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| Newsletter - Summer, 1999 | |||
| Highlights of our season’s end
Though our season ended in March, we have not had the chance to publicly thank our corporate sponsors from the hunt ball:
Joyce Hanburger was awarded most dedicated foxhunter, Ramble-On received Hunt Horse of the Year award, and Alice was voted Hound of the Year. Nancy Hardt and Bob Ellis were awarded their hunt colours. and many thanks go out to David Etherington, Joyce Hanburger, and Cynthia Mantini for the most fun ball to date. Excellent job, guys!!! Many thanks go out to our members who contributed so much this past season: Cynthia Mantini for 2 outstanding hunt breakfasts, Joyce Hanburger for her derby Day party and upgrading many hunt breakfasts with her delicacies, David Etherington for hosting the breakfast for the joint meet with South Creek Foxhounds., and the members who showed-up faithfully week after week, making all the efforts worthwhile. Among the memories recounted this season were the sightings of our first bear and alligator, the entering of our first litter of puppies into the pack, and an increase in our junior member participation with Courtney Hensley, Will & Katie Winter, and Ramsey Robertson. Hunter Pace Results Excitement ran high Aug. 7th as the Hunter Pace and Dressage Championship Series held at the Perry Plantation in June, July & August, drew to a close. Congratulations go out to Alina Soderholm for winning the Grand Championship for accumulating 70 points in both Dressage and Pace Classes. She was also the winner of the Hi-Point Dressage Championship with 32 points. Roxanne Ciccone, a well-known & successful endurance rider, won the Pace Hi-point Championship with an impressive 48 points in the pace classes alone. Roxanne was also runner-up for the grand championship with 52 points, Cindy Thyberg was runner-up for the dressage championship with 30 dressage points, and there was a tie for the runner-up pace championship between Caitlin Williamson and Alina Soderholm with 38 points each. This series would not have been possible without the help of our Misty Morning Hound volunteers. Many thanks go out to the following: for course prep: Jim Kilcrease, Memree Stuart, Joyce Hanburger, and Kathryn Gordon. Timekeepers and scorekeepers: Bob & Margaret Ellis, Ann Lane, Ty McClung, Dianne & Julian Cotter, and Joyce Hanburger. Jim Kilcrease and Will and Bill Winter for manning the front gate and checking Coggins. Margot Huelke for judging Dressage. Dressage scribes Gail Hair (non-member), Gabrielle Trout, Louise Kelly, and Dallas Maddox (non-member). Vi McCraw for manning the hot dog stand, and Master Mac for building all the jumps, mowing, and picking-up all the food. The hounds would like to thank all the participants for helping to support their feed and vet bills. Gone Away - By Alexis Maculay On June 21st I had my faithful friend and working partner of 9 years, Omar Allant, put to sleep. Most know that he had melanoma which had spread to his lymphatic system. Needless to say, the loss has been great and the emptiness I feel will be long in healing. It’s a comfort that we were able to bury him on our farm under a sprawling oak which overlooks a beautiful panorama of green pastures. A single white rose is planted on the gravesite and by the hoofprints, his herd members still visit him daily. Omar was a grand Huntsman’s horse. He loved his hounds and took great care to never trample on them. I remember once when walking hounds, he stood steadfastly , but was looking down in a puzzled way. Two separate pairs of coupled hounds were wrapped around two opposite legs. Any movement would have spelled a god-awful disaster. I dismounted and fixed the mess. It was not uncommon to see hounds lay down directly under him or between his hind legs. I’ve commented many times how he would seem to hold stride in mid-air to avoid hounds darting across his path. Through the years I have beamed with pride when several really notable Huntsman , one being Mason Lampton, have commented , “You know, I’m not much on Arabs, but I have to admit that’s REALLY a nice horse you have there.” I knew, in fact, they despised Arabs, and the compliment went far beyond the words. Though not much on Dressage or water, Omar saw me through 4 years of eventing and rated much better at Training Level than he ever did at Novice or below. After the news that his Cancer had spread to the lymphatic system, we completed the Sunshine State Games at Golden Hills, and I promised him he would never have to suffer through another Dressage Test again. But let me tell you, out Hunting he dazzled me with flying changes around winding paths (yes, he even changed behind!) and I would challenge any judge to find those square, proud halts documented in endless photographs and videos anything less than an 8. Hunting at Palm Beach, we took drops and banks into and out of steep water-filled canals that were more challenging than anything we ever faced at an Event. He struck my stirrup with his hind horseshoe at one massive bank. No judges were around, no ribbons given, and I tell you, I couldn’t have been more proud of his strength, agility, and courage.. He kept up with some really fast Huntsmen, by far the fastest being Anthony at Middleton Place, where I was simply hanging-on whiteknuckled, and gasping over their enormous timber jumps. We even stopped hounds once for Marty Woods at Live Oak, when Marty was having difficulty with a new horse, and asked me to go ahead to stop them. He mentions it to me still, and I am honored that he took such notice of it. I was awfully proud of him that day. Omar could race like the wind , stop on a dime, soar over fences, and he never had a lame day. This past season, I tried to wean myself off of hunting Omar by not taking him to any away meets, hunting him on special occasions, and not more than once a week. On days I would ride him, my spirits would soar. He made my job so easy. He listened to the hounds and knew just where he needed to be. He was sensitive and sure-footed, and would ride totally off my seat and legs, freeing my hands for horn, whip, & radio. I could concentrate totally on the hounds and only think of what the horse needed to do and it was done. Toward the end of the season, I remember jumping a fence, and Omar hit it. It was as if my heart caught in my chest. I circled to take it again - maybe just a bad approach.? When he hit it the second time, tears came to my eyes, for Omar had a passion for jumping and had not hit a fence in years. He taught me many things about life and my life with animals. He gave me the courage to start the Hunt. I learned perservierence and patience and that many lessons can wait til another day. God knows how many times he kept us both out of accidents with his intuition about footing and hazards. I swear he used to find paths through low-hanging limbs that would accommodate my extra height, not just his withers. One time when he fell and we both lay on the ground, me with my leg pinned under the saddle, and I prayed he wasn’t injured. I also prayed that I would not hear my leg snap when he righted himself. Sure enough, he carefully got to his feet (thank God, uninjured), stayed with me while I got to my feet, then looked at me, looked in the direction of the baying hounds, and to my great embarrassment said, “you’re OK- sorry, I gotta go!” and galloped off after them. Gallops in pelting rain, early morning hunts so cold, I’d fear my toes shattering off if I dared dismount, tedious dressage drills with us both sweating buckets, lazy strolls down shaded lanes, riding down to the corner store with Barbara Joyce to get a Coke, or in some cases a wine cooler, the day long before we started the hunt when a fox cub ran straight towards us down a wooded path, stopping within 20 feet of us, leaving us all 3 frozen in our tracks. I feel, if I tried, I could remember each and every ride. Thanks to all of you that have sent cards or called. Most of all, thanks to Ty, who several years ago, knowing this day would come, commissioned a portrait of my dear friend and presented it to me in a most memorable and personal way. Omar was a true gift to me. He gave me challenge and confidence, pride and deep love. He was my first horse after a 23 year hiatus from riding during career/ family duties. No doubt, I will have many other horses, but I will think of Omar every time I hear a soft nicker, get a gentle nudge, and each and every time I sit astride a horse. I’ll miss you, old boy.... A NOTE FROM THE HUNTSMAN - Hound Show Heroes By: Alexis Macaulay Nothing spurs Mac’s and my enthusiasm for fox hunting like involved members and that’s what it took for our participation this year at the Virginia Hound Show, held Memorial Day weekend. Ann Lane committed early-on to come with us and help show the hounds, so we were off & running. Obviously proud of our first litter of puppies, we set a goal of showing them, not just in the smaller shows in North Carolina or Kentucky, but to go straight for the big time. Our reasoning was that if we had to travel with the hounds, we most likely would only do it once, and since we wanted to attend the Virginia one anyway, our fate was sealed. The other shows around the country usually have 150 -400 hounds in attendance. This year, Virginia had 900 hounds competing. As time clicked by and the other shows passed, I consulted with other Huntsmen who usually showed in Virginia,,I was told they were not going this year because the competition was so stiff, even at the smaller shows. Now, my personal show experience was nil, with the exception of a crazy Husky I showed in obedience umpteen years ago, who ended up winning only the award of “Cleanest Dog in Show.” Therefore, I turned to Ann, who had managed a kennel and been a dog groomer at one time in her life. Whoops! no show experience there either. I asked Joyce Hanburger who had also been a dog groomer, but no luck. Mac & I had attended the Virginia Hound Show as spectators 2 years ago, and Mac took tons of videos that MUST be somewhere! I remembered it didn’t look so hard, and searched frantically for our videos to no avail, most of which were un-marked.. I remembered they marched around in true obedience fashion, threw dog biscuits for the hounds to retrieve, some classes stood their hounds up for the judges on these astro-turf covered platforms, and all the handlers dressed in a certain way, but the dress seemed to vary with certain classes. I also remembered that they used special leather leads for the hounds, which I had never seen in any catalog, pet, or feed store. I phoned Mrs. Hannum,MFH of Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds, with whom we hat met at her kennels in Pennsylvania prior to that show 2 years ago and she had been very informative as to how she decided which hounds to take and what qualities judges preferred. She had let us watch as they prepared their hounds for that show and she had graciously allowed us as stay with her and ask her endless questions at that rainy Virginia Show. She answered many of my questions about the entry and what performance would be expected of the hounds. I was honored that she took the time to send me a diagram and measurements of their show leads, which are all custom made, usually by the Huntsman . Ann and I started working with the enthusiastic 60-plus pound bundles individually, immediately after Closing Meet. Obedient walking was the first order of business, pretty much basic obedience stuff. In the meantime, I contacted Betty Draper, who you might remember, was our initial contact in having hounds drafted to us from the Middlebury Hunt in Connecticut, and her husband, Andy, had been a Master at Fairfield. They live in Ocala and she shows her present dogs in Dog Agility. Though she first left a message that she really didn’t know anything about showing hounds, I told her that she surely had a more experienced eye than she was taking credit for, and urged her and Andy to at least come have a look at what we were doing. So, once a week, for about a month, we held our own private hound shows, complete with astro-turf covered platforms, lawn chairs lining the rings, and Betty & Andy posing as Judges - critiquing, and giving many helpful suggestions. Ann faithfully came to practice several times a week, and we saw progress every session. Late in the game, we realized we needed another handler and recruited a reluctant Mac, who, despite his grumblings, has a wonderful way with the hounds. Tom Powell, one of our members suggested I phone Sarah Summey,MFH/Huntsman with his previous hunt, Oley Valley Hounds, and I found I could ask her just about any question without embarrassment over my lack of knowledge. I got so much good advice. For example, how do you keep your hounds from pooping or peeing in the ring? And, what dog biscuits are and are not allowed. We found out that the biscuit toss is rarely done in the American ring (and we had them doing that SO well by that point!) In the meantime, at 2 a.m. one blear-eyed morning, I unearthed our video. Of course it was the last one in the pile. Mac bought us all new kennel coats (not enough time to monogram with our hunt logo, but, so what), I at least got the leather and hardware to make the leads (which Mac & I ended-up doing at 1 a.m the night before the Show). We thought we had it all covered. We would be showing in the American Division, at least not against Live Oak or Midland in the Crossbred, or all the wonderful, very famous English packs. But as I looked down the list of American packs, there was Orange County, Essex, Potomac, Old Dominion, Warrenton, Rombout, Goshen, Middleburg, for God’s sake!....As much as I swore I wouldn’t, as the weeks passed, I must admit I began to get terribly intimidated. Another Hunt member who used to live in Washington DC, Stella Jarina, said she would love to go and meet us there. Unfortunately, living near Orlando, she was not able to work with the hounds enough to show them, but she was a Godsend during the show as an extra set of helpful hands, always taking leashes, changing our armband numbers, holding hounds, videotaping, and retrieving our Cokes in the 90 degree heat. Mac & I arrived at Morven Park, where the show was to be held about 2:30 am after getting thoroughly lost and snarling at each other for at least an hour. In the total blackness, we finally found our incorrectly marked kennel and a light switch and got hounds fed and settled. The next day Ann arrived by a less hectic means ( a plane), we made contact with Stella, and we all got together for a nice meal in Middleburg at the Red Fox Inn. We leash-walked the hounds twice a day through the beautiful cross-country course of Morven Park and marveled at the skillfully-designed jumps which blended so well into the natural setting, you hardly knew they were there until right on top of them. We attempted short last-minute practice sessions with the hounds, but tension was high, and there were hounds everywhere. Everyone we met couldn’t believe we’d chosen to do Virginia as our first show. I would try to sound confident, all the while wondering WHY had I decided to do such a stupid thing. The day of the show produced show nerves, but the classes came so fast, there was hardly time to think. The classes were huge, and you would hear people bragging as they left the ring that they “made the cut,” which meant they had been in the final 5 or 6 hounds from which the 3 winners and the reserve (4th) would be selected. Shortly into our 1st class, Single Dog-Entered, we saw a problem. Everyone stood their dogs up for the judge’s inspection in a different way than we had practiced. During the next class, Mac went to observe, and came back to report to Ann and me what we all needed to change. We only had moments to practice with each hound, and you could see the puzzlement in the hounds’ faces, but our performance definitely improved. We took 8 hounds and out of those, Alibi made the cut in the single dog-entered class. Razzle took 2nd place in the Stallion Hound and 3 of his Get, shown with Alibi, Ashton, and Abstract. In the Single Bitch-Entered class, both Alice and Airmail made the cut, with Airmail taking the Reserve. (Alice, hyper as she is, deserved a trophy for holding her stance so long). Airmail & Arctic took 3rd place in the Couple of Bitches-Entered class, and you could hear people commenting and pointing as we circled as to their attractive markings. We discovered Boots, striking as she is, was no show hound. All she wanted to do was defend her dog biscuits. We placed in 3 of our 6 classes and 2 hounds beyond those made the cuts. We were all SO proud of our hounds and Mac & I were SO proud of our members which made it happen. Maybe it was beginner’s luck, but it was fabulous to see that others also saw grandeur in our pack. With the pressure off and the self-satisfaction of a job well-done, we all sat in the grass (no redbugs in Virginia!) on top of the knoll at the base of the stately Morven Park Mansion to watch the Pack Classes, Huge, finely-groomed packs, swirling across the lawn behind their Huntsmen was a touching sight. This land has been hunted for centuries. Some of these packs are hundreds of years old, descendants of the packs of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, the very essence of our country. Hunts had met at this very spot for over 100 years, and it was easy to imagine Gov. Westmoreland Davis looking out over his estate, anticipating the sight of the hounds. It had been a weekend of history. The Museum of Hounds & Hunting, located within the Mansion was pure foxhunting history in itself. We teared-up as we listened to passionate speakers and very personal tributes to past, now deceased Huntsmen as they were entered into the Huntsmen’s Room. We had laughed as we listened to the Horn-blowing Contest late the previous night and heard the howls it sent-up from the 900 hounds in the kennels. We had listened to experts analyze hounds and qualities which made them great. We had, in true foxhunter style, been wined and dined to great excess. We listened in horror to the plummet of foxhunting in England and their committed struggle to see the sport survive. I looked out over the exquisite, lush countryside and in the distance, with great distaste, saw the ugliness of urban sprawl and thought what a Cancer it is to our sport here. Gov. Davis would be horrified if he were still here to see his great hunt country spoiled, even in such a distant way. The show in which we had just participated has been going on for the last 53 years. It had taken a lot of work, a lot of inconvenience in our daily lives, and a lot of money to get there for all of us. Was it worth it? This bond that only members of a very dedicated, hard-working, committed group can feel? I know it was worth it to all of us sitting on that grassy knoll, - not just our the Misty Morning Hounds group, but the entire masses of foxhunters and foxhounds. Get involved! Foxhunters, indeed touch a very special side of life. 
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