The Masters of Foxhounds Association has registered two new hunts this year: Red Oak Foxhounds and Headwaters Hounds, both born from the ashes of former local hunts.
Harry and Theresa Miller started Red Oak Foxhounds, based in Brunswick County, Va., in June 2013 after Reedy Creek Hunt Club folded. They are currently serving as its joint MFHs.
“I whipped in for 25 years; when I was hunting, I was always whipping in. And my husband is the people person,” said Theresa, who introduced Harry to the sport when they got married more than a decade ago. “It works out that I hunt the hounds, and Harry leads the field.”
The Millers moved to Brunswick County about 12 years ago. After Reedy Creek folded they hunted with Stonewall Hounds, but the biweekly two-hour drive each way took its toll. Still, it took some convincing to get Harry on board with starting a new hunt. Their one-of-a-kind kennel, once a hog parlor that housed 1,200 pigs and was recently converted to kennel runs, helped tip the scales. So did their early retirement four years prior from Dominion Virginia Power.
“It just kind of worked out,” said Theresa. “We had the time, we had the resources, and we loved foxhunting. So I guess that was the key; we were going to foxhunt no matter what, so we figured we might as well start our own hunt.”
They drafted their first six hounds from Reedy Creek, and the pack of American and Penn-Marydel foxhounds continues to grow with their third litter due in March. They kennel the hounds at their Oakwood Farm in Rawlings, Va., where the surrounding farms produce tobacco, soybeans, timber and cattle.
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One of Red Oak Foxhounds’ most valuable allies has been the local deer hunting club, of which the Millers are members, that gives the hunt access to its 15,000 acres. Between that land and the farms that members have opened up to them, the hunt has more territory than it can get open. The Millers are excited that Red Oak Foxhounds is now a registered hunt.
“I feel like we’ve always been a part of MFHA with all the hunts we were in, and it just kind of brings it all together,” said Theresa. “The membership was excited about it, and they’ve all helped to get us this far to be able to be registered, so we’re very happy and pleased.”
Alison Brown, Gordon Schieman and Bruce Johnson founded Headwaters Hounds, based in Salida, Colo., in August 2014 after Fort Carson Hounds closed, and they currently serve as its joint masters.
“We love the sport. We really enjoyed it, and where we live in Salida is absolutely fabulous country,” said Brown. “We thought this would be a really good area for a hunt. We’ve been having a blast!”
Headwaters Hounds hunts coyote, mountain lion and jackrabbit over dry grassland that includes national and state forests, as well as Bureau of Land Management territory. The area includes rolling hills, canyons and evergreens, all at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
“We call ourselves Headwaters Hounds because we actually hunt on both sides of the continental divide. We’re right near the junction of the three rivers,” explained Brown. “The quarry can get away from us pretty easily by just going up; the mountains get pretty steep.” The hounds, a mix of American and American-Crossbred, are all equipped with GPS collars so that they can be easily found if they stray up the mountainside. The hounds, drafted from Woody Creek Hounds and from Loudoun and Fairfax hunts in Virginia, don’t have the traditional red fox to hunt in Colorado.
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“The best sport we’ve been having lately has been hunting the jackrabbits here.,” said Brown. “They give us amazing runs. They’re actually about the size of a fox; they’re pretty large.”
This posed a problem for the hunt club at its inception because jackrabbit hunting with dogs was illegal during the game season and was strictly regulated by the Colorado Board of Wildlife. Brown petitioned the board to change the regulation, which was intended to prevent hunters from covering their tracks by claiming to be hunting rabbits when they were really after big game.
“We don’t hunt anywhere concurrently with big-game hunting. Obviously, for safety reasons that wouldn’t be a good idea anyway,” said Brown. “We agreed that it would be a requirement that we were only hunting packs that were registered with the nationally-recognized sporting association. So now we are registered, of course, with the Master of Foxhounds Association, and that actually gives us the ability to have this marvelous sport.
“I’m thrilled that we’ve been registered and I’ve learned so much about the sport working with Dennis Foster of MFHA and talking to the other masters,” continued Brown. “We’re also very grateful for all the help that we’ve had starting a pack and drafting hounds. It’s been a lot of fun, and we’re very happy with the program we’ve made.”
The registration is the first step towards becoming an MFHA-recognized hunt, and the license is provisional for one year. After that, hunts can apply for MFHA recognition.