Category Archives: Master’s Report

Dear ORH Member,
The remainder of our hunts will be at 9:00 am Daylight Savings Time. That time change and the warming (can you believe it?) necessitate 9:00am if we are to get a whiff of scent.

As a reminder about this season, we did not hunt Oak Ridge after Opening Hunt. The deer hunters had given up so much of their season because of the special events that we agreed not to hunt during their season. As luck would have it, everything changed January 2, 2022. As deer season ended the first whopping snow storm smacked us and this weather drama continued for 5 weeks. We would clean up the home fixture and bam another storm. After those 5 weeks there were intermittent storms and winds. We concentrated on the home fixture and never got to clean up Oak Ridge. Given the storm last weekend we must try again to open trails and places here. It never seems to end.
I bring this up because summer means a lot of work before the beginning of cubbing on Sunday, September 11, 2022. If there is any way you all can pitch in when work parties are organized, please do.

As you know, we are well foxed. A coyote has joined us. There may be more than one. We have run him/her once or twice. He doesn’t appear to be pressing our foxes. As there is enough to eat, there is no reason to do so.

You all will probably remember this season as I do: strange, bitter cold, followed by a warm spell then more snow, rain, sleet, slush. The Spring equinox will be March 20 this year. Surely that is a sign that winter is really over. Hope so.

Up and over,

Rita Mae

Note from the typist: Closing Hunt will be March 27, 2022.

Master’s Division of Duties

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The general duties of a Master are outlined in Wadsworth’s invaluable pamphlet. A thumbnail sketch is that a Master is responsible for all aspects of the hunt, including landowner relations, keeping the country open and paneled, seeing that county and state laws concerning kennels are in order, and most importantly and often most trying, keeping the hunt financially afloat. Oak Ridge Masters share these responsibilities, but each Master has specific areas of focus as well, as described below.

Rita Mae Brown

• Everything to do with hounds, including hunting them, feeding and caring for them, training them, breeding new ones, and drafting them in and out as needs dictate.
• Providing a home for the kennels and all associated storage buildings. Also, providing for the various deliveries of food and other supplies needed for the hounds.
• Providing transportation for hounds and staff horses to and from meets.
• Construction and maintenance of main kennels, including hound runs and fencing.
• Hiring and firing of all hunt staff, professional and amateur, including the training of same.
• Work closely with the Hunt Secretary on club business.
• Rita Mae as Huntsman is always busy before and after meets with the hounds. Please wait until the tail gate to chat with her.

Bob Satterfield

• Make sure that there are appropriate flight leaders for each hunt and have the fields ready to move off when hounds arrive.
• Recruit and develop new Field Masters for each of the flights.
• Help Masters and members recruit new members – this is everybody’s job.
• Work with David to coordinate trail clearing, jump building, and fixture development.
• Work with David and club members to coordinate social activities, including the Hunt Ball, Opening Hunt Breakfast, and other special hunt breakfasts, as appropriate.
• Organize and lead Summer Rides to keep members involved and horses and riders fit.
• Coordinate fund-raising activities to help support the annual operating budget.
• Serve as a contact person for members and guests with questions or issues with an attempt to reduce RMB’s load in this area.

David Wheeler

• Manage all of the club’s financial matters.
• Develop with the other Masters an annual budget.
• Pay the bills for hounds and staff and other club needs.
• Prepare and track the bills for club member dues.
• Collect and account for all club-related revenues.
• All dues payments should be sent to David at 211 4th Street, Charlottesville, Va., 22902.
• Coordinate and disseminate information to club members about hunt safety and hunt etiquette and attire.
• Work with Bob to coordinate trail clearing, jump building, and fixture development.
• Work with Bob and club members to coordinate social activities, including the Hunt Ball, Opening Hunt Breakfast, and other special hunt breakfasts, as appropriate.

MASTER’S REPORT SEPTEMBER, 2013

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      Two good staff hunts preceded our first day of cubbing, Friday, September 13. Twenty people showed up, a few of whom played hooky from work and therefore will not be named. Pushed out a red fox, Third Flight viewed but hounds couldn’t get over in time. They winded, walked as far as they could with their noses in the air, but the heat and humidity took care of that.
     Today, September 15, we left from the Run-In Shed and after a dink here and there we hit and off they roared right at the edge of Mrs. Wood’s, Baldwin’s and not far from the corner of Mrs. Carter’s land. They sounded great and perhaps the mercury was in the low sixties by then. Then they split and we had two groups on full accelerator. As you would expect, I went up with the forward hounds closest to me. However, the second group hurtled down into the briars, timbered slash and there was no way the whipper-in, Mary Shriver, on that side could get around them. This oddly, turned out to be a good thing.
     My fox shot right across the back of Amy Debilzan’s yard and so did the hounds. Not everyone enjoys hound music as the mists of morning are lifting. Emily Schilling and I heard the second group turn up so Emily took off as they were heading for 611. Yes, the old “cross the road” trick.
     Maria Johnson now covered the open side having moved up. When hounds speak it’s a bit easier to figure things out than just hearing a toot now and then. So she moved up to the right place and Mary rode up on the hill. I was terribly glad to see her because I could also see Amy out in the back yard in her robe.
     I blew and blew and hounds did come back up. The last thing anyone wants to do is offend a landowner. If I rode down, hounds would go down with me and that could cause further unwished for excitements. I told Mary to go down and she did. She said Amy was gracious and when I called my neighbor later, we had a good laugh about it. We were lucky. She certainly would have been within her rights to be vexed by half the pack in her back yard with a calf and some cattle, as well as, perhaps, not being fully awake.
     But she was great and she did tell me about the bear over in the orchards that has been raising the devil with livestock, etc. She knows we have some bear over here, most of them are on the Foxden side, but we often will get a half grown bear on this side September through October. Usually, they keep their distance, but if they think there’s free eats, well, it can be dicey.
     All the field sitting on the hill remained quiet, waited and I suspect, hoped we hadn’t ruined our good neighbor’s morning.
     So now, how do we get to the rest of the hounds? Emily, John and Toot convinced most of them to come back over 611. One couple felt hunting was better on the east side of the road and they wound up in the party wagon. Lesson learned.
     We didn’t do much after that, so returned to the trailers by a bit after 9:30 am.
     Back to a split pack. Hounds are not wrong to follow a hot line. They are wrong not to listen which is why one has whippers-in. It’s natural for a hound to want to push the hotter line. When the line is about equal, and it was this morning because we pushed two out close to one another and at the same time, the huntsman must determine which group to honor, and trust the whippers-in to turn the others back.
     Sounds so easy. But a whipper-in can only turn a hound if s/he gets on its shoulder or the shoulder, so to speak, of the group. How can you do that in our territory? It’s hard enough in Piedmont or Orange territory. Well, quite often a whipper-in can’t do it so what they must then do is keep in as close contact as territory allows and call them, if needs be, crack the whip. That’s why we work with hounds all summer. They must be biddable here. (Well, they should be everywhere but a more gentle territory lends itself better to swift correction.) There are two other ways to work through this in difficult territory. The first is to get ahead of the hounds. Let’s say they are in the woods, you can see them but if you go in, slash, footing, old wire, whatever, means you will fall further behind. Better to stay where you can freely move and try to get ahead of them, and then speak to them when they burst out of the woods. Often, you have a good idea where that spot will be.
     The second method is if you can’t see them, but you can hear them, you surge forward to where you think they may blast out. Great, if you called it right. A real mess if they turn in the woods or stop speaking.
     As you can see, whipping-in demands constant judgment made in a second. It also demands that one calm down, sit for that second or two and intently listens. This is critical in our territory. Then make your move. Like any sport, anticipation is the key.
     What does the huntsman do? Prayer helps. But that’s a story for another day.
     Congratulations to Sandra Dawson for leading First Flight for the first time. She did a splendid job and got her field where they should be.
     See you all in the hunt field. Thank God the season has started.
 
Up and Over,
 
Rita Mae
 
RIBBONS
     A red ribbon in a horse’s tail means s/he kicks. Don’t crowd.
     A green ribbon means a green horse.
     A white ribbon means the horse is for sale is available.   
 
HUMAN RIBBONS
 
     Tails down on your hunt cap means you are staff.
     Tails up: a field member.
 
A JOHN BROWN STRAP
     A professional whipper-in may wear a stirrup leather diagonally from shoulder to waist. This can be quite useful as a whipper-in will usually go through rougher territory, cover more aisles, and wear out more stirrup leathers.
     An amateur whipper-in may wear a stirrup leather as a belt or over their belt, under their coat, if they so choose.

September 2013 Hunter Pace Results

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A huge “thank you” to all who came out to support Oak Ridge Hunt Club yesterday, whether as a rider, worker or purveyor of food. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful course.
All results are based on average time and closest to average time.
Full Cry
#1 – Priscilla Friedberg and Jim Finn
#2 – Louise Goodling and Jennifer Mix
#3 – Gretel Mangigian and Elizabeth Wood
#4 – Mark Gebhard and Tom Timmerman
Second Flight
#1 – Victoria Eisenmann and Julia Bayliss
#2 – Lee and Berk Pemberton and Liz Taylor
#3 – Candice Waycaster and Maria Johnson
#4 – Meghan Custer and Becky Birnbaum
Hilltoppers
#1 – Claudia Hubert and Doug Sloan
#2 – Karen Martin and Alicia Robinson
Congratulations to the winners and thank you again to all of the participants. Ribbons will be forthcoming