Friendstop tour stop at Eglington and Caledon Hunt

Eglington and Caledon  Hunt- 1^st Friendship Tour stop, Sept 20^th, 2017

                                                            -By Barbara Smith

Who do you call for overnight accommodations for 10 horses and 5 people when your plans fall through 12 hours before arrival? In this case we were blessed to land on the doorstep of Christine Gracey MFH of the Eglington and Caledon Hunt in Caledon, Ontario. She was completely nonplussed by our 12^th hour arrival and Joint Master Alastair Strachan had made arrangements for the horses. We pulled into Sleepy Fox Farm, the lovely hunter barn of Al, and daughter Jennifer, Borrett, at midnight after driving 15 hours from Illinois.

This was the first Friendship stop on the MFHA Hark Forward 2017 tour. We had just left Massbach Hounds -Fox River Valley Hunt in western Illinois, where the 1^st Hound Performance Trial had successfully concluded. Swinging wide into Canada, crossing the border just north of Detroit, we drove east to the Eglington and Caledon Hunt (1930) located about 2 hours northwest of Toronto. Beautiful hay fields and wooded coverts are bordered to the west by the Niagara Escarpment, a geological wonder left by the retreating glaciers of the last ice age. The day after arriving, we wanted to stretch our horses’ legs a bit after the long haul, so Christy Gracey MFH took us for a trail ride at Mono Cliffs. Hikers, Mennonite picnickers and riders all enjoy this provincial park that climbs the Escarpment.

Nancy Smith, Epp Wilson, Judith Craw, Jean Derrick, Barbara Smith, Christy Gracey

 

That night Adam Gracey grilled a delicious salmon with dill and we met several other members who brought sides to share. Dessert was Canadian butter tarts and they made my trip (twice as tasty as pecan pie)! After dinner Epp Wilson MFH (Belle Meade Hunt) explained to our northern hunt brethren about the Hark Forward initiative. The MFHA is excited about the new headquarters in Middleburg and, in addition to fundraising, is reaching out foxhunters to share resources and help with issues we are all facing nowadays. Shrinking hunt membership, landowner relations, as well as needing to educate the public about foxhunting’s support of land conservation are but a few of the concerns of every hunt. Epp Wilson is encouraging all foxhunters to get involved and participate in some of the events of the MFHA Hark Forward celebration.: hound performance trials, joint meets, hunter trials and these “friendship “ stops. By sharing stories and hunt experiences, we renew friendships and learn about ways to capture the interest of the next generation and increase the positive perceptions of a sport that we love and cherish.

Wednesday morning we met at a 2000-acre dairy farm, Henria Holsteins.  Alastair Strachan MFH, who was also hunting the hounds today, greeted us warmly and introduced us to the landowner, Henrik. We had already met Hugh Robertson, first whipper-in, and Tina Walker, Honorary Secretary and Fieldmaster, last evening at dinner, as well as, their Joint Master Sue Rasmussen. Today everyone was in formal attire including a gentleman in top hat and tails, and a lady in sidesaddle and veil. It was going to be hot so we moved off quickly into the cool of some wooded coverts, skirting hayfields and tall corn. In Canada they say “Headlands, please.” which we quickly understood to mean single-file around crops.

Alastair Strachan had invited Epp Wilson to ride forward with him and at the end of day, Epp was  so impressed with the quiet, relaxed way of Alistair’s hunting that he urged him to come with us to the next Performance Trial and help judge. We are hoping he will! The hounds hunted hard for about two hours before the coyote was viewed streaking west across open fields. We reversed course and jumped back over a ditch that horses had calmly dealt with earlier,  and galloped around corn. Breaking into open fields we moved off quickly in pursuit. The coyote ran for the next hour and we covered about 10 miles back northward. It was awesome and fun and why we come to do this. Happy grins and pats to the neck of fit horses were the finishing touch as we waited with Alastair and whips to collect all hounds.

We joined members for a delicious shepherd’s pie breakfast, after which the landowner  gave us a tour of his ultra-modern dairy, which impressed us all with its efficiency and cleanliness. Epp Wilson had asked Colin Brown, their huntsman and his wife Victoria, for a tour of the kennels and he left in the hunt truck. He reported a lovely operation and at dinner was telling us that they put boards up between runs in the winter for warmth . Sometimes the cold is so extreme they can have frost-bitten hounds within 15 minutes if out in runs. Perhaps we can leave some Georgia heat for them!

The next day we thanked our hosts and the barn owner before heading off  for the next Friendship stop at Genessee Valley Hunt in Genesseo, NY.