Hunt Info

The Western Challenge will be held at the ...
B&N Ranch
6685 NW Liberty Rd.
McCune, Kansas 66753
Date: April 11, 2009

There will be stabling available for horses at the Ranch.

Motels, such as the Super 8, and the Comfort Inn, are available in Pittsburg, KS.

There will be a Cocktail Party from 7 to 9 PM at the Ranch on Friday night.

The Hunt will go out at 10:00 AM Saturday morning.

Looking forward to seeing you here. If you have further questions let me know--
Wes Sandness wessandness@yahoo.com

Arapahoe Hunt, Parker, Colorado

Contact Information

Questions? Contact: Rob Deline at 303 743 0100

Or mail to:

The Arapahoe Hunt
14120 E Evans Ave
Aurora, CO 80014

Or E-mail us: rob@solucian.com

We are hunting with the Paradise Valley Beagles on April 5. Let me know if you have any questions. Zoe 480-215-7691.

Susie Stevenson

Phone: 602-819-4696

Fixture at the Ranch House

From I- 40, take the Winona exit, and turn north. Almost immediately turn right and follow the frontage road eastward for about two miles to the left turn up a gentle hill. Follow this road under a railroad bridge and over a cattle guard, until the first left. On that road, which is generally in rather poor condition, pass two cattle guards, turning right and parking immediately after the second. Plan on 30 minutes from downtown Flagstaff. Ride out at 8:30 am.

Flagstaff Events Lodging

Holiday Inn Express

2320 East Lucky Lane

Flagstaff, Az

Phone: 928.714.1000

Little America

251 East Butler Avenue

Flagstaff, Az

Phone: 928.779.7900

Stables

Northern Arizona Riding Stables

9215 S. Old Munds Highway

Flagstaff, Arizona 86001

Owners- Susan and Noel Carter Phone: 928-214-8300

Caza Ladron Hunt Structure

We are hunting with the Kingsbury Harriers on April 5. Let me know if you have any questions. Zoe 480-215-7691.

Susie Stevenson

Phone: 602-819-4696

Fixture at the Ranch House

From I- 40, take the Winona exit, and turn north. Almost immediately turn right and follow the frontage road eastward for about two miles to the left turn up a gentle hill. Follow this road under a railroad bridge and over a cattle guard, until the first left. On that road, which is generally in rather poor condition, pass two cattle guards, turning right and parking immediately after the second. Plan on 30 minutes from downtown Flagstaff. Ride out at 8:30 am.

Flagstaff Events Lodging

Holiday Inn Express

2320 East Lucky Lane

Flagstaff, Az

Phone: 928.714.1000

Little America

251 East Butler Avenue

Flagstaff, Az

Phone: 928.779.7900

Stables

Northern Arizona Riding Stables

9215 S. Old Munds Highway

Flagstaff, Arizona 86001

Owner- Susan Wolfe Phone: 928-214-8300

Grand Canyon Hounds--Flagstaff, Arizona

4413 N 56th St, Phoenix, AZ 85018-3117
Contact Phone: (480) 945-3125

Grand Canyon Hounds; Flagstaff, AZ (charter member)
Grand Canyon Hounds
2899 N. Garrett Ln.,
Flagstaff, Arizona 86001.
Registered 2005.
Hunt Attire: Scarlet or black, eggplant collar with tan trim. Evening--Same. MFHs: (2005) Paul T. Delaney, 2899 N. Garrett Ln., Flagstaff, AZ 86001, Tel.: 928-774-1921; (2005) Stephania Williams, 6006 E. Cheney Dr., Paradise Valley, AZ 85253-3576, Tel.: 480-951-3082. Hon. Sec.: Susan Billingsley, P.O. Box 345, Flagstaff, AZ 86002-0345, Tel.: 928-526-3610. Huntsman: (prof) Peter Wilson. Whippers-in: (prof) Amanda Wilson, (hon) Colleen Auberle, (hon) Susan Billingsley, (hon) Susan K. Martin-Caskey. Kennels: Flagstaff, Coconino County, Ariz. Foxhounds: 12 American couples, 10 Penn-Marydel couples, 8 Crossbred couples. Hunting: Coyote. Season: mid-October--early April. Meet: Wednesdays and Saturdays. Visitors are permitted to hunt--for details contact the Hon. Sec. Hounds went out 55 times last season. The country is about 10 by 14 miles of grassland and sparse Pinyon and Juniper trees between 5500 and 7000 feet elevation and across about 6 by 10 miles of open Ponderosa Pine and Pinyon-Juniper country at 6500 to 7000 feet elevation. Nearby volcanic cinder cones afford excellent viewing but sometimes difficult riding. We also hunt a small area, near metropolitan Phoenix, Ariz., of desert arroyos at about 1500 feet elevation.

Only forty-five minutes from Reno, you can find the Red Rock Equestrian Training Center at:
25 Spoke Road
Red Rock, Nevada 89506

Give us a call at: 775-969-3243
Or email us at lynnlloyd@redrockhounds.com

Joint Masters of Foxhounds Lynn Lloyd  1980- Scott J. Tepper  1986- Gayle Horn  2001- John Schafer  2007- Honorary Secretary Dr. Pat Hodges

The Hunt Staff Huntsman Lynn Lloyd  (775 969-3243)

Honorary
Whippers-In
Jerry Dugan
Angela Murray
John
Schafer
Paulette Schneider
Scott J. Tepper

PlaceHolder

North Hills Hunt

Nebraska's only officially-sanctioned fox hunt club, ...North Hills Hunt of Omaha.

This weekend the North Hills Hunt brings together members of eight other hunt clubs from across the west. 10,000 acres of wide open land ideal for a fox hunt. It's the rolling hills and rugged valleys surrounding the Calamus Reservoir.

A number of ranchers open their land for the weekend ride. Judy Kahlhandt, who rode with the hunt back in Omaha, boasted that the ranch she and her husband own near Burwell would be a perfect place to ride, ...and they took her up on it.

She noted: "They're surprised because there's so much land few fences." Henry, her husband, avers "Out here they can go for seven, eight, nine miles and never come to a cross road." Helmuth Dahlke, MFH North Hills Hunt, avers that the pack he oversees isn't all one breed but they are trained to work in a manner needed for a successful hunt.

"What we try to do is teach these hounds it is better to be together, a pack. Luke Matranga is the Huntsman, is concerned about conserving the hounds..."We try not to expend all the energy of the animals, either the hounds or the horses, on the first day so we have something left for tomorrow.

On Saturday: Luke Matranga greets Dennis Foster, the executive director of the MFHA. Foster notes ... "This is a contest really between the fox and the hounds. The emphasis in America is to chase the fox, or the coyote in this case, so we get on these horses, these wonderful creatures, and we watch two animals that have been chasing each other since the beginning of their existence, the fox and the coyote, and we get to watch it in this beautiful countryside you got here."

Tradition and ritual guide each hunt. Of these traditions the dress code, that distinctive look, is paramount. Participants protect and defend trademark red coat worn by men, is considered an honor. Matranga point out..."After somebody's been a member of the hunt for an extended period of time and we're certain that they know the territory, they know the horses, they follow the traditions of fox hunting, then we award them colors." Women can earn an identical coat in black.

The colors on the collar identify each hunt club. Old gold and royal blue is the North Hills. Even the ascot scarf called a stock tie has a purpose. Matranga continues ... "It's a big bandage. And we can take this off because sometimes the horse will get hurt or the rider will get hurt." The riding boots are high fashion with a function protecting legs from the thick brush during a ride and the horse hair. Spurs are for motivation.

Another tradition, the stirrup cup is a toast to participants and the hosting landlords.

The quarry here is coyote, rather than fox... just as quick and difficult to track, plentiful in the sandhills. Nor is the goal to actually catch much less kill the coyote. This is a chase. The longer and faster, the better. Dennis Foster notes, "If we're real lucky we get to see the quarry also which is the coyote. So you have to have a lot of hounds if you want to run and gallop because hounds are just like people. Sometimes they'll have better smelling than others so you need a lot of them so they carry the scent and they keep moving forward."

In a matter of minutes the hounds and horses are bounding across the landscape. It looks chaotic but as Luke Matranga, the huntsman says that's pretty normal for the sandhills. "When the hounds take off, they can go through areas that we can't follow directly so sometimes we're going to have to cut very wide and to be able to find a terrain we can get through with the horses and then catch back up with the hounds again."

While the rest of the riders give chase, some are assigned to make sure the pack doesn't get too spread out, that some independent-minded hounds don't take off on their own.

Jim Sophir, the whipper-in, says "We actually try not to use our whips and when we do, we crack it just to get their attention. Verbal commands such as pack into the huntsmen, pack up, try left, try right. And they respond pretty well to those voice commands. A whip actually should be sort of seen and not heard."

The hounds pick up the scent again sending 30 hounds into a thicket too dense for the horsemen to ride into. In a matter of minutes, one hound breaks out and the chase is on again. The hounds got on a terrific run and we just went for miles and miles and miles. Matringa notes, "we got in front of the hounds and stopped them and on the way back picked up most of them. We started out with 29 hounds. We have 28 back right now. We're waiting for only one hound to come in."

Jim Sophir,back from this thankless job trying to control the hounds, affectionately gives the credit for the morning ride where it's due, to his mount, River City Red. "For me he is extremely athletic. He is very fast. He is a retired racehorse so he is a thoroughbred and he is off the track. Very willing jumper. Never refuses a jump. So that's what makes him a great mount."

Beth Schaben, Dunlap, IA chimes in,"You know, it's beautiful countryside. The footing is always slept. You never have to worry about the footing. The hounds get to spread out. You get to see them no matter how far out ahead of you they are and so you really get to view it for a while."

Sunday arrives cool and dry. An evening of socializing and nursing sore muscles from the previous day does not keep the riders from a sunrise call for today's hunt. Everyone who participates acknowledges it takes a particular, even peculiar sort of person to take part in a hunt.

John Mail of the hunt staff decided motorcycle racing was not exciting enough so he turns to fox hunting. excitingly he says, "Oh, hey, you are just flying across country. I mean, you are on an animal that weighs 1,200 pounds and has a brain the size of a pea. Your life is literally in his hands."

Today's hunt should be even more interesting because the pack will be twice as large. 30 more hounds from Reno, Nevada are joining the hunt and they are ready to go. Anyone who thought a Sunday morning hunt would be more leisurely was sorely mistaken, perhaps just plain sore. The first of the riders and all of the pack had just cleared the first fence row when the lead hound picks up the scent. That sends the entire hunt back across the fence and over a hill. For the next three hours, the pack would be moving almost nonstop. Spectators would have a difficult time keeping track of the progress as the hounds ran farther and farther north. "When you ride for as far as you can see and then ride for as far as you can see again, it's just a tremendous day." Eventually the riders and even some of the hounds gave up trying to keep up. With the pack still running, the hunt staff called off the riders and decided they should get a couple of pick-up trucks to round up the rest of the hounds. The hounds went clear west and clear north. They'll keep running until it makes a circle or comes back or runs the ground. ... they probably obviously a pretty healthy coyote."

The coyote fared better than the master of the hunt. He was thrown from his steed in full gallop. Matringa with arm in sling... "Tallyho!"

Mrs. Shoemaker's Weybright Hounds ( Bosler, WY )

The Red Rock Hounds will be hunted by Lynn Lloyd, MFH over Mrs. Shoemaker’s Weybright Hounds country.

Fifteen seasoned couple of American Hounds and the Red Rock staff will travel to Wyoming to face the challenge of hunting an unfamiliar fixture.

Accustomed to the high desert of northern Nevada, the hounds normally hunt coyote in vast country covered with sage brush at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains