by Tommy Brannon
Cubbing season has started up in the mid-south. Generally, cubbing season starts in September and goes until the end of October. Opening Meets are held in early to mid-November. Foxhunting begins early in the morning and only lasts for a short time, to avoid stressing hounds, horses, and quarry in the heat. This part of the foxhunting season is for training young hounds, and for members of the field to learn and acclimate their horses to the sport. It is important for riders to control their horses when puppies may be underfoot. Often, the huntsman will try to end each day at a stream, river or pond, for the hounds to cool off.
Ratcatcher attire, tweed jackets and colored stocks, are worn on the informal hunts. Polo shirts may even be worn by the staff. Meet times are usually early, around 7 a.m., and the hunting may be two hours or less.
Area foxhunts starting cubbing season include Oak Grove Hunt Club, Longreen Foxhounds, Haradaway-Whitworth Hounds, Chula-Homa Hunt, Hillsboro Hounds, and Mels Foxhounds. More information available at www.mfha.com.
A Between the Ears photo
Dickie Watson, MFH and huntsman for the Oak Grove Hunt Club, dismounts to give Oak Grove’s pack of Penn-Marydel Foxhounds a deserving pet at the end of a cub hunt, September 17, 2011 on the Blackwater Creek Ranch in Laws Hill, MS.
Cubbing season has started up in the mid-south. Generally, cubbing season starts in September and goes until the end of October. Opening Meets are held in early to mid-November. Foxhunting begins early in the morning and only lasts for a short time, to avoid stressing hounds, horses, and quarry in the heat. This part of the foxhunting season is for training young hounds, and for members of the field to learn and acclimate their horses to the sport. It is important for riders to control their horses when puppies may be underfoot. Often, the huntsman will try to end each day at a stream, river or pond, for the hounds to cool off.
Ratcatcher attire, tweed jackets and colored stocks, are worn on the informal hunts. Polo shirts may even be worn by the staff. Meet times are usually early, around 7 a.m., and the hunting may be two hours or less.
Area foxhunts starting cubbing season include Oak Grove Hunt Club, Longreen Foxhounds, Haradaway-Whitworth Hounds, Chula-Homa Hunt, Hillsboro Hounds, and Mels Foxhounds. More information available at www.mfha.com.
A Between the Ears photo
Dickie Watson, MFH and huntsman for the Oak Grove Hunt Club, dismounts to give Oak Grove’s pack of Penn-Marydel Foxhounds a deserving pet at the end of a cub hunt, September 17, 2011 on the Blackwater Creek Ranch in Laws Hill, MS.
