Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-15
VIRGINIA FOX HUNTERS,
The Kind of Horses They Breed and
the Clubs That Exhibit.

The Kind of Horses They Breed and
the Clubs That Exhibit.
From the Baltimore SUM-
The fox hunters of Loudoun, Fauquer,
Prince William. Fairfax, Culpeper and
Rappahannock counties which comprise in
great part what is known as Piedmont
Virginia, looking forward to a season
of fine sport. as there are many well-bred
horses in that field this fall fit for the
chase. and foxes are reported to be plenti-
full The farmers are happy over abund-
ant and lucrative crops, and are now pre-
pairing for a royal holiday, with their horses
and dogs
For the last five or six years consider
able attention has been paid by the Vir-
ginians to the development of the hunting
horse in that part of the state, and the
results which have been achieved show
that the eeding of that class of stock has
been conducted on intelligent and ex-
tenstve scale. Their hunters and jumpers
which the get of thoroughbred sires
crossed on general utility Mares are
classed as half and three-quarters bred BY
experimenting on these lines it has been
discovered that such standards are the
most desirable for steeplechasing and the
hunting field.
1t is imperative that good bone shall
inquire in the anatomy of cross-country
stock, and for this reason it is believed to
De mistake to cultivate its lineage I'D to
that OF the thoroughbred. The VirginianS
are not only panstaking and intelligent
breeders. but they have studied the art of
training, or schooling, as it is termed in
hunting circles. and added to this is a re-
markable knack for riding which is COM
mon among them. The consequence is they
nave established profitable industry and
ma ready markets. not only in Washing
ton and Baltimore, but in Philadelphia
New YORK and Boston, and have even sup
Piled horses to the officers of the English
garrison stationed at Jamaica
The I'pDerVilIa Colt Iuh ha
hunt. the Prince William Horsemen's As
soclatlon at Manassas. the Hamilton Horse
Snow and the Culpeper Horse and Colt
Club are the chief organizations which are
promoting the horse interest in that region
and the races and shows. which they held
last summer, demonstrated a notable i'm
prOvement not only in the saddIer but the
driver we'll
One of the most successful stock farms in
the state devoted to the breeding of trot-
iers is Mtlburn, in Fauquier county
which is under the management of Messrs
Marshall and Thompson of Warrenton. The
head of their stud is Governor Stanford
with record of 2.21. He took first prize
al Philadelphia in 1893, and was the win
ner OF the Breeders stake at Detroit as
a four-year-old, his sire being the great
Electioneer. with $50 in the go class.
heyndrd Is conceded to be one of the
shreWdest productions of nature wherever
ne may abide; especially so is the red
haired member of his family who dwells
among the wooded recesses and rocky fast
nesses or the spurs of the Blue Ridge Old
hunters in that section saw that n is a
singular fact that the gray fox almost in
Variabiy makes his home in the lowlands
whereas the red fox. which Is much the
gamer. has his den among the hills.
This red fox of the Piedmont country is
"a genius at stratagem. He can swim like
a.duck. run like race horse for a mile
cIlrno q tree or crawl into squirrel hole
though he generally disdafns such base
srbterfuges If he has anything like fair
start OF the dogs. He also has a wonder
III! knowledge of scent, and his mind is a
map OF the country He delights in check
mating his purSuerS when they are most
sanguine of their game
lie has been known to give hunters a
slfalght run of ten miles. and frequently
makes a grand "circumbendibus'' of twice
that distance, when he displays his remark
able powers of speed. endurance and de-
ceptlo7- Craftiness is the code of this
thleVlns Fagabond of the woods. who leads
such gay and gtpsy-like existence but
whose death is invariably a tragedy