To the full cry of the howls and the echo of the horn,
a team of riders and hounds chase wild quarry through woodlands and fields, across streams, and over hills.
Known mostly as the English sport, foxhunting in North America has existed since Colonial days with the earliest record of hound importation being as early as 1650.
Born and raised in England, Stephen Portch started fox hunting at the age of 13. After moving to the United States at the age of 24, he built a career in Wisconsin as a faculty member and a university administrator. He then relocated to Georgia, where for over seven years he served as chancellor of the 35 Georgia universities and colleges. However, one main reason Stephen relocated to Georgia was because it was home to Ben Hardaway III, a foxhunting legend over the world. After Stephen spent time foxhunting with Mr. Hardaway, in 2001 Mr. Hardaway helped Stephen get his start at Hard Away Hounds in Greensboro, Ala. Hard Away Hounds, named in honor of Ben Hardaway, merged in 2004 with Whitworth Hunt, a long time hunt in Mississippi since 1973.
According to Stephen, there is an expression in foxhunting when the hounds go “hard away” on a scent. Therefore, he said, the name fits in more ways than one. “Now, we are a Mississippi and Alabama hunt,” said Stephen, “spending about half the time in each state.”
The main goal of the hunt is to experience the hounds in full cry and to view a coyote, fox, or bobcat in his natural habitat. But there are other reasons to join the hunt.
“There are people who ride to hunt and there are people who hunt to ride,” said Stephen. Some following the hunt are there primarily for the excitement of horseback riding over all sorts of terrain, which can be very fast and include lots of jumping. “They simply can’t match this horse experience anywhere else.” The other group enjoys witnessing the hounds and their skills. Of course, there are those interested in both.
According to Stephen, there is an expression in foxhunting when the hounds go “hard away” on a scent. Therefore, he said, the name fits in more ways than one. “Now, we are a Mississippi and Alabama hunt,” said Stephen, “spending about half the time in each state.”
The main goal of the hunt is to experience the hounds in full cry and to view a coyote, fox, or bobcat in his natural habitat. But there are other reasons to join the hunt.
“There are people who ride to hunt and there are people who hunt to ride,” said Stephen. Some following the hunt are there primarily for the excitement of horseback riding over all sorts of terrain, which can be very fast and include lots of jumping. “They simply can’t match this horse experience anywhere else.” The other group enjoys witnessing the hounds and their skills. Of course, there are those interested in both.
Members travel from five different states, with some driving over three hours, which will therefore benefit the local economy, said Stephen. “Because we usually hunt both days of the weekend, people stay in motels, eat in restaurants, and buy gas.” After the hunt is a breakfast consisting of dishes people brought to pass while everyone tells lies like every other hunter.
A regular-season hunt lasts about four hours with approximately 35 hounds being out at any one time. Today, primarily, coyotes are hunted, but it’s mostly about the chase and hearing the hounds when they’re on a scent.
“It’s an amazing sound when you have 35 hounds speaking at once,” said Stephen. Thanks to GPS and radio tracking collars on all the hounds, statistics show that the average hunt covers about 22 miles.
“That’s a lot of distance, a lot of chasing, and a lot of riding. On a faster day it would be a little more than that, and on a slower day it might be a little less than that.”
One of the first lessons in foxhunting is to never, ever call a “hound” a “dog.” To do so is to create one of the greatest errors of foxhunting and to risk being sentenced for doing so. The sentence usually entails something like buying a bottle of champagne.
“We have a lot of traditions and silly things like that which have been passed down through the years,” said Stephen.
Even falling off your horse can earn you a sentence.
There is also specific language to use, such as calling out, “Tally Ho!” when you see a coyote. This expression dates back to the 18th Century, though nobody is quite sure where it came from. Riders should wear a certain outfit and not mix and match outfits. Horses should be very clean and properly turned out. All equipment should be very clean, which has to do with safety as well as appearance. Riders should not to go off on their own and never ride up on the hounds.
Hounds are trained to a hunting horn, which has about six to eight different calls. Hounds may be drafted from other hunts, but no money ever bought a hound. “We exchange hounds from our fellow hunts,” explained Stephen. One hunt may have a certain player that isn’t fitting their system and that might best fit another system. “So we’ll take it or swap them one. That’s one thing I find fascinating.”
The genealogy of the hounds probably goes back further than any human beings and this is how Ben Hardaway became world famous.
“They’re called crossbred fox hounds and they’re crossbred between different nationalities of fox hounds. Some are American crossbred with English, some are English crossbred with Welsh, some are Welsh crossed with French,” said Stephen. “We’re constantly experimenting with different types of breeding to try and find the perfect hound, which has yet to be born.”
With reference to the training, a great deal has to do with the genealogy and the breeding. Hounds have to be trained because they have to be very obedient. Six-week-old puppies go out “on walk” with the family, until the family says they’re teenagers.
“Then, we send them back and they come back to us when they’re 23 weeks old,” said Stephen. “We go out every morning with all 69 hounds. We put a collar on a young hound with a clip attached to the collar of an old hound. The pups learn how to stay with the pack and so on.” If they’re smart, they only do that for a few days. The not-so-smart pups may be on there a couple of months. “That’s how we train them to learn their commands and to stay with the pack.”
To train the hounds to actually hunt, the puppies are taken out with the very skilled hounds and they’ll go to places where there is some scent. “We’ll let the old ones show them how to do it.”
The scent is usually found in small woods or sage grass, but experienced hunters know where the prey will most likely be. The hounds are taken to that location and then they spread out. Some hounds have better noses than others and when they smell something and are sure of it, they start to speak to the rest of the hounds.
“If the other hounds trust that one, they will go to where it’s speaking and join in,” said Stephen. “That will make the prey leave the woods and start making a big circle—we hope.”
Terrain varies and there are different fields for the hunt. If you’re an aggressive rider with a horse that can jump and do those types of things, you would be placed in the first field. There’s a second field for people who are either slowing down or just learning. We match people in groups according to their ability.
The Tabor Place, which is approximately 6,800 acres between Macon, Miss. and Aliceville, Ala., is wide open with tiny coverts, open plough and pasture with catfish ponds.
“It’s also used for quail and deer hunting,” said Stephen. “We really need a minimum of five-thousand acres to be able to spread our wings.”
With the increase of technology and more young people focusing on computers, laptops and cell phones, Hard Away Whitworth Hounds is committed to bringing more young people on board and giving them the experience. A lot of hunts are associated with pony clubs; some hunts go the extra mile to create a family experience and often have grandparents, parents and grandchildren out at the same time. Encouraging young people remains a priority and in fact, the age of those participating in foxhunts range from two to 72.
Hard Away Whitworth Hounds is part of a national organization called The Master Foxhounds Association (FHA), explained Stephen. “There are approximately 169 registered foxhunts in the country, so we have standards and inspections and traditions that we follow.”
Foxhunting has something for everyone. Some love the pageantry, others love the ride, and still others like to be out in the woods. Some even join the hunt to take photographs. If you like the outdoors and the unpredictable; if you like to be challenged and watch nature unfold; if you like to see and hear the hounds, and observe the coyote’s ability (After all, the coyote’s top speed is 47 miles per hour), foxhunting is for you. People particularly like the hunt because of the open country. Most people get to see one, two or three coyotes and a few bobcats on most days. Hearing the hounds coming, putting yourself in a position where you think the coyote will come out and then you see him and three minutes later you see the pack of hounds going in full-drive, that’s exhilarating.
“You might have an incredible day, you might have a slow day, but you can never totally predict what you might find,” said Stephen. “You might find nine coyotes in five little acres of woods or you might spend five hours trying to find one and never find it.”
Imagine the double-takes from people driving by when they see riders in red outfits as if they’re in 19th Century England rather than the back woods of Mississippi. Proper attire on the hunt is expected and, if you’re hunting somewhere like Virginia, there is zero tolerance for incorrect attire.
“We want to encourage people, so we’re a little more tolerant,” said Stephen. People come out in their western saddles and western garb. But if they like the hunt, after a few times, they are encouraged to transition into the more formal dress.
A foxhunt is “very much like building a sports team,” said Stephen, “because you’ve got players with different specialties and who play different roles in the pack.” Some hounds are very good at smelling a scent that is ten hours old. Other hounds can smell very good when the coyote is running. Others are good at telling where the coyote is when it goes into a hole. “Some have beautiful voices, some have screechy voices. We are always trying to put the perfect pieces together to get a Super Bowl team.”
Stephen does it because he’s been doing it on and off since he was thirteen and he spent his career building universities and a great faculty. Some of those skills were transferred into trying to create the perfect team. “You build a great hunt around great people and hounds.”
As Mr. Hardaway says, “The first time you hear those thirty-five hounds all speaking at the same time, it makes the hair on the back of your neck tingle.”