PrintStrong roots in the past have helped this Virginia hunt thrive for a century.
It’s somehow poetic that a 100-year storm buried the Virginia countryside under 3 feet of snow during Casanova Hunt’s 100th anniversary season this winter.
The hunt once dubbed “quietly Virginian” has survived and flourished even in today’s complex hunting environment. Strong leadership through trying times in history and a loyal following have been essential for the Casanova Hunt. And with the Fendley family as MFHs and Tommy Lee Jones as huntsman, leading them into the future, the legacy looks to continue.
“Casanova Hunt has always been a community sport. Everyone from Day 1 has just wanted to hunt. Today, there are still descendants of the original founding families here,” said MFH Joyce Fendley.
“The hunt is like a family. There are a number of members who bring along their grandchildren. I’m getting ready to introduce my first of nine grandchildren to hunting this year. All our children have a keen love of the countryside,” Fendley said.
The Casanova Hunt calls the Piedmont region of Virginia home, in an area 50 miles wide and 100 miles long. The hunt country is located in central, eastern and southern parts of Fauquier County, southeast Culpeper County, northeast Orange County, northeast Spotsylvania County and west Stafford County. The territory reflects its “working farmer” heritage and is populated with horse, beef and dairy farms, along with rolling pastures and heavy woods.
Colonial Roots
According to excerpts from the diary of Harry Lee Edmonds, Casanova’s first Master (1909-1921), a meeting of land-owners, farmers and friends was held at Creedmore, the home of Mr. and Mrs. E. Nelson Fell, on Aug. 15, 1909, and the club was established.
English natives who “brought their ways” to America, the Fells hosted many holiday drag hunts and parties in their Tudor-style home, complete with a second floor ballroom. Unlike most of the Piedmont hunts, Casanova’s members were not wealthy industrial barons but working Virginians. In 1910, the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association recognized Casanova. (While the Masters of Foxhounds Association was organized in 1907, it did not have the power to recognize hunts until 1934.)
Casanova’s early foxhunting continued in the “old Virginia” way. In 1914, Floyd Kane was hired as the first paid huntsman and served during the World War I years. Miles Wells followed from 1921-25, with Baldwin D. Spilman Jr. and Richard D. Barrett as Masters. Casanova records indicate that from 1924-1927 the financially struggling club leased its territory to the nearby Warrenton Hunt.
In 1927, a revived Casanova emerged following reorganization. Charlotte St. George Nourse was appointed MFH, and Harry Lee Edmonds became Master of the drag pack. A budget was put in place. Oscar Beach hunted the hounds free of charge.
Nourse had a tremendous and enduring impact on Casanova Hunt. She was born in 1894 at historic Weston, where the kennels are located today. According to Jericho Turnpike, published by the Warrenton Antiquarian Society, Nourse was a descendant of Samuel Morris, who followed hounds with George Washington and founded Rose Tree Foxhunting Club in 1859, the first organized hunt club in Pennsylvania. Moreover, several Nourse family homesteads have been incorporated into landmarks that can be visited today in Washington, D.C.
