The Fox River Valley Hunt (Ill.) and Potomac Hunt (Md.) dominated the Crossbred and American rings, respectively, at the Virginia Foxhound Show. And the two titans battled in the judging for the hound grand championship at the end of the day.

When Fox River Valley Keg ’05 edged out Potomac Hunt Jefferson ’05 for the title of grand champion, it capped an exciting day May 28 in Leesburg, Va.

The 59th annual show marked the end of James L. Young’s (MFH of Orange County Hunt) run as president of the Virginia Foxhound Club, which sponsors the event. To coincide with his departure from that post, a special perpetual trophy (see sidebar) was introduced for the reserve grand champion, so neither hound walked away from the final judging empty-handed.

But, the grand prize belonged to the tall, scopey, well-balanced white dog Keg (Fox River Valley Kentucky ’02–Cornwall Secretary ’99), and MFH Tony Leahy, who said he was a bit surprised, was more than pleased. Fox River Valley did not compete at the Virginia Hound Show last year because the club was mourning the loss of jt.-MFH Victoria Fitch.

“She was a huge loss, an avid breeder and we really miss her. She would have been tickled to see the hounds this year,” Leahy said. “I am proud to have been in the championship ring five out of six years. Keg’s dam was Crossbred champion and grand champion [at Virginia in 2003] and his sire Kentucky is a very prolific stallion.

“Keg is the product of our program. We are really after consistency, and no individual is a great star. I’m after percentages, and the Kentucky bloodline is very consistent in producing hounds that are successful in the their third, fourth and fifth season. I want whole litters that are level, and we want longevity,” Leahy explained.

“As a breeder, the Carlow ST [an Irish bloodline revived by Brian Fenshaw in Cottesmore, England] and some of the Midland blood is what we are going after. Keg is 50 percent Midland, and Kentucky and Secretary are 50 percent Midland blood. These have been successful for us on the hunting side, and Keg is the product of two successful outcrosses.”

The percentages that Leahy is after in the hunt field were similarly reflected in the show ring. Fox River Valley took nine of the 15 first place prizes and was in the ribbons in every class.

All the winning hounds–Factor, Falstaff, Keg ’05, Kermit ’05, Selfish, Sexy and Keep ’05–are sired by Kentucky ’02 (Midland Kestrel ’99–Fox River Valley Winnie ’99). “Kentucky is an excellent dog and he passes on his ability.

He is a very cold-nosed dog,” Leahy said. “He epitomizes the qualities we are after; we kept five of the litter that Keg is from and four of the five made it. We are very, very pleased.”

Kentucky is also a resilient hound. Leahy said that when Kentucky started hunting he got blastomycosis (a rare fungal infection caused by inhaling a fungus which is found in wood and soil in certain parts of the country) that knocked him out. He was unable to hunt his first season, “was in serious, serious trouble” and came very close to death. But, “he came back 100 percent,” Leahy said.

Midland Fox Hounds (Ga.) blood might factor largely in Fox River Valley’s successes, but they also had some winners of their own with their stallion hound Rouser ’05 (Fox River Valley Parlay ’99–Midland Rail ’01) and brood bitch Kimble ’02 (Midland Ghost ’96–Midland Kate ’95), as well as couple of entered bitches.

“Rouser is by an English hound, Fox River Valley Parlay, who we bred to Rail. She goes back to old Midland and is a pure Hardaway [MFH Benjamin Hardaway] type and bloodline hound, a very nice big bitch but not show quality. She’s a top-of-the-line hunting hound. We kept all of Rail’s litter and bred them all. This is a happy turn of luck. We’re looking forward to continuing it,” jt.-MFH Mason Lampton said.

Midland also won the Performance Class with Midland Luck ’03 (Midland Legion ’98–Midland Kate ’95). The class is for hounds that have placed in the top 10 “high general average” scores in Masters of Foxhounds Association and sanctioned foxhound performance trials during the past year. Seven hunts were represented in this championship class that was initiated in 2003.

Blue Ridge Hunt (Va.), a predominantly English pack, took top honors for Crossbred bitch with the unentered hound Crocus (Blue Ridge Lapworth ’03–Blue Ridge Crumpet ’04), beating both Fox River Valley and Midland. She also took overall reserve champion Crossbred foxhound, second to Fox River Valley’s grand champion Keg.

“She’s a beautiful unentered hound, one of the first Crossbred hounds I’ve bred,” jt.-MFH Linda Armbrust said. “I was overwhelmed by this win.”
The Crossbred ring has a subdivision for packs with less than 35 couple in kennel. Almost half the blue ribbons in that ring went to Why Worry Hounds (S.C.), with their unentered bitch Rebecca (Why Worry Hounds Farthing ’03–Why Worry Hounds Reggae ’00) placing third in the best unentered Crossbred hound class.

The striking feature with Why Worry Hounds is the predominance of Farthing ’03 (Why Worry Hounds Cad-fael ’98–Red Mountain Faithful ’00) in the pedigrees of its winners. Farthing was named best stallion hound and best stallion with three of his get and sired winners Remmington, Resolute and Relay, in addition to Rebecca.

“Farthing in his first season won a one-day performance trial at Belle Meade and then won a performance trial class at Mid-America [for two consecutive years] and the Carolinas,” said MFH George Thomas. “He’s a lot of fun, has lots of personality, hunts extremely well; we’re very fortunate to have him. His dam was a draft from Red Mountain Foxhounds when they switched from English hounds to Penn-Marydels,” he added.

The title of best unentered Crossbred hound went to Casanova Hunt’s (Va.) Remus (Casanova Neighbor ’02–Casanova Okra ’03). Huntsman Tommy Lee Jones explained this match. “Not all huntsmen would tell you this, but one day we met at the kennels and hacked out a few miles, ran a fox for 20 minutes and put it to ground. I was collecting hounds and noticed that I was short hounds, which I figured were in the brush pile.

“Meanwhile, I’m blowing the horn and look down to see that these two hounds [Neighbor and Okra] were standing there. It [the mating] was all over. Remus has three brothers and a sister and his parents were great hunters, but I probably would not have bred them. It was fate that made me champion,” Jones said with a chuckle.

Potomac Jefferson Elected First In American Ring
C. Thompson Pardoe

Before Potomac Jefferson ’05 duked it out for the grand championship, the American ring was the site of another fierce battle. The Brazos Valley hounds showing in the “under 20 couple” classes and the Potomac hounds in the unrestricted classes battled all day for supremacy.

With Potomac Jealousy ’05 selected as the champion American bitch and Brazos Valley’s Catfish pinned as the best unentered hound, the final decision for the American hound championship was between the two Potomac hounds, littermates Jefferson ’05 and Jealousy ’05.

After another close and careful examination, the judges gave the nod to the outstanding dog hound Jefferson. Potomac (Md.) Huntsman Larry Pitts, always shy and retiring about his hounds, declared for one and all, “I told you.” And indeed he had. Pitts had predicted to several others last year that Jefferson was a true champion. This year the judges recognized his unquestioned superior conformation and manner.

As Brazos Valley (Texas) MFH and huntsman Sandy Dixon walked away with her winning bitch Carol and a load of silver to take back with her to Texas she was heard to say, “We have a date with Jefferson!”

The superb breeder and follower of the American hound, Jake Carle, ex-MFH, Keswick Hunt (Va.) and the equally qualified Elias Guy, ex-MFH of the Princess Anne Hunt (Md.), judged. Carle has an eye for hounds that is uncanny so that after the first few classes his placings with Master Guy were so consistent as to type, conformation, and way of going that there was absolutely none of the usual grumblings around the outside of the ring. These judges clearly knew what they were looking for as the hound nearest the ideal.

From the first class of the day, unentered dogs from packs with under 20 couple, Brazos Valley quickly established themselves as the pack to be reckoned with. Their young dog hound Catfish won the class with his classic form, no doubt inherited from his sire Brazos Valley Elliott ’01. It would be the first of many wins for Dixon and her hounds on this day.

Just two classes later, Catfish’s sire–Brazos Valley Elliott ’01–topped his class for entered dogs from a pack of under 20 couple. This was a class with a number of truly outstanding specimens in the ring, and the Brazos Valley hounds stood first and second with Elliott and their Petrarck ’05 out of a littermate of Elliott’s (Brazos Valley Easter ’01).

With Elliott’s win in this class he continued his winning string of four years in a row as the recipient of the C. Warren Harrover Cup, an outstanding achievement for a hound Dixon describes as an outstanding hunting hound. Clearly, Elliott has the conformation to stay sound while chasing coyote across the terrain of central Texas.

The Potomac juggernaut was apparent with the results of the second class. This class for unentered dogs from packs of over 20 couple was won last year by an outstanding specimen, Potomac Jefferson ’05. Showing the confidence that Pitts has expressed repeatedly in that outstanding hound, this year Potomac was represented by two fine young dog hounds with the blue going to Jefferson’s son Jacket while second also went to Potomac for their Jonathan, by their older sire Potomac Brimstone ’98.

So it continued for the morning classes with all of the under 20 couple classes won by Brazos Valley and all of the unrestricted classes won by Potomac’s hounds. At the end of the dog hound classes, Potomac’s marvelous Jefferson ’05 (Potomac Rapidan ’99–their Jezebel ’00) started his tricolor day with the American dog hound championship.

And to continue the morning trend, Dixon had the pleasure of winning the single bitch, unentered, from a pack of less than 20 couple class with a really lovely bitch, Brazos Valley’s Carol, who is by the star of the morning classes Brazos Valley Elliott ’01, out of their Hillary ’04. Elliott clearly stamps his get with his own outstanding conformation and brilliance.

The Potomac dominance of the morning was temporarily broken by a lovely bitch from Keswick winning the unentered bitch class with their Tally (Brandywine Chaser ’00–their Tarnish ’02). Again in the couple of bitches, unentered class the judges moved away from the dominant packs of the morning by pinning a nice couple from the Essex Foxhounds (N.J.) first.

But the trend of the morning quickly reverted to form when Brazos Valley showed their beautiful bitch Peaches ’04, winner of the unentered bitch class last year, to the win in the entered bitch class, and Potomac showed their Jealousy ’05, also the winner of the unentered unrestricted bitch class last year, to the win in the entered bitch class. Brazos Valley and Potomac continued their winning ways with Brazos Valley winning the brood bitch class for a measure of revenge for Potomac having won the earlier stallion dog class.

While watching the pinning of champions in the American ring, retiring Virginia Foxhound Club President James Young remarked that he “was most gratified by the number of smaller hunts that are participating and the quality of the hounds that those hunts are showing.” He went on to say that this “shows a dedication to hounds and hunting that is remarkable. With this increase in participation the quality of competition and the level of judging has remained as high as ever.”

Feet Win It In English Ring
Cindy Martin

It was a family affair and a “tale of two packs,” as the Blue Ridge Hunt (Va.) loosened Toronto and North York’s (Ont.) recent dominance of the English ring, with littermates from each pack trading wins. Judges Mrs. P.S. Hunter, ex-MFH Los Altos (Calif.), and Hugh Robards, MFH and Huntsman of Rolling Rock (Pa.) were quick and decisive as they sorted out a small, but high-quality entry.

In the end, it all came down to the feet. While foot shape and structure can be the source of some controversy among hound devotees, the adage, “no foot, no hound” is important to predict the longevity of any animal in the hunt field. According to the judges, several otherwise impressive hounds were bested by others with stronger, more correct feet.

The English hounds were mostly light in color, reflecting the prevalence of modern English foxhounds, those carrying some Welsh outcross blood. Grizzle, Blue Ridge’s winning unentered dog hound was a “lovely dog, a well-balanced mover,” according to Robards.

He embodied the promise that his athletic, but unproven frame would only improve with a season’s hunting, when later, he claimed the unentered English hound championship over his sister, Gravity; the dog hound cham-pionship over Toronto & North York Harvester ’05; and ultimately the breed championship over an entered bitch, Toronto & North York Hailstone ’05, littermate to Harvester.

“It’s hard for a bitch to beat a big, attractive, masculine dog hound,” explained Hunter.

Hailstone, a lovely red-mottled bitch, bested Grizzle’s sister, Gravity through her work at the gallop. “The reserve and champion [English bitch] were won or lost [on loose work chasing a biscuit],” explained Robards. With comparable hounds, the best mover wins.

Blue Ridge MFH Linda Jenkins-Armbrust and Huntsman Dennis Downing have worked hard in recent years to breed quality, and the results were evident this year. Jenkins-Armbrust brings know-how from her years breeding the Mendip Farmers hounds in England, and Downing is a seasoned professional with experience with several packs in England and America.

“It’s so much better to win with one you’ve bred,” Armbrust exclaimed breathlessly, juggling an armload of perpetual trophies. “I’m overwhelmed–I’m just so pleased.”

The breeding stock classes were also quite competitive, including a pleasant surprise entry from Moore County. With renowned Penn-Marydel man Jody Murtagh moving from Rose Tree (Pa.) to Southern Pines, N.C., one wouldn’t expect to see his family sporting bowlers and tossing biscuits in the English ring. But his daughter, Kerrie Hayes, and granddaughter, Codie Hayes, did an admirable job displaying the virtues of Moore County’s Duke of Beaufort Footloose ’03 to win the English brood bitch class.

Blue Ridge Hunt’s Heythrop Gangster ’02 beat Blue Ridge Gaffer ’02 as English stallion hound, although Gaffer goes back to Old Dominion Gorgeous, one of the first hounds drafted to England in recent memory. No doubt the late MFH Bill Brainard would be pleased to know his insightful draft has come full circle, back to these shores with distinction.

The overall quality of hounds in the English ring gained comment from many prominent bystanders and promises a real challenge next year for some of the packs who were noticeably absent.


New Home, But Still Winning In The Penn-Marydel Ring
Donna Ross

Moore County Hound’s Rita (Rose Tree Minor ’01–Kimberton Flower ’99), a registered bitch bred by Rose Tree Foxhunting Club (Pa.) ex-MFH Jody Murtaugh, now the Moore County (N.C.) huntsman, topped the morning in the Penn-Marydel ring by capturing the championship title. Moore County MFH Cameron Slade showed the hound.

Judge Robert Crompton III (MFH Andrews Bridge Foxhounds) praised the hound. “Rita has nice feet. She was younger and showed very well and moved better than the second place hound that just looked a little older,” he said.

“Minor is one of the best stud dogs although I didn’t use him a lot. Rita is from his second litter,” Murtaugh said. “The dam is from Kimberton, an organized farmer pack from Chester County in Pennsylvania and is a good pure Penn-Marydel pack.”

Moore County also took a blue in registered brood bitch with Rose Tree Nana ’02 (Rose Tree Farmer ’94–Rose Tree Inks ’96). “Nana has been champion at the Kimberton Hound Show in 2005, which is the largest Penn-Marydel show in the nation,” Murtaugh said. “She’s smaller than most, which is what I like. Moore County has small springs that come out of the ground and form streams. These are grown over with dense reed grass. It will take a smaller hound to hunt this territory.”

Murtaugh, who usually shows numerous hounds but didn’t this year, explained that when he moved to Moore County he split the Rose Tree pack and brought bitches. According to the rules he was unable to show entered dog or bitch Rose Tree hounds.

Marlborough Hunt’s (Md.) stallion hound Jockey ’03 (Golden’s Bridge Keeper ’01–Marlborough Effie ’97) captured the reserve title in the Penn-Marydel ring after winning the best stallion hound and best stallion or brood bitch classes. The nicely put together registered stallion was champion Penn-Marydel at the 2005 Virginia Hound Show.

According to Marlborough huntsman James Faber, “Jockey is an excellent hunting hound, very biddable. He is a fine example of a foxhound in general, is good looking and has an excellent mind. He hunts in front and is honored by the pack. His dam is still hunting, is a very honest and keen hound and was a quality bitch,” he said. Jockey sired the winners Mark and Muldour in the couple of listed unentered dogs class.

The champion listed hound was New Market Middletown Valley’s Jade (New Market Middletown Frankfort ’98–Golden’s Bridge Lace ’00) an unenetered bitch that edged out dog hound Red Mountain Flypaper ’03 (De La Brooke Flipper ’97–Red Mountain Firefly ’97). (The difference between a registered and listed Penn Marydel foxhound is that the former is pure PMD and the latter is an outcross.) According to Judge Crompton, the hounds were “almost equal in conformation but I liked the way Jade moved.”

Reedy Creek Hounds (Va.) took first place honors with Falcon ’04 and Franklin ’04 (Reedy Creek Hounds Biddle ’01–Andrews Bridge Venus ’98) in couple of listed dogs entered, Julie and Justice (Reddy Creek Hounds Eager ’02–Reedy Creek Geraline ’04) in couple of listed bitches unentered, and Fame ’04 (Reedy Creek Hounds Biddle ’01–Andrews Bridge Venus ’98) in single listed bitch entered and with littermate Fortune ’04 in couple of listed bitches entered.

“Fame is a fabulous bitch and will be here in the brood bitch class next year,” Huntsman Tom Mc Elduff said. “She is a demon in the hunt field.”