Annapolis Valley Hunt

Oppps....

Sorry, this is "old news" darnit!

Our "News Page" is in the process of being updated

 

My, How Our Puppies Have Grown!

During the summer of 2009, AVH Ivy had a litter of puppies to add to our pack.  The father was AVH Sailor.  There were eight puppies - 2 females and 6 males.  They were named for the year they were born - T - and they are as follows:  Males - Teddy, Toey, Titus, Timber, Toro, and Trigger, and felmales - Tosca and Thule.  Also last summer, we received a hound from Eglinton and Caledon hunt named Gorgeous, who was bred.  She  had a litter of six puppies - 2 females and 4 males.  Her puppies were named using the first letter of her name "G" for "Gorgeous". Puppies included:  Males - Guernsey, George, Grimsby, Griffon, and females - Gemma and Gretchen.

Check out our Puppies Page to see thier puppy album  - remember when!

We are proud to say that all but one or two hounds have completed their first successful season of hunting. Wow! How quickly they caught on, and how well behaved they were, thanks to all the hard work of those who participated in training them. They certainly added  quite a bit to the speed, voice and rambunciousness to the pack - to say nothing of how much harder our check point tradition of "Name that Hound" was!

Name That Hound!

Be careful out there in the field. Each week during hunt season, it might be you that is called upon to "name that hound!" If your not paying attention to the Hound of the Week entry on our website, it may be a challenging task among our beautiful and well matched pack of foxhounds. Each week, clues are offered on how to easily identify the "hound of the week" (ie. collar color). Our Huntsman Paul is excited to see this  challenge continued (since he invariably earns a free drink at the breakfast from it), so be sure to pay attention to the front page beginning again in September, 2011 for each week's featured hound.  We invite our hunt photographers to submit their best hound photos to fuel the competition.

Hunt Website Finally Updated

2010 Hunter Pace, Another Big Success

AVH hosted the second annual Hunter Pace at the Rollicking Horse Ranch, home of Gerry and Judy Johnston. The event was very well attended and quite successful as a fund raiser for the club, bringing in a whopping $2000.  Fifteen teams took the challenge in one of three classes - "Heels of the Hounds", "Hill Toppers", and "Turtles".  Each class rode a beautiful, flagged route which had been previously measured for a secret, optimal time.  The Heels of the Hounds represented an authentic AVH hunt with sections where you could imagine hounds blasting along on a hot scent and other places where they would have been just walking or stopped trying to regain the line.  Hill Toppers followed a similar route but cut out some of the gnarlier sections as well as took to high points (hill tops) for a better (imaginary) view of running hounds.  Turtles was designed for beginners and green horses, or simply less ambitous riders. Our Turtles took a nice leisurely trip throught beautiful woods trails where they could dream about riding to hounds this season. 

Following the ride, the teams competed in a Tail Gate extravaganza that saw Mexican Haciendas, Pink Diners, English sportsman's Drawing rooms, and relaxed, but refined country kitchens spring up all over Gerry and Judy's fields.

Take a look at the Hunter Pace Map.

See the Hunter Pace Results

 

This seasons Holiday Hack originally scheduled for Monday Dec 27th, was delayed a few days into the New Year due to inclimate weather. Nevertheless, snow covered trails and cold weather didn't stop most from attending what has become a much revered tradition, marking the end of a great hunt season.  Although, the word "hack" is generally thought of as a leisurely equestrian activity, don't be fooled, several members of the AVH seem to have brought new meaning to the word. If your going to ride in the first flight, better make sure your equipt with goggles of some sort, and your horse has snow pads and studs, because there's going to be clammering hoof beats up Meek Rd. complete with flying snow balls from the horses feet ahead of you (unless your Gerry Johnston who will no doubt be leading the way!)....As a survival tactic for many of us, the group quickly broke up into first and second flights. After an exhilarating afternoon for both groups, we indulged our palates to a tasty assortment of Mexican cuisine put together by the members! Puerto Rican fahita's even snuck it's way into the Mexican menu. There was much celebration, drinking of funny colored liquids and exciting discussion about continuing the season in the sunny south, be it  this year or next.