FHC, Schelford, January 28,2023

 

It was a beautiful day.  The temperatures were perfect and only the slightest of breezes.  There was good moisture in the ground and the footing was pretty good.  There was a big crowd out today with definitely north of 40 people and maybe close to 50.  Ken Chapman was out car following and it was great to see him (even if he didn't bring his liquor box).

We headed by initially working around Schelford Farm and the crossed the river.  Eventually we ended up by Carter's place.  The hounds started speaking just off of Thompson Farm Road but then went silent.  When the crossed the road and got back into the woods between Carter's place and Mint Meadows they really opened up.

They followed the line and headed down towards the river.  It sounded like they were running the river below Carter's.  They looped around and then started to head toward Free Union Rd.  Mathew then started calling them in before they crossed the road.  It seemed like it might be the end of the run when all of a sudden we could hear Deb calling loudly from just from the other side of the farm road.  The hounds were still working the line and Mathew called them to follow to get to Deb's location.  The pack got onto the line and it got hot until the fox definitely crossed Free Union Road into territory we couldn't hunt.

From there Mathew hunted in.  We had one short 300 yard run when we were close to being back in.  The hounds marked the ground and we headed in.

For the day we covered 7.5 MPH.

THH, Thornton Hay Field, January 24, 2023

 

Munchkin and I Had an absolutely great day out with THH.

We started out coming up the western end of Turkey Mountain (low Turkey). We had gone to the top to the old orchard and then were coming back down when the hounds hit. They ran straight back up and got over the mountain and back down into eastern end of Sperryville. Somehow Beth was able to bushwack fast enough to stay close and they ran a fox to ground near the Copper Fox Distillery.

She brought the hounds back up and we proceed to the top of low turkey when the hounds hit again. They ran to the east and we were on a hot run. We were on the backside of Turkey when the coyote kind of settled, if you could call it that, a figure eight pattern that he ran multiple times. The hounds stayed with him the whole. They had run the coyote for about an hour and 45 minutes when we broke off and headed in. The hounds jsut would not give up.

The terrain was pretty demanding today. Even so, Munchkin hit 26.1 MPH on an 8 % grade. We also were doing 10-12 MPH coming down some double digit grades. It was a lot of hills . We covered almost 3500 feet of vertical today. You can see the attached elevation profile.

THH, Thornton Hay Field, January 20, 2023

 Wally and I were out with THH this morning. It was bright, sunny and temperatures in the 40's. The problem was the wind was absolutely howling. The only way something was going to happen was if the hounds stumbled upon a fox in some place the wind couldn't reach. But that didn't happen.

My plan today was to come in early since my back went out a week ago and was injected on Tuesday. It was feeling pretty good but better to be safe than sorry. So when Beth and the hounds took a turn towards the mountain, I decided it was time to go in.

I picked up Wally at a trot and he moved off. He went right past the third flight and kept trucking down the farm road. We eventually got to the main road and walked in from there. He just quietly walked along by himself. So that was great. He keeps showing that he is very independent from the rest of the hunt field.

As we were coming in, there as a loud gunshot from close by. Wally stopped and looked toward the shot. I figured that was a great reaction as he was by himself and in high winds. No spook, just a look and he walked on.

Just before we got to the trailers we could hear Beth's horn as she was gathering hounds. Wally kept cocking his head to listen. We were back at the trailer when we could hear the horn really clear. He was funny, he turned and got really tall and was looking for the hounds. He has really learned to pay attention to the hounds and what they are doing, and that the horn is the signal.

We covered 7.4 miles. We had a brief canter where wally put in a real metronome canter at 16.4 MPH. It was quite the nice canter as it was the same on the flat or going up the hill or down.

So not any hunting action but he got show more development a sa hunt horse.

FHC, Locust Grove, January 12,2023

 

When I was leaving for the hunt today I was thinking we had good conditions for a hunt.  We had gotten some rain in the area over the last few days and it was a cloudy, foggy morning.  The temperatures were in the high 30's when we started out.  Much better than the hot weather of a week ago.

We started by looping around the fields by the meet.  A little speaking but nothing developed.  We ultimately crossed the South Rivanna and headed up the hill along Buck Mountain Creek.  The hounds hit and got us on a short run for about twelve minutes.  They seemed to follow the creek and the fox was lost in the sharp v the creek makes.

From there we kept following the creek north before turning back south.  We had just come into the field where a lot of new trees had been planted when the hounds hit.  They headed to and crossed the creek getting onto the west bank.  They then proceeded to follow the river west.  Meanwhile both the first and second flight were walking there way up the river.  Surprisingly no one ended up in the river despite several of the horses splashing about and some with previous experience of putting riders in the river (Moe/Lou).

As the fields got feet dry, the hounds continued up river after the coyote.  At some point the coyote turned and came back around.  It circled the fields at Hob Knob in the woods continuing its run up and over the ridge trail.  It eventually came back around and ran through Hob Knob where it was viewed by first and third flights.  It was big black coyote.

The coyote continued through the woods and ended up along the previous run Buck Mountain Creek and started following that down to the Rivanna.  The coyote was then lost by the river.  All told it was about an hour and twenty minute.

The day was called, hounds gathered and we headed back in.  For the day, second flight covered about 8.6 miles.  The surprising thing we also did about 2800 feet of vertical up and down.  There are lots of trails in that area that are up or down.  So there should be some tired horses tonight.

THH, Mountain View, January 10,2023

 

Munchkin and I were out with THH this morning. With the warm weather we've had lately Munchkin has had some slow hunts. I think he has been really itching to run. This morning he got to run.

The first hour was a bit slow as the starting temperature was about 28. About twenty minutes in the hounds started working a line but it was sporadic and never really got going.

Then it warmed up and the hunt really heated up. We were a little over an hour in when the hounds hit and they took off fast. It was a fast run start to finish. We were flying even to the point of cantering downhill which cooked some peoples brakes. So the run ended up with the first flight leader and me running right behind the huntsman. It was like a private hunt. It was about a 30 minute run and we covered three miles. at the end the hounds had run the fox to ground.

The hounds were gathered and shortly after we were back on a fox again. The hounds took off down by the road and ran up Rosser mountain. It was a good 20 minute run but not the barn burner the first run was.

It was a great day! Munchkin and I covered 9.9 miles while Beth said the hounds covered 17. Somewhere on that big run Munchkin topped out at 21.5 MPH.

Per Beth Opitz, MFH and huntsman:

What a wonderful day of hunting yesterday from Mountain View. Thank you to Eldon Farms and Nancy Dillon. Yesterday was probably my favorite hunt of the season. A slow start, hounds exhibited their tenacity to slowly trail an old line of “Mr. Charles”.  After diligent work they finally hit the line hot, we had a wonderful gallop, all the while listening to the loud music of this keen pack. After about 30 minutes, our very sneaky pilot foiled the hounds when he ran in a big herd of cows, the line was not recovered. We continued hunting around the base of Rosser Mountain, hounds hit again. Scenting was getting worse, but the hounds worked and worked the line until they went to ground for a 20 minute run. Hounds put in 17 miles for the day, while we on horseback put in 11 miles. A fun day.

 

FHC, McNeeley's Shed, January 5,2022

 

Munchkin and I were out with FHC at McNeeley's Shed.  Unfortunately while it was a beautiful day, it was not a beautiful day for hunting.  The starting temperature was 47 degrees and quickly rose into the mid-sixties.  The plus side of our unusually warm temperatures is that the footing is improving quickly. Today while there was some boggy footing in some low grassy areas, it was actually pretty decent overall.

We started the day coming south from McNeely's Shed.  We came up around the muck pile and worked along the backside of Wildaire Farm (although it might be called something different now).  We kept heading south toward Jubilee Equestrian.  It was all being pretty quiet.

From there we worked our way back and over to Buck Mountain Creek.  The hounds were working the creek back and forth.  It seemed like we might catch hold of something as the hounds intermittently as the hounds worked the along the creek but nothing developed.

We hunted in from there but it remained a quiet day.  For the day, we covered 5.65 miles.

THH, Kennels, January 3,2023

 

Wally and I had a great morning at THH today. Thankfully we started earlier than usual because it was a warm day that heated up quickly. But it didn't heat up as fast the hounds did.

The meet was at the THH kennels. When we meet there we are all at the kennels. Wally has never hunted from the Kennels at either THH or FHC. So it was a new experience for him. He's good when they unload from a trailer but when 36 hounds came screaming out of the kennels that got his heart going a bit. BUt he was pretty good.

Beth took the hounds out the west gate of the pasture next to the kennels and the hounds erupted and took off like rockets. So add to the excitement of the kennels was the fact that we were on the run immediately.

The hounds quickly headed to and crossed the road to Eldon farm. We had to book it around to catch up. Wally was excellent. We hit an open field were the field picked up a hand gallop. He settled in behind two other horses and just rated himself. We crossed the road and headed up a hill. Unknowingly we were following first flight and not second, so Wally really stepped it. He hit about 18.8 MPH going up the hill.

Either the fox went to ground or the hounds lost the scent at the top of the hill. They were gathered and we head back from whence we came. We got over to Fletcher's Mill and headed down the road.

We were about a mile down when the hounds hit again. We turned a quick circle in the wood and were back on the road having down a 180. The hounds cut through High Thicket and heady for Turkey Mountain. They got a little ways up the mountain then started back around. The first and second flight were parked at the bottom and a big, and I mean big, red fox almost ran smack into us. He made a turn and cut behind us headed down the roads to the woods we just exited.

So back into the woods in the reverse direction and we ran the fox back towards the Thornton River.

The hounds were gathered and we were headed back in due the heat. We were not far from the trailers when the hounds all erupted in unison and headed straight up Mason Mountain. We followed a trail up and had the hounds cut right in front of us. They continued over the mountain and then headed east. We rode the ridge trail and the hounds cut across the trail a bit in front of us. That's when we could see it was not one fox but two they were running. And the hounds were close and it looked like they might account for a fox or two.

The hounds kept on the run, or maybe a new run, and reversed course and headed east back through Preacher's and eventually crossed Rudasil MIll road. They were called back and the day was ended.

For the day Wally and I covered 11.3 miles. Beth said the hounds did over 20. Wally and I had a top speed of 18.8 MPH and we did over 3000 feet of climbing. He has certainly developed his mountain climbing legs and stamina. He was great again. His balance has really improved and he is not falling onto the forehand anymore, even on trots down steeper slopes. The best part is having to manage him less and less. That allows me to pay more attention to what is happening with the hounds.

From Beth Opitz, MFH and huntsman

We had a very good day yesterday for Bennett’s Birthday Hunt. Within 200 yards of leaving the kennels hounds hit HOT. Hounds flew to 522, whipper-in Elida viewed our red pilot crossing 522. Mounted whipper-ins Erwin, Bennett and Elida and car whippers-in “expertly” helped hounds cross the road, keeping them safe. The cars and truck on the road were all very polite.  Our pilot was not very sporting and went to ground. We then brought hounds back across 522 to head towards High thicket. Our 2^nd pilot, a red beauty gave hounds a good 40 minutes of nice running around High Thicket, Wileys Woods, and Turkey Mountain until scent fizzled. We gathered hounds, crossed the Thornton river to head home to kennels --- on the way hounds hit our resident Mason Mountain red beauty. Another 40 minutes of hounds on a fast LOUD run, until Mr Charles gave the hounds the slip. Hounds were satisfied putting in 20 miles for the day. A very fun day. Happy Birthday Bennett