By Beverley C. Heffernan
Neither rain nor snow nor wide temperature fluctuations could keep dedicated sportsmen and women from hunting their way across the western United States from April 4 to 21, 2001. The third annual Western Hunt Challenge Tour attracted foxhunters from across the U.S. as well as the U.K., and they enjoyed the variety of packs, hunt country, and quarry hunted by the thirteen participating packs from Kansas to Nevada.
Initiated in 1999 by John Jeffords, MFH of Mr. Jeffords’ Hounds in Wyoming, the Western Hunt Challenge Tour has three judges determining which pack, hunting their own country (unless they opt to hunt another Tour participant’s country), has shown the best day’s sport. The winning hunt’s designated charity receives a cash prize comprised of donations made throughout the Tour. In 2001, the Gamble Hill Hounds of Imogene, Iowa were declared the winners, with the Paradise Valley Beagles of Phoenix, Arizona, named as reserve. The judges for this year’s Challenge Tour were John Gray, huntsman of the Hillsboro Hounds (TN), Jim Nance, joint-MFH and huntsman of the Juan Tomas Hounds (NM), and Larry Pitts, huntsman of the Potomac Hunt (MD).
Nine packs of foxhounds, one harrier pack, and one beagle pack were judged during the 2001 Tour. These were the Bijou Springs Hunt, Parker, CO; High Country Hounds, Flagstaff, AZ; Mr. Jeffords’ Hounds, Iron Mountain, WY; Mission Valley Hunt, Stilwell, KS; North Hills Hunt, Omaha, NE; Red Rock Hounds, Reno, NV; Mrs. Shoemaker’s Weybright Hounds, Bosler, WY; the Switchmoor Hounds, Persia, IA; the Kingsbury Harriers, Inyokern, CA; and the Paradise Valley Beagles, Phoenix, AZ. In addition, the Western Weybright Beagles of Longmont, CO, provided a day of foot following in Wyoming, and the Arapahoe Hunt of Denver, CO hosted a day of hunting to benefit the Hunt Staff Benefit Foundation.
On Wednesday, April
4, participants gathered at the kennels of the Mission Valley Hunt (MVH) to
commence the 2001 Western Hunt Challenge Tour. While forecasters had
originally predicted a sunny day in the lower 80’s, foxhunters enjoyed a cool,
calm, overcast day in the 50’s. Mission
Valley huntsman Tommy Jackson drew twelve and a half couple of crossbred hounds
and provided three hours of non-stop hunting at a blistering pace, across
rolling hills dotted with medium sized coverts. The day’s hunting was followed by breakfast at Timbercreek
in Louisburg hosted by jt.-MFH’s Bill Stueck and Kenny Baum.
From there, a sizeable group of foxhunting commuters rolled north into
Iowa for the next day’s hunting.
On Thursday, April
5, with the temperature in the 40s and rain in the forecast, the Gamble Hill
Hounds of Imogene, Iowa, took their turn in the Challenge with a meet in gently
rolling farmland with terraced corn and soybean fields.
Honorary Huntsman Jaymes Salestrom drew 12 couple of American hounds,
including four and a half couple of puppies.
Two good runs on viewed coyotes were achieved before the day was cut
short by approaching lightning. A breakfast at the Gamble Hill kennels and an
evening reception hosted by MFHs Jeff and Sue Ketzler at the Dehner Boot Company
in Omaha, Nebraska provided sustenance for the touring foxhunters as they
prepared for their third consecutive day of hunting.
On Friday, April 6,
MFH Marcia Hammer hosted the Western Hunt Challenge Tour at the Switchmoor
Hounds’ kennels in Persia, Iowa. Huntsman
Red Hammer moved off with eight and a half couple of American hounds and three
couple of Crossbred hounds to hunt a country of cropland and pastures with
wooded coverts on a damp, misty day. As luck would have it, game did not appear to be moving in
the stormy weather, and the pack’s diligent efforts produced only one short
run. The Hammers hosted a breakfast
after the meet at the Switchmoor kennels.
Saturday, April 7
was a rest day for the horses as they and their humans traveled over two hundred
miles to Burwell, Nebraska, an away country of the North Hills Hunt in the sand
hills of the central part of the state. The North Hills’ day to host the Western Hunt Challenge
Tour was Sunday, April 8, and new huntsman Matthew Cook moved off from
Kahlandt’s at 8 am with seven and a half couple of crossbred hounds. Despite warm weather that would climb into the 80s, hounds
were no sooner put in covert than they opened and went away, providing the field
with a 40 minute gallop right off the bat.
Thereafter they drew several more coverts, but without a sustained run
like the first.
On Monday, April 9,
the overambitious drove over 350 miles from Burwell, and even further from
points west, to arrive in Wyoming in time for a 3 pm beagling meet.
Tom Mallard, MB, brought his Western Weybright Beagles up from Colorado
to hunt “the Isley,” the fixture scheduled for Mrs. Shoemaker’s Weybright
Hounds’ Challenge day the following Wednesday.
The beagles hunted enthusiastically for over two hours, marking two
jackrabbits to ground and providing the followers ample opportunity to stretch
their legs after hours of driving. Lest
too many calories be lost during the afternoon, the Mallards hosted a breakfast
at landowner Dave Berry’s bed and breakfast in nearby Horse Creek.
The touring
foxhunters met for dinner in Cheyenne that evening, and were greeted by
snowflakes as they returned that night to their respective lodgings.
Although several inches fell overnight, the roads were reasonably clear
and the footing was good for the Tuesday, April 10 meet at Mr. Jeffords’
Hounds. On an overcast day with
temperatures in the lower 40s and light to moderate winds, huntsman Martyn
Blackmore moved off with sixteen couple of black and tan Penn Marydels.
Heading east from the meet and ultimately working in a large clockwise
circle, the pack worked well and steadily but was unable to find a coyote.
Late in the day hounds were brought to a staff view but were unable to
own the line, perhaps because of the snow cover.
A return to the meet meant another opportunity to enjoy a breakfast
hosted by John Jeffords and Florence VanMalderen before polishing boots and
cleaning tack for the next day’s hunting.
On Wednesday
morning, April 11, foxhunters awoke to a genuine Rocky Mountain blizzard, with
over a foot of blowing snow on the ground and virtually all roads in and around
Cheyenne closed. This forced the
cancellation of Mrs. Shoemaker’s day of hunting, and prompted much concern for
the two Colorado hunts as even greater amounts of snow were falling in the
Denver area. The weather did clear
late Wednesday, and some intrepid travelers made their way to Colorado that
evening, though others were forced to remain in Wyoming until Thursday morning.
The Arapahoe Hunt,
scheduled to host Western Hunt Challenge Tour travelers on Thursday, April 12,
persevered and were rewarded with an outstanding day of sport despite deep snow
drifts and a lack of power at the kennels and clubhouse.
Horse-hauling rigs driving to the meet passed numerous vehicles still
stuck in roadside drifts. Donald
O’Connor, joint-MFH, gave the field a detailed briefing on how to judge snow
depth; those who nevertheless miscalculated throughout the day were at least
accommodated with a soft landing. Marvin
Beeman, joint-MFH and huntsman, left the kennels with fourteen and a half couple
of English foxhounds, and commenced to hunt just south of the kennels. A guest from the Juan Tomas hounds spied a coyote to the west
and was sent to inform staff; hounds were brought to the line and hit
immediately, commencing what would ultimately be a ten mile run to the extreme
western part of Arapahoe’s country. Hunting
generally back toward the kennels, the huntsman no doubt remembered his
instructions to return to kennels on time for the breakfast, since the lack of
power forced stalwart hunt members to prepare the food elsewhere and transport
it to the clubhouse. He was
therefore faced with a dilemma when a pair of coyotes presented themselves
between the pack and the kennels. As
pack, staff and field drew nearer, the coyotes split and made off at a leisurely
pace, allowing Beeman to select the coyote headed toward the kennels and provide
the field with one last run without undue tardiness for the breakfast.
After enjoying
Arapahoe’s hospitality and making horses and gear ready for the next day of
hunting, Tour participants attended a dinner party hosted by the Bijou Springs
Hunt at a restaurant in Castle Rock, Colorado. Bijou Springs staff had spent much of the day removing
snow at their kennels and digging out their hound trailer, but having received
much more snow than the Arapahoe country, it was apparent that their intended
fixture for the Western Hunt Challenge Tour would not be huntable.
They therefore accepted Arapahoe’s kind offer to meet at the Arapahoe
kennels on Friday, April 13.
Thus returning to
the Arapahoe kennels, Bijou Springs’ joint-MFH and huntsman Gary Worrall
elected to hunt generally east from the kennels.
The ten couple of English foxhounds required a few minutes to settle in
this unfamiliar country, but they soon found near a creek bottom and led the
large field on a brisk run toward the eastern boundary of the country.
After several more finds that did not produce runs, hounds finally hit on
a pair of viewed coyotes heading west, which later turned north toward the
kennels and were joined by three more coyotes.
Even though fresh tracks were apparent in the snow, scent did not hold
and the decision was made to return to kennels.
After tending to animals, the destination was the home of Bijou Springs
members Paul and Nancy King for a wonderful breakfast.
Saturday and
Sunday, April 14 and 15, were spent driving the 750 miles from the Denver area
to Flagstaff, Arizona, with an overnight stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
High Country Hounds’ Master and Huntsman Mary Hendricks welcomed the
Tour with cocktails and dinner in her Flagstaff home on Sunday evening, and all
assembled bright and early Monday, April 16, for High Country’s turn to be
judged for the Western Challenge. MFH
Hendricks moved off with eight couple of Crossbred hounds, which wasted no time
finding what may have been a pair of coyotes.
The pack split after a run of a couple of miles, and each split
eventually lost. Thereafter, hounds worked diligently but could not sustain a
run as scent evaporated with the temperatures climbing into the 70s in this
extremely arid climate. After
returning to the meet, foxhunters parked their lawn chairs in the shade and
enjoyed a leisurely tailgate breakfast.
On Monday evening,
Paradise Valley Beagles’ MB and huntsman Susie Stevenson hosted a dinner in
her Flagstaff home, since the Phoenix-based pack would be hunting a High Country
fixture for their Western Challenge day. The
Paradise Valley Beagles are a trencher-fed pack of English beagles which hunt
jackrabbit, with staff and field on horseback rather than on foot.
On Tuesday, April 17, Stevenson moved off from High Country’s North
Walking Cane Ranch fixture with seven and a half couple of beagles.
The field enjoyed numerous views and the pack produced a number of good
runs, remaining diligent and enthusiastic in the desert climate and persevering
even when rising temperatures caused diminishing scent in the volcanic ash
footing. Once again, a tailgate
breakfast was offered after hunting.
Wednesday and
Thursday, April 18 and 19, were travel days for the 740 mile commute from
Arizona to Nevada for the final two days of hunting on the Western Hunt
Challenge Tour. Over the Hoover
Dam, through Las Vegas, and passing between Area 51 and Death Valley, the judges
and Tour followers overnighted in Tonopah, Nevada, reaching Reno in time for a
Thursday evening dinner hosted by the Red Rock Hounds’ joint-MFH and huntsman
Lynn Lloyd. After a few warm and
sunny days in Arizona, the Tour found itself returning to a cold, snowy climate.
On Friday morning,
April 20, the Kingsbury Harriers of Inyokern, California hunted Red Rock’s
Campbell Springs fixture. MH John
Auborn and his wife Donna show these AKC harriers when John is not hunting them.
Auborn brought four and a half couple from his California home to be
judged as part of the Western Challenge, and they produced a number of short
runs before scent deteriorated. A
view of a band of wild horses, whose stallion galloped closer to investigate the
field, served to underscore the differences between western U.S. and eastern
U.S. hunting. The Auborns hosted a
breakfast after this meet, and during dinner that evening at the Red Rock
clubhouse, the weather was again a topic of discussion as six inches of snow
were forecast overnight.
Luckily, the
expected storm shifted to the south, so Saturday, April 21, Red Rock’s
appointed date for the Western Challenge, dawned with only a trace of snow on
the ground. Moving off from their
Bedell Flats meet with 28 couple of American hounds of primarily Walker
breeding, joint-MFH and huntsman Lynn Lloyd provided a most enjoyable closing
day for the 2001 Challenge. Though
coyotes proved not to be plentiful, one twisting line was successfully worked
for nearly an hour in an area of cedar brush and trees, with the coyote viewed
only a few minutes ahead of hounds at one point. After the day’s hunting, at a barbecue breakfast hosted by
Red Rock joint-MFH Marshall Ward, the judges’ decision on the 2001 Western
Hunt Challenge Tour winner and runner-up was announced.
Judges Gray, Nance
and Pitts used a 100-point system for scoring the competing packs.
A maximum of 50 points was possible for running, 15 points each for
drawing and checks, and ten points each for overall appearance and for a bonus
category, which could include accounting for quarry.
Judge Jim Nance said, “At the start of the Challenge, we thought that
one of the hunts might have a remarkable day that would easily outscore all the
rest, but as it turned out, the scoring was very close.
With only slight differences in good old fashioned hunting luck, any of
the packs could have won.” Larry
Pitts noted, “The opportunities for hunting out West seem endless. The Western Challenge is a great way to see how different
huntsmen and different types of hounds work.”
John Gray said of the Challenge participants, “I admire their efforts.
Every hunt tried hard and kept hounds going after their regular season to
participate. It’s hard to figure
out how hounds can find game in the dry, dusty conditions we saw in some places,
but they do. Every pack had
something unique and novel to offer.”
Jaymes Salestrom,
the honorary huntsman for the winning Gamble Hill Hounds, has been hunting since
the age of 12. In 1982, the Ponca
Pony Club member was appointed whipper-in by the North Hills Hunt’s then-MFH
Donovan Ketzler, becoming North Hills’ huntsman at age 16.
After a hunting hiatus to attend college, Salestrom began whipping in for
Gamble Hill in 1992, and became huntsman in 1998.
Throughout the
Tour, the members of the participating hunts were joined by participants from
fifteen other hunts from across the U.S. as well as the U.K. Notably, Edith Conyers of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, traveled
the entire Tour from the first hunt in Kansas to the last in Nevada.
Lynn Lloyd of the Red Rock Hounds and Judy Vose of the Woodbrook Hunt
(WA) traveled from Nevada to Kansas and made the entire Tour except for the
hunts in Arizona, returning to Reno from Colorado to prepare for the Red Rock
Hounds’ Challenge day. Other Red Rock members attended the Wyoming and Colorado legs
of the Tour, and several other foxhunters flew in for particular portions of the
Western Challenge. (This writer
drove from Utah and joined the Tour in Wyoming, hunting all the way to Reno).
Though the Gamble
Hill Hounds joined Mr.Jeffords’ Hounds (1999) and the Red Rock Hounds (2000)
as winners of the annual Western Hunt Challenge Tour, all of the participants
agree that the camaraderie and good will fostered by the Tour, and the support
of charity by the participating foxhunters, are more important than the judging
of the packs. Commuting among the
far-flung western hunts can be daunting, as evidenced by the 3600 miles the
judges added to the odometer of their rental car, and with the uncertainties of
weather and scent, a successful drive does not guarantee a successful hunt.
However, the renewal of old friendships and the forging of new ones,
while enjoying the hunting and supporting charity, had even the road-weariest of
travelers speaking of doing it all over again in the future.
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