Letter to the Members 
August 14, 2008
Members, Social Subscribers and Friends of the Blue Ridge Hunt:
Here we are in August and fox hunting is just around the corner. Since the Annual General Meeting the hunt has been busy with the weekly trail rides, hound shows, the annual horse show and the Hound and Terrier Races.
Liz Dyke, who took on the Trail Rides, has kept a full schedule each weekend alternating between Saturday and Sunday to give all concerned an opportunity to participate.
The Masters and Staff had a successful campaign this year at the Virginia Hound Show in May and the Bryn Mawr Hound Show in June. Our hounds were on the boards in many classes with numerous ribbons at Morven Park and they were the Grand Champion at Bryn Mawr.
The horse show was well supported but unfortunately was interrupted by rain and the afternoon classes had to be cancelled. While this was a disappointment for all the bigger impact is to the budget as we had counted on about $5,000. The horse show did break even.
Norm Fine wouldlike to say thank you to the dozen Blue Ridge Hunt volunteers who manned the Ruritan food stand at the Clarke County Fair on August 12th. The “Family Award” goes to the four Eyles, with Billy making French fries, Karen assembling sandwiches, and Amelia and Isabella stocking shelves.
Karl Wennink stood over the grill all night alternately flipping hamburgers and scraping down the grease. Billy and Karl manned those two hot spots all night in great humor. Vail Juhring, Andie Howells, and Caroline Leake poured and served sodas, bottled water, and iced tea to order. Teddy Mulligan, Liz Dyke, Robin Duncan, and Peter Cook helped Karen with the sandwiches. Norm, a member of Ruritan, has organized the hunt’s involvement at the fair for longer than most of us can remember.
The Hunt helps in the food stand every year at the Fair on Tuesday night. In appreciation, the Ruritan Club posts a sign in front letting the hungry customers know they are being served by the Blue Ridge Hunt. Grassroots community outreach!
The new hunt website (www.blueridgehunt.org) has gone live. A special thanks to Karen Myers for building the site. It will complement the hunt monitor for key dates and activities.
There are several important dates to put on your calendar. The All Horse Open Trail Ride is on August 23rd at Mt Hebron, the Calcutta for the Fall Races September 19th, the Fall Races September 20th and the Landowners Picnic on September 27th. Look for announcements about venues and times in the near future and of course check the website.
The fall race meet will be held at Woodley on September 20th. This year we have some exciting changes and additions to the festivities. We are introducing a Calcutta dinner dance to be “under the tent” at Woodley on Friday September 19th. Shortly an invitation for the Calcutta will arrive in the mail. The evening will include dinner, dancing (same band as the Hunt Ball) and a Calcutta Auction. Dust off your dancing shoes!!
Saturday the day of the races there will be lots of fun for everyone. We have added stick pony races for the children as well as returning with the moon bounce, pony rides and face painting, continuing our family friendly theme of the day. Bring your kids and tell your friends to look for the stick pony entry booth near tent row.
This year we have a “Vendors Alley” all gathered together under a big tent on the top of the hill. A popular and successful item was the used tack tent which will return under the successful guidance of Linda Roberts. Please contact Linda Roberts at 703-955-6798, to donate items for the tack tent.
Robin Duncan will be organizing help to raise and lower the tents the week before the races and Sunday immediately following. We need 10 people to help with the set up and break down of the hillside activities. Thank you in advance for your support.
There have been significant changes made to the race course to improve viewing, safety and the quality of the racing. The wire fence separating the parking from the course has been removed and a spectator’s rail at the edge of the course will be installed. A special thanks to Ben Harrison and Harrison Fencing for their assistance in making this improvement. This change will allow for the patron parking to be in front of the tents overlooking the finish line.
You will notice this year the races will be run right handed on the course not left handed. After careful consideration and the input of several horseman and racing stewards it was concluded that this change would benefit all, horses, owners, trainers and spectators alike.
Now to the Calcutta: many of you may have had the chance to participate in one of several racing related Calcutta’s, like the Virginia Gold Cup Calcutta, Middleburg Hunt or Maryland Hunt Cup Calcutta. For those that have not, let us share with you how the evening works. It can be a lot of fun with a better understanding of a Calcutta.
That evening following dinner we will hold an auction for one possibly two of the races. Will O’Keefe, the voice of Virginia racing, will give a description of the racing performance of the horses running. Your objective is to bid on a horse in that race who you and or your syndicate thinks will win the race. The proceeds raised in the auction will be split 50:50 with the winning bidder of the winning horse receiving half proceeds.
Recall earlier in the summer a tri-fold announcement about the races went out in the mail. In that was information about Patron Parking. If you have misplaced this mailing please contact Melanie Marks at 540-722-6403 or send your payment to 27 W. Boscawen Street, Winchester, Va 22601.
Dues letters went out earlier this summer. Funding the hunt is lumpy at best. Any of you that can pay 100% of your dues now it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your ongoing support of the Blue Ridge Hunt. We look forward to seeing all of you at the various events upcoming and out in the hunt field whenever possible.
Warm regards,
Michael E. Hoffman
Chairman, Blue Ridge Hunt |
