Liberty Corner 12/30/21

 

Today was an odd hunting day.  We were supposed to be at Christmas Hill and we were, briefly.  We were all there and mounted up when about five deal ran across the field and into the woods, followed by a pack of hounds.  Not our hounds.  Apparently some deer hunters were out and about with there hounds.  We were milling about when we heard the first of several gun shots.

Matthew at that point said that unloading our hounds was out of the question.

We were standing around deciding what to do when MFH Liz King asked if it were possible would be willing to relocate to another fixture or stay and trail ride.  The vote was everyone to nothing to try to relocate.  Liz got busy on the phone and we were given permission to hunt at Liberty Corner.  So everyone loaded back up and off we went.  I must say there were some confused hunt horses including mine.  Munchkin could see why he should load when he hadn't gone hunting yet.

Unfortunately, Liberty Corner was kind of like "Twas The Night Before Christmas" - not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  Not quite 100% true.  We did see a rabbit and we did spook up a couple of pheasants.

We covered about seven miles today on what was an overcast  but nice day to ride.

Millington 12/26/21

 

The map above is the Boxing Day hunt at Farmington Hunt.  It was also a Junior Day and we had quite a few juniors out.  Before I get to far I will admit that the yellow indicating the coyote track is speculation based upon my conversation with Matthew afterwards.  Unfortunately,  my hound tracker was not picking up any of the hound collars.  That means I need to re-sync with Moe as I seem to be losing collars one at a time.  Hopefully I'll get that done at the next meet.  So all description below is a lot of guess work and speculation on my part.

It was a very warm day.  High in the 50's when we headed out and near 70 when we came back in.  There were a lot of tired horses.  Munchkin is incredibly fit and he looked tired from the combination of heat, distance and speed.

Down to the action.  Matthew initially worked through the woods by the meet but eventually ended up by the river.  The hounds had just crossed the river when they hit and took off - fast!  They took off and were running pretty much along the river from the backside of fox ridge farm and up behind Whipporwill farm.  They got a bit beyond Whipporwill and then crossed Ridge Road and ran past the pink barn.  Then they head back across the road and eventually crossed the river over to Percy Woods.  At Percy Woods they turned a couple of loops and then were back across the river and headed to Schelford.  The coyote was lost near the hanging bridge in Schelford.  

I really wish I had the hound track to get more exact and also to see the distance covered.  I'm sure it was a lot as the second flight covered 8.5 miles.  I am also sure there was some good speed on the hounds.  They hit and were gone fast.  So fast that we  couldn't hear them.  We were always in catch up mode the entire run.  By the way the run lasted for the better part of an hour and a half.

We provided quite the entertainment for the people on Ridge Road as the hunt was running up and down the road.  I saw several people taking pictures and video along the way.

The second flight was also moving quite fast.  At one point, probably not the whole flight, but at least some of us hit 24 MPH.  There was also some great riding exhibited by Rebecca B.  She was riding a horse she said that had only been out a couple of times.  As we were cantering down Ridge Road, he spooked at a person and had one foot in each corner and was sliding along.  Then he hit the pavement of the driveway of Fox Ridge and much scrambling ensued.  How he stayed upright and Rebecca stayed on, I'll never know but it was some pretty impressive riding.

The juniors were also great as they handled the speed and the endurance needed.  I'm not sure how many of them ride for that long at those kinds of speeds but they did.  What was really impressive was that there were really no checks to catch your breadth.  Our moving average was pretty the same as our overall average speed which means we weren't stopping for anything.

A really ,really good day.

Yadkin 12/21/21

 

 

 

 

Today we were at Yadkin and it was a good day for hunting.  Obviously a lot of people agreed as the fields were big.  I think we numbered over 40 souls including several juniors that were already on the Christmas break.  The map above is the summary for the day.  The blue line is the second flight and the red are the hounds.  The hounds covered about 9.7 miles while the second flight covered about 5.6.  

This map immediately above is a reduction down to just the fox run.  Hounds are the red line and second flight is the blue line.  We were about ten minutes into the hunt and had just come around the horse pastures and were ducking back into the woods when the hounds hit.  They were moving immediately and heading west when they intersected the farm road that comes off Buck Mountain Ford.  They were coming down the road and when they got to the base of the mountain, up they went.  They were just below the top of the mountain when they started to turn to our left (as we were positioned on the road).

The second flight was on the road when the fox bolted across the road and was spotted by a member of the second flight.  The hounds followed a few minutes later on exactly that line.  They then cut between some pastures and circled around in front of the house before carrying the run into the woods that are between the house and trailer parking.  It was in there that the hounds lost the fox.

It was a fast run that went for about 20 minutes.  During that time the second flight was doing some cruising around 18 MPH on those trails in the woods but the hounds were turning a pretty sporty 30 MPH at times.

Locust Grove 12/16/21

 

Today was hunting at Locust Grove which has been a productive fixture this year.  Today was a three fox day.  It was two short runs followed by a long run.  The map above the blue line is the second flight.  The yellow line is the first run.  The orange line is the second run.  The red line is the third run.

Matthew started off by looping around the field below the trailers.  Then he came up the hill and got the hounds into the woods by the meet.  The hounds were quickly onto a red fox that was viewed by Matthew and Carolyn when it crossed the driveway.  After crossing the driveway it headed downhill and went to ground in a culvert pipe next to the river.

Matthew gathered the hounds and headed along the river before heading up the hill to the big house at horseshoe farm.  The hounds found again and gave another red fox a run and it too went quickly to ground over the the sunflower field.

So two quick runs to get us warmed up on an already warming day.  Given the high temps you might have thought that was it for the day.  But not true.

From Horshoe Farm we headed up to Whiskey Ridge and immediately ducked back into the woods heading around around a quick loop.  Just about as we completed the loop the hounds were once again on a fox.  The run was heading through the saddle area down between the loops of the river.  They were about to the steep climb we did a few weeks back the last time we were at Locust Grove.  Then they made a turn and began working their way in the general direction of Free Union Road.

In the mean time there were some sightings of a coyote up on the ridge by the second flight and Carolyn.  Matthew came and joined the group and called for the hounds but they weren't coming.  They were busy working a fox not that coyote.  

While on the ridge we could really hear the hounds and they sounded good.  They were also fading away from us and then we got the report from Moe that the fox had crossed Free Union Road and headed into Camp Albemarle.  At that point the hounds were gathered and we headed in.

It was certainly a warm day.  We all look to take care of our horses by letting them drink from the rivers and streams.  But some people are more aggressive in taking are of their horses.  Today that person was Lou who graciously took his horse for a swim, not once but twice.  He was so concerned for her welfare that he dismounted in the river for her.

For the day second flight covered 6.7 miles and the hounds were a little over 7 miles.

THH High Thicket 12/10/21

 

Today Munchkin and I went for a change of scenery and were out with the Thornton Hill Hounds.  We started out at the High Thicket fixture.  I think it's been a decade since I've hunted from that area.  I don't have a hound track today because I wasn't tracking the THH hounds.  So all run routes are my best approximation.

We started to the north on a little loop away from the meet.  We were on that loop and almost in sight of the trailers when the hounds hit.  It started with a few but quickly the whole pack joined.  With the tight little hills the sound was awesome.  It was a steady run that generally continued north.  We went for about fifteen minutes on that run.  The yellow line on the map id the run.

We continued on north and then started to bring the track around.  We had one aborted run along the way.  Just as we were coming to the woods along the eastern base of Turkey Mountain the hounds started up again.  It was a slow start but quickly built with sound avalanching down the side of the mountain.  The hounds continued up the mountain with the fields following behind on a deer track.  After a little bushwhacking we got to one of the trails.  At this point the hounds were running above us just below the top of the ridge.  We could always hear the hounds and depending upon the terrain get a pretty good view.

As the run went on the hounds started turn down the mountain towards Fletchers Mill Rd.  It looked like they were going to keep following that line across the road but suddenly made a sharp turn and run right through the middle of the second flight.  They did cross the road and headed south across an open field.  They were running in the direction of Rudasil Mill Rd but instead bent south again.  A little while later the run ended.

The day was called at that point.  Munchkin and I covered about 8.5 miles while MFH Beth Opitz said the hounds did 11.5.

It always nice to get out and see different territory and a different pack of hounds from time to time.  It's been probably 7-8 years since I was last out with THH and I'll have to make it a point to get back.

Schoolhouse (Junior Day) 11/27/21

 

Today was Junior Day!  I like Junior Days.  It's great fun to see all of the kids out and today was a great group.  I know we had 15 juniors in the second flight and over 20 for the day.  All the kids were very well turned out and really rode nicely.  Unfortunately it was a very quiet day and ended up being an 8 mile tour of the area.

The ground is like concrete and even places along the creeks were dry.  There were places where it looked like it was foggy from all the dust being kicked up.  At Keelona the other day we ran a coyote and viewed two foxes.  Then on Thursday a trio of foxes came out at one time.  Normally we get some good runs in around the area we were at today, especially along Piney Creek and then over by McNeeley's Shed.  But today was not our day.  That's the way hunting goes.

Hopefully the next junior day will be a little busier.

Keelona November 23,2021

 

Today was a very cold and windy day.  Normally I like hunting when the temperature is between 35-45 but without the wind.  Given we were hunting at Keelona and Trump Winery we were exposed to the wind.  Unfortunately so was the scent and the hounds.

However, all was not lost.  We came out of the meet and were hunting along the driveway between the paddocks.  The third flight had gone back behind the house.  The hounds started speaking along the fence line when all of a sudden we had a loud tally-ho from Liz I believe.  It was a coyote and Matthew hustled the hounds over and a short run developed  (yellow line) that kind of paralleled Carter Mountain Rd. It was reported that the coyote and taken an alternate route thorough a culvert pipe and was lost.

Just as that was ending, a fox was initially spotted again.  I also think this was Liz again.  The fox came down the hill through the paddocks and ran along the fence line toward the riding ring (orange line).  The second flight got a great view of it.  As they say, in life timing is everything.  It took about 15 minutes for Matthew to gather the hounds and come over but by that time the scent was gone with the wind.

We continued hunting north parallel to Carter Mountain Rd crossing into the Trump Winery.  Several times the hounds were put into coverts and began speaking but never really emerged.   They would work and work and work but never could really follow the scent out of the covert.  After a couple of times of this it seemed that their sound was getting frustrated at least to my untrained ears.

We continued up the Winery and were just below the ridge and in front of the Albemarle House and the event center.  Another fox was spotted, again by Liz I believe.  It went into the woods past the hotel. The hounds got on it and we had a short run from there to past the event center at the top of the vineyards. (red line).

For the day, the horses got in about 7.5 miles and the hounds were up around 11 or 12.

Locust Grove, November 20,2021

 

In the map above the blue track is the second flight.  First flight may not be much different.  It's interesting and hard to follow because of the way the hounds ran.  There was quite a lot of looping back on themselves.  Also, they tended to go where the horses couldn't.  So often we were not far often and could hear them singing beautifully but couldn't follow really tight.

The map above is a simplified version of today's events.  The first run, in red, started shortly after we crossed the river.  It was interesting in that the hounds sounded really good.  The sound was cool because they were staying along the river and were up hill from them, so the acoustics were great.  At this point the run was a walk.  Given the slow pace the hounds were maintaining I expected the run to peter out at any minute. We had run out a place to go on the trail and decided to reverse our direction. 

The coyote and the hounds helped us out by also reversing direction and coming back down to the river.  They crossed the river and then everything picked up speed.  The coyote and hounds again started heading north and recrossed the river.   They headed up and over the ridge before turning north again and the run ending around Hob Knob or Whiskey Ridge Farm (I'm not sure which is the appropriate name).  It was a 30 minute run that was kind of like a roller coaster - a slow crawl up and then a really fast finish.

Matthew gathered hounds and headed into the woods behind the house.  In five minutes they were on another coyote. Whether it was the original coyote or a new was hard to tell.  The coyote headed north as if it was going to cross over Free Union Rd but instead started turning back behind the VDOT Depot.  It eventually made it back to where the first run started but not before turning several circles along the way.  Like the first run it was hard to get close to the action but we could always get a good listen to the hounds.

For the day the hounds covered 10.6 miles and the second flight did 6.4.  I think Liz said the third flight covered 5.5.  Apparently Liz's favorite perch has been logged and now she can sit there with third flight and be in the middle of the action all the time.

Miller School. November 13,2021

 

Today we were at the Miller School of Albemarle.  It was a gorgeous, cool morning wit spectacular colors on the mountains around us.  It was also howling wind which did not bode well for things.  On the plus side we had found that the pigs were confined to the pen by the red barn.  👍👍 While the pigs are scary for the horses, it seems with the great expansion of MSA's agriculture program, the hunting has improved as we are seeing more foxes and coyotes on the campus.  My thought is the feed being put out for the chickens and pigs is drawing in the small critters which in turn is drawing in the foxes and coyotes.

We started out by immediately going into the woods next to the meet.  I'd say we weren't ten seconds in when the hounds opened up.  We ran through the woods just past the old abandoned house and up the hill by one of the coops.  We checked there and found that the hounds had reversed were heading back to where they had started.  We reversed out just in time to find Matthew coming back and the hounds going back into the woods.  They circled around again and the fox was lost.  The run is on the map shaded in yellow.  It was a nice warm-up run that went about 17 minutes and covered a little over a mile. That's pretty cool because that stand of woods is about 100 acres.  It shows how much round and round we did.  

From there Matthew picked up the hounds and hunted up the hill on the trail that is right after the lake.  We got to the top and things headed east again the hounds started speaking and went down the hill to the south end of the lake.  Unfortunately not much developed from there.

We then headed to the trail that starts by the coop at the top of the upper meadow and that goes through the pine woods down to Pounding Creek Rd.  I've been hunting the MSA campus since 2015 and we have never had anything develop over there.  Howling wind and all, we got what Matthews thinks was a coyote up and running.  It took off towards Pounding Creek rd and then ran parallel to the road.

For the fields a decision had to be made.  Do we follow along the road in a trail position, or do reverse and try to head off by going back through the campus.  The decision was made to reverse and try to head off.  

While we were reversing back the coyote came through the logged area that abuts the MSA campus and cut back in by the water tower.  He kept running and came past the the faculty apartments before heading down hill and across the soccer pitch.  He kept going and disappeared back into the woods and disappeared around the pig pen.

It was an excellent run that took about 35 minutes and covered about 2 miles.

Matthew was gathering hounds and with the wind still howling, the day was called.  For the day, we covered about 6.6 miles in the second flight.

Chapel Springs 11/9/21

 

 

 Today was a very hunt.  It was very pretty with all of the fall colors on the mountains.  Unfortunately it was very dry, very hot and very windy which made for a very quiet hunt day.

Matthew started hunting back through the trees by the meet in the general direction of the Wesley Chapel.  After coming up blank there he worked his way around and got back into the woods and worked his way parallel to the gas pipeline and eventually came out by the lake.  Despite being back in the woods, still nothing happening.

He then came out of the woods, looped around the barns, through the pastures and back into the woods.  He crossed over Rocky Creek and head towards Maccie's place.  The only thing found along that way was the bottle of Port provided by Maccie.

Shortly after this the day was called.  Quite the quiet day as the only game seen was a suicidal bunny that ran through the middle of the hounds and lived to tell about.

The map above has only one line because the fields and the hounds pretty much traveled the same path.  The path above is second flight which covered 7.1 miles.

Yadkin November 4,2021

 

 

A coyote was spotted just a little ways from the meet drinking out of a cow trough.  Weather that was the coyote that ended up being hunted or not was hard to say.  Matthew started out paralleling the road towards the ford.  It wasn't but a few minutes when they all started speaking.  They then looped back as if they were going to go up the mountain.  They passed the house and then came down the driveway.  That's when things got going fast and far.

The coyote and the hounds crossed the road and headed out on a pretty straight track that was splitting the difference between Markwood Rd and Catterton Rd.  They eventually turned back towards the meet a few hundred yards shy of Buck Mountain Rd right behind the auto repair place.  It was pretty fast as the hounds showed a top speed of 27 miles per hour and were often over 20 while on the run.

After making the turn they headed on almost a straight line back toward the ford from where things started.  Mostly they spent the time hugging along the backside of the developments.  Back behind one house where the hounds slowed for a while they gave a thrill to some little kids and there mom who came out of their house to watch the hounds.

It was a great, fast run that took about an hour and forty minutes and covered just over 11 miles.  The second flight covered around 6 miles.  On the map the blue line is second flight and the orange line is hounds.

Old Dominion Hounds - Hunter Trial Field - Theadora Randolf Field Hunter Champioship

 

Today was the last day of the TAR FHC and was held at Old Dominion Hounds.  The weather was actually pretty good given the weather of the past couple of days.  It was overcast but the rain of any form held off.  The foot was actually pretty good.

The fields moved off right on time and about ten minutes in the hounds hit and we were off and running.  The yellow area in the map above is the area we covered with the blue line being the first flight.  It was a run that just kept going and going, and the hounds sounded great the whole time.  At one point someone gave a yell and the fox was viewed.  The run lasted almost an hour and we covered about 4.5 miles. It was pretty zippy on the run and at times hit a sporty 18 MPH through the woods.  18 MPH in an open field is nice, 18 MPH in the woods is sporty.

When things got quiet on that run, it was discovered we had had some equipment excitement where one rider's stirrup had broken but she kept riding the whole run.  She was then assisted by another rider who gave up her stirrup and then hunted with only a leather.  Some really good sportsmanship.

When we got out onto the road, it was discovered that several horses including the huntsman's had lost shoes.  Mine was also one of those. One of the whips swapped horses with the huntsman and the shoeless brigade head back in early.

Bull Run Hunt - Willow Marsh - Theodaora Randolf Field Hunter Championships - 10/4/21

 

Today was the first day of the Theodora Randolph Field Hunt Championships (formerly the North American Field Hunter Championships).  The first qualifier was held at Bull Run Hunt's fixture Willow Marsh.  Willow Marsh is a great mix of bean fields and woods.  It has nice rolling terrain as well.

It was warm by the time we started hunting.  If there was a day I could have done without a coat it was today.  We hit on a run about ten minutes into the hunt.  It was a good fast run and a preview of what was next to come.  A little while later we hit again and it was long hard run.  The hounds sounded great!  It was a really good test of the competition horses.  Again, shortly after that run, we were back at it again.  Really fast and covering a lot of ground.  The hounds hit again on our way in but this didn't amount to a whole lot.  But four runs in two and a half hours is pretty damn good!

There were 29 horses out for the championships.  That was a lot of great field hunters gathered in one place.  I felt my horse was perfect today and we didn't get selected today for the finals.  That tells you something about the quality of the horses and riders out there.

For the day we covered 9.5 miles and had a top speed of 22.3 MPH.  The moving average was 5.0 MPH.  That doesn't sound like much but that means that we had very little standing around.  The weather was hot and the BRH hounds were even hotter.

Miller School 9/30/01

 

 Lions and Tigers and Pigs, Oh My!

It wasn't lions and tigers but more like hounds and foxes and pigs, oh my!

We were at Miller School today and if people are not aware MSA has been working back towards its roots over the last few years.  They have refurbished the Edison Power Plant and have instituted an agriculture program.  The agriculture program has really been expanded beyond vegetable gardens and now includes chickens and pigs.  Yes pigs.

The program is based around the old red barn which is being extensive remodeled.  The pigs are being kept in the woods in the area that is known as the equestrian trails.  In places the pig fence is right along the trails.

Because of COVID the trails are a bit overgrown and things were going to be tight in there, so the second third flights both looped around through the upper and lower meadows.

Just as the bell tower chimed 8 o'clock the hounds hit.  It was originally thought to be an old line but it turned out to be current.  The hounds worked the fox for quite a long time and at one point it ran into and through the pig enclosure with the hounds following.  Apparently the pigs took great offense to this activity and chased the hounds.  Apparently, and not unexpectedly, that caused quite a bit of excitement and consternation with the horses.  No horses dropped from a heart attack and all riders survived.  The fox got the best of it and escaped across the driveway after being viewed by staff.  Run is the red area on the map.

Matthew then brought the hounds out of the woods and went down to the lower meadow and went back into the equestrian trails and had another fox up and running.  I think it is the first time we have ever had two fox runs in that area.  Like the first one, this one stayed in the woods and went around quite a bit.  The hounds again worked him a long time.  Eventually he also made his escape back through the trailers after running through the pig enclosure.  Run is the orange area on the map.

So the pigs have changed the game some.  First it seems there are going to be more foxes which makes sense when you think about it.  As the Ag program feeds the pigs there is going to be pig feed and chicken feed around from the chickens.  This will draw in the smaller critters which in turn will draw in the foxes.

Second, the foxes seem to use the pigs as cover.  In the past when we have run foxes in that area the fox has usually bolted from the woods and hightailed up to the water tower and off to Pounding Creek Rd before circling back.  It will be interesting to see if staying in the woods becomes the normal.

After all that activity, Mathew started hunting up toward the water tower but the hounds seem spent and the temperatures were rising.  So the day was called.

For the second and third flight it was a lot standing because the foxes weren't breaking lose.  The second flight covered 3.2 miles at a pedestrian 2.1 MPH with a top speed of 8.6 MPH.  Third flight was always within shouting distance would be about the same.

Today several of the Miller School kids and their trainer were out hunting and for several, it was their first hunt.  They were all very well turned out and seemed to have a good time.

Red Gate 09/25/21 First Flight

 

Today was beautiful morning for a hunt.  Cool, crisp and calm.  This is the report for the First Flight.

We started out by crossing over the corn field to Percy Woods driveway.  The hounds had just crossed the driveway when they opened up.  The pretty much did a straight run over to Bunk House and lost the trail around the pond. The run is the RED LINE on the map. 

We then crossed over Millington Rd at Ward's Creek Bridge and headed into the woods.  We weren't very far into the woods when the hounds opened again.  Like the first it was pretty fast straight run and lasted about the same amount of time.  The run is the Yellow Line on the map.

After that run we started back in the direction of Millington Rd.  We had just turned opposite the Georgetown Farm driveway and paralleling Millington Rd when the hounds opened again.  Like the first two runs it was short and straight.  The run is the Orange line on the map.

So three short runs, each separated by about ten minutes.

We went back into the woods where we had been about 30 minutes earlier.  We were about the same distance in as we had been on the second run but when the hounds opened they went left instead of right.  Were off and running.  It was about a twenty minute that was pretty much done at a canter and gallop with a little trot work but very few checks.  There several high speed right hand turns thrown in for good measure,

The hounds were heading towards Vint Hill.  We came through the lower gate on one of those fast turns and did a handy 21 MPH up the hill toward the house.  They started looping around and for a while it seemed like they were going to cross Ballards Mill Rd and head into Chapel Springs.  Luckily, or unluckily depending on your point of view, they didn't.  They turned away from the road and then turned a couple of loops before losing the fox.  

For the day the first flight covered 7.5 miles.

Millington 09/06/21 Third Flight

 We were back in action today and it was a gorgeous day for it.

Matthew started off drawing through the woods just north of the meet.  We had a couple of false starts from the hounds along there.  He then got down along the river and hunted along before heading up through the corn fields and going into Percy Woods.  He continued working that direction and the  hounds then struck and ran through Bunk House and started turning towards Millington Rd.  It seemed like they might cross the road but instead put the fox to ground by the pond that is situated between the clear cut and Millington Rd.

A brief but good day to start the season.

Springhaven W&T 08/25/21

 Nice but hot ride this morning.  With all the recent rain, the footing was excellent and everything was a gorgeous green.  I'll still be happier to see the fall colors.  We covered about 4.2 miles today.

Beaulieu W&T 8/11/21

 It was a hot day but a nice ride.  We got to stay in the shade for a lot of it.  Good legging up with hunt season only 3 weeks away.

W&T Mint Meadows/Schelford

 A nice cool morning for a Walk and Talk at Mint Meadows and Schelford.  Some good hills, nice trots areas and a couple of good canters.  Plus lots of jump opportunities.  We covered about 7.5 miles.

Flint Hill July 27, 2021 W&T

 We were walking and talking around Flint Hill after parking at Millington.  We covered 4.4 miles.