Everyone agrees that the idea for the most ambitious foxhunting event this country has ever seen germinated in the mind of Mason Lampton, the joint master of the Midland Hunt (Ga.), who took over as president of the Masters of Foxhounds Association a year ago.

“Mason is an ambitious thinker; he can envision projects that others say are too big,” said Rene Latiolais, chairman of the Centennial Celebration Committee. “It’s an American celebration.”

And in his engagingly friendly, distinctly southern style, Lampton has tapped dozens of his foxhunting friends from across the country on the shoulder and asked them to make the plan work.

The result? During the next 18 months, nearly every foxhunter on this continent should be able to find a way to connect to this historic event. Beware, though, that foxhunters must be subscribing members of the MFHA to participate because the overarching goal of the centennial is to raise money to keep the sport viable into its second century.

Three events–the hound performance trials, the field hunter competitions and the regional joint meets–reflect the essence of sport, celebrating the hounds, the horses and the camaraderie of foxhunting. And three extraordinarily competent individuals are organizing these: Epp Wilson, MFH Belle Meade Hunt (Ga.); Penny Denegre, MFH Middleburg Hunt (Va.); and Daphne Wood, MFH Live Oak Hounds (Fla.).

But there’s even more.

All-Star Hounds
To accommodate every hunt that wants to hold one, the hound trials began in October 2005 but an awards ceremony won’t be held at the Virginia Hound Show in Leesburg, Va., until May 2007. There will be no final contest because some hounds would simply be at a disadvantage if asked to hunt fox in Virginia’s woods.

The performance trials are akin to “watching a team of all-stars foxhunting,” said Wilson. “It’s all quality, or they wouldn’t be there.”

Two or three of each participating hunt’s best foxhounds are numbered and hunted together under the same huntsman in each trial. In most cases, the huntsman will be Tony Leahy, MFH Fox River Valley Hunt (Ill.).

“The magic size for the pack is between 30 to 40 hounds,” Wilson said.

The judges (a team of mostly the same members each time) then record the day’s happenings and score hounds in four categories: hunting, trailing, full cry and marking.

There will be about 10 trials with live hunting and three drag hunts. It’s two days of hunting, sometimes from different fixtures and sometimes not.

Wilson anticipates that about 300 hounds will participate in the hound trials. The top 10 hounds in each trial will be named Centennial Hounds for that event, and then the 50 highest-scoring hounds will be named Centennial Hounds, giving each hunt a one-in-six chance of having a hound honored this way. Huntsmen with Centennial Hounds will be recognized too.

“We want a better venue to show hounds than shows, with hounds on a string,” Wilson said. “Show-ing is important, but we needed a better way for people to show their hounds. When you get that many [hounds] together and all the conditions are the same, you get an apples-to-apples comparison. 

“If a hound makes the top 10 on a field trial, that’s who I want to breed to,” Wilson added.

Single tickets and packages of tickets to the trials (either riding or following by truck), the parties, and hunt breakfasts are available.

Who’s The Best Hunter?
“You don’t have to have a multimillion-dollar horse to compete,” said Denegre, chairman of the first national event for field hunters. “It is not a hunter trial, not a three-day event. It’s modeled after the field hunter championship in Virginia.”

The field hunter competitions are the equine equivalent of an everyman opportunity. But horses and riders must meet two conditions: the entrant must be a subscriber to a registered and recognized hunt, and the riders must be subscribing members of the MFHA. The horse must also be fairly hunted; that is, the pair must have hunted at least six times together with the hunt they’re representing.

“Every district in the MFHA will have a qualifier,” Denegre said.

While there are 16 districts, some district representatives are planning to combine their efforts and others may hold more than one qualifier. The top four horses in each district will be able to go to the finals, which will be held at the Virginia Hound Show on Memorial Day weekend in 2007. (See sidebar for a list of trials.)

The four phases of the competition are: Turn-out–Judges will evaluate the horse, the rider and their appointments. This phase will be judged separately and have its own award. After this phase is over, riders will be able to change into safety headgear.

Under Saddle–Horses will be judged at the walk, trot and canter. It gives the judge an opportunity to see all the contestants.

Cross-Country–will be the highest-weighted part of the performance. There will be a mock hunt over a pre-determined course with typical obstacles and hunting situations for the area (streams, gates, fences, ware staff). It’s judged on performance, way of going, and manners. There will be suggested guidelines for judges, and the competitors will be able to see these beforehand so they know what to expect.

Individual Test–The judges will choose eight to 10 horses to do a test similar to a handy hunter course: drop rail and lead over fence, trot fence, opening and closing a gate, etc.

The judges will place the horses first through eighth for each district, and those eight will each be considered Centennial Field Hunters. The top four will receive invitations to contest the finals, where Denegre expects about 60 horses.

“There may be a horse out there that never set foot in a show ring or on an event course, competing for a national title,” said Denegre.

The Real Fun
“The main point here is that not everyone is a competitive spirit, so the purpose of the cen-tennial joint meets is to allow each foxhunter to participate in the celebration,” said Wood. “This is meant to be totally fun and laid back–just get together and celebrate the hounds.”

The structure of the meets is “free and open,” said Wood.

“Some hunts are making it a regional joint meet, with everyone from the district; some are having visiting hounds or packs; and others are just joint meets,” she added.

Wood hopes they’ll have joint meets in all 16 districts. She said that Live Oak Hounds will host two guest packs of hounds at their joint meet, on March 1-4, 2007.

The Canadian joint meet will coincide with their annual Festival of Hunting in Ontario. There will be a fee to participate, but it will go to the Centennial Defense Fund.

The Virginia district meet will be on either the third or fourth Sunday in October, to coincide with Virginia Hunt Week. There will be a fee for this meet too, and it will also go to the Centennial Defense Fund. Rita Mae Brown, MFH Oak Ridge Fox Hunt (Va.), is the Virginia chairman.

The other two scheduled meets are the Carolinas District (hosted by Moore County, on Nov. 10-19) and in the Southern District (hosted by Mooreland Hunt, on Jan. 11-13, 2007).

“This isn’t meant for anyone to have an extra expense,” said Wood. “They should just charge enough to cover their expenses (like a dinner the evening before and the hunt breakfast) and to send a contribution to the fund.”

She urged foxhunters who’d like to host a joint meet to be creative in their approach. “But this is not to be a burden on anyone,” she said.

The Big Bang
The centennial celebration will officially start at the MFHA Ball in New York City next January. It’s certain to be one for the hunting history books.

Suzy Reingold, ex-MFH Plum Run Hunt (Pa.), is chairman of the gala.

“First, all MFHA subscribing members will get invitations,” she said. Until now, this event was limited to masters and staff.

But “in 2007, the whole New York experience will be more like a convention. The catering hall, Cipriani, is a New York City landmark building across from the Grand Hyatt New York. All the meetings will be at the Hyatt,” Reingold said.

Members can purchase hotel and event packages.

Reingold said they might have a special dinner on Thursday night. The annual meeting on Friday will include a speaker and luncheon, and Friday night is the gala hunt ball. She expects more than 800 people, double the usual number of guests. And she promises special surprises and take-home gifts.

For Saturday, Reingold plans a trip to Fraunces Tavern, another historic landmark. Built in 1719 as an elegant residence, in 1762 it was purchased by tavern keeper Samuel Fraunces. It was at this site that George Washington delivered his farewell address to his officers. So this centennial event will feature an unveiling of three restored paintings of George Washington foxhunting, a project sponsored by the Museum of Hounds and Hunting in Virginia. A museum tour and brunch at the tavern will follow.

The ball will also feature the first exhibition and sale of paintings, drawings and sculpture inspired by hunting. Greg Ladd, owner of Cross Gate Gallery in Lexington, Ky., and Turner Reuter, owner of the Red Fox Inn and Gallery in Middleburg, Va., lead this endeavor.

“We’re seeking American artists for this traveling exhibition,” Ladd said. “We sent brochures to masters [and others], and as a result we’ve heard from more than 100 artists in over 40 states. The idea is to have as much art as possible. We want to keep artists working through 2007.”

The art show will travel the country throughout the centennial celebration, and contact details will be available on the MFHA website. The featured artists will be selected on June 1.

Rounding out the celebration are keepsakes and souvenirs. Liz McKnight, MFH Elkridge-Hartford Hunt (Md.), will unveil a wide selection at the MFHA Biennial Staff Seminar in Chantilly, Va., on April 8-9.

The selection will include Vineyard Vine ties of running hounds, foxes, coyotes and bobcats and Jane Gaston scarves. Enamel cufflinks bearing the centennial hound logo will be offered, as will mugs, glasses, crystal pitchers and decanters, quilted jackets, dog leashes and collars, canvas bags, key chains, stuffed animals and the all-time American staple–the baseball cap.

“We’ll try to sell on-line, but most items will be exclusive to events in order to bring people to the hound shows, trials, ball and meets,” McKnight said.

Marion Maggiolo, owner of Horse Country Saddlery in Warrenton, Va., is chairman of a committee that will produce two books and a DVD. She’s coordinating writers, photographers, editors and designers.

The Serious Side Of The Festivities
“A major goal [of the centennial celebration] is to pull the foxhunting clubs of America together,” said Mason Lampton, president of the Masters of Foxhounds Association.

“In the past, it’s been an organization of masters, and now we have more than 5,000 subscribing members. We’re here to show people how to foxhunt properly, to train hounds, to maintain their hounds’ health, to maintain country, to keep happy members, good staff and promote young riders. We need to educate to protect ourselves,” Lampton added.

Lampton hopes that the ambitious celebration will help develop a grassroots advocacy among the people who follow hounds.

“The biggest issue is that, by uniting subscribing members in the rank and file, we can help participation,” he said.

He hopes these plans will awaken the masters of the organization’s 168 recognized packs. “An MFH has an average tenure of two years and usually comes from a non-hunting background,” said Lampton. “So we need to educate leadership–masters and new leaders–on where to find information, on how not to mutilate relationships with landowners.

“Clearly, we’re becoming a national organization of thousands, instead of hundreds,” he added proudly.

The money raised by the centennial events will also be used to educate, among others, legislators and to encourage land conservancy.

“Getting people involved in foxhunting is the goal. Once they’re involved, they will want to save it,” said Penny Denegre, joint master of the Middleburg Hunt (Va.) and a member of the Centennial Celebration Committee.