American foxhounds at 2008 Bryn Mawr Hound Show

The management will be out of town later today through Sunday, attending the Bryn Mawr Hound Show.

Possibly Internet access will be found at our lodgings on the road, but there is no guarantee of such amenities in the wilds of Philadelphia’s Main Line. There will be limited or no blogging until Monday.

We had so many hunts during the past season that Karen is still catching up on photo essays from months ago.

She just finished this collection of photos from the Blue Ridge Hunt’s December 30th meet at the Monastery at Cool Spring (site of the July 17-18, 1864 battle between Jubal Early’s Army of the Valley District and Horatio Wright’s Union 6th Corps). Two of my own amusing photos of eager hounds peering out of the hound trailer made her cut.

Email reports are coming in saying that the Fairfax Hunt‘s kennels at Red Hill Farm, on Stone School Lane, outside Leesburg, here in Loudoun County, have been destroyed today by a sudden and disastrous fire of unknown origin.

Three staff horses and the hound puppies are said to have perished, but apparently many hounds were rescued through a hole cut in the fence.

The Fairfax Hunt meets at fixtures in eastern and western Loudoun County, Virginia, and its pack last year consisted of 31 couple of Crossbred Foxhounds.

What a horrible thing!

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Update 3/11, 2:13 PM EDT:

Professional Huntsman Kevin Palmer is reported to have saved 90% of the pack. Some puppies were apparently among the hounds rescued.

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Update 3/11, 5:13 PM EDT:

Loudoun Times-Mirror

The fire started around 7:15 AM. Three horses, ten hounds, and six or seven puppies were killed.

photo:Jason Jacks

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3/12:
Fox News attributes the source of the fire to an old refrigerator and has videos.

The Blue Ridge Hunt out cubbing very early this morning riding through the post-dawn mist of the Shenandoah Valley.

(Click on pictures for larger images.)

2007 Ch. English Dog & Ch. English Foxhound
Blue Ridge PIEBALD ’05

I’m taking tomorrow as a day off from blogging, I’m afraid. I will be out of town, and AFK, attending the Bryn Mawr Hound Show.

Blue Ridge Morpeth stallion hound

There won’t be much, if any, blogging tomorrow. I’ll be attending the hound show at Morven Park.