August 4, 2023

Dear Landowners, Subscribers and Friends,

As we have said many times in our past Summer Letters, the sport of foxhunting is about hounds. But it is also about people. Knowledgeable, experienced, enthusiastic foxhunters have a great deal to do with the continuation of our sport. They play an important role. Many of them are landowners and provide the land we hunt. Their subscriptions and dues make it possible to feed our pack of foxhounds. They manage and support our fundraisers. These participants are key to the whole. And we appreciate the individuals who hunt with us as much (well, maybe almost as much) as we do our hounds.

Strangely enough, good foxhunters and good hounds share some of the same traits. Like hounds, field members should be involved. They should be focused on hound work, quiet when listening for hounds and observant so as not to miss the fox that runs out of the covert in front of them. Subscribers should learn about our sport the way our hounds do, watching their more experienced veterans and emulating their behavior.

Good subscribers as well as good hounds always seem to have more fun. They are involved with the action. Those that are not ideal, run on the outskirts and miss the action. But if you put good hounds in the right place to find quarry and if you let them find it on their own, they appreciate the chance to excel and will love you forever. Same holds true for subscribers. If you show good sport giving all the chance to excel, both subscribers and hounds are happy at the end of the day. And when subscribers and hounds are happy, we feel we have accomplished our goal.

There is a certain camaraderie among foxhunters as there is among hounds. Foxhunting is not a competitive sport. We are all in it enjoying the day together; all for one and one for all. Nothing makes us happier than listening to a field of enthusiastic foxhunters recounting the day's activity as they hack back to the meet, comparing notes about the adventures of the day and the beauty of the countryside. Once back at the trailers, subscribers often provide impromptu tailgate refreshments, providing again a much appreciated opportunity to relive the good sport of the day.

There are competitions for hounds, recognizing best conformation and performance, and competitions for hunt horses, recognizing best turn out and performance. We think it is time to recognize worthy subscribers. So, here is our “Thank You List” to subscribers.

Thank you, subscribers, for:

Being on time to the meets, recognizing that all of us are busy people

Making the effort to be well turned out

Loving our pack of hounds

Stepping up to manage and support our fundraisers

Possessing the all-important positive attitude Always being there to help us show the best sport Appreciating good hound work

Your lack of competitiveness

Looking out for one another

Seizing the opportunity for camaraderie

Being part of everything we do

To quote the conclusion of our Guidelines that we wrote many years ago,

“We would like to take this opportunity to say how much we appreciate those who subscribe to the Middleburg Hunt. You are a welcoming and friendly group, that never fails to make visitors feel at home. Your enthusiasm is matched only by that of our hounds. We are proud of you and look forward to many more happy days of hunting.”

Anticipating this coming season, we thank our hardworking team: our huntsman, Richard Roberts, his supportive wife, Colleen, our honorary whipper-in and field secretary, Carey Shefte, our professional whipper-in, Brady Cully and our stable manager, Sherry Hanscom. They are busy preparing for hunting and our many activities. Below are dates to save for this Fall season.

MIDDLEBURG HUNT FALL CALENDAR

• “Get Ready to Hunt” Trail Rides each Saturday in August at 8 a.m.: Approved helmets and negative coggins tests are required. There is no charge for the rides, but donations are much appreciated. If you have not signed a release form since May of this year, we ask that you do so when you arrive before participating with us. There will be a jumping and a non-jumping group. Locations are as follows: August 5 Landfall Farm, August 12 Foxcroft School (please use the stable entrance), August 19 Meadowkirk, August 26 Dresden Farm. Directions to these locations are on our website. Be sure to check the kennel tape for updates: (540) 687-8411. In the event of a change due to inclement weather or other reason, the tape will be updated no later than 6 a.m. the Saturday of an August Trail Ride.

• Opening of autumn hunting Monday, September 4, at Glenwood Park at 7 a.m.: At Glenwood, please observe the posted speed limit and park in the designated area being careful not to damage the grass. A tailgate breakfast will follow hosted by Brenda O’Donnell and Cathy Spicer. Autumn hunting is open to subscribers and cappers.

• Puppy Auction at Mr. & Mrs. Larry Manning’s Mount Harmony on Sunday, September 17, at 5 p.m.: Diane and Larry Manning have again invited us to the spectacular loft party room of their beautiful barn. Complete with cocktails and fabulous hors d’oeuvres, this party gives you the chance to purchase the right to name one of the Middleburg Hunt puppies. There is no charge to attend. Form a syndicate or work alone, but put your hand up to be the successful bidder to name one of our future superstars! Please bring your children. They will be put to work presenting puppies, and there is no better combination.

• Theodora A. Randolph Field Hunter Championship, Monday, October 9, fixture to be announced: We are invited to host the competitors and judges of this Championship. Tailgate refreshments will follow.

• Masters of Foxhounds Association Dog Daze, Sunday, October 29, from 11 am to 3pm at Glenwood Park: This MFHA event celebrates the working dog. The Middleburg hounds are the featured foxhounds and will parade to start the festivities. Our hounds were a big hit last year!

• Opening Meet at 9 a.m., Saturday, November 4, fixture to be announced.

• Governors’ Opening Meet Breakfast in honor of our landowners, to be held at the home of Cathy and Rob Spicer at 6 p.m., Saturday, November 4.

• Fox/Hound Day at Foxcroft School on Saturday, November 18: Meet at 9 a.m. at the stable. The field and hounds will move off from the Head of School’s house, Covert. As is the tradition, Foxcroft students will serve in honorary staff positions for the day of hunting. This is one of the ways we prepare future leaders of our sport.

• Christmas in Middleburg on Saturday, December 2: Perhaps our most popular meet, hounds and field parade down Main Street prior to hunting, to the delight of thousands of spectators. What a great way to kick off the holiday season!

• Annual Masters Ball in New York City on Friday, January 26, 2024: We hope our subscribers and friends will consider travelling to New York to help Joint Master, Penny Denegre, celebrate her inauguration as President of the Masters of Foxhounds Association, our national association of mounted foxhunting.

• Hunt Ball in Spring of 2024: Plans are underway for another spectacular evening of dinner, dancing and of course silent auction bidding to benefit our hounds. Details to follow.

All of these events bring us back to the importance we place on this community tradition of foxhunting. Our sport continues to face challenges, the greatest of which are maintaining open space in the face of aggressive development and defending ourselves against legislative and governmental actions that may restrict our sport.

We cherish our beautiful countryside and hope to preserve it for future generations. As we have said before, our generous landowners make foxhunting possible. Each piece of land, large or small, is key to the sport for which the Middleburg countryside is known.

Every year more acres in the Middleburg Hunt territory are being protected. Landowners are leading in this concerted community-wide effort to put land in permanent easement and are taking advantage of significant savings in their federal and state taxes. These favorable tax laws may not always exist. We are hopeful that the Middleburg Hunt will be able to celebrate hunting for many years to come and would like the opportunity to discuss and assist our landowners in any way to preserve our hunting country. Please feel free to contact us.

Remember that hunting is a special privilege we enjoy thanks to the generosity of our landowners. When not hunting, you must obtain specific permission from landowners for cross-country riding privileges. These are our neighbors and should be treated with due respect.

Legislators respond to numbers. All foxhunting enthusiasts, who are interested in preserving the sport, whether you ride or spectate, should join The Pack of the Masters of Foxhounds Association, the national organization for mounted foxhunting. By increasing the number of foxhunting supporters on the MFHA roster, more voices will be heard at the State Capitals where legislation detrimental to our sport frequently appears. Now is the time to be counted among those who love the sport. Your subscription includes the MFHA’s national publication, Covertside, and a handsome bumper sticker that will identify you as a foxhunting enthusiast. To join, visit the MFHA website. We encourage all to do so.

If you are interested in becoming a Middleburg Hunt subscriber for the 2023-2024 season, please contact one of the Masters. We remind you of our growing category of subscriber, called “Social Subscriber.” Social Subscribers are invited to all hunt functions and are afforded the privileges of hunting subscribers, with the exception of riding to hounds. These non-hunting subscribers are some of our most enthusiastic and add a wonderful dimension to our hunt family.

The category of subscription called Young Adults has been quite successful. It affords foxhunters age 22 to 28 the opportunity to subscribe at a reduced rate. As always, children under 14 (with an adult) hunt for free, and juniors age 14 to 21 hunt for a nominal fee. We want everyone to be able to afford to learn about hunting and ensure the future of our sport.

Autumn hunting will be here before you know it. It’s not too early to get your hunting license. Required by the Commonwealth of Virginia, you can obtain your small game hunting license online by going to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.

We look forward to sharing the upcoming foxhunting season with all of you. We remind you that for updates, information and to contact the Masters by e-mail, please visit our newly updated website. You may also visit us on Facebook.

On our website are our Hunting Guidelines that we wrote especially for our subscribers and updated recently. In preparation for the upcoming season, we suggest that you read them to refresh your memory about these common-sense rules that are meant to make the sport as safe and as much fun as possible. By maintaining the traditions of the sport, we will maintain its beauty and, with a little luck, its longevity.

We encourage you to share with us your e-mail address. We use e-mail to communicate information about upcoming activities and timely announcements. So, please send your name, address, phone number and e-mail address to info@middleburghunt.com.

In the event of last-minute changes, we advise subscribers to check the Kennel tape at (540) 687-8411 each hunting day before you leave for the meet.

Our phone numbers and e-mail addresses are listed below. We always enjoy hearing from you and hope you will share your thoughts, suggestions and ideas; they do not go unnoticed. What is important to you is important to the Masters.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey M. Blue M.F.H. - (540) 687-5759, jeffblue9@gmail.com

Mrs. John B. Denegre M.F.H. - (540) 687-6069, rideaside1@gmail.com

Timothy B. Harmon, M.F.H. - (202) 596-5117, timothybharmon@gmail.com