As the executive director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America for the past 15 years, Dennis J. Foster lives and breathes hunting. With his partner Laura Sloan, Foster resides in Clarke County, Virginia, where they maintain the MFHA headquarters and a training barn in the heart of Blue Ridge hunt country.

Name: Lt. Col. Dennis J. Foster (USA, ret.)                  

Home Base: Millwood, Va.     
Age: 63

Where did you grow up?
I was born in Chicago, Ill., and grew up in Barrington, Ill.

When did you start riding?
I started riding very young. We didn’t have horses, but in the pasture next to my home there was a herd of brood mares (about 20) and a stallion. I would jump on their backs bareback no halter, nothing. Sometimes it would be a hell of a ride! After a lot of wild rides and falls and bruises, I figured out which mares I could handle. I figured out I needed to steer and made makeshift halters, which really helped.

What is your foxhunting background?
When I was about 14 years old I used to ride other people’s horses for them in Fox River Valley (Ill.) hunt country. I would follow the hunt to watch them, and they always shooed me away, but they were nice about it. Later in life, when I got this job, they’d beg me to ride with them. I did; they were always a good hunt.

What was the name and breed of your first horse?
The first hunt horse I owned was an Appaloosa buckskin, 16.2-hand gelding named Panda. Panda was cold backed until the day he died. You couldn’t just jump on him and ride off. He could really buck, and it didn’t take much to set him off. He planted me in Alabama cotton fields many times. That said, he was a great hunt horse with no bottom and a good jumper.

What is your favorite sport other than foxhunting?
Snow skiing. If I wasn’t foxhunting I’d be in the mountains.

If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?
I’d be in Montana at my cabin. It’s surrounded by National Forest, and it’s 15 miles to my closest neighbor, who happens to run hare with a Bassett pack on horseback, great fun. I keep horses at a neighbor’s place, so when I go there I can ride. It’s pure happiness to me to be with cougar, bear, elk, deer and turkeys looking at me through the front window.

What is the last foreign country you have visited?
I just returned from Belgium and France Sept. 5 working with a group called Farming And Countryside Education. FACE represents 8 million hunters in Europe. The MFHA belongs to the organization, and I help them in their fight against the animal rights movement. They are the leaders of foxhunters throughout Europe with the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The animal rights movement is an international movement against all hunting, fishing, pets, eating meat, etc. The list is endless. The worst groups are the Humane Society of the United States and People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals. Both groups work throughout the world trying to criminalize the sports we love. Both groups fool the public as to what they really represent. We are for animal welfare and against animal rights.

How many dogs share your home?
Four: two Australian Jack Russells (Puff and Pearl), Megan, an Irish Setter, and Gruff, a French/Belgian Shepherd.

What is your favorite food? Favorite drink?
Surf and turf (lobster and steak). Red wine, scotch and milk, not necessarily in that order.

What are your hobbies?
I live, eat and sleep foxhunting. There isn’t any time for anything else.

Name a person you would most like to meet, dead or alive, and why.
I’m not much for celebrities or such. I got a private viewing of Secretariat when he was alive. That really excited me.

What is your least favorite chore around the house?
I have none. It all has to be done.

Where is your favorite place to visit?
I’m privileged to be invited to hunt all over the world. They are all special when you’re on a good horse following hounds. Otherwise, Montana.

What is the best part of your job?
It’s one-of-kind, getting to hunt with all the various hunts.

How many hunts have you hunted with?
More than 340 different hunts in 11 different countries.

What type of automobile do you drive?
I only own four-wheel drive trucks.

Jack Russells: yes or no?
Yes, but my Jacks aren’t typical. They don’t often bark, they stay around the place and they’re obedient.

What is your favorite trait in a horse?
Brains.

Name one random fact people wouldn’t know about you.
It’s sometimes difficult for me to be around a lot of people.

Describe yourself in three words.
Friendly, cautious and driven.