Old Chatham Goes to Belle Meade

Early Sunday morning, January 14th, 2024, our very own Huntsman Stephanie Lee and First whipper-in Sabrina Sebben, MFH set off for the long, thousand mile, drive to the Belle Meade hunt in Georgia. Stephanie was invited to hunt the hounds at the Belle Meade Performance Trials! For those who aren’t familiar, each hunt brings their best 5 hounds to hunt in a pack of 40 hounds. Hounds are judged from horseback as they hunt, accumulating scores that accrue to each hound, and each hunt that is represented. Daily scores and overall rankings give a very good idea who is hunting the best hounds!

The first stop was in Boyce, VA to rest for the evening. The horses needed to stretch their legs after a long day on the trailer. To everyone’s surprise, our travelers awoke to a winter wonderland, delaying their departure and making travel slow.

After arriving in Thomson, Georgia, the horses had a great stretch and enjoyed some grass. They had a meet and greet with their neighbors for the week, a lovely donkey named Sandra and her corriente cattle companions. Stephanie and Sabrina enjoyed a lovely dinner prepared by our own OCHC member James Male who so graciously hosted them for the week. James was not the only OCHC member to make the trip. Other OCHC members included: Anne Bates, Candida Ellis, Lauren Zimmer, Natalie Krasney and Kailie Elisa. There were also a lot of familiar faces: Ronan Moloney, Ericka Rose, Kelly Leigh and Lisa Winkler were there.

Prior to the excitement of hunting, Master and Huntsman Epp Wilson, of Belle Meade Hunt, took Sabrina and Stephanie for a hack around his Foxboro Farm. Foxboro is a 300-acre parcel in the middle of their hunt country. Belle Meade has 35,000 contiguous acres of land to hunt on! Their country consists of cow pastures, pine tree farms, woods and swamps with coops, go arounds, and gates. One of the most interesting things Belle Meade has are wooden bridges. They build these bridges over rivers that have boggy bottoms so horses and riders can cross safely!

Wednesday January 17th, was a joint meet with Belle Meade Hunt and Long Run Woodford Hounds. Hounds were cast at 3:00 PM; Stephanie was invited to ride up with Master Epp and visiting huntsman Spencer Allen. Hounds quickly found a line with a viewed coyote. Unfortunately, the pack had to be stopped: the game was running toward a no-go zone. Hounds were recast in a safe direction and the country proved to have good sport with biddable hounds. After being out for three hours, Master Epp and visiting Huntsman Spencer Allen decided to collect hounds before running through covert that was meant to be saved for the trial’s days. “A good day of sport was had, there was fun movement through the country as hounds worked diligently” – Stephanie Lee. After the hunt, Belle Meade members hosted a wonderful dinner in their clubhouse, Boots Hall. The night was filled with stories and laughter, with folks gathered around the big bonfire outside.

Friday January 19th was the first day of the Performance Trial. Five hounds each from Belle Mede, Big Sky, Long Run Woodford, Midland, Mill Creek, Sedgefield, and Shawnee hunt comprised the pack. Stephanie spent time with the pack meeting them in the kennel before the hunt. She said, “I was pleased that all the hounds for the most part seemed happy and willing to listen to me- a complete stranger to them”. Hounds were cast at 9:30 AM after a lovely stirrup cup and a blessing with 97 mounted and countless car followers heading out on a beautiful 40-degree day. Unfortunately, a strong wind plagued both hounds and riders. Hounds went straight to work, but the wind caused the pack to get badly strung out. The day turned up multiple coyotes; the pack was split, and Stephanie decided to stop, gather the hounds and recast them. Stephanie found the pack biddable; they hunted for four hours (and 13 miles), and hounds were all on at the end.

Back at Boots Hall (this is what they call the club house at Belle Meade) there was lunch followed by the first day awards. The top two hounds were Belle Meade-Sassy and Belle Meade-Tundra. The third place hound was Midland-Rogue. After a well-deserved rest everyone reconvened for dinner. Belle Meade put together a feast fit for royalty; there were platters of appetizers everywhere, and enough dinner to last a week! Not to mention the tables of disserts, wow! At Belle Meade, it is never just dinner; it’s a time for making friends, telling tall tales, and enjoying everyone’s company!

Day two of the performance trials started off colder; it was 30 degrees with less wind. After a stirrup cup, and a lot of hot chocolate, Hounds were cast at 10:00 AM. A few hounds were scratched, so the pack was at 17.5 couple today. Hounds immediately went to the first covert which was directly across the street from the kennels. Stephanie said, “the hounds were much more together today, right from the start.” The hounds worked hard trailing the line, and they had some fun little sprints. The riders had a few views, but they never had “the good run” everyone hoped for. At the end of a chilly 3.5-hour hunt, hounds were “all on” and Stephanie blew going home, the classic ending of a hunt day. The judges turned in their scores and all the points were tallied. After a nice warm lunch, the awards for day two were given: Belle Meade-Secret took first place, Shawnee-Hawkeye was second and Belle Meade-Tundra was third!

The top three hounds for the day overall go to Belle Meade and the top three Hunt Scores go to Belle Meade in first, Shawnee in second, and Long Run Woodford in third!

To round out the trip, Master Epp invited many to join him and his wife for a celebration dinner. Everyone met at Habaneros, their favorite Mexican restaurant. The evening was filled with great company, speeches, and laughter. Everyone toasted the visitors and wished them safe travels the following day. Before leaving, Epp insisted on a few “sandwiches” with female guests (see photos.) After a week of making friends, great hunting, and learning from some of the best foxhunters, Stephanie and Sabrina loaded up the trailer and headed back north. Two days of driving return us to Old Chatham. Our next project is to start preparing hounds for the Reginal Puppy Show. We hope to see all of you there in the spring!

Warm Regards,
Stephanie Lee & Sabrina Sebben