Masters of Foxhounds

Joe Manning MFH, Anne Brooks MFH, and Brenda Simmons MFH

Whipper-Ins: Ida Rademacher, Jacob Arbaugh, Anne Brooks, Christine Brady, Holly Davies, and Lindsay Johnson

Kennelman & Road Whipper-In: Virginia (VJ) Thomas

Road Whipper -In: Karen Robertson

Glenmore Hunt History

 Left to Right: Houston I Todd MFH ,  Hunt Staff  New Years Day 1935, Ned Bush (Huntsman), Major Charles S. Roller Jr. MFH,  Forest T. Taylor MFH , Hugh Sproul Jr. MFH

The Glenmore Hunt Club was formally established in February 1930 in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The original hounds were donated by the founding members and were kenneled at “Glenmore,” the home of the first Master of Foxhounds, Houston I. “Jack” Todd.

The first formal Hunt was held on March 4, 1930. “Jack” Todd presided as Master of Foxhounds and Huntsman with Whippers-In Dudley Brooks, Forest Taylor, Ralph “Skeet” Crosby and Mason Sproul. Other original Club officers were W. Wyatt King, President; Hugh B. Sproul, Jr., Secretary; and Dr. Ralph Crosby, Treasurer. Hunt colors adopted were Yale Blue collar, buttons engraved with GH, and a Tattersall plaid vest.

Getting Recognized

Major Charles S. Roller became Master of Foxhounds in 1934, and Glenmore received its recognition by the Master of Foxhounds Association of America in 1935. Two packs of hounds were kept, and the Club typically held drag hunts on Saturdays and fox hunts on Wednesdays. The Club and its activities were featured in state and national publications such as “Down Country” in Old Virginia and The Sportsman, published in Boston, Massachusetts.

Hunts were regularly exchanged with hunts throughout the state such as Albemarle Hounds, Bath County Hounds, Deep Run, Farmington, and Keswick Hunt Clubs. Hunts were mostly held in the Staunton to Stuarts Draft area, but on occasion meets were fixed in the Swoope to Buffalo Gap area, the Fort Defiance to Burketown area, and in the Deerfield Valley.

On one occasion the Club rode from Staunton across Great North Mountain to the Deerfield Valley, stayed at the Sproul Camp, and fox hunted for two weeks before riding back across the mountain home. The New Year’s Day hunt in 1935 was an occasion of note, recorded by a professional photographer. The meet was hosted by Major Roller, MFH, who was Superintendent of Augusta Military Academy (AMA) at his farm in Fort Defiance. The Master was resplendent in a new high silk hat. Hounds were hunted by Ned Bush, assisted by Whippers-In Agnes Sproul, John Robson, Forest Taylor, Moffett Black and “Skeet” Crosby. In spite of a cold wind and a skiff of snow, a large field, which included most of the notable sportsmen of Staunton/Augusta County and a number of uniformed cadets from the cavalry unit at AMA, turned out.

WWII

During World War II, club activities were put on hold. Following the war the packs of hounds were brought back together under the leadership of Forest T. Taylor, MFH and Hugh B. Sproul, Jr., Huntsman of the “drag pack” and John Robson hunting the “live pack.” Hunting resumed in the mid 40s, very much as it had been during the 30s.

In 1948 the club purchased a farm on the Barterbrook Road to serve as a base from which to hunt and a facility to house hounds and staff horses. At this time the Club incorporated and filed with the State Corporation Commission as The Glenmore Hunt Club, Inc. A noticeable difference in the mid 40s was that there was a second generation of young foxhunters on the scene.

Hey-Day Years

In 1949 Hugh Sproul, Jr. became MFH and found himself with the very enjoyable task of indoctrinating a flock of teenage foxhunters. This also involved a re-indoctrination process with some of the first generation in regard to drinking, profanity, and pranks. During his tenure as MFH, Mr. Sproul assisted his Washington and Lee classmate “Tex” Tilson in starting and obtaining recognition for the Rockbridge Hunt. They both continued to enjoy the sport until they both died in their late 80s.

A hunt of note that occurred while “Tex” and “Hudie” were masters was hosted by “Tex” at his dude ranch in Rockbridge. It was attended by four Masters of Foxhounds (no other staff or riders), of whom hunted his own pack. They started at daylight and hunted one pack after another until dark and until they had worn out two horses each and all four packs of hounds. The number of foxes accounted for varies according to which of the four told the story. During the 50s Glenmore enjoyed a position of prestige among the Virginia hunts. Hunts were regularly exchanged with Rockbridge, Farmington, Keswick, and others.

The Glenmore Horse Show was nationally known as the first of the “Big Five Virginia Horse Show Circuit.” It was given Honor status by the American Horse Show Association on several occasions. Horses that did well in this show went to Madison Square Garden, and some of them, ridden by members of the United States Equestrian Team, went to the Olympic games.

The Glenmore Hunter Trials conducted each Spring following the hunting season was considered the best test of a hunter in Virginia. It consisted of a course approximately two miles in length with over eighteen solid fences, ranging from 3 1/2′ to 4′ in height. It was entered by foxhunters from all over the state and witnessed by large crowds of spectators. During the 60s Glenmore lost its show facility because the city of Staunton took over the Fair Grounds to create a football stadium for a high school.

The 70s–90s

The Club then sold the farm on Barterbrook Road and bought property near Jollivue where it established a show facility and kennels. Horse shows were not as successful atthis site, and residential development began to encroach on the hunt country. Masters of Foxhounds turned over somewhat rapidly during this period. They included the following: Frank Moffett, Richard Obenschain, Mack Crosby, William Drumheller, Leland Brown, David Webster, Fred Walsh, and Theodosia Ehle. In the early 70s, George and Susan Larkins became Master of Foxhounds with George hunting hounds. The Club moved its kennels and hunting to the Middlebrook area in the southern tip of Augusta County.

In 1994 the Glenmore Hunt Club, Inc., established a new kennel at Wheatlands, the antebellum home of Mrs. C. E. Bush, Jr., at Swoope. Mrs. Bush was one of the founding members of Glenmore and was delighted to have daily contact once again with foxhounds. Hugh Sproul, III, and Graham Pitsenberger were elected Joint Masters. Additional elected Masters of Foxhounds included Theresa Terrell Stewart, Brenda C. Stewart Simmons, Georganne “GiGi” Kelly, Sandy Cryder, Jewell S. T. Phelps, Cindy Kiser, and G. Daniel Jones.

The Glenmore Hunt has utilized member huntsmen (non-professional). In 1993, the hunt reorganized after Middlebrook Hounds split from Glenmore Hunt. The plan was to hire a professional huntsman from England. One professional did not work out, leaving Glenmore the day before autumn hunting was to begin. During this time, Hugh Sproul III, and Theresa “T” Stewart, hunted the Glenmore hounds. Another professional from England, visiting our area, was Gerald Blythe. Mr. Blythe agreed to help us out for a couple of years. Gerald taught our whippers-in the English traditional way of whipping- in. After Gerald’s departure from hunting, T Stewart once again hunted our hounds.

Starting with the 1994-1995 hunt season, meets were held at “Wheatlands”, “Bellevue,” “Walnut Grove,” and “Gray Gables” in the Swoope area and at the “Cobble Hill” and “Prospect Hill” and the Moore farms in Staunton. Since 1994, Glenmore Hunt Club has grown and expanded. In 1995 it was re- incorporated as Glenmore Hunt, Inc., and adopted by-laws based on the original Glenmore concept.  Hunt Country continued to expand along with the membership growth.

In 1998, the Glenmore Foundation, Inc., a Virginia stock corporation, was formed by the Glenmore Hunt members, with the main purpose of investing in and holding real estate for the benefit of the Glenmore Hunt.  In 1999, the Foundation bought property near Spring Hill, VA where the Hunt established its present kennel facility.

2004

Dan Jones joined Glenmore Hunt and whipped-in to Chris Knoedler, kennel- huntsman. In 2005 Daniel Jones took over hunting hounds as a MFH member huntsman until 2017 when he resigned. In 2018, our kennelman, Mike Hidecker, served as huntsman-in training with assistance from T Stewart for one season.

2019 -2023

In 2019, Missy Terrell Burnett (former Whipper-In) became our huntsman. Her grandfather "Curly" Terrell was our member huntsman in the 60s, and her aunt “T” hunted hounds for several years. During this time, Brenda Simmons, MFH re-established our hound breeding program, consulting with Missy and “T”, to include Tangent puppies (Tennessee, Tuesday, Tugboat), Ripple puppies (Ribbon, Riesling, Ragtime, Rhythm, Ricochet). There was also a liter from Julep (Jello, Justis, Juno, Jackie, Jo-Jo, Journey, Jukebox). Missy hunted the Glenmore hounds from 2019 - 2023.  Our Masters of Foxhounds during those years included Joseph Manning, Brenda Simmons, Stacy Thompson, and Marylee McDavid.  Marylee started the process of expanding territory for hunting in Glenmore’s assigned MFHA territory. 

In March 2023, four Glenmore hounds, Oprah, Tennessee, Tuesday, and Tugboat joined hounds from 12 different hunts for a total of 60 hounds (five hounds from each hunt) competing over two days at the Sedgefield Foxhound Performance Trails, Glenmore's first-time entering hounds.  Brenda Simmons MFH said “We are very pleased with the performance of Glenmore Hunt’s hounds that went to the Performance Trials in Hoffman, N.C. this past weekend (March 2023)!  The judges scored all four Glenmore hounds, but Tennessee stood out. On Day 1, Tennessee placed first in Hunting and seventh Best Hound. On Day 2, Tennessee placed third for Trailing, fourth for Hunting and sixth for Best Hound. The two-day scores were tallied, with Glenmore Tennessee receiving third in Trailing, fourth in Hunting and sixth Best Hound for the two-day period. The judges also named Glenmore fourth overall after the top three hunts. The other Glenmore hounds scored, however not in the top 10.

Beginning in the 2023-2024 season, Julie Bullock DVM (former Whipper-In) will carry the horn for Glenmore. In 2023 Joe Manning was re-elected as joint MFH with Anne Brooks, and John Meyers elected as first-time joint Masters.

Left to Right:  Glenmore Farms, Going Home" 2003 Bailey's Hunting Directory,   1965 Glenmore Horse Show,  "T" Stewart (MFH-Huntsman),  Brenda Simmons MFH, Colonel Hugh Sproul III MFH