For the Love of the Chase

Mention a fox hunt and an English oil painting of an autumn pastoral scene probably comes to mind: men on horseback surrounded by foxhounds; riders in their distinctive scarlet coats, white riding breeches, black knee boots and top hats.

You might be surprised to know that traditional mounted fox hunting, though uncommon, is a sport still alive and well in Virginia. It is replete with its own etiquette, attire, and language steeped in tradition. Its origins are in the English countryside, but it lives on with a decidedly American spin.

MARYLAND & VIRGINIA: THE AMERICAN BIRTHPLACE OF THE HOUND AND THE HUNT

The history of fox hunting in the United States is also the history of the foxhound. Back to 1650, Robert Brooke imported English foxhounds to Charles County, Maryland. Fifty years later, the colonies had embraced the English tradition of fox hunting as both popular sport and agrarian necessity to protect poultry and livestock from foxes. Maryland and Virginia became the center of colonial fox hunting, and the growing popularity of hunting led to a demand for more hounds.

One Virginian, in particular, was important in shaping the foxhound as we know it today. George Washington, an avid fox hunter, imported English and Irish hounds that were later bred with French staghounds, gifted to him by the Marquis de Lafayette. These hounds formed the foundation of a new breed that was further refined until it was distinct from the English foxhound and suited for the terrain of America. Today, the American foxhound is Virginia’s official state dog.

THE HUNT: HUMANS, HORSES, HOUNDS, AND QUARRY

In the mountains of Virginia, the Piedmont Hounds, established in 1840, is considered to be the first foxhound club in the United States. Today there are 25 hunts, as they are called, located throughout Virginia that are registered by the Masters of Foxhound Association (MFHA), the governing body for organized mounted fox hunting. In addition to registering hunts, the MFHA works to educate the public about the sport and promote the well-being of hounds and horses.

And just as those paintings intended to convey, fox hunting is a harmonious dance between humans, horses, and hounds. There are distinct roles, etiquette, and attire to be adhered to during a hunt, though each club may have slight differences. These rules are determined by the Master of each hunt. The hounds lead the field, which is the group of people, horses, and hounds on the hunt. The hounds are followed by the Huntsman, who directs the hounds during the hunt, either through voice commands or sounds of the horn he carries. The horn also alerts the field to the progress of the hunt with calls like gone away, when the hounds are chasing a scent as a pack; or the recheat, a signal to regroup the hounds. Whippers-in (or Whips) follow close to assist the Huntsman, as an extra set of eyes and ears that help keep the pack together and protect them from the dangers of the road. They are followed by the Master of Foxhounds or the Field Master (sometimes they are the same person), who commands the field. Like a referee, Masters have final say over everything that happens on a hunt.

Depending on the number and the skill level of those participating, there can be up to three fields in a hunt. The first field riders are those with the most experience, following closer to the hounds, often jumping obstacles along the way. Farther back, you may have second field riders, also called hilltoppers, following behind less urgently, usually riding around obstacles. Lastly, there can be a field which follows the hunt on foot or by car.

It is on the command of the Master that the hounds begin their work, or are cast into coverts, the underbrush and bramble where foxes have their dens and eat their meals, or hide during the day. If the hounds catch a scent, they excitedly run off in search of the quarry — the sly and elusive fox. You know instantly when a fox is sighted, because it is signaled by the cry of foxhounds,

called giving tongue, and the call of the Huntsman’s horn, gone away. Then the excitement of the chase and the dance between all truly reveals itself — the quarry craftily evading the hounds, the hounds in full cry, pursuing the quarry. Horse and rider become one, especially in the first field, riding close to the pack, jumping over fallen logs or fences. Through woods and across pastures, the field pursues the quarry with the emphasis on the chase, not on the capture. Though the hunt itself can last a couple of hours, the chase ends as suddenly as it began — when the fox goes to ground, retreating to the safety of a hole or den.

COMMUNING WITH NATURE AND WITH OTHER HUNTERS

Even though it’s a fox hunt, it’s more about “enjoying the outdoors,” says Robert Ferrer, Master of Foxhounds at Caroline Hunt in Caroline County. On Ferrer’s Chase’s End Farm, where Caroline Hunt is located, Ferrer and his wife, Elizabeth, who is also a Master of Foxhounds, have built kennels to the very exacting standards that the MFHA requires for registering hunts. They house 20 couples (as they are counted in fox hunting) of American foxhounds, and Bob loves to spend a few hours on the hunt with them “watching the breed do what it has been bred for centuries to do.”

Bobs’s love of fox hunting is a result of being raised by parents who both hunted and his interest in riding horses. He learned everything equestrian from his father, who rode horses while training in the U.S. Army. “My father told me that horses teach you respect, how to lead, and how to follow.” When the younger Ferrer told his father he wanted to go into the military, his father suggested that Bob learn to ride in order to understand how to lead people because “you take care of the horse before yourself, and you learn when to push on and when to pull back.”

With the hunt over for the day, the field heads back. The horses are returned to the stables and the hounds relax in the kennel. For the hunters, it’s time to relax, too. Like the nineteenth hole in golf, there is a gathering afterward. Events like these are important because hunt etiquette calls for little to no talking on the hunt, lest you distract the hounds or the hunt staff.

The Ferrers’ love of fox hunting and entertaining (they seem to go hand-in-hand) led to them adding a room onto the stables for the sole purpose of hosting guests. The Munnings Room, as it is called, is named after Sir Alfred Munnings, whose pastoral paintings of horses adorn the walls. It’s the perfect setting for guests to gather and relax in the warmth for a post-hunt tradition — the Hunt Breakfast.

There is plenty of tweed here along with food and drink. In addition to sustenance after a long ride, the breakfast offers a perfect opportunity for guests to share a story or two about the highlights of the day’s hunt. And in a sport where history and tradition play such an important and constant role, there is always talk in remembrance of masters, hounds, and hunts past.