There are three articles on this page
1. LONG LAKE HUNTER TRIALS
2. DRAG HOUND PERFORMANCE TRIALS
3. LLH MEMBER AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS TROPHY
LONG LAKE HUNTER TRIALS
July 1, 2007
IT’S BACK!! THE LONG LAKE HOUNDS HUNTER TRIALS IS ONCE AGAIN!
The LLH Hunter Trials were held on Sunday, July 1st at Pine Meadow Farm with resounding success. But first the history of the event. Sometime in the early 1950’s a wonderful horsey lady named Eileen Bigelow built a hunter trials course in her field at her Gem Lake (near White Bear Lake) home. This complimented the lake trails surrounding Gem Lake. The neighborhood was horse heaven for the those who lived nearby and particularly for the children of St. Paul families with names such as Daniels, Opstad, and Bemis. It was a natural to develop a fall competition and it was called The Gem Lake Hunter Trials (GLHT), held the second Sunday in September.
Concurrently, the Long Lake Trails Association had been formalized right after WW II and similar minded Minneapolis families, Warner, Sweatt and Wakefield had developed a large system of riding trails (1951 = 25 square miles) with both the Warner family (southwest corner of Country Rd, 24 and Hunter Drive) and the Sweatt family (Intersection of Hwy 101 and McGinty Road) also building fences and riding rings to entertain their children on horseback.
Now you have two separate geographical locations with the same intentions thus the rivalries commenced. In 1959 these same families from both sides of the river decided to the start a hunt and the Long Lake Hounds hunt was born. The hounds lived at the Daniels Farm (named Worsted Skeynes) at Gem Lake. John Daniels was huntsman and Dick Cheska was kennelman. The Cub Hunts were held in August in the Gem Lake area and the Formal Hunts began the first Saturday in September in Long Lake. The season was planned around John Daniel’s polo schedule.
The GLHT flourished until 1966 and then many of the young people in the Gem Lake area were off to college and interest waned. The trials became history. But John Daniel’s daughter, Marty Daniels, had married and moved to Long Lake and wanted to revive the hunter trials, The result was the first Long Lake Hounds Hunter Trials (LLHHT) was held in October, 1971. Many of the challenge trophies were collected and re-engraved with LLHHT. The new trials flourished until 2000 and a second pause began. The Board of Directors of the LLH decided to bring back the event in 2007.
Chair Emily Fischer worked with Jennifer Schuck and Cathy Belzer in designing a course that suited the hunting field. The fences were natural obstacles and ranged in size from 2’ to 3 feet. All were in triple form so pairs and teams could feel at ease as none of the pairs had ever jumped with another horse in close proximity. The Handy Hunter course required donning a rain jacket while mounted, dismounting and remounting andXX. And all who rode in the event were delighted with how much fun it was.
In all, everyone had a grand time and voted to hold the Trials again next year.
RESULTS:
Pony Club: 1. Dylan, Samara Quint 2. Willie, Maria Filsinger 3.)I See London, Isabel Rich 4. Laney, Christine Ricard 5. Melody, Kristen, Kellenberger 6. Rhiannon, Isabel Rich
Senior Hunter 1. Vicar, Jaime Horner 2. Rory, Tory Akerman 3. Goliath, Linda
Qualified Hunters: Ledrey 4. Russell, Gina Hoops 5. Baba, Lisa Foster
Senior Hunter 1. Clancy, Erin Owen 2. Mira, Beth Luther 3. Melody, Kristen
Open: Kellenberger 4. Sadie, Nicole Mills 5. Beamer, John Pierro
6. Gandolf, Lisa Borgia
Junior Hunter: 1. Laney, Christine Ricard 2. I See London, Ingrid Rich 3. Sadie, Nicole Mills 4. Rhiannon, Isabel Rich
Pairs: 1. I See London, Ingrid Rich, Rhiannon, Isabel Rich 2. Rory, Tory Akerman Russell, Gina Hoops 3. Mira, Beth Luther Goliath, Linda Ledrey 4. Beamer, John Pierro Sadie, Nicole Mills 5. Clancy, Erin Owen Gandolf, Lisa Borgia 6. Baba, Lisa Foster Ike, Susan Mills
Family: 1. The Rich Family 2. The Kellenberger Family 3. The Mills Family
Senior Handy 1. Clancy, Erin Owen 2. Russell, Gina Hoops 3. Vicar, Jaime
Hunter: Horner 4. Rory, Tory Akerman 5. Ike, Susan Mills 6. Baba, Lisa Foster
Junior Handy 1. Laney, Christine Ricard 2.
Penny Lane, Emma JamesHunter:
Teams: 1. Russell, Gina Hoops Rory, Tory Akerman Baba, Lisa Foster
2. Vicar,
Jaime Horner Penny Lane, Emma James Willie, Maria Filsinger 3. Ike, Susan Mills Beamer, John Pierro Clancy, Erin Owen 4. I See London, Ingrid Rich, Rhiannon, Isabel Rich Danny Boy, Hayley Rich
Foxhunter Class: Seniors: Rory, Russell, Clancy, Vicar, Mira
Juniors: I See London, Laney, Rhiannon, Willie, Sadie
Senior: 1. Clancy 2. Russell
Junior: 1. Dylan, Samara Quint 2. Laney, Christine Ricard
CHAMPIONS: Senior Tie Clancy, Erin Owen & Russell, Gina Hoops
Broken by judges as best mover
Champion Russell, Gina Hoops Reserve Clancy, Erin Owen
Presented The Anderson, Stone, Poole Trophy
Junior Champion Laney, Christine Ricard
Reserve I See London, Ingrid Rich
DRAG HOUND PERFORMANCE TRIALS
Elizabeth, IL
October 20 & 21, 2006
Dear Members,
Those of us who went to Illinois this weekend partook in a most incredible experience and we want to tell you the story for it is just that…an incredible story.
Many of you may have heard reference to the Master of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) Centennial Celebration. The organization was founded in 1907 and the current powers that govern determined to usher in the next 100 years by celebrating with many and varied events. One of those events is the performance judging of live and drag hounds, who after being chosen will be in the running for the designation as a Centennial Hound and duly noted in the Fox Hound of North America (FHNA) Stud book. Call it the American Kennel Club (AKC) of hounds who hunt live & drag within the US and Canada. Needless to say, it is a very distinct honor. There will be 50 designated live hunting hounds and approx. 15 drag hunting hounds awarded this honor.
MFHA has scheduled twelve live hunting hound trials and two drag hunting hound trials throughout the end of 2006 and the winter/spring of 2007. The first Drag Trial was held this past weekend in IL. The second Drag Trial will be held in Aiken, SC on February 2 & 3, 2007. The top ten hounds from each trials will be eligible to compete for the honor of Centennial Hound status at the Virginia Hound Show and the Performance Hound Show to be held over Memorial Day weekend 2007.
Let me start with a statistic. There are 27 drag hunts and 150 live hunts in North America and Canada. It is expected that 7 to 10 hunts will participate in the drag trials. This weekend Aiken Hounds, Aiken, SC, Wayne DuPage Hunt, Wayne, IL and Long Lake participated. The trials in February will likely see Misty Morning, Middleton Place, Myopia, Trader’s Point, more Aiken Hounds and hopefully more Long Lake hounds.
Each hunt is allowed to bring eight hounds so LLH brought eight, Wayne DuPage brought eight and Aiken brought six (plus four horses and a 28 hour drive!) After lots of thought, Huntsman Junior Lehman decided to bring the following hounds:
2000 Long Lake Ferdinand (a.k.a.Fred),
2001 Long Lake Gretchen
2002 Piedmont Interest
2000 Piedmont Tarzan
2000 Piedmont Tiffaney
Note: The three Piedmont hounds were drafted to Long Lake in 2003. The then huntsman, Lennie Williams, went to Virginia to consult with Melvin Poe, Bridgett Paradise’s father, about which Long Lake hounds to keep. They spent three weeks at “Poe’s Boot Camp” and came home with the Piedmont Hounds. Lennie did a great job of assimilating them into the pack and for that we are very grateful.
2006 Long Lake Kaiser
2006 Long Lake Kurnel
2006 Long Lake Kahlua
Note: These are the puppies, born in March 2005, who also spent time at “Poe’s Boot Camp” with Junior Lehman. Junior took all nine puppies to Virginia and had the privilege of learning under Melvin Poe for a month in April. These puppies began hunting in August this past year. Junior has done a stellar job of harnessing their energy and getting them to focus on the job at hand. They are only 18 mos. old.
The criteria for judging the drag trials are threefold. First is the ability to stay focused on hunting. The second is how well their cry sounded when on a trail i.e. full cry. The third and last is endurance. There are six judges who place themselves in strategic places. The same judges are judging all fourteen trials and Tony Leahy, Huntsman and Fox River Valley MFH is hunting hounds for all trials. The goal is to make uniform decisions of the criteria in a more objective manner.
We met at Doug & Carol Hancock’s farm. The Hancock’s are members of Wayne DuPage and Carol is the retired MFH. The countryside is absolutely spectacular as there are large tracts of land set among the hills east of the Mississippi River. Wherever you look there is open space and contoured farming; a line of corn and then grass. This scenario is repeated on every hillside. It is possible to stay low in the valley and watch the hounds circle between the different levels and because you are almost always in a valley, the cry of the hound’s voices is like a symphony. You always know where the hounds, staff and field are situated.
However, five of the judges were from live hunts and Tony Leahy is huntsman to a live pack. This contributed to the chaos on the first day. The “fox” hailed from Middleton Place Hounds in Charleston, SC. His name is Bill Green and his reputation preceded him as he was the keynote speaker in 2006 in Boston at the Biennial MFHA Seminar. His topic was “Being a Fox” and many came away with rave reviews as he shared his secrets in how to lay a drag.
Hounds moved out and it became clear that all twenty-two hounds had different ideas of what was expected. However after three lines, they seemed to settle into a rhythm but by then we had run out of country. It was also necessary to coach the judges in not riding over the “line”. Repeatedly judges with their outriders would gallop ahead only to discover they had fouled the scent. Since Bill Green used a squirt bottle with a 25% mixture of fox urine and 75% warm water, his technique is to ride along and spray the bottle toward the ground. This allowed the scent to fall gently on the foliage on the ground or in the case of tall grasses, he sprayed at a 90 degree angle.
The day ended and after much discussion, rule changes were agreed upon by all representing hunts. And true to form, the second day was a much better representation of drag hunting.
Now for the best news of all…Long Lake Hounds outshined the competition beyond our wildest expectations. The overall placings were as follows;
#1 Long Lake Kurnel (Remember he is a puppy)
#2 Aiken Dagger
#3 Long Lake Tarzan
#4 Long Lake Ferdinand
#5 Wayne DuPage Moses
#6 Long Lake Kaiser (Same thing, a puppy)
#7 Wayne DuPage Scottsman
#8 Aiken Daring
#9 Wayne DuPage Bashful
#10 Long Lake Kahlua (and another puppy!)
We won the Pack Class both days thus winning the overall Pack Class designation. And in judging points, we were 50% ahead of Aiken, who placed second in the Pack Class and 66% ahead of Wayne DuPage.
We are beyond proud! All the hard work staff and volunteers have put in this past summer has paid off. To all of you, a sincere thanks. Reach up and pat yourself on the back…and be sure to pat a hound!
One last story. Each hunt was asked to provide two whippers-in so Junior appointed Briana Johnson and Sam Nelson. Both did a stellar job however after day one was over, Bill Green from Middleton came looking for Sam and asked him if he ever wanted to come to Middleton, there would be a place. An hour later, Tony Leahy sidled up to Sam (and his mom, Teri) and suggested the same idea. Just after that, Epp Wilson, MFH of Belle Meade took Teri & Sam aside and asked how old Sam was (15) and if he might be interested in spending a summer in Thomsen, GA with the Belle Meade Hounds. I have confirmed that all three did not collaborate with each other. Each thought they were the only one to approach Sam. When it was discovered the next day, I am told, there was lots of discussion.
Tony Leahy was asked to present the last award of the competition. The category was for Tony, as huntsman, to choose the hound he would best like to have in his own pack. With great ceremony he announced “ I am not interested in a hound. I want Sam!” Needless to say, Sam was smiling from ear to ear and came home one proud dude!
Note: The results presented here are pending. Official results will be forth coming when paperwork on pedigrees is confirmed.
Thank you to all those that attended and made this such a special event!
Bridgett
LLH MEMBER AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS TROPHY
This past August, LLH Member Cathy Belzer and her horse, Jackson, who is also her hunt and staff whip horse, won the prestigious Connemara Farm Tribute Trophy. There is tragic history behind the Connemara Farm Tribute Trophy. Connemara Farm, located in Barrington, Illinois, suffered the kind of tragic loss we all fear. Ten years ago a stable on the property housing eight hunt / event horses became engulfed in an early morning fire and the horses perished. The horses, belonging to Dr. James Kane, were faithful and trusted friends. They had carried Dr. Kane and him family over many miles of trails, cross country courses and hunt fences.
This trophy, sponsored by Drs. Elizabeth Kane and Steven Shandley, will be awarded to the highest placed horse/rider combination that not only event, but foxhunt.
Cathy Belzer and Jackson