July 30, 2010

Dear Landowners, Subscribers and Friends,

Puppies, puppies, puppies! Last summer we bragged about our new “Puppy Palace”. This summer we are happy to report what a success it has been. We have a boat load of future Middleburg stars. The hounds liked the Puppy Palace so much, that one bitch raised a litter of eleven and another, a litter of thirteen. A total of thirty-seven beautiful tri-color American foxhound puppies have put our new whelping lodge to good use.

Once again thank you to our Board of Governors for funding the whelping lodge and thank you to Barry Magner, our huntsman, for the sleepless nights necessary to raise this astounding number of puppies.

Although our record winter snowfall was beautiful, it was devastating to our hunting season. Even so, with the enthusiasm of our staff and subscribers we had some remarkable days of hunting on foot, complete with stirrup cups and tailgates. Hunting on foot gave those Middleburg Hunt supporters who don’t ride an opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the hound work of our tenacious pack. Believe us, our whippers-in, Carey Shefte, Laura Dietrich and Joan Strahler, got their exercise tromping through the snow attempting to keep up with hounds and a fleet-of-foot huntsman. We can’t thank them enough for their hard work and invaluable help with this pack.

Just when we foot followers thought we had a long hike back to the meet, as expected, Fred Duncan, who is beginning his nineteenth season with the Middleburg Hunt, would miraculously show up in the kennel truck. We still can’t figure out how Fred always seems to be there one step ahead of everyone. Thank you, Barry and Fred, for a memorable winter.

The weather gave us a double punch. Not only did it curtail our hunting, the damage it did to the trees and our hunting trails has been keeping our volunteers and our staff quite busy for the past few months. Thanks to their hard work, by the time cub hunting begins, the trails will be as ready for hunting as we are.

Besides trail clearing this spring and summer, we have also been conducting Monday evening trail rides that have served as an opportunity for green horses and riders, as well as camaraderie on horseback. On Saturday, June 19th, we had our annual Summer Trail Ride through the beautiful woods of Utopia. As usual, Vicki Van Mater and Joe Kasputys exhibited their gracious hospitality.

Listed on the Calendar page are upcoming activities and the dates to save. So, get out your calendar and make a note of our full schedule.

The sport of foxhunting continues to face challenges, the greatest of which are maintaining open space and defending ourselves against legislative and governmental actions that may restrict our sport. We constantly and diligently work to solve these problems.

As we have said many times 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 and 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. The slow economy also makes it a good time to take action; once the economy rebounds a strong resurgence of development may follow. 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 to assist our landowners in any way to preserve our hunting country. Please feel free to contact us.

Legislation, not necessarily aimed at our sport, but nonetheless potentially detrimental to foxhunting, continues to be proposed. All foxhunting enthusiasts, who are interested in preserving the sport, whether you ride or lend support in other ways, should become Members of the Virginia Foxhound Club and Subscribing Members of the Masters of Foxhounds Association. We are fortunate to have their leadership. With our help, both organizations monitor what goes on in government and make our voices heard at the State and Federal level. Now is the time to be counted among those who love the sport. Make no mistake; there is strength in numbers. We encourage all to join by visiting their websites: www.virginiafoxhoundclub.org and www.mfha.org.

If you are interested in subscribing to the 2010-2011 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 all other subscribers, with the exception of riding to hounds. These non-hunting supporters are some of our most enthusiastic. We are grateful that they are a part of the Middleburg Hunt.

Junior subscribers are the future of our sport. That’s why the rates for junior subscriptions at the Middleburg Hunt are reasonable; a child under 14 with an adult hunts for free and a junior age 14 to 21 hunts for a nominal fee. We want the young to be able to afford to hunt and learn about our sport. Last season Karen and George Kingsley began educating, coaching and shepherding young foxhunters. Building a stable of young entry, they prepared many talented junior riders and introduced them to foxhunting. We can’t think of a safer way to start riding to hounds. If you know of a youngster interested in foxhunting, we encourage you to contact Karen and George at (540)974-5167 and be part of their program.

Please 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.

We look forward to sharing the upcoming foxhunting season with all of you. We remind you that for updates, photographs, information and to contact the Masters by e-mail, you may log on to our website, www.middleburghunt.com.

In today’s world of communication, we encourage you to share with us your e-mail address. Events happen quickly. Whether it is a newly proposed bill in Richmond or a change in weather affecting a hunt meet, we would like to keep everyone who receives this letter - landowners, subscribers and friends - informed. In addition, this summer we began using e-mail to announce upcoming activities; trail rides, trail clearing, puppy walking, etc. So, please e-mail your name, address, phone number and e-mail address to info@middleburghunt.com.

Our phone numbers are listed below. We always enjoy hearing from you. Hope to see you soon.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey M. Blue, MFH  (540-687-5446) and Mrs. John Denegre, MFH (540-687-6069)