a German show jumper recently imported to the U.S. for a successful mystery writer, won’t stop biting his new owner. She hires an animal communicator to talk to Commander to find out why he’s biting. That’s an easy fix. Not so easy to fix are the crimes Commander is witnessing at his barn, crimes that he insists be stopped immediately.
This unlikely trio—the horse, the animal communicator and the mystery writer—sets out to solve the murder of one of America’s most despicable horse trainers, who has an eye for underage girls, and save a groom wrongly accused of drugging a horse.
Commander Speaks is mostly a funny look at this world. How could a book starring a talking horse with large opinions and an even bigger heart be anything but humorous? However, the humor stops when Commander and his crew take a hard look at predatory behavior in equine sports and horse abuse. Both of which also happen all too often. Softcover, 351pp, $11.95.
Horse Country Saddlery was pleased to host a talk and book signing with the author on April 3. It was a fun and well-attended evening!
114th My Lady’s Manor Timber Stakes, near Monkton, Maryland, April 12, 2025 (l-r) Storm Team (Jusin Batoff, up); Bogey’s Image (Teddy Davies, up) – 1st
128th Maryland Hunt Cup, Glyndon, Maryland, April 26, 2025.
Road to Oz (Conor Tierney, up) – 1st
RACING
Horses and People to Watch
Colonial Downs Announces 2025 Stakes Schedule
Virginia Equine Alliance
Colonial Downs announced its 2025 summer Thoroughbred stakes program, which, topped by a quartet of graded stakes races, consists of 31 races worth $5.85 million for the 41-day season, running from July 9 through September 13 every Wednesday through Saturday along with Labor Day Monday. Post time is 12:30 PM except Fridays, when first post is 4:00 PM.
The Colonial Downs Festival of Racing, scheduled for Saturday, August 9, is highlighted by the Grade 1 Arlington Million, the Grade 2 $500,000 Beverly D. and the Grade 2 $500,000 Secretariat Stakes—the traditional weekend for the renowned turf trio. The Million will be run at 1¼ miles, the Beverly D. will be contested at 1 3/16 miles, and the Secretariat covers one mile. Four additional undercard stakes complement the Festival Day program: the $100,000 Petramalo Mile, $100,000 Tyson Gilpin, $150,000 Van Clief, and $150,000 Andy Guest.
On September 6, the Grade 3 $500,000 Old Dominion Derby and $250,000 Old Dominion Oaks take the place of the Virginia Derby and Virginia Oaks, which were moved to the dirt track and held in March. The 1 mile grass races headline a card with $1.3 million in stakes purses including four other turf stakes: the $150,000 Da Hoss and Colonial Cup, and the $125,000 Rosie’s and Kitten’s Joy Stakes.
Virginia-bred and -sired runners get plenty of opportunities throughout the summer starting the second weekend with four $125,000 events—the Punch Line and Edward P. Evans on July 18 followed by the Glenn Petty and Brookmeade on the following day.
A pair of $150,000 races for Virginia-restricted 2-year-olds—the $150,000 Hickory Tree and Keswick—headline the August 2 program. Older Va.-restricted horses are featured later in the meet in a pair of $150,000 handicaps—the Meadow Stable and Camptown. The final two races restricted to Virginia runners are the $150,000 Bert Allen and Nellie Mae Cox Handicaps on the closing day card.
Continued collaboration between Virginia and Maryland stakes holders have led to six stakes on the schedule open to both Maryland- and Virginia-bred or sired horses including the Star De Naskra, Miss Disco, The Find, All Brandy, Jamestown, and the Dolly Madison.
A complete stakes schedule, condition book and event lineup are available online at www.colonialdowns.com under the horsemen’s tab.
Jill Byrne Appointed New Executive Director for the Virginia Thoroughbred Association
The Virginia Thoroughbred Association (VTA) has announced that Jill Byrne will take over as the organization’s Executive Director. Debbie Easter will remain an integral part of the VTA but will now focus more time and energy on a wider range of industry initiatives with the Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA), of which she is President. Byrne will also continue to serve in her existing role as Vice-President of Marketing & Strategic Planning for the VEA.
Byrne is a Virginia native and graduate of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and has come full circle in a sense. After spending several decades in various roles around the country with TVG, the Breeders’ Cup, and Churchill Downs, she returned to Virginia to serve as VP of Racing Operations at Colonial Downs during the 2019 “Racing Revival” season and remained in that capacity for three more years before joining the VEA in 2023. With her combined VEA and VTA responsibilities, Byrne is once again based in Charlottesville, where she works and resides.
“I’m pleased that Jill Byrne is taking on an even larger role in Virginia racing,” said Turner Kobayashi, VTA President and General Manager of Audley Farm Equine in Berryville. “She has tremendous experience and has been a major player for a long time. Her new role allows Debbie (Easter) to help in other important areas. They are both great leaders and we are lucky to have both these talented professionals to lead us into the future.”
The VTA is responsible for implementing a number of successful bonus programs including the Virginia Certified Residency program which started in 2017. The initiative requires horses to spend at least six consecutive months at a registered Virginia farm before they turn three years of age. Over 5,000 horses have participated and between 2018 and 2023, the program paid out a total of $14.6 million in bonuses and has had a total economic impact of $86.2 million.
Shenandoah Downs Celebrates Ten Years of Pari-Mutuel Harness Racing in 2025
Shenandoah Downs raised the curtain on its tenth season of pari-mutuel harness racing in Woodstock on April 26, and a 7-week spring campaign continues every Saturday and Sunday afternoon through June 8. Later in the year, a 7-week fall season will extend from September 13 - October 26 and a 4-day non-wagering County Fair meet will precede that, running from August 27-30. Post time is 1:05 PM except on Thoroughbred Triple Crown days when first harness post is 3:05 PM.
A series of promotions will take place throughout 2025 celebrating the ten years of racing landmark. Four days of giveaways are planned, including a commemorative T-Shirt—with a special 10 years of racing logo—on April 26, a beverage tumbler—that showcases names and colors of the top 10 drivers over that time—on May 10, a commemorative baseball cap on September 13 and a bobblehead doll feting driver William Carter—who got his first win ever in Woodstock—on October 11.
The Virginia Harness Horse Association’s “Own a Horse for a Day” promotion returns on three separate occasions this spring where a combined 24 lucky fans will compete for a total of $15,000 in prize/purse monies based on where the horse they “own” for a day finishes in a specific race.
The popular Corgi dog races return on May 18 and Miniature Horse Races highlight Memorial Day weekend family festivities on May 24. A complete list of promotions and events is at shenandoahdowns.com.
Shenandoah Downs offers free parking and free admission. Complimentary Trackmaster past performance programs and tip sheets are available via the website as well. The Shenandoah simulcast signal is available to wager via all major streaming platforms and at many tracks and OTBs around the country.
Deterministic wins the 2024 Virginia Derby, a Grade 3 turf stakes. The race name, with its grade intact, has been changed to the Old Dominion Derby this summer. Coady Media
Shenandoah Downs celebrates 10 Years of pari-mutuel harness racing in Woodstock this year.
Jill Byrne has been named Executive Director of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association.
Photo courtesy VTA
Brittany Russell’s Regalo (inside) edges Awesome Ruta in the inaugural Petramalo Mile last summer at Colonial Downs. Coady Media
HUNTING
Allison and Wendell Williams, Belle Meade’s co-First Flight Field Masters, paused for a scenic moment when the Georgia pack came to Virginia to hunt with Old Dominion Hounds on March 1, 2025, in their Orleans country. Allison Howell photo
Smiley and wily, this fellow provided the Belle Meade hounds with some sporting fun during Hunt Week 2025. Allison Howell photo
Blue Ridge Hunt’s hounds took a short break from the action to pose beside the Shenandoah River while hunting on “Dog Day” at Claytonville, March 11, 2025. Joanne Maisano photo
(l-r)
Hunting for attention, Belle Meade’s Tally caught the eye of photographer Allison Howell as the pack prepared to move off for a joint meet with Old Dominion hounds from Running Fields, Orlean, Virginia, on March 1, 2025. Allison Howell photo
Two young ladies colorfully decked out for Belle Meade’s Hunt Week. (l-r) Caroline Kennedy riding Bonnie, Mary Brooks McElheney riding Josie. Both girls have qualified for this year’s Junior North American Field Hunter Championship. Allison Howell photo
