You might expect the largest foxhound show in the world to be in England, but in fact, it is in Virginia. The Virginia Foxhound Show attracts admirers, owners, and breeders of foxhounds of all types and all strains. The show was founded in 1934 in what is a great illustration of brotherly love: When William Du Pont, Jr., president of the now-defunct American Foxhound Club, was asked by his sister, Marion Du Pont Scott, to organize the event, he did it. Now that’s a good sibling! Marion offered her Montpelier estate as a venue for the bench show and field trial classes. The show ran for seven years under the auspices of the American Foxhound Club until WW II broke out, later to be resurrected.
The oldest complete outdoor hound show in the United States is the Bryn Mawr Hound Show founded in 1914. Organizers John Valentine, Plunket Stewart and J. Stanley Reeve contacted local Masters of Hounds, and with their approval and support, officers were elected and committees were formed. Twenty one of the most important packs in America attended that first show, and that early support continues: The Masters of Foxhounds Association of America, the National Beagle Club, and Penn-Marydel Foxhounds join the Bryn Mawr Hound Show as present-day patrons of the show that typically draws 35 to 45 exhibiting packs. If you love hounds, you would be in heaven at this show! More than 500 hounds exhibit in six rings, including English Foxhounds, American Foxhounds, Crossbred Foxhounds, Penn-Marydel Foxhounds, Beagles and Basset Hounds. For hound affectionados, participants, and breeders, it just might be the de rigueur event at which to spectate, admire, or size up up different bloodlines and potential stud dogs.
There is a hound show that predates the Bryn Mawr, and that is the National Hound Show. It was first held in 1906 and was limited to Foxhounds (except in 1908 when members of the National Beagle Club showed some of their hounds). The show only lasted for three years before it was moved to New York where the Westminster Kennel Club adopted it and held it as a part of their annual show.
Some hound folk may argue that the most significant hound event in the world in terms of tradition and prestige is the Peterborough Royal Foxhound Show in the UK. Founded in 1878, the first show was held under the patronage of HRH The Prince of Wales KG. In 1934, His Majesty, King George V, gave his permission for the name of the Society to become the Peterborough Royal Foxhound Show Society.
How important is this show?
The first American ever invited to judge at Peterborough was C. Martin Wood III, MFH, consummate hound breeder, a student of bloodlines, and the breeder of the two Grand Champion Foxhounds of the Virginia Foxhound Show (2010 and 2011). After he judged at Peterborough, he was heard to say, “The first thing I’ll do when I get home is go to the kennel, pull all my hounds out, and look at each one in the light of the standards I’ve seen here.” High praise, indeed.
A win at either the Virginia Foxhound Show or Peterborough becomes a landmark in that hunt’s history, and hound fanciers may be interested to know that in 2022, the Virginia Foxhound Show will be held on May 27-29.
We part with a fun thing with which to “tinker.” Baily’s Hunting Directory is the best guide to hunting with hound packs since 1897, and has often been referred to as “the red-backed bible of hunting.” It is probably the most (and perhaps only) comprehensive listing of packs of hounds of all types from around the world, and one of its features is a “hound name selector.” The names are based upon lists taken from prize winning hounds at a variety of hound shows worldwide, and all you to do use it is to enter the first letter of a name. For example, if you have a litter with ‘S’ as the primary letter, you enter an ‘S’ in the box. A list of names starting with ‘S’ will appear. Check it out here.
Image: American Foxhounds before a hunt by © Steveheap/Dreamstime stock photo