This hunt event has rapidly become one of the premiere hunting events of North America. More hunts are involved this year due to the increasing popularity , fun and success of this tour. The focus on Coyote as a quarry for traditional mounted hunt clubs has made this a distinctive and exciting event of high speed chases and the wide open country of the American west!

Bijou Springs Hunt wins the 2002 WCT!!

Beagle pack finishes second!

April 17,200 - The Bijou Springs Hunt of Colorado has won this years WCT! Reserve was the Waldingfield Beagles of Charlottesville, VA, hunting in Arizona as a last minute replacement for the Kingsbury Harriers. Congratulations to these fine organizations!

Report on the April 9 hunt at Bijou Springs with pictures !

Western Hunt Challenge Tour 2002 General Information

Fourteen hunts in the western United States will participate in this year's Challenge Tour. Eight packs of foxhounds, one pack of harriers, and one pack of beagles will be judged as to who can provide the best day's sport, with a cash prize going to the charity designated by the winning hunt. The judges are Grosvenor Merle-Smith, ex-MFH and huntsman of the Bull Run Hunt (Virginia) and MFH of the Golden Vale (Ireland), and Patricia Pearce, Huntsman for the Metamora Hounds (Michigan). In addition to the judged packs, the Arapahoe Hunt and the Juan Tomas Hounds will host the Tour for hunting in support of the MFHA Staff Benefit Foundation, and Mr. Jeffords', Mrs. Shoemaker's, and other private packs in Wyoming will be hosting a private hunting party, to include two nights' lodging (possibly more, if desired), all meals, and horses or stabling for your horse, with the proceeds going to the Western Challenge prize fund.

Individual participants are welcome to join all or part of the Tour, but need to obtain permission from the specific hunts and arrange for their own lodging, stabling, and/or horse rental.

Important notes

Participants who are hauling horses across state lines should contact their veterinarians to ensure that they have the appropriate documentation for the states to which they will be traveling. At a minimum, this will include a health certificate (usually required to have been issued within 30 days of travel) including proof of negative EIA; some states also require a brand card. All horses, even traveling intrastate, must have proof of negative EIA testing within the past year. FURTHER NOTE: Make sure your vet knows how to do the health certificates! I was 'officially rejected by the state of Arizona last year, because my certificate had multiple destinations on it-- better to get a different certificate for each destination.

Human participants must be sure to sign a liability release for each hunt before mounting.

Capping fees vary by each hunt, each hunt donates money for the prize pool, the winning hunt gets to designate the charity where the prize is sent.

This year's judges are:

• Grosvernor Merle-Smith, ex-MFH of Bull Run (VA) and MFH of the Golden Vale (Ire)
• Patricia Pearce, huntsman of the Metamora (MI).

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PER STANDARD HUNT COURTESY, PLEASE CONTACT EACH HUNT TO VERIFY ATTENDANCE, PLEASE VERIFY DATES AND TIMES WITH EACH HUNT , EMAIL CONTACT BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR EACH HUNT

The planned schedule for 2002 is as follows:

Note: April 7 or 8, also an option to be part of a private hunt with:
Mr. Jeffords' Hounds ( Iron Mountian , WY )
Mrs. Shoemaker's Weybright Hounds ( Bosler, WY )
Waldingfield Beagles ( Chrlottesville, VA )
Mrs. Goodel's Irish Wolfhounds

These 4 private hunts on these days were not a judged part of the competition

April 9, Bijou Springs (Colorado)

Report on April 9 hunt with Bijou Springs - pictures

April 12, Juan Tomas, New Mexico (hunting a fixture between Albuquerque and Santa Fe) JTH website

Report from the April 12 hunt with Juan Tomas

April 14-17: The Tour ends in High Country's country with four consecutive days behind four different packs:

Kingsbury Harriers ( withdrew ) Kingsbury website

Waldingford Beagles

Report Sunday, April 14 with Waldingfield Beagles - with pictures

Red Rock Hounds Red Rock Hounds website

Report from April 15 hunting with Red Rock Hounds

High Country

Report on the PVB website below

Bonus Hunts !

After what was supposed to be the end of the Western Challenge, a few foxhunters (and beaglers) just weren't ready to quit. Wednesday after the final hunt with Mary Hendricks hunting the High Country Hounds through the Ponderosa Pines we arrived back a bit early and found the caterer would need at least an hour before lunch. Not one to waste an opportunity, Lynn Lloyd took her hounds out for a bit of exercise which quickly turned into some real hunting. With a small field of diehards and lead by local guide Sue B, a coyote was found at a nearby water tank leading us on a nice chase up and around one of the cinder cones, complete with crater at the top. When the run was over we found we were a long way out and had lost our foot follower, John Gray, Whipper-in for Waldingfield. Fortunately John is very fit and hiked out to a nearby road, but it took him nearly 3-hours to get back.

That afternoon, we were invited by Arie Rijke to walk with the Waldingfield Beagles as they hunted the hills where they were kenneled. Again, the diehards showed up, I think we had nine of us running through the rocks and junipers. Despite high winds the beagles put on a nice show and followed several jackrabbit and cottontail. I viewed two including the final cottontail as it dived into a small hole beneath a huge juniper.

Three hunts in one day Wow!

We had another bonus the next morning returning to Walking Cane Ranch with the combined packs of Waldingfield and Paradise Valley. Arie hunted the 20 couple for about 3 hours with many nice runs on both cottontail and jackrabbit, although several had to be cut short when the hare crossed the fencelines. Even with the dry conditions and wind those little beagles can really work!

Hope to see you all next year!

John Auborn

Driving distances

Approximate mileage and driving time between hunting areas (note: this list is not all-inclusive but is meant to provide a general guideline for travel planning. Accuracy not guaranteed as the Internet software, mapquest.com, used for this exercise doesn't necessarily know all the shortcuts or fastest routes.

Paola, KS to Shenandoah, IA: 178 mi./ 4 hrs.
Shenandoah, IA to Clarinda, IA 21 miles / 30 minutes to an Hour depending on fixture
Clarinda , IA to Persia, IA: 85 mi./ 2 hrs.
Persia, IA to Burwell, NE: 222 mi / 3.5 to 4 hrs.
Burwell NE to Cheyenne, WY: 347 mi. / 8 hrs.
Cheyenne, WY to Iron Mt., WY: 44 mi.
Cheyenne, WY to Castle Rock, CO: 131 mi. / 2.5 hrs
Burwell, NE to Castle Rock, CO: 432 mi. /9 hrs.
Castle Rock, CO to Albuquerque, NM: 419 mi / 8 hrs.
Albuquerque, NM to Flagstaff, AZ: 328 mi. / 6 hrs.
Trenton UT to Flagstaff AZ: 626 mi/12 hrs
Reno NV to Flagstaff AZ: 701 mi/15 hrs

WCT questions E-mail address for more information

We will be posting additional information as soon as it becomes available. If you would like to be on the e-mail mailing list for details please drop a note to the email address above. Please include your full name, email address, hunt affiliation and home address.

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