Evening star., 1937-02-17
BY NINA CARTER TABB.

The great run with the Middleburg
hounds, as described for me by Harry
Worcester Smith, dean Of foxhunting,
who was up front and missed not q
detail.
The meet was at the Pothouse at !
o'clock. Among the strangers present,
this being her first hunt in Virginia,
was Mrs. Donovan. who hunts with
the Genessee Valley and lives in
Washington, D. c. The fox was found
at lis on the Freddy Warburg farm,
near Goodwin's. The hounds, in full
cry, followed to the Hit pasture and
down south to Goose Greek, which
Maddox, the huntSman, and Charley
George, the whip, eyed for few mo-
ments before they plunged in. The
former got to the other side, soaked
to the middle, while the whips horse
was obliged to swim. MIR. Sands, the
master, led the followers at a f; It
gallop alongside Goose Greek to the
new Ford road, over the bridge, and,
hearing hounds at the south, pressed
on down the sand clay road and
stopped moment at the Middleburg-
Upperville pike. All those who had
been able to keep up jumped into the
Piedmont country at Raymond
Guests.
one. Mrs. Donovan's hunter. Jumping
from field into a road, turned sud-
denly under her to pursue horses in
front, slipped, went partially down,
and having deposited its burden on
the frozen ruts of the road, scampered
ahead. Jack Skinner. just behind,
gave his horse to Buck and was
soon at the lady's side; in lifting her
to her feet he found that she had on
three coats and two sweaters to keep
out the cold. The temperature was
only % degrees that morning.
Connie Regan had brought the
runaway horse back. Buck held him,
and Jack, when he started to throw
the lady up, said: IT always put my
wife up by putting my hand under
her knee" Mrs. Donovan replied:
Put it under my foot. I can't get
up any other way" Jack snapped
out: Dear lady, the hounds are run
ming. I am going to throw you up my
way now, or not at all" Which he
did instanter, and, as Buck said, he
almost threw her over the other side
of the horse.
Mrs. Donovan, Silver-haired, keen
faced. with gray eyes with the look
Of eagles, and riding astride, comes
from Buffalo. Notwithstanding the
hard fall on the frozen ground, she
gamely pressed on and within the
next 80 minutes, at check, was able
to join the hunting party. The left
side Of her habit from skirt to collar,
her face and black derby hat, carried
marks of the melted frozen ground.
After crossing to the east of Ray
mon Guests, the hounds turned and
ran down to Phipps' old mill cover,
in Orange County, I think; turned
left to the west side Of Mrs. Rumsey's
place, right-handed to Rattlesnake,
then straight to Llewellyn's. There
they turned left-handed on Orange
County to Sharpe's farm, continuing
left across Mrs. Rumsey's at a racing
pace. Horses were sweating and with
the deep going it was certainly day
for the light-riding young women, six
or eight Of whom still tagged the
master closely.
The PACK then turned back to
Phipps', and in the cover around the
gorge gave grand cry. Here Mad
dox took a big jump over a wall into
the woods, without thought of being
brushed of. He was no sooner in
the air than the veteran Louis Leith
was leaving the ground, taking q
chance on Tellanplay, young chest
nut 5-year-old horse, on his third
hunt only, but sired by Runantell and
out Of Fair Play mare, nothing
would stop him when his blood was
up. Later in the day, on the Crom-
well Run lane, when hounds were
coming back into the Orange County