Evening star., 1934-01-21
BY JACK ALLEN and
ROBERT B. PHILLIPS, T.

n INFANT clad only in swaddling
n clothes toddles out of the wings
into the warm glare of q golden
spotlight and is given tremendous
ovation by one of Sportdoms most
enthusiastic groups.
He is young Mr.. 1884 and the audience
Rathered to bid him merry welcome Is mace
I'D of some 200 followers of the hounds who
ride over the hills and dales of Maryland and
Virginia hard by the National Capital.
Though the newcomer has just made nus
uebut-though he is still in that tender age
Of the protecting period members OF the
four recognized fox hunts in the District OF
Columbia area are looking to him with Keen
anticipation.
They see in the young chap the promise of
great strides in hunting progress, new
achievements and deep branching out into
undeveloped territory rich in game.
During the year which Father Time has just
nshered off with a wave of his magic scythe
they have cleared obstacle after obstacle in
field filled with natural barriers and pitfalls
financial spiritual and other handicaps-and
can ride on with the end of their pursuit
of success in sight.
In the new year they look for the fulfillment
of their ambitions which point toward more
successful organization. keener hunts, the
eradication of monetary ills and better un-
derstanding between themselves and the
landowners ever whose property they hunt
their packs
COX hunting, which arose in England with
] the restoration, and which has fourished
in the United States since the early Colonial
days, had its inception hereabouts when Lord
Fairfax who settled in the Northern Neck of
Virginia in 1889, imported hounds from his
native land three years later and set up a
hunting establishment at the county seat which
bears his name.
1t not until 1927, however, when a band
of horsemen and horsewomen formed the
Fairfax Hunt, that a pack operating within
close proximity to the Capital obtained official
recognition from the National Steeplechase and
Hunt Association.
Interest in the sport spread rapidly and two
years later the Howard County hounds were
assembled in Maryland to be followed by the
Riding and Hunt Club In 1880 and the Red
land Hunt in 1882
Since the membership of the four hunts
draws heavily from Washington. one of the
first requirements was to select hunting terri
tory exceptionally accessible to city dweers.
In this enGeavor each hunt met with sue
cess. The customary meeting points range
from 10 to Is miles out of the city for the
Redland Riding and Hunt Club hounds; Is to
25 miles for Fairfax, and % to % miles for the
Howard County pack.
Members OF one hunt who keep their horses
within range of its meets may, therefore van
to any of the others without great expense.
Going the rounds of the four one will find
striking similarity in their virtues and faults
obvious, of course, in varying degree
All are young in their present form Of Or
ganiZation. None of them is rich in the sense
that some OF the Long Island or Northern
Virginia hunts are wealthy. Each one is
based on and carried forward by a nucleus
of hardy enthusiasts determined to build up
the pack, improve the country and enlarge
the membership suitably.
For the Washington follower of hounds who
attaches himself to club visits inter-