Dragon's Lair Farm - a horse farm: February 2014

An Eastern Foxhunter Goes West: Part One

I was so eager to get out of snowy Maryland for my California foxhunting weekend, that I forgot to take all the whipper-in "ratshot" bullets out of my hacking jacket, which I was wearing on the plane to save suitcase weight. So, as you can imagine, there was a "minor" incident after I went thru TSA security at BWI. Embarrassed and a little worried I tried to explain "hound training" to some very blank stares. Luckily a really, really nice agent told me to go back, throw them out and come back! I complied, happily! After missing our connection in Salt Lake City we finally made it to Los Angeles via Las Vegas and found my daughter, Sarah. It was so warm and lovely it was hard to believe we were on the same planet as the frozen East Coast.

The next morning we drove north on Pacific Coast Highway, through beautiful Malibu, to Los Alamos, about 50 miles north of Santa Barbara, to hunt for two days, with the Santa Ynez Valley Hounds. This was a Joint Meet with Lynn Lloyd’s Red Rock Hounds of Reno, Nevada, over Valentine’s Day weekend, February 14^th -16^th, 2014. Many of the other California hunts, such as Santa Fe West Hills, Los Altos, Tejon Hounds to name a few, were also invited. Each day brought about 60-80 riders out to enjoy this incredible hunt territory in the famous wine country around Los Olivos, California. There is a serious drought in this part of California right now and the landscape is dry and brown (usually a beautiful green this time of year). However, it does nothing to detract from these magnificent ranches with their incredible views. Atop some of the dune-like ridges were endless 360-degree views: to the northeast were the distant Sierra Madre Mountains and to the east were the San Rafael range on the horizon. It reminded me of the views of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia from the top of Cedar Mountain in Bull Run territory or from The Plains in Piedmont’s country only bigger. California bigger!

On Friday, Lynn Lloyd of Red Rock Hounds hunted her Walker hounds at Kick-On Ranch, a 3,200 acre cattle ranch and vineyard owned by Santa Ynez Valley ‘s MFH Steve Lyons. The hunt has access to another 7,500 acres of adjacent property in easements. Steve casually mentioned that there are only 9 homes on these 11,000 acres and 7 of them were right there at the stables from which we hunted. We followed dirt paths up and down big hills, through scrub oak groves, and along canyon or arroyo edges. As the temperature rose to about 80 degrees, I was glad I had removed my hunting vest, even though the early morning had been chilly.

I had leased a horse from Tracy Ward of SYVH, a sure-footed Thoroughbred/Appaloosa cross named “Peanut Butter”. About 15.3 hands, he was strong, muscled and went up and down the stony hills with great confidence. With a little persuasion, he agreed not to gallop downhill even when the First Fieldmaster, Benjamin Bottoms, was moving away at coyote speed. There were three fields and I noted that they became very spread out, taking different trails to follow the huntsman and hounds. First Flight stayed right with the huntsman and horses needed to be very fit. The hills were one after the other, up and down, and blowing horses caught their breath at the top briefly before charging off again. We would look back from the top of a ridge to see Second and Third Flight, either far below or several ridges away.

Following Lynn Lloyd is always a treat. She has excellent hounds and even on a difficult scenting day I enjoyed watching her work. Sending hounds out to search, she encourages them without fuss and gathers them to move on when the scent is too old. At several checks she calls them in and we wait atop a ridge for the ones who disappeared over a distant hill. I am reminded of Ireland where one is, often, on one side of a great valley, watching hounds work across many distant emerald fields. Here it was definitely brown and dusty but the hounds still easily got way ahead. We finally move off, heading in. Later I asked Lynn about the couple of hounds still out. She said, “ I may not be worried but that does not mean I am unconcerned.” The next morning she told me a call in the night took her to a nearby oil rig, where some workers had the two hounds. She appreciates the help of strangers and says she has met some great people collecting hounds and has done some important positive public relations for the sport. Lynn is a well-known speaker at the MFHA bi-annual staff seminars and I have enjoyed hearing her speak every time. It was a pleasure to hunt with her.


Lynn Lloyd of Red Rock Hounds

There was a lovely catered breakfast after the hunt under the oaks at Kick-On Ranch. (Kick-On Ranch is so named for a famous Irish hunting phrase that helped MFH Steve Lyons get over a nasty Irish ditch many years ago!) We were able to reconnect with old friends and make some terrific new acquaintances over food, a favorite part of foxhunting. I was pleased to run into Peter and Amanda Wilson from Grand Canyon Hounds. We had last whipped together when he was huntsman at De La Brooke Hounds in Maryland. Now he is a confirmed Westerner! I met Scott Neill of Tejon Hounds, one of the newest recognized packs. He has the pleasure of hunting over 280,000 acres at Tejon Ranch, where I hope to hunt on a future trip. I hear it is spectacular.

That evening we were invited to a gourmet pizza party at High Star Farm where many had stabled their horses. It is a beautiful ranch, owned and operated by Gerry Brown, complete with racetrack and many other amenities, home to some champion Arabian horses. Driving to this party we watched the low coastal fog drifting up the valleys and bringing a little moisture. I was told that this fog is one of the reasons it is such a fine area for vineyards. That night we were also apparently rubbing elbows with the stars, as Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson were in the same small town of Los Alamos to open their wine-tasting bar at the local Union Hotel. We did stop to sample the wine, which was good, and thought about crashing the star-studded event but better judgment prevailed and we stayed in the bar, swapping tall tales with Santa Fe West Hills MFH Don Parker, Marti Manser, MFH and President Gary Grado and his wife Clarice, as well as our friends Kathy and Bob Breshears of SFWH.

We were to hunt the next day from the Chamberlin Ranch, another vast cattle ranch, owned by the Chamberlin family, which surrounds the Firestone winery on three sides. Sarah Chamberlin and her husband, Benjamin Bottoms, were both welcoming hosts for the day and excellent Field Masters to the Third Flight and First Flight respectively.


Benjamin Bottoms, Field Master


Claire Buchy-Anderson and the Santa Ynez Valley hounds

We met at 9am on Saturday to follow SYVH’s huntsman Claire Buchy-Anderson and their hounds. Claire has introduced some of her native French hounds blood into this pack and the distinctive large black and white hounds were an obvious break from the usual tri-color or black and tan packs back East. Claire hunts with a French horn and wears the longer French hunting coat, complete with some gold braid. She has excellent control of her hounds, which obviously adore her. I was very impressed with her management of this lovely pack who quickly responded to her spoken commands (in French) to leave the lines of viewed boar and deer. One of these boars was the size of a small cow and some of the hounds had chased it down a canyon. But First Flight had viewed a coyote crossing behind us and she quickly blew to put the hounds on the line. We were away and, again, the galloping up and down the great hills reduced the First Flight to 4 riders in about 15 minutes. “Peanut Butter” was blowing but as I looked around, so were the others and he seemed to be able to catch his breath and never wavered from his determined gallop up front. I was told it was not his usual place but he proved to be a very lovely mount and took very good care of this rider.

Several more coyote were viewed that day and many miles were covered. The scenting was again difficult due to the dryness and sometimes the viewed coyote must have had a partner, because the hounds flew off in the opposite direction. I heard the whipper–in had to gallop beside this last coyote to stop hounds from reaching the road. Apparently it is a well-known coyote trick to lure the hounds close to the road and create the havoc that would entail. The occasional deer was spotted as well as other wild pigs. Even the hilltoppers had a coyote cross not 12 feet from them. The terrain varied from the hills to oak groves and, once, we rode through some fragrant wild sage bushes ( I was told later it was Black Button Sage). I reached out and crushed some sprigs in my fingers to release the lovely scent. After 3 ½ hours I was hot, happy and very thirsty. I learned that most riders here have an ingenious leather sling attached to the saddle for a water bottle as well as the normal flask and I understand the need. The hounds and horses all avail themselves of the occasional cattle water trough here, as do the hounds back east drink from every stream.

Another delicious catered “box” lunch was provided and we enjoyed retelling the day’s hunt and meeting some new friends. Saturday night we were invited to party with the area’s landowners and ranching community at the Elks Lodge. The hunt supports the local Cattleman’s Association, in fact, one of the MFHs serve as a Director, and we all attended the annual Cattleman’s Ball. A denim and cowboy boots affair, the belt buckles and Stetsons were proudly on display. Paul McEnroe MFH, of SYVH, showed us his 2013 Cattleman of The Year buckle with a big smile. Dinner was wonderful, “specially” aged steaks and all the sides you could eat. Nobody left hungry.

I returned to Los Angeles the next morning, but I heard that Sunday’s hunt with the combined packs was terrific and everyone had a great final day. My memory of SYVH will be the big, beautiful country and the very big hearts of the foxhunting community that welcomed this Easterner with open arms and gave her the opportunity to experience Western hunting at its finest.

Los Altos, California, 2014

Dancing with Coyotes: An Eastern Foxhunter Goes West-Part Two

By the time we had reached the Santa Fe West Hills Hunt fixture for Wednesday February 19^th, 2014, the early morning fog had lifted, revealing a brilliant big blue sky. The San Bernardino Mountains framed the eastern landscape of cattle pastures, rising to rocky foothills covered in scrub brush. Tall Ponderosa pines dotted the sandy, sagebrush-covered ground and, at an elevation of 5,000 ft. the air was dry and the day would warm to about 70 degrees.

We had come to hunt with Terry Paine MFH and Huntsman and his pack of English hounds in Temecula, California. My friends Kathy and Bob Breshears, former members of my Maryland hunt, Marlborough Hunt, had been urging me, for some time, to come and ride with Santa Fe West Hills Hunt. Terry and his wife own and operate Kingsway Farm, a beautiful horse farm renowned for his eventing and dressage horses, notably “Gin and Juice”, his Olympic horse ridden by Hawley Bennett. She was preparing to go to the upcoming Rolex 3-day with “Gin and Juice”, who was quietly relaxing that day, in the stall when we stopped to admire this world-class mare.

We loaded up 6 horses in Terry’s stock trailer and drove the hour to another gorgeous cattle ranch, reputedly famous as the filming locale for the show “Bonanza”. I am afraid I was dating myself, as my daughter, who came along to hilltop, and my younger hunting friend, Julia Roehling from San Diego, both looked blankly at me at this comment. Nevertheless it did remind me of the “Ponderosa” and I could imagine “Hoss” riding up to greet us.

Terry invited me to whip in with his staff and handed me a beautiful hunting whip, older than myself, with lovely hand-tooled sterling silver adornments and said. “He never wasted [staff] help in this country.” We quickly mounted; his professional huntsman Byron Ayala unloaded 7 couple of hounds and we moved off. This country is really dry and dusty this year, which to my Eastern experience, are normally difficult scenting conditions. Terry explained that these hounds are bred with a great deal of weight given to their hunting ability in such conditions, and they seemed to deal with it just fine. He mentioned there was one hound with some PennMaryDel blood but otherwise they were predominantly English.


MFH Terry Paine and Santa Fe West Hills hounds

Byron and I moved to his left, and I quickly learned to trust my mare to gallop through and around the sagebrush. This beautiful fixture was flat with “washes” or arroyos situated between a highway and the rocky mountain foothills to the east. We were moving in a counter-clockwise direction and Byron and I moved ahead to open some gates and we then stayed between the highway and the hounds for the rest of the day. Coyotes are well aware of a hunt’s limitation with roads and use it to their advantage whenever possible. Today was no exception and as MFH Paine was drawing through a “wash”, a coyote was jumped and ran looking over his shoulder towards the highway. I was closer than Byron and in true Eastern foxhunting whipper-in style raced ahead, yelling back, “Let’s turn him!” I think Byron was laughing at this point as the transplanted Virginian had many, many times tried to turn a coyote to no avail. He watched amused as I yelled and whooped, cracked my whip and “danced with this coyote”. The wily animal made eye contact, I am sure, thinking, “ What the heck is this lady doing!” as he feinted left, then right, the left again. He was like a running back determined to get by my defensive line. He did hesitate momentarily and Byron, thinking I might actually have managed to turn him, came alongside, but we both watched as he nearly darted under our horses to get away, straight to the road. I dejectedly turned and said, “Oh well, we tried”, knowing my huntsman at home would be furious that I had not succeeded.

Byron and I waited for a bit, watching hounds move back to the south. Thinking there was another coyote we then left the road edge only to quickly return as Byron heard a hound open behind us. Whipping around we raced back to successfully turn the hounds back, off the line, with the help of the field. As there were only three riders in the first field, led by MFH Don Parker, they were very capable and excellent stand-in whips. The country is paneled with traditional 3-foot coops and some higher timber jumps over the barbed wire. Byron told me the occasional fast run has required a few 5-bar gate jumps, however today was just coops and I appreciated the lovely horse Terry had provided for me. She was a half sister to “Gin and Juice” and a testament to his great training.

We watered hounds at the cattle troughs and made sure all hounds were collected. After about 2 ½ hours, we turned back to the trailers, passing alongside the cattle herd that watched the hounds suspiciously. It had been a lovely morning with several runs and a great view for this whipper-in. Still chagrined that I had not turned the quarry, I was not surprised to be humorously chastised by the Santa Fe huntsman. True to huntsmen everywhere, Terry upon hearing of my adventure, which he had missed, said, “Why didn’t you use that whip and lasso the damn thing and bring him back!”

We loaded horses and hounds and decide to stop at the local watering hole in nearby Anza. Parched throats were quenched with beer or iced tea and we proceeded to share the requisite hunting tales among new friends. Terry Paine is going east in April to speak at the MFHA staff seminar in Lexington, KY. His co-speaker is a friend of ours back home in Maryland, Steuart Pittman Jr. of The Retired Racehorse Training Project. I politely and wisely declined to give him some juicy “low-down” with which to tease Steuart. They will find plenty to rib each other about I am sure. Another “small world” friendship was with my co-whipper-in Byron Ayala, who had almost bought a farm near the Marlborough kennels several years ago. He is also acquainted with Dr. Roger Scullin MFH of Howard County-Iron Bridge Hounds with whom I also hunt. Foxhunters speak the same language everywhere and I felt another warm welcome with the Santa Fe West Hills Hunt. I hope to return yearly.